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2 Chronicles 23

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Jehoiada Prepares the Coup 1–11

1
And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. ​
2
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’housesof Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ​
3
And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the sons of David. ​
4
This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds; ​
5
and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of Jehovah.
6
But let none come into the house of Jehovah, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the charge of Jehovah. ​
7
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. ​
8
So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.
9
And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God. ​
10
And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.
11
Then they brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, Long live the king. ​

Athaliah Is Executed 12–15

12
And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of Jehovah: ​
13
and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets; the singers also played on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason! treason! ​
14
And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest said, Slay her not in the house of Jehovah. ​
15
So they made way for her; and she went to the entrance of the horse gate to the king’s house: and they slew her there. ​

Covenant Renewal and Reformation 16–21

16
And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be Jehovah’s people. ​
17
And all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ​
18
And Jehoiada appointed the officers of the house of Jehovah under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of Jehovah, to offer the burnt-offerings of Jehovah, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David. ​
19
And he set the porters at the gates of the house of Jehovah, that none that was unclean in anything should enter in.
20
And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of Jehovah: and they came through the upper gate unto the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. ​
21
So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And Athaliah they had slain with the sword. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 23

Verse 1

strengthened himself — Chazaq, the verb used of Jehoram in 21:4, who 'strengthened himself' and slew his brethren. In 'the seventh year' of Athaliah (22:12) Jehoiada does so to bring in the king, and binds five captains of hundreds 'into covenant with him'. Asa's people had 'entered into a covenant to seek the LORD' (2 Chr 15:12).

Verse 2

gathered the Levites — The Levites lived in cities given them within the tribes' inheritance (Num 35:2), so they are fetched 'out of all the cities of Judah'. With 'the chief of the fathers of Israel', the heads of the families, they come to Jerusalem. 'Israel' here means the families of Judah, as in 21:2.

Verse 3

the king's son shall reign — The covenant is made 'in the house of God', and Jehoiada rests it on what 'the LORD hath said of the sons of David': 'I will set up thy seed after thee… and I will establish his kingdom' (2 Sam 7:12). It is the promise of 21:7 that the house of David would not be destroyed.

Verse 4

a third part of you — The priests and Levites came on duty by courses, and 1 Chr 9:25 records that their brethren came 'after seven days from time to time'. Those 'entering on the sabbath' are made 'porters of the doors'. 'Doors' is saph, the threshold, the point of entry to the house.

Verse 6

they are holy — Qodesh, set apart. Only 'the priests, and they that minister of the Levites' may enter, as the Levites' own charge was to 'keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place' (1 Chr 23:32). The people have a different post: they 'keep the watch of the LORD'.

Verse 7

put to death — The guard around the king is set within the house, and anyone else who enters is to die, as the law said of the unauthorised: 'the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death' (Num 3:10). 'Compass' is naqaph, to go round. The Levites are to be with the king 'when he cometh in, and when he goeth out'.

Verse 9

that had been king David's — Jehoiada hands out 'spears, and bucklers, and shields'. Shelet, the word for shield, is used of the gold shields David took from Hadadezer's servants (2 Sam 8:7; 1 Chr 18:7) and of these. Spoils won in David's battles had been dedicated 'to maintain the house of the LORD' (1 Chr 26:27).

Verse 11

the testimony — Edut, the word for the tables of the law laid in the ark (Ex 25:16). Deut 17:18–19 says the king shall have a copy of the law, 'and he shall read therein all the days of his life'. 'God save the king' is literally 'let the king live', the shout of 1 Sam 10:24. Jehoiada and his sons anoint him.

Verse 12

the noise of the people running and praising — 'Praising' is halal, the verb behind hallelujah, and it returns in v.13 for the singers who 'taught to sing praise'. The sound of the voice of the people brings Athaliah 'into the house of the LORD', where the king has been presented (vv.9–11).

Verse 13

at his pillar — Ammud, the king's place. Josiah later 'stood by a pillar' to make a covenant before the LORD (2 Kgs 23:3). The crowd rejoices and sounds trumpets, and the singers lead with instruments. Athaliah rends her clothes and cries 'Treason, Treason', qesher, conspiracy, against the king the LORD had promised.

Verse 14

Have her forth of the ranges — Sederah, a row or rank of soldiers, so she is to be taken out through the ranks. 'Whoso followeth her' is to be slain, and the order is given that she is not to be killed 'in the house of the LORD', as 2 Kgs 11:15 also states, 'Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.'

Verse 15

the horse gate — A gate of Jerusalem, named again in Neh 3:28, where the priests repaired 'from above the horse gate', and in Jer 31:40 as the eastern corner of the city. It stood 'by the king's house', and 2 Kgs 11:16 says 'the way by the which the horses came into the king's house'. There she is slain.

Verse 16

that they should be the LORD'S people — The covenant is made 'between him, and between all the people, and between the king', and 2 Kgs 11:17 adds that it was 'between the LORD and the king and the people'. The wording recalls Deut 29:13, 'that he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself'.

Verse 17

the house of Baal — Athaliah's sons 'had broken up the house of God' and bestowed its dedicated things 'upon Baalim' (2 Chr 24:7). The people break down the house of Baal, its altars and images, and slay Mattan its priest 'before the altars', as the law directed, 'overthrow their altars, and break their pillars' (Deut 12:3).

Verse 18

the offices of the house of the LORD — Pequddah, a charge or oversight. Jehoiada restores the order of the Levites 'whom David had distributed' into courses (1 Chr 23:6). The burnt offerings follow 'the law of Moses', with the daily and set offerings of Num 28, and the 'rejoicing and… singing' that David had ordained.

Verse 20

set the king upon the throne — From the house of the LORD the company brings the king down to 'the king's house', and he is seated 'upon the throne of the kingdom', as Solomon had sat 'on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father' (1 Chr 29:23). 'The nobles' and 'the governors of the people' go with him.

Verse 21

the city was quiet — Shaqat, to be undisturbed, the word of 14:1 and 14:5–6 for Asa's years and of 20:30 for Jehoshaphat's, 'his God gave him rest round about'. The people 'rejoiced', and the quiet came after Athaliah was slain with the sword, six years after she destroyed the seed royal (22:10–12).