2 Chronicles 23:3 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

3 And all the congregation H6951 made H3772 a covenant H1285 with the king H4428 in the house H1004 of God. H430 And he said H559 unto them, Behold, the king's H4428 son H1121 shall reign, H4427 as the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 of the sons H1121 of David. H1732

Cross Reference

1 Chronicles 9:9-27 STRONG

And their brethren, H251 according to their generations, H8435 nine H8672 hundred H3967 and fifty H2572 and six. H8337 All these men H582 were chief H7218 of the fathers H1 in the house H1004 of their fathers. H1 And of the priests; H3548 Jedaiah, H3048 and Jehoiarib, H3080 and Jachin, H3199 And Azariah H5838 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 the son H1121 of Meshullam, H4918 the son H1121 of Zadok, H6659 the son H1121 of Meraioth, H4812 the son H1121 of Ahitub, H285 the ruler H5057 of the house H1004 of God; H430 And Adaiah H5718 the son H1121 of Jeroham, H3395 the son H1121 of Pashur, H6583 the son H1121 of Malchijah, H4441 and Maasiai H4640 the son H1121 of Adiel, H5717 the son H1121 of Jahzerah, H3170 the son H1121 of Meshullam, H4918 the son H1121 of Meshillemith, H4921 the son H1121 of Immer; H564 And their brethren, H251 heads H7218 of the house H1004 of their fathers, H1 a thousand H505 and seven H7651 hundred H3967 and threescore; H8346 very able H2428 men H1368 for the work H4399 of the service H5656 of the house H1004 of God. H430 And of the Levites; H3881 Shemaiah H8098 the son H1121 of Hasshub, H2815 the son H1121 of Azrikam, H5840 the son H1121 of Hashabiah, H2811 of the sons H1121 of Merari; H4847 And Bakbakkar, H1230 Heresh, H2792 and Galal, H1559 and Mattaniah H4983 the son H1121 of Micah, H4316 the son H1121 of Zichri, H2147 the son H1121 of Asaph; H623 And Obadiah H5662 the son H1121 of Shemaiah, H8098 the son H1121 of Galal, H1559 the son H1121 of Jeduthun, H3038 and Berechiah H1296 the son H1121 of Asa, H609 the son H1121 of Elkanah, H511 that dwelt H3427 in the villages H2691 of the Netophathites. H5200 And the porters H7778 were, Shallum, H7967 and Akkub, H6126 and Talmon, H2929 and Ahiman, H289 and their brethren: H251 Shallum H7967 was the chief; H7218 Who hitherto waited in the king's H4428 gate H8179 eastward: H4217 they were porters H7778 in the companies H4264 of the children H1121 of Levi. H3878 And Shallum H7967 the son H1121 of Kore, H6981 the son H1121 of Ebiasaph, H43 the son H1121 of Korah, H7141 and his brethren, H251 of the house H1004 of his father, H1 the Korahites, H7145 were over the work H4399 of the service, H5656 keepers H8104 of the gates H5592 of the tabernacle: H168 and their fathers, H1 being over the host H4264 of the LORD, H3068 were keepers H8104 of the entry. H3996 And Phinehas H6372 the son H1121 of Eleazar H499 was the ruler H5057 over them in time past, H6440 and the LORD H3068 was with him. And Zechariah H2148 the son H1121 of Meshelemiah H4920 was porter H7778 of the door H6607 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150 All these which were chosen H1305 to be porters H7778 in the gates H5592 were two hundred H3967 and twelve. H8147 H6240 These were reckoned by their genealogy H3187 in their villages, H2691 whom H1992 David H1732 and Samuel H8050 the seer H7200 did ordain H3245 in their set office. H530 So they and their children H1121 had the oversight of the gates H8179 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 namely, the house H1004 of the tabernacle, H168 by wards. H4931 In four H702 quarters H7307 were the porters, H7778 toward the east, H4217 west, H3220 north, H6828 and south. H5045 And their brethren, H251 which were in their villages, H2691 were to come H935 after seven H7651 days H3117 from time H6256 to time H6256 with them. For these Levites, H3881 the four H702 chief H1368 porters, H7778 were in their set office, H530 and were over the chambers H3957 and treasuries H214 of the house H1004 of God. H430 And they lodged H3885 round about H5439 the house H1004 of God, H430 because the charge H4931 was upon them, and the opening H4668 thereof every morning H1242 pertained to them.

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Commentary on 2 Chronicles 23 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 23

Six years bloody Athaliah had tyrannised; in this chapter we have her deposed and slain, and Joash, the rightful heir, enthroned. We had the story before nearly as it is here related, 2 Ki. 11:4, etc.

  • I. Jehoiada prepared the people for the king, acquainted them with his design, armed them, and appointed them their posts (v. 1-10).
  • II. He produced the king to the people, crowned him, and anointed him (v. 11).
  • III. He slew the usurper (v. 12-15).
  • IV. He reformed the kingdom, re-established religion, and restored the civil government (v. 16-21).

2Ch 23:1-11

We may well imagine the bad posture of affairs in Jerusalem during Athaliah's six years' usurpation, and may wonder that God permitted it and his people bore it so long; but after such a dark and tedious night the returning day in this revolution was the brighter and the more welcome. The continuance of David's seed and throne was what God had sworn by his holiness (Ps. 89:35), and an interruption was no defeasance; the stream of government here runs again in the right channel. The instrument and chief manager of the restoration is Jehoiada, who appears to have been,

  • 1. A man of great prudence, who reserved the young prince for so many years till he was fit to appear in public, and till the nation had grown weary of the usurper, who prepared his work beforehand, and then effected it with admirable secresy and expedition. When God has work to do he will qualify and animate men for it.
  • 2. A man of great interest. The captains joined with him, v. 1. The Levites and the chief of the fathers of Israel came at his call to Jerusalem (v. 2) and were there ready to receive his orders. See what a command wisdom and virtue will give men. The Levites and all Judah did as Jehoiada commanded (v. 8), and, which is strange, all that were entrusted with the secret kept their own counsel till it was executed. Thus the words of the wise are heard in quiet, Eccl. 9:17.
  • 3. A man of great faith. It was not only common equity (much less his wife's relation to the royal family) that put him upon this undertaking, but a regard to the word of God, and the divine entail of the crown (v. 3): The king's son shall reign, must reign, as the Lord hath said. His eye to the promise, and dependence upon that, added a great deal of glory to this undertaking.
  • 4. A man of great religion. This matter was to be done in the temple, which might occasion some breach of rule, and the necessity of the case might be thought to excuse it; but he gave special order that none of the people should come into the house of the Lord, but the priests and Levites only, who were holy, upon pain of death, v. 6, 7. Never let sacred things be profaned, no, not for the support of civil rights.
  • 5. A man of great resolution. When he had undertaken this business he went through with it, brought out the king, crowned him, and gave him the testimony, v. 11. He ventured his head, but it was in a good cause, and therefore he went on boldly. It is here said that his sons joined with him in anointing the young king. One of them, it is likely, was that Zechariah whom Joash afterwards put to death for reproving him (ch. 24:20), which was so much the more ungrateful because he bore a willing part in anointing him.

2Ch 23:12-21

Here we have,

  • I. The people pleased, v. 12, 13. When the king stood at his pillar, whose right it was to stand there, all the people of the land rejoiced to see a rod sprung out of the stem of Jesse, Isa. 11:1. When it seemed a withered root in a dry ground, to see what they despaired of ever seeing-a king of the house of David, what a pleasing surprise was it to them! They ran in transports of joy to see this sight, praised the king, and praised God, for they had with them such as taught to sing praise.
  • II. Athaliah slain. She ran upon the point of the sword of justice; for, imagining her interest much better than it was, she ventured into the house of the Lord at that time, and cried, Treason, treason! But nobody seconded her, or sided with her. The pride of her heart deceived her. She thought all her own, whereas none were cordially so. Jehoiada, as protector in the king's minority, ordered her to be slain (v. 14), which was done immediately (v. 15), only care was taken that she should not be slain in the house of the Lord, that sacred place must not be so far disgraced, nor that wicked woman so far honoured.
  • III. The original contract agreed to, v. 16. In the Kings it is said that Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the people, and the king, 2 Ki. 11:17. Here it is said to be between himself, the people, and the king; for he, as God's priest, was his representative in this transaction, or a sort of mediator, as Moses was. The indenture was tripartite, but the true intent and meaning of the whole was that they should be the Lord's people. God covenanted by Jehoiada to take them for his people; the king and people covenanted with him to be his; and then the king covenanted with the people to govern them as the people of God, and the people with the king to be subject to him as the Lord's people, in his fear and for his sake. Let us look upon ourselves and one another as the Lord's people, and this will have a powerful influence upon us in the discharge of all our duty both to God and man.
  • IV. Baal destroyed, v. 17. They would not have done half their work if they had only destroyed the usurper of the king's right, and not the usurper of God's right-if they had asserted the honour of the throne, and not that of the altar. The greatest grievance of Athaliah's reign was the bringing in of the worship of Baal, and supporting of that; therefore that must be abolished in the first place. Down with Baal's house, his altars, his images; down with them all, and let the blood of his priests be mingled with his sacrifices; for God had commanded that seducers to idolatry should be put to death, Deu. 13:5, 6.
  • V. The temple service revived, v. 18, 19. This had been neglected in the last reigns, the priest and people wanting either power or zeal to keep it up when they had princes that were disaffected to it. But Jehoiada restored the offices of the house of the Lord, which in the late times had been disturbed and invaded, to the proper course and proper hands.
    • 1. He appointed the priests to their courses, for the due offering of sacrifices, according to the law of Moses.
    • 2. The singers to theirs, according to the appointment of David. The sacrifices (it should seem) were offered with rejoicing and singing, and with good reason. We joy in God when we receive the atonement, Rom. 5:11.
    • 3. The porters were put in their respective posts as David ordered (v. 19), and their office was to take care that none who were upon any account ceremonially unclean should be admitted into the courts of the temple.
  • VI. The civil government re-established, v. 20. They brought the king in state to his own palace, and set him upon the throne of the kingdom, to give law, and give judgment, either in his own person or by Jehoiada his tutor. Thus was this happy revolution perfected. The generality of the people rejoiced in it, and the rest were quiet and made no opposition, v. 21. When the Son of David is enthroned in the soul all is quiet and springs of joy are opened.