Chapter XXIII

=1‒11= (compare 2 Kings xi. 4‒12).
THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST ATHALIAH.

The account in Kings of the famous conspiracy which resulted in the downfall and death of Athaliah the queen mother and the coronation of the child Joash has the marks of a graphic and accurate narrative. The Chronicler evidently desired to reproduce it word for word, but in one point he was obliged to alter it in accordance with his ideas. In Kings the plot is engineered by the high-priest Jehoiada with the help of the officers (“captains of hundreds”) and men of the Carites and the guard, (i.e. the royal body-guard), who were foreign mercenaries. But the statement in 2 Kings xi. 4, 11, that these men who were both laymen and foreigners were permitted by the high-priest to be within the court of the Temple, though no doubt correct in point of fact (see Ezekiel xliv. 6 f.), was inconceivable to the Chronicler. In his account therefore the soldiers of the guard vanish, and the “captains of hundreds” are prominent Levites, who organise the conspiracy by gathering the Levites and chief men throughout Judah (verse 2); and, further, careful directions are given (verse 6) that none shall enter the Temple save priests and Levites “for they are holy.” The passage is an interesting example of the Chronicler’s procedure in the interests of the ecclesiastical order to which he belonged and in which he believed so firmly.

¹And 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.

=1.= _strengthened himself_] Compare i. 1 (note); the phrase does not occur in the parallel passage of Kings.

_Azariah_, etc.] The names of course are not in Kings (see previous note). The individual names add to the naturalness of the Chronicler’s account. It is unlikely that the Levitical contemporaries of the Chronicler had any reliable traditions enabling them to say who probably were the leading Priests or Levites of Jerusalem in the time of Athaliah and Joash. Perhaps the Chronicler has simply chosen names which were suitable for Levites to bear.

_captains of hundreds_] In 2 Kings “captains over hundreds of the Carites (i.e. Cherethites) and of the guard.” The Chronicler takes the captains to be captains of _Levites_.

²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of
all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ _houses_ of
Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

=2.= _gathered the Levites_] This statement is not found in Kings――see the head-note.

_Israel_] See xi. 3 (note).

³And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the
house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son
shall reign, as the LORD hath spoken concerning the sons of
David.

=3.= _all the congregation_] Contrast 2 Kings xi. 4, where the “covenant” is a secret agreement between Jehoiada and the officers of the guard.

_hath spoken concerning_] Compare 2 Samuel vii. 16; 1 Chronicles xvii. 17.

⁴This 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 doors¹;

¹ Hebrew _thresholds_.

=4.= _This is the thing that ye shall do_] The arrangements as given here and in 2 Kings are not entirely clear owing to our ignorance regarding some of the places referred to. The Chronicler did not clearly understand the scheme in Kings, but he was not troubled thereby. He was concerned only to see that in his account the Levites replaced the soldiers of the guard and that no unlawful person entered the precincts of the Temple. According to Kings, it would appear that it was the custom on the Sabbath for two-thirds of the royal guards to be free and for one-third to be on duty at the palace. In order to avoid arousing suspicion this last third was, according to Jehoiada’s directions, to be at the palace as usual, but it was to be subdivided into thirds and so distributed as to close the various means of communication between the palace and the rest of the city. Thus Athaliah was to be held as in a trap by her own guards (2 Kings xi. 5, 6). The two-thirds who were free from duty on the Sabbath were to be stationed in the Temple about the young king to guard him at his coronation.

The arrangements are differently and no doubt less correctly stated in Chronicles In the first place Levitical Temple guards take the place of the royal guards; secondly, the only division of the guards recognised is a simple division into thirds; finally, the stations of the different divisions are differently given, viz., one-third in the Temple, one-third in the palace, and one-third at “the gate of the foundation.”

Using the modern terms “battalion” and “company” for the divisions and subdivisions given in Kings, the arrangements may be stated in a form which allows easy comparison between Kings and Chronicles, as follows:――

(i) 2 Kings xi. 5‒7.
(Royal guards in three battalions.)

1st battalion on duty at the king’s house (palace).
A company within the palace (verse 5),
B company at the gate of Sur,
C company at another gate (“behind the guard,” verse 6).

2nd and 3rd battalions off duty, but brought into the house of the
Lord (the Temple) by Jehoiada (verse 7).

(ii) 2 Chronicles xxiii. 4, 5.
(Levites in three bands.)

Band I (= 1st battalion C company of 2 Kings) in the house of God,
the Chronicler supposing that “the house” (2 Kings xi. 6) means
the house of the Lord. More probably it means “the house of the
king” (2 Kings xi. verse 5).

Band II (= 1st battalion A company of 2 Kings) at the king’s house
(so 2 Kings).

Band III (= 1st battalion B company of 2 Kings) at the gate of “the
foundation.”

(The Chronicler passes over the 2nd and 3rd battalions, because he has already assigned their duty to 1st battalion C company.).

_of the priests and of the Levites_] Not in Kings. The words are a mistaken but intentional gloss of the Chronicler, for it is clear that in Kings _lay_ guards are meant.

_porters of the doors_] margin, =of the thresholds=, i.e. of the Temple according to the Chronicler, for the word for “doors” (or “thresholds,” _sippim_ in Hebrew) is always used for the thresholds of some _sanctuary_, e.g. of the Tabernacle (1 Chronicles ix. 19, 22), of the Temple of Solomon (2 Chronicles iii. 7), of (apparently) some Israelite shrine (Amos ix. 1). In the parallel passage (2 Kings xi. 6) however “the watch of the house” clearly means “the watch of the king’s house” (2 Kings xi. verse 5).

⁵and 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 the LORD.

=5.= _a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation_] These two-thirds according to the scheme given above were both stationed about the palace, but they are _not_ to be reckoned as two-thirds of _the whole guard_.

_the gate of the foundation_] “Gate of _JSVD_” (Hebrew). This is certainly the “Gate of Sur” (_SVR_ in Hebrew) of 2 Kings xi. 6. Possibly however we should read “Gate of _SVS_ (or _SVSIM_)” i.e. “Horse Gate” (verse 15; compare 2 Kings xi. 16) both here and in Kings.

⁶But let none come into the house of the LORD, 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 watch of the
LORD.

=6.= _let none come into the house of the LORD_] It is clear on the contrary from Kings (verse 11) that the royal guards (who were laymen) were brought into the Temple itself under Jehoiada’s directions. The Chronicler is evidently at pains to guard against the notion that such a breach of ritual took place.

_all the people_] Not mentioned in Kings; but compare 1 Kings xi. 14.

⁷And 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.

=7.= _into the house_] 2 Kings “within the ranks.” Any one who should attempt to break through the ranks of the guard to get near to the king was to be killed. According to the Chronicler Jehoiada’s precaution would protect the sanctity of the Temple as well as the person of the young king.

⁸So 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.

=8.= _the Levites and all Judah_] In 2 Kings “the captains over hundreds.” See notes on verse 4.

_for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses_] Not in Kings. The Levites (1 Chronicles xxiii. 6), the priests (1 Chronicles xxiv. 1), and the king’s army (1 Chronicles xxvii. 1 ff.) were each divided into “courses,” but it is clear from the context that courses of Levites are meant here.

⁹And 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.

=9.= _shields_] Hebrew _shĕlāṭīm_; see note on 1 Chronicles xviii. 7.

¹⁰And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his
hand, from the right side¹ of the house to the left side of the
house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.

¹ Hebrew _shoulder_.

=10.= _with his weapon_] The Hebrew word (_shelaḥ_) means a “missile weapon.”

¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon
him¹, and _gave him_ the testimony, and made him king: and
Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, God save the
king².

¹ Or, _put upon him the crown and the testimony_.

² Hebrew _Let the king live_.

=11.= _put the crown upon him, and_ gave him _the testimony_] So LXX. and Hebrew both here and in 2 Kings xi. 12. Note that the words “gave him” are not in the Hebrew What then is the meaning of “put the crown ... the testimony”? It is supposed that by “the testimony” some document inscribed with laws, a charter binding king and people to live according to its precepts, is meant, and that this document was placed in the hands or on the head of Joash along with the crown. The wearing of an inscription or of a document on a solemn occasion, though strange to Western thought, is not alien from Eastern methods; compare Exodus xxviii. 36 ff.; Deuteronomy vi. 6‒8; Job xxxi. 35, 36; but evidence of such a ceremony at the coronation of a monarch is lacking. Hence it is tempting to think that we should read as the true text of Kings “put upon him the crown =and the bracelets=”――a brilliant conjecture made by Wellhausen, which involves in Hebrew only the addition of one consonant to the present text, but again there is no satisfactory evidence that bracelets were put on the king at his coronation: Wellhausen relied on 2 Samuel i. 10. Further, it is very probable that the error (if it is one) was present in the text of Kings which lay before the Chronicler, and therefore in Chronicles “the testimony” may be the original reading.

_Jehoiada and his sons_] In Kings, “they anointed him” (without specifying the actors).

_God save the king_] Literally, _Let the king live!_

=12‒15= (= 2 Kings xi. 13‒16).
DEATH OF ATHALIAH.

¹²And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and
praising the king¹, she came to the people into the house of the
LORD:

¹ Or, _of the people, of the guard, and of those who praised
the king_.

=12.= _running_] The word might mean “the guard” (_literally_ runners)――see the margin It has that meaning in Kings, but the Chronicler interprets it literally as the participle of the verb.

_praising the king_] Perhaps verses were extemporised in praise of a king at his coronation, just as over a maiden at her marriage; compare Psalms lxxviii. 63.

_she came_] Athaliah was allowed to pass the palace guard, but now it was too late for her to save her crown.

¹³and 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 with trumpets;
the singers also _played_ on instruments of music, and led the
singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said,
Treason, treason.

=13.= _by his pillar_] compare 2 Kings xxiii. 3 (= 2 Chronicles xxxiv. 31, “in his place”). Although “pillar” is attested by 2 Kings xxiii. 3, the phrase is curious. Perhaps we should here read “in his place,” as in xxxiv. 31: the difference in Hebrew is very slight.

_at the entrance_] In 2 Kings _as the manner was_.

¹⁴And 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 the LORD.

=14.= _brought out_] Read (as 2 Kings) =commanded=.

_between the ranks_] i.e. she was to be taken out between two lines of guards.

¹⁵So they made way for her; and she went to the entry of the
horse gate to the king’s house: and they slew her there.

=15.= _the horse gate_] Compare the note on the “gate of the foundation” (verse 5).

=16‒21= (= 2 Kings xi. 17‒20).
THE SECRET OF THE FALL OF ATHALIAH.

¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the
people, and the king, that they should be the LORD’s people.

=16.= _between himself, and all the people, and the king_] Jehoiada puts himself first as regent. In 2 Kings “between the LORD and the king and the people.”

_that they should be the LORD’s people_] Compare xxix. 10, xxxiv. 31; Exodus xxiv. 1‒11; Deuteronomy xxvi. 17, 18; Nehemiah ix. 36‒38.

¹⁷And 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.

=17.= _the house of Baal_] When this was erected is not known, perhaps under Jehoram (xxi. 6) or Ahaziah (xxii. 3), but it was doubtless intended for the worship of the Tyrian Baal, for Athaliah was probably grand-daughter of a Tyrian king (compare 2 Kings viii. 18 with 1 Kings xvi. 31). It is interesting to see that the revolt against Athaliah in Jerusalem, like the revolution led by Jehu against her parents, Ahab and Jezebel, in the Northern Kingdom, was fostered, if not indeed caused, by religious antipathy. At least these passages are of high value in showing the hold which the worship of Jehovah had already obtained upon the loyalty of Israel. Court influences, always powerful in such small states, when cast against the worship of Jehovah, were unable for long to maintain the struggle against the national “jealousy” for Him.

¹⁸And Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD
under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had
distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt
offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses,
with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of
David¹.

¹ Hebrew _by the hands of David_.

=18.= _And Jehoiada appointed_, etc.] This whole verse is represented in Kings simply by the words, “And the priest appointed officers (‘offices,’ margin) over the house of the LORD” (i.e. officers for the care of the Temple, e.g. to see to cleaning and repairing it).

_the priests the Levites_] Read probably =the priests and the Levites=, and see the note on the same phrase in xxx. 27.

_according to the order of David_] Note that the Chronicler ascribes all sacrificial arrangements to the law of Moses, but all musical arrangements to David, compare 1 Chronicles xxv.

¹⁹And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD,
that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.

=19.= _he set the porters_] Compare 1 Chronicles xxvi. 1 ff., 13 ff. Jehoiada is regarded as re-establishing a Davidic arrangement which had fallen into disuse.

²⁰And 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 the LORD: and they came
through the upper gate unto the king’s house, and set the king
upon the throne of the kingdom. ²¹So all the people of the land
rejoiced, and the city was quiet: and they slew Athaliah with
the sword.

=20.= _the nobles_] Hebrew _addīrīm_; compare Nehemiah iii. 5 (with Ryle’s note). In 2 Kings, “the Carites”; compare verse 1 (note).

_the upper gate_] compare xxvii. 3, “the upper gate of the house of the LORD.” In 2 Kings, “by the way of the gate of the guard” (doubtless one of the gates of the _palace_). The Chronicler, writing at a time when the palace had ceased to exist, naturally fixes localities by reference to the Temple. The gate in question was probably one in the north wall of the Temple court, referred to in Jeremiah xx. 2 as “the upper gate of Benjamin.”