King James Version
2 Kings 16
20 verses with commentary
Ahaz's Reign in Judah
In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29-31. take my staff ... and lay ... upon the face of the child--**The staff was probably an official rod of a certain form and size. Necromancers used to send their staff with orders to the messengers to let it come in contact with nothing by the way that might dissipate or destroy the virtue imparted to it. Some have thought that Elisha himself entertained similar ideas, and was under an impre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign con...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XVI.
THE REIGN OF AHAZ.**
(Comp. 2 Chronicles 28)
(2) **Twenty years old.**—The number should probably be *twenty -and- five*, according to the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic of 2Chronicles 28:1. Otherwise, Ahaz was begotten when his father was ten (or, eleven) years old—a thing perhaps not impossible in the East, where both sexes reach maturity earlier than among Western races.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29-31. take my staff ... and lay ... upon the face of the child--**The staff was probably an official rod of a certain form and size. Necromancers used to send their staff with orders to the messengers to let it come in contact with nothing by the way that might dissipate or destroy the virtue imparted to it. Some have thought that Elisha himself entertained similar ideas, and was under an impre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **But he walked in the way.**—See Notes on 2Chronicles 28:2.
**Made his son to pass through the fire.**—The chronicler rightly explains this as a *sacrifice* by fire. That such an appalling rite is really intended may be seen by reference to 2Kings 17:31; Jeremiah 19:5; Ezekiel 16:20; Ezekiel 23:37; Jeremiah 32:35. The expression, “To make-to *pass through the fire to Moloch*” (Leviticus 18:21...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **In** **the high places.**—These are evidently distinguished from “the hills,” two different prepositions being used in the Hebrew as in the English. A *bāmāh,* or “high-place,” was a local sanctuary, and it appears that a sacred pillar or altar might be called a *bāmāh.* Mesha king of Moab speaks of his pillar as “this *bāmath*” (See Note on 2Kings 1:1.)
**Under** **every green tree.**—Comp....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Then Rezin king of Syria** **. . .** **to war.**—This verse agrees almost word for word with Isaiah 7:1. The *time* is soon after the accession of Ahaz. “Jotham, the last of a series of strong and generally successful princes, had died at a critical moment, when Pekah and Rezin were maturing their plans against his kingdom. The opposing parties in northern Israel suspended their feuds to mak...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. lay upon the child, &c.--**(see 1Ki 17:21; Ac 20:10). Although this contact with a dead body would communicate ceremonial uncleanness, yet, in performing the great moral duties of piety and benevolence, positive laws were sometimes dispensed with, particularly by the prophets.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria , and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. from Elath: Heb. from Eloth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This pass...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **At that time.**—Bähr regards this verse as a parenthesis, so that 2Kings 16:7 is the strict continuation of 2Kings 16:5, and “At that time” simply assigns this war as the epoch when Judah lost its only harbour and chief emporium—a grave blow to the national prosperity. It is perhaps impossible to weave the various data of Isaiah, Kings, and Chronicles into a single narrative which shall be f...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes--**These were the first acts of restored respiration, and they are described as successive steps. Miracles were for the most part performed instantaneously; but sometimes, also, they were advanced progressively towards completion (1Ki 18:44, 45; Mr 8:24, 25).
2Ki 4:38-41. Purifies Deadly Pottage.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →Ahaz Seeks Help from Assyria
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers tha...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **So Ahaz sent messengers.**—See Notes on 2Chronicles 28:16; 2Chronicles 28:20.
**Which rise up against me.**—Or, *which are assailing me.* “The vain confidence of the rulers of Judah, described by Isaiah in his first prophetic book, was rudely shaken by the progress of the war with Pekah and Rezin. Unreasoning confidence had given way to equally unreasoning panic. They saw only one way of esc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over his...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Ahaz took the silver and gold.**—“He was well aware that the only conditions on which protection would be vouchsafed were acceptance of the Assyrian suzerainty with the payment of a huge tribute, and an embassy was despatched laden with all the treasures of the palace and the Temple. The ambassadors had no difficulty in attaining their object, which perfectly fell in with the schemes of the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. Damascus: Heb. Dammesek
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Went up against Damascus, and took it.**—We learn from the inscriptions that Damascus stood a two years’ siege. (The Eponym-list makes Tiglath Pileser march against Damascus for two successive years, namely 733 and 732 B.C. )
**Carried the people of it captive to Kir.**—(Comp. Amos 1:5; Amos 9:7.) The name Kir is not found in the fragmentary remains of the annals of Tiglath Pileser. Schrader...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**38. there was a dearth in the land--**(see on 2Ki 8:1).
**the sons of the prophets were sitting before him--**When receiving instruction, the scholars sat under their masters. This refers to their being domiciled under the same roof (compare 2Ki 6:1).
**Set on the great pot--**As it is most likely that the Jewish would resemble the Egyptian "great pot," it is seen by the monumental paintings...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →The New Altar
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. Damascus: Heb. Dammesek
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship rem...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Ahaz went to Damascus, to meet Tiglath-pileser.**—The great king appears to have held his court there after the capture of the city, and to have summoned the vassal princes of Palestine thither to do him homage in person before his departure. (See the Note on 2Kings 16:8.)
**And saw an altar.**—Rather, *and he saw the altar,* namely, that of the principal Temple. Upon the account which foll...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39. went out into the field to gather herbs--**Wild herbs are very extensively used by the people in the East, even by those who possess their own vegetable gardens. The fields are daily searched for mallow, asparagus, and other wild plants.
**wild vine--**literally, "the vine of the field," supposed to be the colocynth, a cucumber, which, in its leaves, tendrils, and fruit, bears a strong res...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. T...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decli...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **The king approached to the altar, and offered thereon.**—So the Targum renders. But all the other versions: “The king approached to the altar, *and went up* thereon.” (Comp. 1Kings 12:32-33.) It thus appears that Ahaz, like Uzziah, personally exercised the priestly function of sacrifice.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. his peace offerings: Heb. the peace offerings which were his
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And he burnt his burnt offering** **. . .**—The verse describes the thank-offering of Ahaz for his late deliverance from deadly peril. From the present narrative it does not appear but that he offered it to Jehovah. The account in 2Chronicles 28:23 must be understood to refer to other sacrifices instituted by Ahaz, who, like most of his contemporaries, thought the traditional worship of Jeh...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His so...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **And he brought also the brasen altar . . .**—Literally, *And as for the brasen altar, he brought it near* (to the new one), *away from the front of the house, to wit, from between the* (new) *altar, and the house of Jehovah; and put it at the side of the* (new) *altar northward.* The brasen altar used to stand “before the Lord,” *i.e.,* in the middle of the court of the priests, and in fron...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**43. They shall eat, and shall leave thereof--**This was not a miracle of Elisha, but only a prediction of one by the word of the Lord. Thus it differed widely from those of Christ (Mt 15:37; Mr 8:8; Lu 9:17; Joh 6:12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
The reigns of Baasha and Elah in Israel.(1-14)
Reigns of Zimri and Omri in Israel.(15-28)
Ahab's wickedness, Hiel rebuilds Jericho.(29-34)
**Verses 1-14**
This chapter relates wholly to the kingdom of Israel, and the revolutions of that kingdom. God calls Israel his people still, though wretchedly corrupted. Jehu foretells the same destruction to co...
Read full commentary →And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king's burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The great altar**—i.e., as we say, “the *high* altar,” the new Syrian one. So the high priest is sometimes called “the great priest” (*kôhèn hāggādôl*)*,* Ahaz orders that the daily national sacrifices, the royal offerings, and those of private individuals, shall all be offered at the new altar.
**The morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering.**—Not that there was no meat offeri...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17, 18) **And king Ahaz cut off.**—The key to the right understanding of these verses is given in the last words of 2Kings 16:18. Ahaz spoiled the Temple of its ornamental work, not out of wanton malice, but from dire necessity. He had to provide a present *for the king of Assyria.* Thus these verses are really a continuation of the first statement of 2Kings 16:10. They inform us how Ahaz managed...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 5
2Ki 5:1-7. Naaman's Leprosy.
**1. Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master--**highly esteemed for his military character and success.
**and honourable--**rather, "very rich."
**but he was a leper--**This leprosy, which, in Israel, would have excluded him from society, did not affect his free intercourse in the court of Syria.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical ev...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **The covert for the sabbath.**—A very obscure expression. The best interpretation is “the covered hall (or stand) set apart for the use of the king and his attendants when he visited the Temple on holy days” (reading, with the Hebrew margin, *mûsak,* which is attested by the Vulg., *musach,* and the Syriac “house of the sabbath”). The thing is not mentioned anywhere else.
**In the house**—*i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-5. a little maid--**who had been captured in one of the many predatory incursions which were then made by the Syrians on the northern border of Israel (see 1Sa 30:8; 2Ki 13:21; 24:2). By this young Hebrew slave of his wife, Naaman's attention was directed to the prophet of Israel, as the person who would remove his leprosy. Naaman, on communicating the matter to his royal master, was immediate...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Which he did.**—Some MSS., and the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic have the usual formula, “and all which he did.”
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-5. a little maid--**who had been captured in one of the many predatory incursions which were then made by the Syrians on the northern border of Israel (see 1Sa 30:8; 2Ki 13:21; 24:2). By this young Hebrew slave of his wife, Naaman's attention was directed to the prophet of Israel, as the person who would remove his leprosy. Naaman, on communicating the matter to his royal master, was immediate...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 16: Desperate alliances and religious compromise. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-5. a little maid--**who had been captured in one of the many predatory incursions which were then made by the Syrians on the northern border of Israel (see 1Sa 30:8; 2Ki 13:21; 24:2). By this young Hebrew slave of his wife, Naaman's attention was directed to the prophet of Israel, as the person who would remove his leprosy. Naaman, on communicating the matter to his royal master, was immediate...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars...
Read full commentary →