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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
26:1-23 Uzziah. See 2 Kings 15:2-7. The Chronicler reproduces most of this section of 2 Kings, but splices it with a lengthy passage of his own material (2 Chron. 26:5-20a) illustrating God's blessing on Uzziah's reign () and recounting the cause of his downfall. As with his presentation of Joash and Amaziah, the Chronicler has divided Uzziah's reign into two parts: a period of faithfulness and blessing, followed by sin and punishment. The language ("to seek God," "prosper," "God helped him," "fame") and the motifs of blessing (military success, building projects, armed forces) are all characteristic of the Chronicler's style and thought, and they carry a sober message. The chapter is essentially a sermon on the dangers of pride: Uzziah's God-given success leads him into presumption, seeking an office of spiritual leadership that could never be rightly his.
26:1 Uzziah is also called by the variant form "Azariah" in 1 Kings 15:1, 6-7; 1 Chron. 3:12 (but cf. 2 Kings 15:13, 30, 32, 34, where he is called Uzziah). The Chronicler's preference for "Uzziah" may be in order to avoid confusion with the chief priest Azariah in 2 Chron. 26:17-20.
26:2 the king slept with his fathers. See notes on 1 Kings 2:10 and 2 Kings 14:22.
26:3 The reign of Uzziah included co-regencies with his father Amaziah () and his son Jotham (). Uzziah's reign saw the beginning of Isaiah's prophetic ministry (Isa. 1:1; 6:1).
26:5 Zechariah acted as a religious adviser to Uzziah, as Jehoiada had done for Joash (24:2). Nothing else is known about this Zechariah. He is not the same as the Zechariah of 24:20-21 or the author of the canonical book Zechariah, who began his ministry in
26:6-8 Uzziah's victories over the Philistines in the west and southwest were reinforced by building settlements in these conquered territories. The Arabians (or "Arabs") and Meunites (see 20:1) were nomadic groups in the south.
26:9-10 Corner Gate. See 25:23. Uzziah stands out as an enthusiastic promoter of farming throughout the wilderness of Judah and the Negev, the foothills of the Shephelah (west of Jerusalem), and the coastal plain.
26:11-15 On the roles of armies as a mark of blessing on righteous kings, see 1 Chron. 12:23-40; 2 Chron. 13:3-4; 14:8; 17:12-19. Verse 13 of ch. 26 could be interpreted as "
26:16-20 Unfaithful translates Hebrew ma‘al (see note on 1 Chron. 2:3-8). It carries the sense of affronting God's holiness (as in a violated oath; see Lev. 6:1-7) or failing to accord him his due in worship. Uzziah impugned God's holiness by trespassing on the temple, which was for the priests and Levites only, and by seeking to offer incense, a duty reserved for the priests alone (see Ex. 30:1-10; Num. 16:40). In his pride, he wished to have spiritual as well as political authority over the people. Uzziah's presumptuous act recalls Korah's rebellion (Num. 16:1-40). Azariah's rebuke still offers Uzziah the chance to repent and leave, and it is only in the course of his angry, impenitent outburst against the priests that the king is struck with a skin disease.
26:21-23 Because he was a leper to the day of his death (cf. note on 2 Kings 15:5), King Uzziah was not buried in the normal royal tombs of Jerusalem but in a field. A stone plaque was found in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, from the Second Temple period that bears the inscription, "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open!" It may be that the king's bones were moved to the Mount of Olives many centuries after his death.
26:21 Because of his leprosy, Uzziah had to withdraw from his royal duties (see Lev. 13:46; Num. 5:1-4), and Jotham became co-regent.
26:22 Isaiah the prophet . . . wrote. Not the canonical book bearing his name, but another work by this prophet, who received his call in the year of Uzziah's death (Isa. 6:1); see note on 2 Chron. 32:32-33.
