2 And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
2 And he had brethren H251 the sons H1121 of Jehoshaphat, H3092 Azariah, H5838 and Jehiel, H3171 and Zechariah, H2148 and Azariah, H5838 and Michael, H4317 and Shephatiah: H8203 all these were the sons H1121 of Jehoshaphat H3092 king H4428 of Israel. H3478
3 And their father H1 gave H5414 them great H7227 gifts H4979 of silver, H3701 and of gold, H2091 and of precious things, H4030 with fenced H4694 cities H5892 in Judah: H3063 but the kingdom H4467 gave H5414 he to Jehoram; H3088 because he was the firstborn. H1060
4 Now when Jehoram H3088 was risen up H6965 to the kingdom H4467 of his father, H1 he strengthened H2388 himself, and slew H2026 all his brethren H251 with the sword, H2719 and divers also of the princes H8269 of Israel. H3478
2 And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the first-born.
4 Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
2 And he hath brethren, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these `are' sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel,
3 and their father giveth to them many gifts of silver and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah, and the kingdom he hath given to Jehoram, for He `is' the first-born.
4 And Jehoram riseth up over the kingdom of his father, and strengtheneth himself, and slayeth all his brethren with the sword, and also -- of the heads of Israel.
2 And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
4 And Jehoram established himself over the kingdom of his father, and strengthened himself; and he slew all his brethren with the sword, and [certain] also of the princes of Israel.
2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 Their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.
4 Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and various also of the princes of Israel.
2 And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.
3 And their father gave them much silver and gold and things of great value, as well as walled towns in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the oldest.
4 Now when Jehoram had taken his place over his father's kingdom, and had made his position safe, he put all his brothers to death with the sword, as well as some of the princes of Israel.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
2Ch 21:1-4. Jehoram Succeeds Jehoshaphat.
1-4. Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers … Jehoram … reigned—The late king left seven sons; two of them are in our version named Azariah; but in the Hebrew they appear considerably different, the one being spelt "Azariah," and the other "Azariahu." Though Jehoshaphat had made his family arrangements with prudent precaution, and while he divided the functions of royalty in his lifetime (compare 2Ki 8:16), as well as fixed the succession to the throne in his oldest son, he appointed each of the others to the government of a fenced city, thus providing them with an honorable independence. But this good intentions were frustrated; for no sooner did Jehoram find himself in the sole possession of sovereign power than, from jealousy, or on account of their connections, he murdered all his brothers, together with some leading influential persons who, he suspected, were attached to their interest, or would avenge their deaths. Similar tragedies have been sadly frequent in Eastern courts, where the heir of the crown looks upon his brothers as his most formidable enemies, and is therefore tempted to secure his power by their death.
2Ch 21:5-7. His Wicked Reign.
6, 7. he walked … as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife—The precepts and examples of his excellent father were soon obliterated by his matrimonial alliance with a daughter of the royal house of Israel. Through the influence of Athaliah he abolished the worship of the Lord, and encouraged an introduction of all the corruptions prevalent in the sister kingdom. The divine vengeance was denounced against him, and would have utterly destroyed him and his house, had it not been for a tender regard to the promise made to David (2Sa 7:29; 2Ki 8:19).
2Ch 21:8-17. Edom and Libnah Revolt.
8-10. the Edomites revolted—That nation had been made dependent by David, and down to the time of Jehoshaphat was governed by a tributary ruler (1Ki 22:47; 2Ki 3:9). But that king having been slain in an insurrection at home, his successor thought to ingratiate himself with his new subjects by raising the flag of independence [Josephus]. The attempt was defeated in the first instance by Jehoram, who possessed all the military establishments of his father; but being renewed unexpectedly, the Edomites succeeded in completely emancipating their country from the yoke of Judah (Ge 27:40). Libnah, which lay on the southern frontier and towards Edom, followed the example of that country.
12-15. there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet—That prophet's translation having taken place in the reign of Jehoshaphat [2Ki 2:11, 12], we must conclude that the name of Elijah has, by the error of a transcriber, been put for that of Elisha.
13-19. hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem … like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab—that is, introduced the superstitions and vices of Phœnician idolatry (see on De 13:6-14). On this account, as well as for his unnatural cruelties, divine vengeance was denounced against him, which was soon after executed exactly as the prophet had foretold. A series of overwhelming calamities befell this wicked king; for in addition to the revolts already mentioned, two neighboring tribes (see 2Ch 17:11) made hostile incursions on the southern and western portions of his kingdom. His country was ravaged, his capital taken, his palace plundered, his wives carried off, and all his children slain except the youngest. He himself was seized with an incurable dysentery, which, after subjecting him to the most painful suffering for the unusual period of two years, carried him off, a monument of the divine judgment. To complete his degradation, his death was unlamented, his burial unhonored by his subjects. This custom, similar to what obtained in Egypt, seems to have crept in among the Hebrews, of giving funeral honors to their kings, or withholding them, according to the good or bad characters of their reign.