1.
Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
the People of the land = the commonalty. Compare 2Ch 33:35 . Not lawfully, for Jehoahaz was not the eldest son.
2.
Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem. The Septuagint adds here, probably owing to the Homoeoteleuton in the word Jerusalem; "Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Amital, daughter of Jeremiah of Lobnah: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done: and Pharaohneckhao bound him in Deblatha, in the land of Aimath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem".
3.
And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4.
And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
Egypt. The Septuagint adds: "Egypt, and he died there: and they had given the silver and the gold to Pharaoh: at that time the land began to be taxed to give the money at the command of Pharaoh; and every one, as he could, kept demanding the silver and the gold of the People of the land, to give it to Pharaoh-neckhao".
5.
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
evil . Heb ra'a' . App-44 .
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 . The Septuagint adds here: "according to all that his fathers did. In his days came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon into the land, and he served him three years, and then revolted from him. And the LORD sent against them the Chaldeans, and bands of Syrians, and bands of Moabites, and the sons of Amnion and Samaria; but after this, they rebelled according to the word of the LORD, by the hand of his servants the prophets. However, the anger of - the LORD was upon Judah, to remove him from His did, and for the innocent blood which Jehoiakim had shed; and he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; yet the LORD refused to utterly destroy them".
6.
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
came up. See App-53 .
Nebuchadnezzar. The son of Nabopolassar.
fetters. Hebrew brasses, or bronzes (Dual). Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the two chains or fetters made of brass.
to carry him to Babylon. There were four deportations: (1) Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11 ), no date given, but apparently 580-570 BC; (2) Jehoiakim (2 Chronicles 36:6 , Daniel in this; Daniel 1:1 ), 496 BC; (3) Jehoiachin (2 Chronicles 36:10 , 2 Kings 24:14 , Mordecai in this, Esther 2:5 , Esther 2:6 ), 489 B.C.; (4) Zedekiah (2 Chronicles 36:20 ; 2 Kings 25 , Nehemiah in this), 477 B.C. From this last are reckoned the seventy years of 2 Chronicles 36:21 .Jeremiah 25:9 , Jeremiah 25:11 , Jeremiah 25:12 .
7.
Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
found in him = found upon him. On this is grounded the belief that he was tattooed with idolatrous marks or signs forbidden by Leviticus 19:28 . Compare Revelation 13:16 , Revelation 13:17 ; Revelation 14:9 , Revelation 14:11 ; Revelation 16:2 ; Revelation 19:20 ; Revelation 20:4 .
book. See App-47 .
9.
Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Jahoiachin. Called also Jeconiah (1 Chronicles 3:16 ) and Coniah (Jeremiah 22:24 , Jeremiah 22:28 ). Compare 2 Kings 24:8 . The "Je" (= Jehovah) being cut off from his name.
eight years. Some codices, with Septuagint and Syriac, read "eight", but 2 Kings 24:8 reads "eighteen". The "eighteen" must include his co-regency, the "eight" to his reigning alone. This practice was common in Israel and Judah as well as in ancient contemporary kingdoms.
10.
And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
sent. N. B., not "came".
brought him = had him brought.
Zedekiah. Originally Mattaniah. Compare 2 Kings 24:17 , &c.
his brother: i.e. his next of kin. In this case his uncle (2 Kings 24:17 . 1 Chronicles 3:15 ).
11.
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.
humbled not himself, &c. Compare Jeremiah 34:8 ; Jeremiah 37:2 , and Jeremiah 38:17 , &c.
mouth. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for what is spoken by it.
13.
And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.
made him swear. Ezekiel refers to this (Ezekiel 17:11-20 ).
14.
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
transgressed very much = abounded in treachery. Hebrew "multiplied to transgress transgression". Figure of speech Polyptoton , for emphasis. Hebrew. ma'al. App-44 .
heathen = nations.
hallowed. See note on Exodus 3:5 .
15.
And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
rising up betimes. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .
16.
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
they mocked = they kept mocking. Compare Matthew 23:37 . Especially Urijah (Jeremiah 26:20-23 ) and Jeremiah 37 and Jeremiah 38 .
God. Hebrew. Elohim. (with Art.) = the [true] God. App-4 .
no remedy. These words, occurring as they do on the last page of the Hebrew Bible, led to the conversion of the late Joseph Rabinovitch, of Kischeneff.
17.
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
He brought. To leave us in no doubt as to the real cause. Compare Judges 1:8 , and see App-53 .
their sanctuary. No longer Jehovah's. Compare and contrast "My Father's house" (John 2:16 ) and "your house" (Matthew 23:38 ). The former at the beginning of His ministry; the latter at the close.
all = the whole that came into her hand.
18.
And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19.
And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20.
And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
servants. Compare Jeremiah 27:6 , Jeremiah 27:7 . Daniel 1 . This was foretold in 2 Kings 20:17 , 2 Kings 20:18 . Isaiah 39:7 .
the kingdom of Persia. See the Chronological Structure of Ezra-Nehemiah (p. 618), and notes there.
21.
To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
fulfil. fulfil. At beginning and end of verse in Hebrew Note the emphasis by the Figure of speech Epanadiplosis. App-6 .
Jeremiah. Compare Jeremiah 25:9 , Jeremiah 25:12 ; Jeremiah 29:10 .
as long as = all the days. Thus completing a period of seventy years. This was foretold also (Leviticus 23:32 ; Leviticus 26:34 , Leviticus 26:35 ).
threescore and ten years. See special note on 2 Chronicles 36:21 , below.
SPECIAL NOTE ON 2 Chronicles 36:21
THE "SERVITUDE", THE "CAPTIVITY", AND THE "DESOLATIONS". Three Periods of seventy years are assigned to these three respectively, and it is necessary that they should be differentiated.
i. The "servitude" began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, when the "kingdom" passed under Chaldean rule for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:1 ). This period closed with the capture of Babylon by Darius the Median (Astyages), and the "Decree" of Cyrus to rebuild the Temple. It lasted from 496-426 B.C. ii. The "captivity" commenced, and is dated by Ezekiel from the carrying away to Babylon of JECHONIAH, in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8-16 ). This was in 489 B.C. Consequently, when the "servitude" ended in 426 B. C, the "captivity" had lasted for sixty-three (9 x 7) years.
Seven years later Cyrus died, in 419 B.C. That year (419) is further notable for:. 1. The appointment of Neherniah as Governor of Jerusalem by Cambysses (Nehemiah 5:14 ). 2. The completion of "the wall" in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15 ); and. 3. The fact it marks the end of the fifth of the "seven sevens" of Daniel 9:25 . (See App-60 .) The "captivity" lasting from 489 to 419 B.C.
iii. The "desolations "commenced with the beginning of the third and last siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 479 B. C, and cover a period of "seventy years", ending in the second year of Darius Hystaspis: i.e. in 409 B.C. This "threescore and ten years" which is referred to here (2 Chronicles 36:21 ), is the fulfillment of Leviticus 26:32-35 , and has reference to "the land". It is this period of which Daniel says he "understood by books", as being the number of the years that Jehovah "would accomplish in the Desolations of Jerusalem" (Daniel 9:2 ). The Darius here (Daniel 9:1 ) is evidently Cyrus , the son of Astyages (see notes on p. 618, and App-57 ); and as the first year of his reign was 426 B. C, it follows that seventeen years had, then, yet to run before the "Desolations" of the land were ended, in 409 B.C. Hence, Daniel's prayer, that follows, resulted in the giving to him the famous prophecy of the "seventy sevens" of years contained in Daniel 9:20-27 .
22.
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
the first year of Cyrus. See note on Ezra 1:1 .
spirit. Hebrew. ruach.
23.
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
God of heaven. First occurrence of this expression. Now used because His People was Lo Ammi (= "not My People"), and He (Jehovah) had withdrawn from their midst. It is the title peculiar to the times of the Gentiles, while God acts from heaven, and not from between the cherubim as Jehovah the God of Israel, or as "the Lord of all the earth" (His millennial title). See the other occurrences (twenty in all = 3x6, App-10 ): Ezra 1:2 ; Ezra 5:11 , Ezra 5:12 ; Ezra 6:9 , Ezra 6:10 ; Ezra 6:7 . Ezra 6:12 , Ezra 6:21 , Ezr 6:23 .Nehemiah 1:4 , Nehemiah 1:5 ; Nehemiah 2:4 , Nehemiah 2:20 . Psalms 136:26 . Daniel 2:18 , Daniel 2:19 , Daniel 2:37 , Daniel 2:44 .Jonah 1:9 . Revelation 11:13 ; Revelation 16:11 .
He hath charged me. Compare Isaiah 44:28 ; Isaiah 45:13 .