upon his bed. In 2Ki 12:21, the place where the king, lying sick upon his bed, was slain is stated. He met with his end thus, “because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest” which had been shed. The plural בּני is perhaps only an orthographical error for בּן, occasioned by the preceding דּמי (Berth.); but more probably it is, like בּנין, 2Ch 28:3 and 2Ch 33:6, a rhetorical plural, which says nothing as to the number, but only brings out that Joash had brought blood-guiltiness upon himself in respect of the children of his benefactor Jehoiada; see on 2Ch 28:3. Upon the murdered king, moreover, the honour of being buried in the graves of the kings was not bestowed; cf. 2Ch 21:20. On the names of the two conspirators, 2Ch 24:26, see on 2Ki 12:21. In 2Ch 24:27 it is doubtful how ורב is to be read. The Keri demands ירב, which Berth. understands thus: And as regards his sons, may the utterance concerning him increase; which might signify, “May the wish of the dying Zechariah, 2Ch 24:22, be fulfilled on them in a still greater degree than on their father.” But that is hardly the meaning of the Keri. The older theologians took ירב relatively: et quam creverit s. multiplicatum fuerit. Without doubt, the Keth. ורב or ורב is the correct reading. המּשּׂא, too, is variously interpreted. Vulg., Luther, and others take it to be synonymous with משׂאת, 2Ch 24:6, 2Ch 24:9, and understand it of the money derived from Moses' tax; but to that עליו is by no means suitable. Others (as Then.) think of the tribute laid upon him, 2Ki 12:19, but very arbitrarily. On the other hand, Clericus and others rightly understand it of prophetic threatenings against him, corresponding to the statement in 2Ch 24:19, that God sent prophets against him. As to the Midrash of the book of Kings, see the Introduction.
Chap. 25
Verses 1-4
The statement as to the duration and spirit of the reign agrees with 2Ki 14:1-6, except that in 2Ch 25:2 the estimation of the spirit of the reign according to the standard of David, “only not as his ancestor David, but altogether as his father Joash did,” which we find in the book of Kings, is replaced by “only not with a perfect heart;” and the standing formula, “only the high places were not removed,” etc., is omitted.
The succeeding section, 2Ch 25:5-16, enlarges upon Amaziah's
