Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

11:1-3 Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah. Possibly a daughter of Jezebel (8:26), Athaliah certainly displays the same ruthless streak. Her attack on the royal family is stemmed only by the resourceful Jehosheba, who hides the young Joash and his nurse in the Jerusalem temple. The nurse's willingness to share danger with the child in her care contrasts sharply with the spineless leading men of Samaria in 10:1-7. Cf. note on 2 Chron. 22:10-12.

11:4 Jehoiada . . . the Carites and . . . the guards. It is subsequently clarified that Jehoiada is the chief priest (vv. 9, 15). Jerusalem's guards and their duties around the palace and the temple have been described in 1 Kings 14:27-28. The Carites appear in the consonantal Hebrew text of 2 Sam. 20:23 as part of the elite royal bodyguard alongside the Pelethites. They may well be the same body as (or at least the regiment may be descended from the regiment of) the Cherethites, with whom the Pelethites normally appear in the OT (2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 20:7, 23; 1 Kings 1:38, 44); see note on 1 Kings 1:38.

11:5-8 This is the thing that you shall do. The normal duties of the troops mentioned here are reasonably clear: the guarding of the king's house (the royal palace) and the house of the Lord (the temple), along with two important gates. The gate Sur was a gate in the walled enclosure that surrounded the temple precincts and the royal residences in Jerusalem, probably to be identified with the gate of Shallecheth of 1 Chron. 26:16 (called the "Gate of the Foundation" in 2 Chron. 23:5). From this gate a road ascended to the Fish Gate at the northwest corner of the city's outer defensive wall. The gate behind the guards was apparently located in a wall separating the temple and palace complexes (2 Kings 11:19) and is called the "upper gate" in 2 Chron. 23:20 (cf. 2 Kings 15:35). The interpretation of the troops' reassignments, however, is more difficult. It does not seem likely that the troops in 11:5-6 are being assigned to guard the king's palace (v. 6), for the terminology used to specify the building at the end of v. 6 (Hb. habbayit massakh, perhaps "house named destruction"?) is not the same as the terminology used of the royal palace in v. 5 ("the king's house," Hb. bet-hammelek). Furthermore, Athaliah leaves the royal palace unhindered in v. 13, with no guards in sight. Most likely, then, it is the temple ("palace") of Baal that is to be guarded in v. 6--the building destined for destruction in v. 18. Troops are sent to both temples: the "house named destruction" (vv. 5-6) and the "house of the Lord" (v. 7). They are sent to the first in order to discourage interference by the worshipers of Baal and to detain the priest Mattan. The overall concern is that sufficient security be provided for the coronation ceremony to take place within the temple precincts.

11:10 spears and shields. Since it is not likely that the soldiers needed to be armed by the chief priest, it is probably the symbolism that is important here. The commanders are making it clear that they have allied themselves with David's cause, and at the same time they are receiving articles to be given to the new king as symbols of his royal power (the spear is a prominent royal weapon in the books of Samuel; e.g., 1 Sam. 18:10-11; 22:6).

11:12 the testimony. Joash is presented with a list of divinely ordained laws (Hb. ‘edut). For kings ruling under divine law, see Deut. 17:18-20; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:3.

11:14 pillar. In 1-2 Kings the Hebrew ‘ammud has appeared thus far only in 1 Kings 7, referring to the pillars of the Solomonic palace (1 Kings 7:2-3, 6) and temple (1 Kings 7:15-22, 41-42). Either Jachin or Boaz is probably in view here (1 Kings 7:21); "Jachin" may mean "the establisher," and would thus provide a fitting location for a coronation. The emphasis on custom is important in a context where the authors are trying to stress the legitimacy of Joash's claim to the throne; the coronation takes place in line with law and custom, and in full view of the people of the land.

11:17 Jehoiada made a covenant. The king and people once more identify themselves as the Lord's people through a covenant-renewal ceremony (cf. Josh. 24:1-27; 2 Kings 23:1-3). At the same time, a covenant is made between the king and the people (cf. 2 Sam. 5:1-3), redefining kingship in distinctively Israelite terms after a period in which foreign ideas have dominated.

11:21 Joash, introduced by that name in v. 2, will be called Jehoash throughout most of ch. 12, to be called Joash again only in 12:19, where his death is reported. See also note on 13:9.

12:2-3 Jehoash (i.e., Joash; see note on 11:21) did what was right. He was a relatively good king who rejected idolatrous worship (contrast the verdict on the idolaters Jehoram and Ahaziah in 8:18, 27), but the high places were not taken away (see note on 1 Kings 3:2; cf. also 1 Kings 15:14; 22:43).

12:4-5 repair the house. The temple of the Lord had suffered neglect during the years in which the worship of Baal was encouraged, and to neglect a temple in the ancient world was to neglect its deity and to risk his or her disapproval and the possible undermining of a king's legitimate authority to rule (which is why a king such as Esarhaddon of Assyria had servants traveling around his realm and sending him reports about the state of its temples). Three sources of income are specified as the repair project gets underway here. Two of these represent regular temple income: payments made in relation to the periodic census of male Israelites (money for which each man is assessed; Ex. 30:11-16), and monetary equivalents for things dedicated to God (money from the assessment of persons; Lev. 27:1-25). Money that a man's heart prompts him to bring refers to a special fund-raising campaign similar to that initiated by Moses, at God's command, in Exodus 35 (where people also give from the heart; Ex. 35:5, 21-22, 26, 29).

12:7-12 hand it over. Joash's initial plan was to leave the matter to the priests themselves (vv. 4-5). But this plan fails because, it is implied, the priests are not eager to spend good money on mere buildings, even though they are well provided for through the normal sacrificial system (v. 16; cf. Num. 5:5-10). Joash himself therefore takes control of the project, ensuring that the income goes directly to the workmen appointed to supervise the work.

12:13 But there were not made . . . any vessels of gold, or of silver. Joash's achievements, after all his efforts, are somewhat disappointing: only a very humble restoration of the temple has taken place, and it stands as a poor reflection of its former glory (cf. 1 Kings 7:50). Once again the reader is reminded of the "affliction of the house of David" theme (1 Kings 11:39) that has surfaced in the description of even the best of the post-Solomonic Judean kings.

12:17-18 took all the sacred gifts. The theme of affliction continues: Judah, too, is oppressed by Hazael king of Syria (cf. 10:32-33 for his assault on Israel), as he turns east from the Philistine city of Gath to attack Jerusalem. This presupposes that Hazael could move at will through Israelite territory to the north, so that the campaign is best dated during the reign of Jehu's son Jehoahaz (c. 815-799 b.c.), who fared even worse than his father at the hands of Syria (13:1-7, 22-23). Like Asa, Joash knows no Solomonic peace during his rule, and tribute flows north from Israel to Syria, instead of south from Syria to Israel (cf. 1 Kings 15:18-24). Both Asa and Joash in fact empty the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king's house. Long past are those days when the king of Israel had "rest on every side" (1 Kings 5:4). Much later, Hag. 2:7-8 (see notes there) foretold that one day the nations would bring their wealth to the temple.

12:19 Chronicles of the Kings. See note on 1 Kings 14:19.

12:20 Silla was probably a neighborhood of Jerusalem below "the Millo" (see note on 2 Sam. 5:9), and the house of Millo was perhaps a prominent building in the Millo.