1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for sixteen years; and his mother's name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.
Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son,
In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, the son of Uzziah, became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he was ruling for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done. But he did not take away the high places, and the people still went on making offerings and burning them in the high places. He was the builder of the higher doorway of the house of the Lord. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah? In those days the Lord first sent against Judah, Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah. And Jotham went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.
The word of the Lord which came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel.
The word of the Lord which came to Micah the Morashtite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah: his vision about Samaria and Jerusalem.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 27
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 27 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 27
This chapter treats of the reign of Jotham, which was a good one, 2 Chronicles 27:1, of his buildings and wars, 2 Chronicles 27:3, and of his death and burial, 2 Chronicles 27:7.
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 27
This chapter treats of the reign of Jotham, which was a good one, 2 Chronicles 27:1, of his buildings and wars, 2 Chronicles 27:3, and of his death and burial, 2 Chronicles 27:7.
Jotham was twenty five years old,.... See Gill on 2 Kings 15:33.
And he did that which was right,.... See Gill on 2 Kings 15:34,
howbeit, he entered not into the temple of the Lord; to burn incense, as his father did; he did according to his good ways, but not his evil ones:
and the people did yet corruptly; in sacrificing and burning incense in the high places, 2 Kings 15:35 which some think Joash himself did, and is meant in the preceding clause; but the sense given is best.
He built the high gate in the house of the Lord,.... See the note on 2 Kings 15:35.
and on the wall of Ophel he built much; which Kimchi interprets an high place; it was the eastern part of Mount Zion. JosephusF6De Bell. Jud. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2. calls it Ophlas, and says it joined to the eastern porch of the temple; and some have thought the porch of the temple is meant; the Targum renders it a palace; it is a tradition of the Jews that it was the holy of holiesF7Vid. Hieron Trad. Heb. in lib. Paralipom. fol. 86. A. F. G. .
Moreover, he built cities in the mountains of Judah,.... In the mountainous part of it, the hill country of Judea, Luke 1:65,
and in the forests he built castles and towers; for the safety of travellers, and of shepherds and their flocks, see 2 Chronicles 26:10.
He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them,.... These were brought into subjection by David; but in later times endeavoured to cast off the yoke, and even invaded the land of Judah, as in the days of Jehoshaphat, and now in the reign of Jotham, but succeeded not, see Amos 1:13.
and the children of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver; he obliged them to pay this tribute annually, and which they began to pay in the present year, and amounted to 35,330 pounds:
and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley; the measure here is the "cor", the same with the "homer"; which, according to GodwinF8Moses & Aaron, l. 6. c. 9. , held forty five gallons, or five bushels and five gallons, so that there must be upwards of 50,000 bushels of each of these paid to Jotham; according to Bishop CumberlandF9Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 3. p. 86. , a "cor", or "homer", held seventy five wine gallons, and upwards of five pints:
so much did the children of Ammon pay both the second year and the third; the two following years as well as the present one; why this tribute was not continued to be paid cannot be said with certainty, whether the Ammonites refused and revolted, and could not be obliged, or whether the agreement was only for three years.
So Jotham became mighty,.... Having built towers and castles, and fortified cities, and conquered his enemies:
because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God; ordered, directed, and guided them according to the word and will of God, and walked as in the sight of God, having the fear of him continually before him.
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars,.... Not only with the Ammonites, but with the Syrians, and ten tribes, see 2 Kings 15:37.
and his ways, lo, they are written in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah; not in the canonical books of Kings, but in the Chronicles of the kings of both nations, see 2 Kings 15:36.
He was twenty five years old,.... The same is repeated here as in 2 Chronicles 27:1.
1-4.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... These verses are much the same with 2 Kings 16:2, only in 2 Chronicles 28:2 it is said:
he made also molten images for Baalim; the several Baals or idols of the nations round about, as well as served Jeroboam's calves; see Judges 2:11, and he is said in 2 Chronicles 28:3,
to burn incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom; to Molech, the god of the Ammonites, who was worshipped there. See Gill on 2 Kings 16:2, 2 Kings 16:3, 2 Kings 16:4.