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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
14:1-15:7 Amaziah, Jeroboam II, and Azariah. The impetus of the recovery in the closing verses of ch. 13 continues into ch. 14, as the house of Jehu brings Israel relief, not only from Syria but also from a hostile Judah.
14:1-6 Amaziah was a relatively good (i.e., non-idolatrous) king of Judah (he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord), basically keeping the Law of Moses (Deut. 24:16) while failing like others before him to remove the high places (see note on 1 Kings 3:2; also 1 Kings 15:11; 22:43; 2 Kings 12:2). Yet in ways not further defined here, the kings throughout the period from Joash to Jotham are regarded by the authors of Kings as not like David (contrast 1 Kings 3:3; 15:11; 22:43 with 2 Kings 12:2; 14:3; 15:3, 34 in terms of what is and is not said); there is some doubt in the authors' minds about the wholeheartedness of these kings' commitment to the Lord.
14:7 Valley of Salt . . . Sela. Edom had revolted against Judean rule during the reign of Jehoram (8:20-22). Amaziah does not reestablish Judean control over Edom, but this important victory does ultimately have implications for Judah's ability to trade (see note on 14:22).
14:9-10 A thistle . . . sent to a cedar. Emboldened by the success of his Edomite campaign, Amaziah has decided for unstated reasons to confront the more powerful Jehoash of Israel, so Jehoash sends him this insult and warning. The point of Jehoash's parable is that a puny thistle (i.e., Amaziah), easily trampled by any wild beast, should not make the mistake of comparing itself in might to the immovable cedar on Lebanon (Jehoash). Be content with your glory, and stay at home. Jehoash is not seeking conflict with Amaziah.
14:11-14 Beth-shemesh. This important town on the northwest border of Judah, about
14:15-17 the rest of the acts of Jehoash. . . . Amaziah . . . lived fifteen years. The surprising repetition of this information concerning Jehoash in the context of Amaziah's reign (cf. 13:12-13) may be intended to contrast the two kings in their deaths: Jehoash, who did not seek conflict with fellow Israelites, came to a natural and peaceful end, while Amaziah, the aggressor who acted as Rehoboam had been forbidden to act, met a violent death (14:19-20; cf. 1 Kings 12:22-24). It is also possible, however, that Jehoash is highlighted here because he was the effective ruler of Judah in this period, as was his son Jeroboam after him; Amaziah is not said to have "ruled" in Judah after Jehoash's death, but only to have "lived" there. On the Chronicles of the Kings (also 2 Kings 14:18, 28), see note on 1 Kings 14:19.
14:19 they made a conspiracy against him. Nothing is said of any reprisals by Amaziah's son against the conspirators (15:1-7; contrast 14:5-6), perhaps implying that Azariah was himself one of the mysterious "they." Amaziah was bound to be unpopular, given the consequences for the city of Jerusalem from his military folly. The city of Lachish where he died was the most important fortified city in Judah after Jerusalem, defending one of the east-west valleys that gave access to the Judean Plateau and Jerusalem from the coastal plains.
14:22 after the king slept with his fathers. The immediate context might lead the reader to think of Amaziah, but in fact it is Jehoash who has just been described as sleeping with his fathers (cf. v. 16). If the reference is indeed to Jehoash, this is further evidence that he was the one exercising power in Judah after the battle of Beth-shemesh (see note on vv. 15-17). It was only after his death and with the decline of Syria (see note on v. 25) that Azariah was able to consolidate Amaziah's gains in Edom by claiming the port of Elath at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba (the Red Sea). This town, closely associated with Ezion-geber and the trade of the Solomonic era with the wider world (1 Kings 9:26), stood at the southern end of the great King's Highway that ran all the way north through Transjordan to Damascus and facilitated trade connections especially with southern Arabia. Presumably it was lost to Judah when Edom revolted during Jehoram's reign (2 Kings 8:20-22).
14:25 He restored the border of Israel. The Assyrian assault on the area north of Israel (alluded to in 13:5) seriously weakened the kingdoms of that region, including Syria, and this allowed Jehoash to recapture some Israelite towns from the Syrians (13:25). In the immediately subsequent years, the Assyrian kings only infrequently ventured out on military campaigns to their west, and in this context Jeroboam II of Israel was able to further the Israelite recovery begun by his father, extending the borders of Israel from the Sea of the Arabah in the south (the Dead Sea, Josh. 3:16; 12:3) to the northern Lebo-hamath ("entrance to Hamath," a city or geographical feature associated with Hamath in central Syria). Jeroboam was thus able to restore the territory of northern Israel to Solomonic proportions (1 Kings 8:65). Jonah the son of Amittai (cf. Jonah 1:1) had prophesied that Jeroboam would accomplish this, although Jonah was not the only prophet active during this period and his was not the only message for Israel (cf. Hos. 1:1; Amos 1:1).
14:26 there was none left, bond or free. See note on 1 Kings 14:10.
14:27 To blot out the name of Israel from under heaven would be to destroy Israel utterly (cf. Deut. 9:14-19), making forgiveness and restoration impossible (cf. Deut. 29:20). This the Lord had not said he would do; and when there was a danger of its happening, during the time of Jehu's dynasty, God took steps to deliver Israel from her enemies.
14:28 Judah in Israel. This unusual phrase reflects the unusual situation in Judah and Israel during the reigns of Jehoash and Jeroboam II, when the kings of Israel were apparently in effective control of Judah (see notes on vv. 15-17, 19, 22). It is perhaps an Israelite designation for the whole restored kingdom during Jeroboam's reign, representing Jeroboam's claim to lordship over a Judah currently integrated into Israel. Alternatively, it could be a phrase chosen by the authors to represent their view that the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem remains the chosen dynasty, that Judah is the heartland of the kingdom that rightly belongs to that dynasty, and that the kingdom will one day be returned to Judah in its entirety (cf. 1 Kings 11:39). Jeroboam II may appear to be a "second Solomon," but the phrase "Judah in Israel" reminds the reader to whom this territory really belongs. Whatever is the case, this is a period in which territory is being restored (cf. 2 Kings 14:22) to Israel, both to the north and to the south. Jeroboam II ruled Israel from Archaeologists at Megiddo discovered a seal dating to the The seal contains a roaring lion; above the animal in Hebrew is the name "Shema," and below is the phrase "Servant of Jeroboam." The finely rendered seal gives evidence of a high level of craftsmanship at this time.
15:3-4 he did what was right [but] the high places were not taken away. See 14:3-4 for a similar description of Azariah's father Amaziah. Azariah is also called Uzziah in various places (cf. 15:13, 30, 32, 34). Azariah's (Uzziah's) reign saw the beginning of Isaiah's prophetic ministry (Isa. 1:1; 6:1).
15:5 a leper to the day of his death. At some point during his reign, Azariah became a leper (see note on 5:1) and was unable to govern, occupying a separate house--lit. in Hebrew "the house of freedom" (bet hakhopshit), which is probably a metaphor for being relieved of responsibility in government more than a description of his living conditions. The king was seriously incapacitated and was regarded as effectively dead (cf. the related Hb. word khopshi in connection with the world of the dead in Job 3:19, "free," and Ps. 88:5, "set loose"). Cf. also note on 2 Chron. 26:21-23. His son Jotham therefore exercised effective governmental power in Judah.
