13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, H5449 and were overseers H5329 of all that wrought H6213 the work H4399 in any manner of service: H5656 and of the Levites H3881 there were scribes, H5608 and officers, H7860 and porters. H7778
Of which, H428 twenty H6242 and four H702 thousand H505 were to set forward H5329 the work H4399 of the house H1004 of the LORD; H3068 and six H8337 thousand H505 were officers H7860 and judges: H8199 Moreover four H702 thousand H505 were porters; H7778 and four H702 thousand H505 praised H1984 the LORD H3068 with the instruments H3627 which I made, H6213 said David, to praise H1984 therewith.
Concerning the divisions H4256 of the porters: H7778 Of the Korhites H7145 was Meshelemiah H4920 the son H1121 of Kore, H6981 of the sons H1121 of Asaph. H623 And the sons H1121 of Meshelemiah H4920 were, Zechariah H2148 the firstborn, H1060 Jediael H3043 the second, H8145 Zebadiah H2069 the third, H7992 Jathniel H3496 the fourth, H7243 Elam H5867 the fifth, H2549 Jehohanan H3076 the sixth, H8345 Elioenai H454 the seventh. H7637 Moreover the sons H1121 of Obededom H5654 were, Shemaiah H8098 the firstborn, H1060 Jehozabad H3075 the second, H8145 Joah H3098 the third, H7992 and Sacar H7940 the fourth, H7243 and Nethaneel H5417 the fifth, H2549 Ammiel H5988 the sixth, H8345 Issachar H3485 the seventh, H7637 Peulthai H6469 the eighth: H8066 for God H430 blessed H1288 him. Also unto Shemaiah H8098 his son H1121 were sons H1121 born, H3205 that ruled H4474 throughout the house H1004 of their father: H1 for they were mighty men H1368 of valour. H2428 The sons H1121 of Shemaiah; H8098 Othni, H6273 and Rephael, H7501 and Obed, H5744 Elzabad, H443 whose brethren H251 were strong H2428 men, H1121 Elihu, H453 and Semachiah. H5565 All these of the sons H1121 of Obededom: H5654 they and their sons H1121 and their brethren, H251 able H2428 men H376 for strength H3581 for the service, H5656 were threescore H8346 and two H8147 of Obededom. H5654 And Meshelemiah H4920 had sons H1121 and brethren, H251 strong H2428 men, H1121 eighteen. H8083 H6240 Also Hosah, H2621 of the children H1121 of Merari, H4847 had sons; H1121 Simri H8113 the chief, H7218 (for though he was not the firstborn, H1060 yet his father H1 made H7760 him the chief;) H7218 Hilkiah H2518 the second, H8145 Tebaliah H2882 the third, H7992 Zechariah H2148 the fourth: H7243 all the sons H1121 and brethren H251 of Hosah H2621 were thirteen. H7969 H6240 Among these were the divisions H4256 of the porters, H7778 even among the chief H7218 men, H1397 having wards H4931 one against H5980 another, H251 to minister H8334 in the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068 And they cast H5307 lots, H1486 as well the small H6996 as the great, H1419 according to the house H1004 of their fathers, H1 for every gate. H8179 And the lot H1486 eastward H4217 fell H5307 to Shelemiah. H8018 Then for Zechariah H2148 his son, H1121 a wise H7922 counsellor, H3289 they cast H5307 lots; H1486 and his lot H1486 came out H3318 northward. H6828 To Obededom H5654 southward; H5045 and to his sons H1121 the house H1004 of Asuppim. H624 To Shuppim H8206 and Hosah H2621 the lot came forth westward, H4628 with the gate H8179 Shallecheth, H7996 by the causeway H4546 of the going up, H5927 ward H4929 against H5980 ward. H4929 Eastward H4217 were six H8337 Levites, H3881 northward H6828 four H702 a day, H3117 southward H5045 four H702 a day, H3117 and toward Asuppim H624 two H8147 and two. H8147 At Parbar H6503 westward, H4628 four H702 at the causeway, H4546 and two H8147 at Parbar. H6503 These are the divisions H4256 of the porters H7778 among the sons H1121 of Kore, H7145 and among the sons H1121 of Merari. H4847
Of the Izharites, H3325 Chenaniah H3663 and his sons H1121 were for the outward H2435 business H4399 over Israel, H3478 for officers H7860 and judges. H8199 And of the Hebronites, H2276 Hashabiah H2811 and his brethren, H251 men H1121 of valour, H2428 a thousand H505 and seven H7651 hundred, H3967 were officers H6486 among them of Israel H3478 on this side H5676 Jordan H3383 westward H4628 in all the business H4399 of the LORD, H3068 and in the service H5656 of the king. H4428
This Ezra H5830 went up H5927 from Babylon; H894 and he was a ready H4106 scribe H5608 in the law H8451 of Moses, H4872 which the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 had given: H5414 and the king H4428 granted H5414 him all his request, H1246 according to the hand H3027 of the LORD H3068 his God H430 upon him. And there went up H5927 some of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and of the priests, H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and the singers, H7891 and the porters, H7778 and the Nethinims, H5411 unto Jerusalem, H3389 in the seventh H7651 year H8141 of Artaxerxes H783 the king. H4428
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 34
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 34 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 34
This chapter begins with the good reign of Josiah, the reformation he made in the land, purging it from idolatry, 2 Chronicles 34:1, relates the orders he gave to repair the house of the Lord, which was accordingly done, 2 Chronicles 34:8, when the book of the law was found and brought to him, which greatly affected him, 2 Chronicles 34:12, upon which he deputed some persons to inquire of the Lord, who did of Huldah the prophetess, to whom she gave an answer, which they returned to the king, 2 Chronicles 34:20 and the chapter is concluded with an account of reading the book in the ears of all the people, and of the king, and then making a covenant with the Lord to serve him, 2 Chronicles 34:27.
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign,.... Of these two verses; see Gill on 2 Kings 22:1; see Gill on 2 Kings 22:2.
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young,.... Being in the sixteenth year of his age; though Kimchi thinks it was the very year he began to reign, which was the eighth of his age; and Jarchi observes, it may be interpreted, "though he was young, he began to seek after the God of David his father"; to pray unto him, to seek after the knowledge of him, and the true manner of worshipping him, what were his will, commands, and ordinances; the Targum is,"to seek instruction or doctrine of the Lord God of David his father,'to be taught his ways, such as David his great ancestor walked in, and whom he chose to follow:
and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves and the carved images, and the molten images; which were made in the times of Manasseh; and though removed by him when humbled, were restored in the reign of Amon. Now Josiah purged the land from these, by putting them down, and destroying them; and this he did when he was twenty years of age, having now more authority, being out of his minority, and from under guardians, and one year before Jeremiah began to prophesy, Jeremiah 1:1.
And they broke down the altars of Baalim in his presence,.... He not only ordered them to be broke down, but he went in person, and saw it done; these were the altars Manasseh had reared up to the idols; and though upon his humiliation he cast them out, they were rebuilt by Amon his son, see 2 Chronicles 33:3,
and the images that were above them he cut down; sun images, as the word signifies; these Chamanim might be representatives of Cham or Ham, the son of Noah, the same with Jupiter Ammon; and there was another Heathen deity, Amanus, StraboF23Geograph l. 11. p. 352. speaks of, supposed to be the sun; see Gill on Leviticus 26:30, these, as Jarchi says, were in the form of the sun, and were set above the altars, over against the sun, to whom worship was paid; though some think this respects not place, but time, and that these were images in times past; in the preceding age, as the Tigurine version:
and the groves, and the carved images and the molten images, he brake in pieces; ordered them to be broken; the groves were statues, or images in groves, and thereby distinguished from those made of wood, and were carved, and from those that were of molten metal, and were placed elsewhere:
and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them, see 2 Kings 23:6.
And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars,.... On which they sacrificed, in detestation of their idolatry, and to deter from it; and this he did according to the prophecy of him, above three hundred and fifty years before:
and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem; from idolatry, and all the monuments of it.
And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali,.... Which though they belonged to the ten tribes, yet these being carried captive by the king of Assyria, they that were left became subject to the kings of Judah; see Gill on 2 Kings 23:19,
with their mattocks round about; or hammers or mauls, as Kimchi, or pick axes, such sort of instruments as were used in demolishing altars and images: the Targum is,"in the house of their desolation;'
and so other versions, "in their desolate places"F24בתרבתיהם "in desolatis locis suis, vel eorum", Montanus, Tigurine version, Rambachius. , which were become such, the inhabitants being carried captive, and few left behind.
And when he had broken down the altars and the groves,.... The statues or images in them:
and had beaten the graven images into powder; and strewed it on the graves of the idolaters:
and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel; the sun images as in 2 Chronicles 34:4,
he returned to Jerusalem; this tour of his throughout the whole land, and the things done by him, which are represented as done before the repairs of the temple were made, and the book of the law found and read, and the covenant he and his people made with the Lord, are spoken of in 2 Kings 23:4, as if done after.
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house,.... The temple; this was in the twenty sixth year of his age, six years this work had been doing before it was finished:
he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah: who only is mentioned in 2 Kings 22:3 two more are added here, as follow:
and Maaseiah the governor of the city; the city of Jerusalem, a deputy governor under the king, a sort of mayor or provost:
and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder; who was over the book of memorials, as the Targum; the word may be rendered "the remembrances"; and, according to Jarchi, as every king of Judah had a scribe to write down the memorable things that happened in his reign, good or bad, so the scribe had one by him, to put him in mind of every transaction, from whom he wrote it down:
to repair the house of the Lord his God; that is, to give orders for the doing of it, to prepare for it, provide workmen, and appoint overseers of them: it had not been repaired since the times of Joash, which, according to the Jewish chronologyF25Seder Olam Rabba, c. 24. , was a space of two hundred and eighteen years.
And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest,.... To whom they were sent to advise with about the repair of the temple:
they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God; that is, the high priest, and the Levites the doorkeepers, gave it to the king's ministers; which money was either brought to the temple voluntarily, as the free gifts of the people, for the repairs; or rather what was collected by the Levites, sent throughout the land for that purpose, or it may be both:
which the Levites that kept the doors; of the temple; and received the money as the people brought it:
and also had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah, and Benjamin; they went throughout all the land of Israel and Judah, and collected money for the above purpose:
and they returned to Jerusalem; with it, which the high priest took the sum of, see 2 Kings 22:4 of whom the king's ministers now received it.
And they put it,.... The king's ministers did:
in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord; whose business it was to inspect the temple, and see what repairs were necessary, and to overlook the workmen in making those repairs; the names of these overseers are in 2 Chronicles 34:12,
and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and mend the house; that is, the overseers gave the money they received to the labourers, as the hire of their labour, and the reward of their work, and to buy materials with, as follows.
Even to the artificers and builders gave they it,.... To the masons and carpenters:
to buy hewn stone; to put in the room of that which was decayed or fallen down:
and timber for couplings; of boards, beams, and rafters:
and to floor the houses; the chambers, the apartments in the temple, which belonged to the priests and Levites:
which the kings of Judah had destroyed; the idolatrous ones, who had let them go to decay and ruin, taking no care of them.
And the men did that work faithfully,.... The labouring men, as also their inspectors, see 2 Kings 22:7.
and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; the third son of Levi:
and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites; who had their name from Kohath, the second son of Levi:
to set it forward; to urge and animate the men to their work, to keep them constant to it, and see that they did it well:
and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music; these, when they were not employed in singing in the temple, attended this service, to look after the workmen at the repairs of it; and perhaps they might play, as some think, on their instruments of music, while the men were at work, that they might go on in it the more pleasantly and cheerfully.
Also they were over the bearers of burdens,.... Who carried the timber and stones to the workmen, to look after them, that they were not dilatory, and that the workmen might not stand still for want of materials being brought to them to work with:
and were overseers over all that wrought in any manner of service; whether in the way of masonry, or in that of carpenters, or of such that served them, or in whatsoever way:
and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters; some to take the account of the money carried in and paid, who were the
scribes, according to Jarchi; and others who looked after the men, and kept them to work, who were the
officers; and others that let them in and out, called
porters.
And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord,.... The Levites, who brought it out of the country into the temple, and from thence brought it to the high priest, who delivering it to the king's ministers, and they to the overseers, the repairs were begun:
and then Hilkiah the high priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses house of the Lord,.... The Levites, who brought it out of the country into the temple, and from thence brought it to the high priest, who delivering it to the king's ministers, and they to the overseers, the repairs were begun: See Gill on 2 Kings 22:8. From hence, to the end of 2 Chronicles 34:28, is the same as 2 Kings 22:8.
Then the king sent and gathered,.... From hence, to the end of 2 Chronicles 34:32, the same account is given of the reading of the law to the people, and of the covenant the king and they made to serve the Lord, as in 2 Kings 23:1.
And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel,.... All their idols, as related in 2 Kings 23:4, &c.
and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God; by his edicts, and by his example:
and all his days they departed not from following the Lord God of their fathers; not publicly and universally; otherwise there were great declensions and corruptions among them, as the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah show.