And like unto him was OL. XXXIV. 4. there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. 26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, ▾ because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. W Assyria, and slays Josiah. against him; and he slew him a b at Megiddo, when he had с d 30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. 31 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years 27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah old when he began to reign; and he reigned also out of my sight, as I have removed three months in Jerusalem. name was f Hamutal, the miah of Libnah. Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.. y And his mother's daughter of Jere 32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.. 33 And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the d2 Chron. xxxvi. 1. Called Shallum, 1 Chron. iii. 15'; Jer xxii. 11.- Chap. xxiv. 18. Chap. xxv. 6; Jer. lii. 27. Or, because he reigned. Heb. set a mulct upon the land; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 3.- 2 Chron. xxxvi. 4. And the images] The teraphim. See the note on ed. He says that Nechoh, in the sixth year of his Gen. xxxi. 19. Verse 25. Like unto him was there no king] Perhaps not one from the time of David; and, morally considered, including David himself, none ever sat on the Jewish throne, so truly exemplary in his own conduct, and so thoroughly zealous in the work of God. David was a greater but not a better man than Josiah. Verse 26. The Lord turned not]. It was of no use to try this fickle and radically depraved people any longer. They were respited merely during the life of Josiah. reign, went to attack the king of Assyria at Magdolum, gained a complete victory, and took Cadytis. Usher and others believe that Magdolum and Megiddo were the same place. The exact place of the battle seems to have been Hadadrimmon, in the valley of Megiddo, for there Zechariah tells us, chap. xii. 11, was the great mourning for Josiah. Compare this with 2 Chron. xxxv. 24, 25. Verse 31. Jehoghaz was twenty and three years old] This was not the eldest son of Josiah, which is evident from this, that he was twenty-three years old when he Verse 29. In his days Pharaoh-nechoh] See the began to reign; that he reigned but three months; that, note on the death of Josiah, chap. xxii. 20. being dethroned, his brother Eliakim was put in his place, who was then twenty-five years of age. Eliakim, therefore, was the eldest brother; but Jehoahaz was probably raised to the throne by the people, as being of a more active and martial spirit. Nechoh is supposed to have been the son of Psammitichus, king of Egypt; and the Assyrian king, whom he was now going to attack, was the famous Nabopolassar. What the cause of this quarrel was, is not known. Some say it was on account of Carchemish, a city on the Euphrates, belonging to the Egyptians, which Nabopolassar had seized. See Isa. x. 9. Verse 30. Dead from Megiddo] The word meth should here be considered as a participle, dying, for it is certain he was not dead: he was mortally wounded at Megiddo, was carried in a dying state to Jerusalem, and there he died and was buried. See 2 Chron. Xxxv. 24. Herodotus, lib. i., c. 17, 18, 25, and lib. ii. 159, appears to refer to the same war which is here mention Verse 33. Nechoh put him in bands] But what was the cause of his putting him in bands? It is conjectured, and not without reason, that Jehoahaz, otherwise called. Shallum, raised an army, met Neehoh in his return from Carchemish, fought, was beaten, taken prisoner, put in chains, and taken into Egypt, where he died; ver. 34, and Jer. xxii. 11, 12. Diblath, the place of this battle, was probably a town in Syria, in the land or district of Hamath. Riblah or Verse 34. Turned his name to Jehoiakim] These names are precisely the same in signification: ELIAKIM Nebuchadnezzar invades A. M. 3394. B. C. 610. Ol. XLII. 3. An. Tarquinii Prisci, Reg. Rom, 7. B. C. 610-599. son of Josiah king in the room cording to his taxation, to give it A. M. 3394-3405. of Josiah his father, and turned unto Pharaoh-nechoh." his name to m Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: " and he came to Egypt, and died there. n 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one ac See chap. xxiv. 17; Dan. i. 7.— Jakim. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah, 37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. Matthew i. 11, called " Jer. xxii. 11, 12; Ezek. xix. 3, 4. Ver. 33.—P2 Chron. xxxvi. 5. Nechoh had placed him there as viceroy, simply to raise and collect his taxes. Every one according to his taxation] That is, each was assessed in proportion to his property that was the principle avowed: but there is reason to fear that this bad king was not governed by it. Verse 37. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord] He was a most unprincipled and oppressive tyrant, Jeremiah gives us his character at large, chap. xxii. 13-19, to which the reader will do well to refer. Jeremiah was at that time in the land, and was an eyewitness of the abominations of this cruel. Verse 35. Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold] king. CHAPTER XXIV. Nebuchadnezzar brings Jehoiakim under subjection; who, after three years, rebels, 1. Bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, invade the land, 2-4. Jehoiakim dies, and Jehoiachin his son reigns in his stead, 5, 6. The Babylonians overcome the Egyptians, 7. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiachin and his family, and all his treasures, and those of the temple, and all the chief people and artificers, and carries them to Babylon, 8-16; and makes Mattaniah, brother of Jehoiakim, king, who reigns wickedly, and rebels against the king of Babylon, 17-20, A. M. 3394-3405. B. C. 610-599. IN his days Nebuchadnezzar he spake by his servants the A. M. 3394-3405. king of Babylon came up, and prophets. Jehoiakim became his servant three years then he turned and rebelled against him, 3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Mañasseh, according to all that he did; e 4 f And also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon, 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, Chap. xx. 17;. xxi. 12, 13, 14; xxiii. 27.- d Heb. by the hand of. * Chap. xxi. 2, 11; xxiii. 26.- Chap. xxi. 16. lon. At the end of three years he revolted; and then a mixed army, of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, was sent against him, who ravaged the country, and took three thousand and twenty-three prisoners, whom they brought to Babylon, Jer. lii. 28.. Verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar] This man, so famous in the writings of the prophets, was son of Nabopolassar, He was sent by his father against the rulers of several provinces that had revolted; and he took Carchemish, and all that belonged to the Egyptians, from the Euphrates to the Nile, Jehoiakim, who was tri- Verse 2. According to the word of the Lord] See butary to Nechoh king of Egypt, he attacked and re- what Huldah predicted, chap. xxii, 16, and see chap. duced; and obliged him to become tributary to Baby-xiv, xy. and xvi, of Jeremiah. 14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's another, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Je b 10 m At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem to Babylon. rusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. 16 And C all the men of might, even seven thousand,, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought cap 12 And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went tive to Babylon. * See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6, 8; Jer. xxii. 18, 19; xxxvi. 30. Sce Jer. xxxvii. 5, 7.- Jer. xlvi. 2. -Called Jeconiah, 1 Chron. iii. 16; Jer. xxiv. 1; and Coniah, Jer. xxii. 24, 28. 12 Chron. xxxvi. 9.. m Dan. i. 1. Heb. came into siege. Jer. xxiv. 1; xxix. 1, 2; Ezekiel xvii. 12.————P Or, eunuchs. A Nebuchadnezzar's eighth year; Jer. xxv, 1. See chap. xxv. 27. See Jer. lii. 28. Ch. xx. 17; Isa. xxxix. 6." See Dan. v. 2, 3. Jer. xx. 5. w Jer. xxiv. 1. See Jer. lii. 28.- -y So 1 Sam. xiii. 19, 22. Chap. xxv. 12; Jer. xl. 7. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10; Esth. ii. 6; Jer. xxii. 24, &c.——b Or, eunuchs.- - See Jer. lii. 28. Verse 6. Jehoiachin his son] As this man reigned learn from Jer. xxii. 24, which the reader may only three months, and was a mere vassal to the Baby-consult; and in the man's punishment, see his lonians, his reign is scarcely to be reckoned; and there- crimes. fore Jeremiah says of Jehoiakim, He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, chap. xxxvi. 30, for at that time it belonged to the king of Babylon, and Jehoiachin was a mere viceroy or governor. Jehoiachin is called Jechonias in Matt. i: 11. Verse 7. The king of Egypt came not again] He was so crushed by the Babylonians that he was obliged to confine himself within the limits of his own states, and could no more attempt any conquests. The text tells us how much he had lost by the Babylonians. See on ver. 1. Verse 12. Jehoiachin―went out] He saw that it was useless to attempt to defend himself any longer; and he therefore surrendered himself, hoping to obtain better terms. Verse 13. He carried out thence all the treasures] It has been remarked that Nebuchadnezzar spoiled the temple three times:-1. He took away the greater part of those treasures when he took Jerusalem under Jehoiakim: and the vessels that he took then he placed in the temple of his god, Dan. i. 2. And these were the vessels which Belshazzar profaned, Dan. v. 2; and which Cyrus restored to Ezra, when he went up to Verse 8. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old] He is called Jeconiah, 1 Chron. iii. 16, and Coniah, Jer. xxii.Jerusalem, Ezra i. 2. It was at this time that he took 24. In 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9, he is said to be only eight years of age, but this must be a mistake; for we find that, having reigned only three months, he was carried captive to Babylon, and there he had wives; and it is very improbable that a child between eight and nine years of age could have wives; and of such a tender age, it can scarcely be said that, as a king, he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. The place in Chronicles must be corrupted: Daniel and his companions. 2. He took the remaining part of those vessels, and broke them or cut them in pieces, when he came the second time against Jerusalem under Jeconiah; as is mentioned here, ver. 13. 3. He pillaged the temple, took away all the brass, the brazen pillars, brazen vessels, and vessels of gold and silver, which he found there when he besieged Jerusalem under Zedekiah, chap. xxv. 13-17. Verse 14. He carried away all Jerusalem] That That he was a grievous offender against God, we is, all the chief men, the nobles, and artificers. Among 2 Chron. xxxvi. d Jer. xxxvii. 1.1 Chron. iii. 15; 2 Chron. xxxvii. 10. Jer. xxxvii. 1; lii. 1. h Chap. xxiii. 31. So chap. xxiii. 34; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 4. - 2 Chron. xxxvi. 11; | 12.- 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13; Ezek. xvii. 15. these there were of mighty men seven thousand; of judgments of God, which fell on their sinful predecraftsmen and smiths, one thousand. Verse 17. Made Mattaniak his father's brother king in his stead] He was the son of Josiah, and brother to Jehoiakim. Changed his name to Zedekiah.] See the note on chap, xxiii. 34., Verse 19. He did—evil] How astonishing is this! not one of them takes warning by the cessors, Verse 20. Zedekiah rebelled] This was in the eighth year of his reign and he is strongly reproved for having violated the oath he took to the king of Babylon: see 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13. This was the filling up of the measure of iniquity; and now the wrath of God descends upon this devoted king, city, and people, to the uttermost. See the catastrophe in the next chapter. CHAPTER XXV. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem; it is taken, after having been sorely reduced by famine, &c.; and Zedekiah, endeavouring to make his escape, is made prisoner, his sons slain before his eyes; then, his eyes being put out, he is put in chains and carried to Babylon, 1–7. Nebuzar-adan burns the temple, breaks down the walls of Jerusalem, and carries away the people captives, leaving only a few to till the ground, 8-12. He takes away all the brass, and all the vessels of the temple, 13-17. Several of the chief men and nobles, found in the city, he brings to Nebuchadnezzar al Riblah, who puts them all to death, 18-21. Nebuchadnezzar makes Gedaliah governor over the poor people that were left, against whom Ishmael rises, and slays him, and others with him; on which the people in general, fearing the resentment of the Chaldeans, flee to Egypt, 22-26. Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, releases Jehoiachin out of prison, treats him kindly, and makes him his friend, 27-30. A. M. 3414. BC 390 B. C. 590. a AND it came to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, A. M. 3414. against Jerusalem, and pitched An. Tarquinii 2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. a2 Chron. xxxvi. 17; Jer. xxxiv. 2; xxxix. 1; lii. 4, 5; Ezek. xxiv. Į. NOTES ON CHAP. XXV. Verse 1. In the ninth year of his reign] Zedekiah, having revolted against the Chaldeans, Nebuchadnezzar, wearied with his treachery, and the bad faith of the Jews, determined the total subversion of the Jewish state. Having assembled a numerous army, he entered Judea on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah; this, according to the computation of Archbishop Usher, was on Thursday, January 30, A. M. 3414, which was a sabbatical year whereon the men of Jerusalem, hearing that the Chaldean army was approaching, proclaimed liberty to their servants; see Jer. xxxiv. 8, 9, 10, according to the law, Exod. xxi. 2; Deut. xv. 1, 2, 12: for Nebuchadnezzar, marching with his army against Zedekiah, having wasted all the country, and taken their strong holds, except Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem, came against the latter with all his forces. See Jer. xxxiv. 1-7. On the very day, as the same author computes, the siege and utter destruction of Jerusalem were revealed to Ezekiel the prophet, then in Chaldea, under the type of a seething pot; and his wife died in the evening, and he was charged not to mourn for her, because of the extraordinary calamity that had fallen upon the land. See Ezek. xxiv. 1, 2, &c. Jeremiah, having predicted the same calamities, Jer. xxxiv. 1-7, was by the command of Zedekiah shut up prison, xxxii, 1-16. ·Pharaoh Hophra, or Vaphris, hearing how Zedekiah was pressed, and fearing for the safety of his own dominions should the Chaldeans succeed against Jerusalem, determined to succour Zedekiah. Finding this, the Chaldeans raised the siege of Jerusalem, and went to meet the Egyptian army, which they defeated and Zedekiah and his sons are slain, A. M. 3416. Ol. XLVIII. 1. An. Tarquinii b 3 And on the ninth day of the and the king's house, and all fourth month the famine pre- the houses of Jerusalem, and vailed in the city, and there was every great man's house burnt no bread for the people of the land. he with fire. 4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden (now the Chaldees were against the city round about :) and the king went the way toward the plain. 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army were scattered from him. A. M. 3416. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the rem-. nant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away. 8 12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. 14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15 And the fire-pans, and the bowls, and. such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard 9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, took away. Jer. xxxix. 2; lii. 6. Jer. xxxix. 2; lii. 7, &c. Jer. xxxix. 4–7; lii. 7; Ezek. xii. 12.- Le Chap. xxiii. 33; Jer. lii. 9. Hebrew, spake judgment with him.- - Hebrew, made blind. Jer. xxxix. 7; Ezek. xii. 13. See Jer. lii. 12-14. * See chap. xxiv. 12; ver. 27.—Jer. xxxix. 9.- Or, chief marshal. put to flight. Joseph. Antiq., lib. 10, cap. 10. In the interim the Jews, thinking their danger was passed, reclaimed their servants, and put them again under the yoke; Jer. xxxiv. 8, &c. Verses 2-4. And the city was besieged, &c.] Nebuchadnezzar, having routed the Egyptian army, returned to Jerusalem, and besieged it so closely that, being reduced by famine, and a breach made in the wall, the Chaldeans entered it on the ninth day of the fourth month, (Wednesday, July 27,) Zedekiah and many others endeavouring to make their escape by night. Nebuzar-adan made his entry into the city; and having spent two days in making provision, on the tenth day of the same month, (Saturday, Aug. 27,) he set fire to the temple and the king's palace, and the houses of the nobility, and burnt them to the ground; Jer. lii. 13, compared with xxxix. 8. Thus the temple was destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the nineteenth of Nebuchadnezzar, the first of the XLVIIIth Olympiad, in the one hundred and sixtieth current year of the era of Nabonassar, four hundred and twenty-four years three months and eight days from the time in which Solomon laid its foundation stone. Verse 10. Brake down the walls] In the same fifth month, Jer. i. 3, the walls of Jerusalem being razed to the ground, all that were left in the city, and all that had fled over formerly to Nebuchadnezzar, and all the com Verse 5. The army of the Chaldeans pursued] Zedekiah was taken, and brought captive to Riblah in Syria, where Nebuchadnezzar then lay, who ordered his sons to be slain before his face, and then put out his eyes; and having loaded him with chains, sent him to Babylon, (see Jer. xxxix. 4, 7, lii. 7, 11,) thus ful-mon people of the city, with all the king's treasures, filling the prophetic declarations, that his eyes should see the eyes of the king of Babylon, Jer. xxxii. 4, and xxxiv. 3; but Babylon he should not see, though he was to die there; Ezek. xii. 13. Verse 8. In the fifth month] On the seventh day of the fifth month, (answering to Wednesday, Aug. 24,) those of the nobles, and the whole furniture of the temple, did Nebuzar-adan carry off to Babylon. See Jer. xxxix. 8, 9, lii. 14, 23. And thus was Judah carried away out of her own land, four hundred and sixty-eight years after David began to reign over it; from the division of the ten tribes three hundred and eighty-eight |