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2 Chronicles 27

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Jotham Reigns Righteously 1–2

1
Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.
2
And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah had done: howbeit he entered not into the temple of Jehovah. And the people did yet corruptly. ​

Jotham's Building and Military Success 3–6

3
He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. ​
4
Moreover he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.
5
He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render unto him, in the second year also, and in the third. ​
6
So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God. ​

Conclusion of Jotham’s Reign 7–9

7
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
8
He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
9
And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. ​

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

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 27

Verse 2

he entered not into the temple of the LORD — Jotham followed his father in 'that which was right', yet kept out of the temple, where Uzziah had gone in to burn incense (26:16). 'Corruptly' is shachat, the verb of Gen 6:12, 'all flesh had corrupted his way'. 2 Kgs 15:35 names the practice: the people 'sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places'.

Verse 3

the high gate of the house of the LORD — 2 Kgs 15:35 calls it 'the higher gate of the house of the LORD'. Ophel was a rise on the wall of the city of David, and Manasseh later 'compassed about Ophel' with a wall (2 Chr 33:14). The Nethinims, the temple servants, dwelt there (Neh 3:26).

Verse 5

the king of the Ammonites — 'Prevailed' is chazaq, the verb of 26:8, where the Ammonites 'gave gifts' to Uzziah. The 'measures' are kor, the same dry measure as in 2:10, where Solomon sends 'twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat' to Hiram's servants. The tribute was paid the first year and again 'the second year, and the third'.

Verse 6

he prepared his ways — Kun, to set firmly in place, the verb of Uzziah's preparing of shields and spears (26:14). It is also the verb of 12:14, where Rehoboam 'did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD', and of 19:3, 'thou… hast prepared thine heart to seek God'. Jotham is mighty because his ways were set before the LORD.

Verse 9

in the city of David — Jotham is buried there, as 2 Kgs 15:38 says, 'with his fathers'. His father lay 'in the field of the burial' (26:23), and his son Ahaz is not brought 'into the sepulchres of the kings' (28:27). The prophets Isaiah (1:1) and Micah (1:1) name Ahaz among the kings in whose days they saw their visions.