Text -- 2 Kings 21:8-26 (NET)

21:8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 21:9 But they did not obey, and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites. 21:10 So the Lord announced through his servants the prophets: 21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 21:12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 21:13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 21:14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 21:15 because they have done evil in my sight and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’” 21:16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 21:17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 21:18 Manasseh passed away and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.

Amon’s Reign over Judah

21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols which his father had worshiped. 21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. 21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place. 21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 21:26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 2Ki 21:9

Partly, because they were not contented with those idols which the Canaanites worshipped, but either invented, or borrowed from other nations many new idols, and partly, because as their light was far more clear, their obligations to God infinitely higher, and their helps against idolatry much stronger than the Canaanites had; so their sins, though the same in kind, were unspeakably worse in respect of these dreadful aggravations.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:13

She shall have the same measure, the same judgments which Samaria had. The line is often put for one's lot or portion, because mens portions or possessions used to be measured by lines.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:13

As men do with a dish that hath been used, first wholly empty it of all that is in it, then throughly cleanse and wipe it; and lastly, turn it upside down, that nothing may remain in it; so will I deal with Jerusalem, throughly empty and purge it from all its wicked inhabitants. Yet the comparison intimates, that this should be in order to the purifying, not the final destruction of Jerusalem. The dish shall not be broken in pieces, or wholly cast away, but only wiped.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:15

_This forejudgment, though it was chiefly inflicted for the sins of Manasseh and his generation, yet had a respect unto all their former sins.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:16

The blood of those prophets and righteous men who either reproved his sinful practices, or refused to comply with his wicked commands.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:16

His idolatry, which is called sin, by way of eminency. The tradition of the Jews is, that he caused Isaiah in particular to be sawn asunder.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:18

Not in the sepulchre of the kings; probably, by his own choice and command, as a lasting testimony of his sincere repentance and abhorrence of himself for his former crime.

Wesley: 2Ki 21:21

_He revived that idolatry which Manasseh in the latter end of his reign had put down. Those who set bad examples, if they repent themselves, cannot be sure that they whom their example has drawn into sin will repent. It is often otherwise.

JFB: 2Ki 21:8

Alluding to the promise (2Sa 7:10).

JFB: 2Ki 21:8

This condition was expressed from the first plantation of Israel in Canaan. But that people not only did not keep it, but through the pernicious influence of Manasseh, were seduced into greater excesses of idolatrous corruption than even the original Canaanites.

JFB: 2Ki 21:10-17

These were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings, were put on record in the national chronicles (2Ch 33:18) and now form part of the sacred canon.

JFB: 2Ki 21:12

A strong metaphorical form of announcing an extraordinary and appalling event (see 1Sa 3:11; Jer 19:3; also Hab 1:5).

JFB: 2Ki 21:13

Captives doomed to destruction were sometimes grouped together and marked off by means of a measuring-line and plummet (2Sa 8:2; Isa 34:11; Amo 7:7); so that the line of Samaria means the line drawn for the destruction of Samaria; the plummet of the house of Ahab, for exterminating his apostate family; and the import of the threatening declaration here is that Judah would be utterly destroyed, as Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab had been.

JFB: 2Ki 21:13

The same doom is denounced more strongly in a figure unmistakably significant.

JFB: 2Ki 21:14

The people of Judah, who of all the chosen people alone remained. The consequence of the Lord's forsaking them would be their fall into the power of their enemies.

JFB: 2Ki 21:16

Not content with the patronage and the practice of idolatrous abomination, he was a cruel persecutor of all who did not conform. The land was deluged with the blood of good men; among whom it is traditionally said Isaiah suffered a horrid death, by being sawn asunder (see on Heb 11:37).

JFB: 2Ki 21:19-24

This prince continued the idolatrous policy of his father; and, after an inglorious reign of two years, he was massacred by some of his own domestics. The people slew the regicide conspirators and placed his son Josiah on the throne.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:8

Neither will I make the feet of Israel - Had they been faithful to God’ s testimonies they never had gone into captivity, and should even at this day have been in possession of the promised land.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:9

Seduced them to do more evil - He did all he could to pervert the national character, and totally destroy the worship of the true God; and he succeeded.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:10

The Lord spake by - the prophets - The prophets were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. These five following verses contain the sum of what these prophets spoke. It is said that Isaiah not only prophesied in those days, but also that he was put to death by Manasseh, being sawn asunder by a wooden saw.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:12

Both his ears shall tingle - תצלנה titstsalnah ; something expressive of the sound in what we call, from the same sensation, the tingling of the ears. This is the consequence of having the ears suddenly pierced with a loud and shrill noise; the ears seem to ring for some time after. The prophets spoke to them vehemently, so that the sound seemed to be continued even when they had left off speaking. This was a faithful and solemn testimony.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:13

The line of Samaria - I will treat Jerusalem as I have treated Samaria. Samaria was taken, pillaged, ruined, and its inhabitants led into captivity; Jerusalem shall have the same measure

Clarke: 2Ki 21:13

And the plummet of the house of Ahab - The house of Ahab was totally destroyed, and not a man of his race left to sit upon the throne of Israel: so shall it be done to the house or royal family of Judah; they shall be all finally destroyed, and not a man of their race shall any more sit on the throne of Judah; nor shall Judah have a throne to sit on. Thus Jerusalem shall have the same weight as well as the same measure as Samaria, because it has copied all the abominations which brought that kingdom to total destruction

Clarke: 2Ki 21:13

I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish - The Vulgate translates this clause as follows: Delebo Jerusalem, sicut deleri solent tabulae ; "I will blot out Jerusalem as tablets are wont to be blotted out."This is a metaphor taken from the ancient method of writing: they traced their letters with a stile on boards thinly spread over with wax; for this purpose one end of the stile was sharp, the other end blunt and smooth, with which they could rub out what they had written, and so smooth the place and spread back the wax, as to render it capable of receiving any other word. Thus the Lord had written down Jerusalem, never intending that its name or its memorial should be blotted out. It was written down The Holy City, The City of the Great King; but now God turns the stile and blots this out; and the Holy Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, is no longer to be found! This double use of the stile is pointed out in this ancient enigma: -

De summo planus; sed non ego planus in imo

Versor utrinque manu, diverso et munere fungor

Altera pars revocat, quicquid pars altera fecit

"I am flat at the top, but sharp at the bottom

I turn either end, and perform a double function

One end destroys what the other end has made.

But the idea of emptying out and wiping a dish expresses the same meaning equally well. Jerusalem shall be emptied of all its wealth, and of all its inhabitants, as truly as a dish turned up is emptied of all its contents; and it shall be turned upside down, never to be filled again. This is true from that time to the present hour. Jerusalem is the dish turned upside down, the tablet blotted out to the present day! How great are God’ s mercies! and how terrible his judgments!

Clarke: 2Ki 21:14

I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance - One part (the ten tribes) was already forsaken, and carried into captivity; the remnant (the tribe of Judah) was now about to be forsaken.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:16

Shed innocent blood very much - Like the deities he worshipped, he was fierce and cruel; an unprincipled, merciless tyrant: he slew innocent people and God’ s prophets.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:17

Now the rest of the acts - In 2Ch 33:11, etc., we read that the Assyrians took Manasseh, bound him with fetters, and took him to Babylon; that there he repented, sought God, and was, we are not told how, restored to his kingdom; that he fortified the city of David, destroyed idolatry, restored the worship of the true God, and died in peace

In 2Ch 33:18, 2Ch 33:19, His prayer unto God is particularly mentioned. What is called his prayer, is found in the Apocrypha, just before the first book of the Maccabees. There are some good sentiments in it; but whether it be that which was made by Manasseh is more than can be proved. Even the Romish Church have not received it among the canonical books

Clarke: 2Ki 21:17

Are they not written - There are several particulars referred to here, and in 2Ch 33:11-19, which are not found in any chronicles or books which now remain, and what the books of the seers were, mentioned in Chronicles, we cannot tell.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:18

In the garden of his own house - It was probably a burying-place made for his own family, for Amon his son is said to be buried in the same place, 2Ki 21:26.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:19

He reigned two years in Jerusalem - The remark of the rabbins is not wholly without foundation, that the sons of those kings who were idolaters, and who succeeded their fathers, seldom reigned more than two years. So Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, 1Ki 15:25; Elah, the son of Baasha, 1Ki 16:8; Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, 1Ki 22:51; and Amon, the son of Manasseh, as mentioned here, 2Ki 21:19.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:23

The servants of Amon conspired - What their reason was for slaying their king we cannot tell. It does not seem to have been a popular act, for the people of the land rose up and slew the regicides. We hear enough of this man when we hear that he was as bad as his father was in the beginning of his reign, but did not copy his father’ s repentance.

Clarke: 2Ki 21:26

The garden of Uzza - The family sepulcher or burying-place

It is said 2Ki 21:3, 2Ki 21:7, that "Manasseh made a grove; and he set a graven image of the grove,"etc. וישם את פסל האשרה אשר עשה vaiyasem eth pesel haasherah , asher asah : "And he put the graven image of Asherah, which he had made,"into the house

Asherah, which we translate grove, is undoubtedly the name of an idol; and probably of one which was carved out of wood

R. S. Jarchi, on Gen 12:3, says, "that אשרה asherah means a tree which was worshipped by the Gentiles;"like as the oak was worshipped by the ancient Druids in Britain

Castel, in Lex. Hept. sub voce אשר, defines אשרה asherah thus, Simulacrum ligneum Astartae dicatum ; "A wooden image dedicated to Astrate or Venus.

The Septuagint render the words by αλσος ; and Flamminius Nobilis, on 2Ki 23:4, says Rursus notat Theodoretus < esse Astartem et Venerem, et ab aliis interpretibus dictum Ashatroth ; i.e. "Again Theodoret observes, αλσος is Astarte and Venus; and by other interpreters called Ashtaroth.

The Targum of Ben Uzziel, on Deu 7:5, ואשירהם תגדעון vaasheyrehem tegaddeun ; i.e., "Their groves shall ye cut down"- translates the place thus, ואילני סיגדיהון תקצצון ,suht ecalp e veilaney sigedeyhon tekatsetsun ; "And the oaks of their adoration shall ye cut down.

From the above it is pretty evident that idols, not groves, are generally intended where אשרה asherah and its derivatives are used

Here follow proofs: -

In 2Ki 23:6, it is said that "Josiah brought out the grove from the house of the Lord."This translation seems very absurd; for what grove could there be in the temple? There was none planted there, nor was there room for any. The plain meaning of ויצא את השרה מבית יהוה vaiyotse eth haasherah mibbeyth Jehovah , is, "And he brought out the (goddess) Asherah from the house of the Lord, and burnt it,"etc

That this is the true meaning of the place appears farther from 2Ki 23:7, where it is said, "He broke down the houses of the sodomites,"( הקדשים hakkedeshim , of the whoremongers), "where the women wove hangings for the grove"( בתים לאשרה bottim laasherah , "houses or shrines for Asherah.") Similar perhaps to those which the silversmiths made for Diana, Act 19:24. It is rather absurd to suppose that the women were employed in making curtains to encompass a grove

The Syriac and Arabic versions countenance the interpretation I have given above. In 2Ki 23:6, the former says, "He cast out the idol, dechlotho , from the house of the Lord;"and in 2Ki 23:7 : "He threw down the houses, dazoine , of the prostitutes; and the women who wove garments, ledechlotho , for the idols which were there."The Arabic is exactly the same

From the whole it is evident that Asherah was no other than Venus; the nature of whose worship is plain enough from the mention of whoremongers and prostitutes

I deny not that there were groves consecrated to idolatrous worship among the Gentiles, but I am sure that such are not intended in the above-cited passages; and the text, in most places, reads better when understood in this way.

TSK: 2Ki 21:8

will I make : 2Ki 18:11; 2Sa 7:10; 1Ch 17:9; 2Ch 33:8

only if they : Lev 26:3-13; Deu 5:28, Deu 5:29, Deu 28:1-14; Jos 23:11-13; Psa 37:3, Psa 81:11-16; Isa 1:19; Jer 7:3-7, Jer 7:23, Jer 17:20-27; Eze 22:2-16, Eze 33:25-29

TSK: 2Ki 21:9

they hearkened : 2Ch 36:16; Ezr 9:10, Ezr 9:11; Neh 9:26, Neh 9:29, Neh 9:30; Psa 81:10; Dan 9:6, Dan 9:10, Dan 9:11; Luk 13:34; Joh 15:22; Jam 4:17

seduced : 1Ki 14:16; 2Ch 33:9; Psa 12:8; Pro 29:12; Hos 5:11; Rev 2:20

more evil : Eze 16:47, Eze 16:51, Eze 16:52

TSK: 2Ki 21:10

2Ch 33:10, 2Ch 36:15; Neh 9:26, Neh 9:30; Mat 23:34-37; In the following verses the doom of Judah and Jerusalem is passed, and it is a heavy doom. The prophets were sent in the first place to teach them the knowledge of God, to remind them of their duty, and direct them in itcaps1 . icaps0 f they succeeded not in that, their next work was to reprove them for their sins, and to set them in view before them, that they might repent and reform, and return to their dutycaps1 . icaps0 f in this they prevailed not, their next work was to foretell the judgments of God, that the terror of them might awaken to repentance those who would not be made sensible of the obligations of his love; or else that the execution of them, in their season, might be a demonstration of the divine mission of the prophets who foretold them. They were made judges to those who would not hear and receive them as teachers. - Henry.

TSK: 2Ki 21:11

Because : 2Ki 23:26, 2Ki 23:27, 2Ki 24:3, 2Ki 24:4; Jer 15:4

above all : 2Ki 21:9; 1Ki 21:26; Eze 16:3, Eze 16:45

made Judah : 2Ki 21:9; 1Ki 14:16, 1Ki 15:30, 1Ki 16:19

TSK: 2Ki 21:12

I am bringing : 2Ki 22:16; Dan 9:12; Mic 3:12

whosoever : 1Sa 3:11; Isa 28:16; Jer 19:3; Amo 3:2; Mat 24:21, Mat 24:22; Luk 23:28, Luk 23:29; Rev 6:15-17

TSK: 2Ki 21:13

I will stretch : This metaphor is taken from the custom of using a line in measuring land, and in dividing portions of it among several persons. Samaria was taken, pillaged, and ruined, and its inhabitants carried into captivity: Jerusalem shall have the same measure. 2Ki 17:6; Isa 10:22, Isa 28:17, Isa 34:11; Lam 2:8; Eze 23:31-34; Amo 7:7, Amo 7:8; Zec 1:16

the plummet : 2Ki 10:11; 1Ki 21:21-24

I will wipe : I will empty Jerusalem of all its wealth and inhabitants, as truly as a dish turned up and wiped is emptied of its contents. 1Ki 14:10; Isa 14:23; Jer 25:9; Eze 24:10, Eze 24:11; Rev 18:21-23

wiping it, and turning it upside down : Heb. he wipeth and turneth it upon the face thereof

TSK: 2Ki 21:14

And I will : Deu 31:17; 2Ch 15:2; Psa 37:28, Psa 89:38-45; Jer 12:7, Jer 23:33; Lam 5:20; Amo 5:2

the remnant : 2Ki 19:4, 2Ki 19:30, 2Ki 19:31, 2Ki 24:2; 2Ch 36:16, 2Ch 36:17; Jer 23:33

deliver : Lev 26:17, Lev 26:36-38; Deu 4:26, Deu 4:27, Deu 28:25, Deu 28:31-33, Deu 28:48; Jdg 2:14, Jdg 2:15; Neh 9:27-37; Psa 71:1-7, Psa 106:40-43; Isa 10:6; Lam 1:5, Lam 1:10

TSK: 2Ki 21:15

since the day : Deu 9:21, Deu 31:27, Deu 31:29; Jdg 2:11-13; Psa 106:34-40; Eze 16:15-22; Eze 20:4, Eze 20:13, Eze 20:21, Eze 20:30, Eze 23:3, Eze 23:8-21; Dan 9:5-11

TSK: 2Ki 21:16

Manasseh : 2Ki 24:3, 2Ki 24:4; Num 35:33; Deu 21:8, Deu 21:9; Jer 2:34, Jer 7:6, Jer 15:4, Jer 19:4; Mat 23:30, Mat 23:31; Mat 27:6; Luk 13:34; Heb 11:37

one end to another : Heb. mouth to mouth

beside his sin : 2Ki 21:7, 2Ki 21:11; Exo 32:21; 1Ki 14:15, 1Ki 14:16; 2Ch 33:9

TSK: 2Ki 21:17

the rest : 2Ki 20:20, 2Ki 20:21; 2Chr. 33:1-20

TSK: 2Ki 21:18

am 3361, bc 643

and was buried : 2Ch 21:20, 2Ch 24:16, 2Ch 24:25, 2Ch 28:27, 2Ch 32:33, 2Ch 33:20; Jer 22:19

TSK: 2Ki 21:19

am 3361-3363, bc 643-641

Amon : 1Ch 3:14; 2Ch 33:21-23; Mat 1:10

two years : 2Ki 15:23; 1Ki 15:25, 1Ki 16:8, 1Ki 22:51

TSK: 2Ki 21:20

as his father : 2Ki 21:2-7; Num 32:14; 2Ch 33:22, 2Ch 33:23; Mat 23:32; Act 7:51

TSK: 2Ki 21:22

2Ki 22:17; Deu 32:15; 1Ki 11:33; 1Ch 28:9; Jer 2:13; Jon 2:8

TSK: 2Ki 21:23

am 3363, bc 641, 2Ki 12:20, 2Ki 14:19, 2Ki 15:25, 2Ki 15:30; 1Ki 15:27, 1Ki 16:9; 2Ch 33:24, 2Ch 33:25

TSK: 2Ki 21:24

the people of the land slew : 2Ki 14:5

made Josiah : 2Ki 11:17, 2Ki 14:21; 1Sa 11:15; 2Sa 5:3; 1Ki 12:1, 1Ki 12:20; 2Ch 22:1, 2Ch 26:1, 2Ch 33:25

TSK: 2Ki 21:25

2Ki 21:17, 2Ki 20:20

TSK: 2Ki 21:26

in the garden : 2Ki 21:18

Josiah : 1Ki 13:5; Mat 1:10

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Ki 21:9

During the long reign of Manasseh idolatry in all manner of varied forms took a hold upon the Jewish people such as had never been known before. Compare Jer 7:18, Jer 7:31; Eze 23:37; Zep 1:5. The corruption of morals kept pace with the degradation of religion. Compare 2Ki 23:7; Zep 3:1-3; Jer 2:8; Jer 5:1.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:10

The prophets - None of the prophets of this reign are certainly known. One may possibly have been Hosai or Hozai (2Ch 33:19, margin), who perhaps wrote a life of Manasseh.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:13

The general meaning is plain, but the exact force of the metaphor used is not so clear. If the "line"and the "plummet"be "symbols of rule"or law, the meaning will be - "I will apply exactly the same measure and rule to Jerusalem as to Samaria - I will treat both alike with strict and even justice."

Barnes: 2Ki 21:16

Compare Jer 2:30; Heb 11:37; Isa 57:1-4. According to tradition, Isaiah was among the first to perish. More than a century afterward, the final judgment upon Jerusalem was felt to be in an special way the punishment of Manasseh’ s bloody persecution of God’ s people (marginal reference).

Barnes: 2Ki 21:17

The writer of Kings relates in eighteen verses the history of 55 years, and consequently omits numerous facts of great importance in the life of Manasseh. Among the most remarkable of the facts omitted are the capture of Manasseh by the king of Assyria, his removal to Babylon, his repentance there, his restoration to his kingdom, and his religious reforms upon his return to it. These are recorded only in Chronicles (marginal reference, see the note). The writer of Kings probably considered the repentance of Manasseh but a half-repentance, followed by a half-reformation, which left untouched the root of the evil.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:18

Was buried - The catacomb of David was probably full, and the later kings, from Ahaz downward, had to find sepulture elsewhere. Ahaz was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the sepulchres of the kings 2Ch 28:27. Hezekiah found a resting place on the way that led up to David’ s catacomb 2Ch 32:33. Manasseh and Amon were interred in "the garden of Uzza,"a portion (apparently) of the royal palace-garden; perhaps so called after the name of the previous owner. Josiah was buried in "his own sepulchre"2Ki 23:30.

Amon his son - This name, which occurs only at this time and in the reign of the idolatrous Ahab 1Ki 22:26, is identical in form with the Hebrew representative of the great Egyptian god, Amen or Amun (Nah 3:8 margin); and it is therefore probable that Manasseh selected it and gave it to his son in compliment to the Egyptians.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:21

At Manasseh’ s death, the idolatrous party, held in some check during his later years 2Ch 33:15-17, recovered the entire direction of affairs, and obtained authority from Amon to make once more all the changes which Manasseh had made in the early part of his reign. Hence, we find the state of things at Josiah’ s accession 2Ki 23:4-14; Zep 1:4-12; Zep 3:1-7, the exact counterpart of that which had existed under Manasseh.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:23

This conspiracy may have been due to the popular reaction against the extreme idolatry which the young king had established.

Barnes: 2Ki 21:24

The intention of the conspirators had perhaps been to declare a forfeiture of the crown by the existing line, and to place a new dynasty on the throne. This the people would not suffer. They arrested them and put them to death; and insisted on investing with the royal authority the true heir of David, the eldest son of Amon, though he was a boy only 8 years old.

Poole: 2Ki 21:8

Move any more out of the land they shall no more be carried captives into a strange land, as it had happened before.

Poole: 2Ki 21:9

Partly because they were not contented with those idols which the Canaanites worshipped, but either themselves invented, or they borrowed from other nations, many new idols and kinds of idolatry; and partly because as their light was far more clear, their obligations to God infinitely higher, and their helps and antidotes against idolatry much stronger than the Canaanites had; so their sins, though the same in kind, were unspeakably worse in respect of these dreadful aggravations.

Poole: 2Ki 21:11

Above all that the Amorites did i.e. the Canaanitish nations, all so called from one eminent part of them. See Poole "Gen 15:16" .

Hath made Judah also to sin with his idols by his example, encouragement, counsel, authority, and command.

Poole: 2Ki 21:12

By the great commotion which such terrible reports shall cause in the hearts and heads of the hearers. See Poole "1Sa 3:11" ; See Poole "Jer 19:3" .

Poole: 2Ki 21:13

Jerusalem shall have the same measure and lot, i.e. the same judgments, which Samaria had. The line is oft put for one’ s lot or portion, as Psa 16:6 2Co 10:16 , because men’ s portions or possessions used to be measured by lines, Psa 78:55 Amo 7:17 . Or it is a metaphor from workmen who mark out by lines what part of the building they would have thrown down, and what they would have stand. See Isa 34:11 Lam 2:8 Amo 7:7,8 Zec 1:16 . Or it is an allusion to that fact of David, who destroyed the Moabites by a measuring line, 2Sa 8:2 .

Wiping it, and turning it upside down as men do with a dish that hath been used; first wholly empty it of all that is in it, then thoroughly cleanse and wipe it, and lastly turn it upside down, that nothing may remain in it: so will I deal with Jerusalem, thoroughly empty and purge it from all its wicked inhabitants, and that so as to cut off all hopes of restitution.

Poole: 2Ki 21:14

The remnant of mine inheritance i.e. the kingdom of Judah, the only remainder of all the tribes of Israel, which I did once choose for my inheritance, but now, notwithstanding that privilege, will utterly reject and forsake them.

Poole: 2Ki 21:15

This sore judgment, though it was chiefly inflicted for the sins of Manasseh and his generation, yet had a respect unto all their former sins, the guilt whereof was upon this occasion revived. See Exo 32:31 .

Poole: 2Ki 21:16

Innocent blood the blood of those prophets and righteous men who either reproved his sinful practices, or refused to comply with his wicked commands and worship.

Beside his sin i.e. his idolatry, which is elsewhere called evil , and corruption , and here sin, by way of eminency; which is the more considerable, because it is here compared with horrid cruelty, and implied to be worse than that, and more abominable in God’ s sight, because it doth more directly and immediately strike at the glory and purity of the Divine Majesty, by respect unto which all sins are to be measured. And this expression God here useth in opposition to the gross error of most men, who look upon idolatry as a small sin, as a mere mistake of the mind, as the fruit of a good intention, and as an excess proceeding from zeal in religion.

Poole: 2Ki 21:18

In the garden of his own house not in the sepulchre of the kings; either by the people’ s designation, who judged him unworthy of that honour; or rather, by his own choice and command, as a lasting testimony of his sincere repentance and abhorrency of himself for his former crimes.

In the garden of Uzza or, of king Uzziah, who possibly planted or enlarged it.

Haydock: 2Ki 21:9

More, because they had received more favours and instructions from above. (Worthington)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:10

Prophets, Joel, Osee, Amos, Nahum, Jonas, Abdias, Micheas, and particularly by Isaias, who was related to the king. (Tirinus) ---

Tradition informs us, that Manasses was so irritated, that he ordered Isaias to be slain with a wooden saw, (St. Augustine, City of God xviii. 24.) for greater torment; (Calmet) and his companions were daily executed, Josephus, [Antiquities?] x. 3. ---

Isaias (xxii. 13.) seems to pronounce his sin irremissible, (Calmet) or that he should not, at least, escape the punishment of it, as long as he lived. But we are assured that the eyes of Manasses were at last opened by adversity, and that he performed many laudable things after his return from captivity; (2 Paralipomenon xxxiii.) so that the latter part of his reign resembled that of his father; though the beginning had been like that of the impious Achab. His coming to the throne so soon, before his pious father could have time to impress upon his mind the truths of salvation, had nearly proved his ruin. The sins of my youth, and my ignorances, remember not, O Lord, Psalm xxiv. 7. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:11

Doings. Hebrew, "idols," ver. 2. See chap. xvii. 12. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:12

Tingle, through astonishment, as if he had been stunned with too loud a noise, 1 Kings iii. 11. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:13

The line, or rope, to pull down the walls, Lamentations ii. 8., (Calmet) and 2 Kings xvii. 13. Jerusalem, which has imitated Samaria in sinning, shall experience the same fate; the same weight of punishment shall fall upon the royal family, as upon the house of Achab. (Haydock) ---

The prophets frequently entitle their menaces a weight, or burden, Isaias xiii. 1. (Menochius) ---

Septuagint have, "the balance of the house," &c., as if God had weighed all the good and evil, and would now reward the people accordingly, (Haydock) with judgment. (Du Hamel) ---

Table, or board, covered with wax. The ancients were accustomed to write in this manner with a style which was sharp at one end and blunt at the other. Altera pars revocat quicquid pars altera fecit. (Ænig. Symponii.) When the wax was rendered smooth, no vestige of the former writing could appear, and God threatened to destroy Jerusalem, in like manner. Hebrew is variously translated. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "I will wipe out Jerusalem as an alabaster vase is wiped, and turned downwards." Protestants, "as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down." (Haydock) ---

Often. 1. Under Manasses; 2. under Josias and Joachaz; 3. under the last kings of Juda, 2 Paralipomenon xxiii., &c. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:14

Leave. Septuagint, "with horror," Greek: apeasomai (Haydock) "I will cast off." So Chaldean, Syriac, &c. ---

Remnants. Juda, &c., who shall be treated like the ten tribes. (Calmet) ---

All shared in the punishment, though some preserved the true religion, Psalm lxxxviii. 35. (Worthington)

Haydock: 2Ki 21:16

Mouth. Chaldean, "extremity." All was full of blood, and impure idols, ver. 11. ---

Besides, ( absque ) "without" mentioning his other scandalous sins of idolatry.

Haydock: 2Ki 21:17

Sinned. It is rather wonderful that his repentance is not here noticed; but we find it mentioned [in] 2 Paralipomenon xxxiii. 12. (Haydock) ---

He was probably taken prisoner by Thartan, general of Sargon, or Asarhaddon, who had reunited the two kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon, Isaias xx. 1. In prison Manasses composed a penitential prayer, which is not absolutely rejected by the Church, but left in the rank of Apocryphal writings; (Calmet) the authority of which is not clearly ascertained. (Haydock) ---

The Greek church admits this prayer into her Euchologium, (Calmet) or Office-book. (Haydock) ---

Being liberated, probably by Saosduchin, Manasses did all things well, only he left the high places, where the people had been accustomed to sacrifice to the Lord. Hozai wrote his history, 2 Paralipomenon xxxiii. 19.

Haydock: 2Ki 21:18

Oza, a private man, to whom it had belonged; (Menochius) or the place where the Levite had been punished for touching the ark; (1 Kings vi. 8.) or, in fine, the garden to which king Ozias had retired after he became a leper. (Calmet) ---

It is said, that Manasses chose this place for his tomb out of humility. (Grotius)

Gill: 2Ki 21:8

Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers,.... Or suffer them to be carried captive into another land, as in the times of the judges; that is, on the following condition:

only if they will observe to do according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them by obedience to which they had the tenure of the land of Canaan, Isa 1:19.

Gill: 2Ki 21:9

But they hearkened not,.... To the voice of God in his law by Moses, and were not obedient to it:

and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel: he set up more idols, and drew the people into more and greater idolatries, than the old Canaanites; and these were the more aggravated by having a law given to them, and prophets sent to instruct them in it, and by the benefits and blessings bestowed upon them by the lawgiver, which laid them under greater obligations to him; see Jer 2:11.

Gill: 2Ki 21:10

And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets,.... Who prophesied in the days of Manasseh; and were, according to the Jewish chronology ^f, Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk:

saying: as follows.

Gill: 2Ki 21:11

Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,.... Before named, 2Ki 21:3,

and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did that were before him; one of the seven nations of Canaan, a principal of them, and which is put for all the rest:

and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: the worship of them, as the Targum; which he did both by his edicts, and by his example.

Gill: 2Ki 21:12

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Who, though kind and gracious to Israel as their covenant God, is yet just and righteous, as well as he is a sovereign Being and Lord of all:

behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle; it will make such a noise in the world, and be so horrible and terrible; and if, he report of it would be so dreadful as to make a man's ears tingle, and his heart tremble, what must it be to endure it! Eze 22:14.

Gill: 2Ki 21:13

And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,.... The Targum is, the line of destruction; and the sense is, that the same measure should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is, the same lot and portion should befall one as the other, that is, be utterly destroyed:

and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum is, the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying, that the same calamities should come upon the families of Jerusalem, and especially on the family of Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab. It is a metaphor from builders that take down as well as raise up buildings by rule and measure, see 2Sa 8:2.

and I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down; as when one takes a dish or cup that has broth in it, or any liquid, as oil; and the Septuagint render it alabaster, in which ointment used to be put; and wipes it clean, that nothing may appear in it; and then turns it with its mouth downward, that, if any thing should remain, it might drain out; signifying hereby the emptying o Jerusalem of its palaces and houses, wealth and riches and of all its inhabitants; and yet the empty dish being preserved, seems to denote the restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years' captivity. According to the Vulgate Latin version, the metaphor is taken from the blotting out of writing tables, and turning and rubbing the style upon them till the writing is no more seen.

Gill: 2Ki 21:14

And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance,.... The whole land of Canaan was the Lord's inheritance; ten tribes in it were already removed, only Judah with Benjamin was left, and the Lord threatens to forsake that remnant:

and deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and spoil to all their enemies; which was fulfilled in their captivity in Babylon.

Gill: 2Ki 21:15

Because they have done that which was evil in my sight,.... Committed idolatry:

and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day; being always prone to idolatry, so provoking to God, and which they were guilty of quickly after they came out of Egypt, in the worship of the golden calf, and had ever since at times been criminal this way; and now the measure of their iniquity being almost up, would be reckoned for together.

Gill: 2Ki 21:16

Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much,.... Putting to death the prophets that reproved him and his people for their idolatries, and such who would not comply therewith; and it is commonly said, both by Jewish and Christian writers, that Isaiah was slain, and even sawn asunder by him; see Gill on Heb 11:37,

till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; a metaphor taken from filling a vessel brimful:

beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; the sin of idolatry he drew them into, and even obliged them to commit.

Gill: 2Ki 21:17

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did,.... Both good and bad, for he repented, and was humbled, and did many good things afterwards, though not recorded in this book:

and his sin that he sinned; his idolatry:

are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? in which were recorded the most memorable events of their reigns; and in the canonical book of Chronicles are many things concerning Manasseh, which are not written here; see 2Ch 33:11.

Gill: 2Ki 21:18

And Manasseh slept with his fathers,.... Or died, after a reign of fifty five years, and a life of sixty seven:

and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; whether the burial of him here was his own choice, judging himself unworthy to lie with the kings of Judah, who had been guilty of such great sins, or whether the will of others, on the same account, is not certain; and as much at a loss are we for the reason of this garden being called the garden of Uzza, whether from Uzzah that died for touching the ark, 2Sa 6:6 or from King Uzziah, 2Ki 15:7. The Jews buried in gardens in the times of Christ, who himself was buried in one, Joh 19:41. The Romans had sometimes sepulchres in their gardens ^g, Galba the emperor was buried in his gardens ^h; and so had other nations. Cyrus king of Persia was buried in a garden ⁱ:

and Amon his son reigned in his stead; of whom we have the following account.

Gill: 2Ki 21:19

And Amon was twenty two years old when he began to reign,.... Being born in the forty fifth of his father's life, and in the thirty third of his reign:

and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; which, as Abarbinel observes, was the usual time the sons of wicked kings reigned, and instances in the son of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab, 1Ki 15:25. An Arabic writer ^k says, he reigned twelve years, but according to the Jews only two:

and his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah; there was a place called Jotbath, which was one of the stations of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Num 33:33 but it can scarcely be thought to be the same place.

Gill: 2Ki 21:20

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed idolatry:

as his father Manasseh did: he imitated him in that, but not in his repentance and humiliation, 2Ch 33:23.

Gill: 2Ki 21:21

And he walked in all the ways that his father walked in,.... In his wicked way, his idolatry, witchcraft, and murders:

and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them; Baal, Ashtoreth, and all the host of heaven, and all the carved images his father made, which it seems he only removed, but did not break in pieces, 2Ch 33:22.

Gill: 2Ki 21:22

And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers,.... Of David, Solomon, &c.

and walked not in the way of the Lord; prescribed by him in his law for the worship of him.

Gill: 2Ki 21:23

And the servants of Amon conspired against him,.... Some of his domestic servants, and perhaps his courtiers, not on account of his idolatry, but for some ill usage of them:

and slew the king in his own house: which they had an opportunity to do, being his servants.

Gill: 2Ki 21:24

And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against King Amon,.... On occasion of his death, there seems to have been an insurrection of the people in a body, to avenge the death of their king, who might be beloved on account of his idolatry, so depraved was the nation; or it may be only to avenge his death because he was their king, whose life these men ought not to have taken away: and the rather this may be thought to be the reason by what follows:

and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead; who had been prophesied of by name above three hundred years before, see 1Ki 13:2.

Gill: 2Ki 21:25

Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? See Gill on 2Ki 21:17.

Gill: 2Ki 21:26

And he was buried in his sepulchre, in the garden of Uzza,.... Where his father Manasseh was buried, 2Ki 21:18,

and Josiah his son reigned in his stead; of whom many things are said in the two following chapters.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:8

¹ tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:9

¹ tn Heb “listen.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:10

¹ tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:11

¹ tn Heb “these horrible sins.”

² sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:12

¹ tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:13

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

² tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.

³ tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning [it] on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:14

¹ tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 269.

² tn Heb “they will become plunder and spoils of war for all their enemies.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:15

¹ tn Heb “in my eyes.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:16

¹ tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”

² tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:17

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all which he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:18

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:19

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:20

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:21

¹ tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”

² sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

³ tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:22

¹ tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:24

¹ tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:25

¹ tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew mss have וְכָל (vÿcol), “and all,” before אֲשֶׁר (’asher). In this case we can translate, “As for the rest of the events of Amon’s reign, and all his accomplishments,….”

NET Notes: 2Ki 21:26

¹ tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:8

Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will ^{( b )} observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.

^{( b )} Therefore seeing they did not obey the commandment of God, they were justly cast from the land which they had only on condition.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:12

Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I [am] bringing [such] evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall ^{( c )} tingle.

^{( c )} Meaning, that whoever hears of this great plague, will be astonished.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:13

And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line ^{( d )} of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as [a man] wipeth a dish, wiping [it], and turning [it] upside down.

^{( d )} As I have destroyed Samaria and the house of Ahab so will I destroy Judah.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:14

And I will forsake the ^{( e )} remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

^{( e )} Meaning, Judah and Benjamin, which were the only ones left of the rest of the tribes.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:16

Moreover Manasseh shed ^{( s )} innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD.

^{( s )} The Hebrews write that he slew Isaiah the prophet, who was his father-in-law.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 21:22

And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the ^{( g )} way of the LORD.

^{( g )} That is, according to his commandment.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Ki 21:1-26

1 Manasseh's reign.

3 His great idolatry.

10 His wickedness causes prophecies against Judah.

17 Amon succeeds him.

19 Amon's wicked reign.

23 He being slain by his servants, and those murderers slain by the people, Josiah is made king.

MHCC: 2Ki 21:1-9

Young persons generally desire to become their own masters, and to have early possession of riches and power. But this, for the most part, ruins their future comfort, and causes mischief to others. It is much happier when young persons are sheltered under the care of parents or guardians, till age gives experience and discretion. Though such young persons are less indulged, they will afterwards be thankful. Manasseh wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, as if on purpose to provoke him to anger; he did more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed. Manasseh went on from bad to worse, till carried captive to Babylon. The people were ready to comply with his wishes, to obtain his favour and because it suited their depraved inclinations. In the reformation of large bodies, numbers are mere time-servers, and in temptation fall away.

MHCC: 2Ki 21:10-18

Here is the doom of Judah and Jerusalem. The words used represent the city emptied and utterly desolate, yet not destroyed thereby, but cleansed, and to be kept for the future dwelling of the Jews: forsaken, yet not finally, and only as to outward privileges, for individual believers were preserved in that visitation. The Lord will cast off any professing people who dishonour him by their crimes, but never will desert his cause on earth. In the book of Chronicles we read of Manasseh's repentance, and acceptance with God; thus we may learn not to despair of the recovery of the greatest sinners. But let none dare to persist in sin, presuming that they may repent and reform when they please. There are a few instances of the conversion of notorious sinners, that none may despair; and but few, that none may presume.

MHCC: 2Ki 21:19-26

Amon profaned God's house with his idols; and God suffered his house to be polluted with his blood. How unrighteous soever they were that did it, God was righteous who suffered it to be done. Now was a happy change from one of the worst, to one of the best of the kings of Judah. Once more Judah was tried with a reformation. Whether the Lord bears long with presumptuous offenders, or speedily cuts them off in their sins, all must perish who persist in refusing to walk in his ways.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 21:1-9

How delightful were our meditations on the last reign! How many pleasing views had we of Sion in its glory (that is, in its purity and in its triumphs), of the king in his beauty! (for Isa 33:17 refers to Hezekiah), and (as it follows there, 2Ki 21:20) Jerusalem was a quiet habitation because a city of righteousness, Isa 1:26. But now we have melancholy work upon our hands, unpleasant ground to travel, and cannot but drive heavily. How has the gold become dim and the most fine gold changed! The beauty of Jerusalem is stained, and all her glory, all her joy, sunk and gone. These verses give such an account of this reign as make it, in all respects, the reverse of the last, and, in a manner, the ruin of it.

I. Manasseh began young. He was but twelve years old when he began to reign (2Ki 21:1), born when his father was about forty-two years old, three years after his sickness. If he had sons before, either they were dead, or set by as unpromising. As yet they knew of nothing bad in him, and they hoped he would prove good; but he proved very bad, and perhaps his coming to the crown so young might help to make it so, which yet will by no means excuse him, for his grandson Josiah came to it younger than he and yet acted well. But being young, 1. He was puffed up with his honour and proud of it; and thinking himself very wise, because he was very great, valued himself upon his undoing what his father had done. It is too common for novices to be lifted up with pride, and so to fall into the condemnation of the devil. 2. He was easily wrought upon and drawn aside by seducers, that lay in wait to deceive. Those that were enemies to Hezekiah's reformation, and retained an affection for the old idolatries, flattered him, and so gained his ear, and used his power at their pleasure. Many have been undone by coming too soon to their honours and estates.

II. He reigned long, longest of any of the kings of Judah, fifty-five years. This was the only very bad reign that was a long one; Joram's was but eight years, and Ahaz's sixteen; as for Manasseh's, we hope that in the beginning of his reign for some time affairs continued to move in the course that his father left them in, and that in the latter end of his reign, after his repentance, religion got head again; and, no doubt, when things were at the worst God had his remnant that kept their integrity. Though he reigned long, yet some of this time he was a prisoner in Babylon, which may well be looked upon as a drawback from these years, though they are reckoned in the number because then he repented and began to reform.

III. He reigned very ill.

1. In general, (1.) He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and which, having been well educated, he could not but know was so (2Ki 21:2): He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, as if on purpose to provoke him to anger, 2Ki 21:6. (2.) He did after the abominations of the heathen (2Ki 21:2) and as did Ahab (2Ki 21:3), not taking warning by the destruction both of the nations of Canaan and the house of Ahab for their idolatry; nay (2Ki 21:9), he did more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed. When the holy seed degenerate, they are commonly worse than the worst of the profane.

2. More particularly, (1.) He rebuilt the high places which his father had destroyed, 2Ki 21:3. Thus did he trample upon the dust, and affront the memory, of his worthy father, though he knew how much he was favoured of God and honoured of men. He concurred, it is probable, with Rabshakeh's sentiments (2Ki 18:22), that Hezekiah had done ill in destroying those high places, and pretended the honour of God, and the edification and convenience of the people, in rebuilding them. This he began with, but proceeded to that which was much worse; for, (2.) He set up other gods, Baal and Ashtaroth (which we translate a grove ), and all the host of heaven, the sun and moon, the other planets, and the constellations; these he worshipped and served (2Ki 21:3), gave their names to the images he made, and then did homage to them and prayed for help from them. To these he built altars (2Ki 21:5), and offered sacrifices, no doubt, on these altars. (3.) He made his son pass through the fire, by which he dedicated him a votary to Moloch, in contempt of the seal of circumcision by which he had been dedicated to God. (4.) He made the devil his oracle, and, in contempt both of urim and prophecy, he used enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits (2Ki 21:6) like Saul. Conjurers and fortune-tellers (who pretended, by the stars or the clouds, lucky and unlucky days, good and bad omens, the flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts, to foretel things to come) were great men with him, his intimates, his confidants; their arts pleased his fancy, and gained his belief, and his counsels were under their direction. (5.) We find afterwards (2Ki 21:16) that he shed innocent blood very much in gratification of his own passion and revenge; some perhaps were secretly murdered, others taken off by colour of law. Probably much of the blood he shed was theirs that opposed idolatry and witnessed against it, that would not bow the knee to Baal. The blood of the prophets is, in a particular manner, charged upon Jerusalem, and it is probable that he put to death many of them. The tradition of the Jews is that he caused the prophet Isaiah to be sawn asunder; and many think the apostle refers to this in Heb 11:37, where he speaks of those that had so suffered.

3. Three things are here mentioned as aggravations of Manasseh's idolatry: - (1.) That he set up his images and altars in the house of the Lord (2Ki 21:4), in the two courts of the temple (2Ki 21:5), in the very house of which God had said to Solomon, Here will I put my name, 2Ki 21:7. Thus he defied God to his face, and impudently affronted him with his rivals immediately under his eye, as one that was neither afraid of God's wrath nor ashamed of his own folly and wickedness. Thus he desecrated what had been consecrated to God, and did, in effect, turn God out of his own house and put the rebels in possession of it. Thus, when the faithful worshippers of God came to the place he had appointed for the performance of their duty to him, they found, to their great grief and terror, other gods ready to receive their offerings. God had said that here he would record his name, here he would put it for ever, and here it was accordingly preserved, while the idolatrous altars were kept at a distance; but Manasseh, by bringing them into God's house, did what he could to alter the property, and to make the name of the God of Israel to be no more in remembrance. (2.) That hereby he put a great slight upon the word of God, and his covenant with Israel. Observe the favour he had shown to that people in putting his name among them, - the kindness he intended them, never to make them move out of that good land, - and the reasonableness of his expectations from them, only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, 2Ki 21:7, 2Ki 21:8. Upon these good terms did Israel stand with God, and had as fair a prospect of being happy as any people could have; but they hearkened not, 2Ki 21:9. They would not be kept close to God either by his precepts or by his promises; both were cast behind their back. (3.) That hereby he seduced the people of God, debauched them, and drew them into idolatry, 2Ki 21:9. He caused Judah to sin (2Ki 21:11), as Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. His very example was enough to corrupt the generality of unthinking people, who would do as their king did, right or wrong. All that aimed at preferment would do as the court did; and others thought it safest to comply, for fear of making their king their enemy. Thus, one way or other, the holy city became a harlot, and Manasseh made her so. Those will have a great deal to answer for that not only are wicked themselves, but help to make others so.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 21:10-18

Here is the doom of Judah and Jerusalem read, and it is heavy doom. The prophets were sent, in the first place, to teach them the knowledge of God, to remind them of their duty and direct them in it. If they succeeded not in that, their next work was to reprove them for their sins, and to set them in view before them, that they might repent and reform, and return to their duty. If in this they prevailed not, but sinners went on frowardly, their next work was to foretel the judgments of God, that the terror of them might awaken those to repentance who would not be made sensible of the obligations of his love, or else that the execution of them, in their season, might be a demonstration of the divine mission of the prophets that foretold them. The prophets were deputed judges to those that would not hear and receive them as teachers. We have here,

I. A recital of the crime. The indictment is read upon which the judgment is grounded, 2Ki 21:11. Manasseh had done wickedly himself, though he knew better things, had even justified the Amorites, whose copy he wrote after, by outdoing them in impieties, and debauched the people of God, whom he had taught to sin and forced to sin; and besides that (though that was bad enough) he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood (2Ki 21:16), had multiplied his murders in every corner of the city, and filled the measure of Jerusalem's blood-guiltiness (Mat 23:32) up to the brim, and all this against the crown and dignity of the King of kings, the peace of his kingdom, and the statutes in these cases made and provided.

II. A prediction of the judgment God would bring upon them for this: They have done that which was evil, and therefore I am bringing evil upon them (2Ki 21:12); it will come and it is not far off. The judgment should be, 1. Very terrible and amazing; the very report of it should make men's ears to tingle (2Ki 21:12), that is, their hearts to tremble. It should make a great noise in the world and occasion many speculations. 2. It should be copied out (as the sins of Jerusalem had been) from Samaria and the house of Ahab, 2Ki 21:13. When God lays righteousness to the line it shall be the line of Samaria, measuring out to Jerusalem that which had been the lot of Samaria; when he lays judgment to the plummet it shall be the plummet of the house of Ahab, marking out for the same ruin to which that wretched family was devoted. See Isa 28:17. Note, Those who resemble and imitate others in their sins must expect to fare as they fared. 3. That it should be an utter destruction: I will wipe it as a man wipes a dish. This intimates, (1.) That every thing should be put into disorder, and their state subverted; they should be turned upside down, and all their foundations put out of course. (2.) That the city should be emptied of its inhabitants, which had been the filth of it, as a dish is emptied when it is wiped: "They shall all be carried captive, the land shall enjoy her sabbaths, and be laid by as a dish when it is wiped."See the comparison of the boiled pot, not much unlike this, Eze 24:1-14. (3.) That yet this should be in order to the purifying, not the destroying, of Jerusalem. The dish shall not be dropped, not broken to pieces, or melted down, but only wiped. This shall be the fruit, the taking away of the sinners first, and then of the sin. 4. That therefore they should be destroyed, because they should be deserted (2Ki 21:14): I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance. Justly are those that forsake God forsaken of him; nor does he ever leave any till they have first left him: but, when God has forsaken a people, their defence has departed, and they become a prey, an easy prey, to all their enemies. Sin is spoken of here as the alpha and omega of their miseries. (1.) Old guilt came in remembrance, as that which began to fill the measure (2Ki 21:15): " They have provoked me to anger from their conception and birth as a people, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt. "The men of this generation, treading in their fathers' steps, are justly reckoned with for their fathers' sins. (2.) The guilt of blood was that which filled the measure, 2Ki 21:16. Nothing has a louder cry, nor brings a sorer vengeance, than that.

This is all we have here of Manasseh; he stands convicted and condemned; but we hope in the book of Chronicles to hear of his repentance, and acceptance with God. Meantime, we must be content, in this place, to have only one intimation of his repentance (for so we are willing to take it), that he was buried, it is likely by his own order, in the garden of his own house (2Ki 21:18); for, being truly humbled for his sins, he judged himself no more worthy to be called a son, a son of David, and therefore not worthy to have even his dead body buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. True penitents take shame to themselves, not honour; yet, having lost the credit of an innocent, the credit of a penitent was the next best he was capable of. And better it is, and more honourable, for a sinner to die repenting, and be buried in a garden, than to die impenitent, and be buried in the abbey.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 21:19-26

Here is a short account of the short and inglorious reign of Amon, the son of Manasseh. Whether Manasseh, in his blind and brutish zeal for his idols, had sacrificed his other sons - or whether, having been dedicated to his idols, they were refused by the people - so it was that his successor was a son not born till he was forty-five years old. And of him we are here told, 1. That his reign was very wicked: He forsook the God of his fathers (2Ki 21:22), disobeyed the commands given to his fathers, and disclaimed the covenant made with his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord, but in all the way which his father walked in, 2Ki 21:20, 2Ki 21:21. He trod in the steps of his father's idolatry, and revived that which he, in the latter end of his days, had put down. Note, Those who set bad examples, though they may repent themselves, yet cannot be sure that those whom they have drawn into sin by their example will repent; it is often otherwise. 2. That his end was very tragical. He having rebelled against God, his own servants conspired against him and slew him, probably upon some personal disgust, when he had reigned but two years, 2Ki 21:23. His servants, who should have guarded him, murdered him; his own house, that should have been his castle of defence, was the place of his execution. He had profaned God's house with his idols, and now God suffered his own house to be polluted with his blood. How unrighteous soever those were that did it, God was righteous who suffered it to be done. Two things the people of the land did, by their representatives, hereupon: - (1.) They did justice on the traitors that had slain the king, and put them to death; for, though he was a bad king, he was their king, and it was a part of their allegiance to him to avenge his death. Thus they cleared themselves from having any hand in the crime, and did what was incumbent on them to deter others from the like villainous practices. (2.) They did a kindness to themselves in making Josiah his son king in his stead, whom probably the conspirators had a design to put by, but the people stood by him and settled him in the throne, encouraged, it may be, by the indications he gave, even in his early days, of a good disposition. Now they made a happy change from one of the worst to one of the best of all the kings of Judah. "Once more,"says God, "they shall be tried with a reformation; and, if that succeed, well; if not, then after that I will cut them down."Amon was buried in the same garden where his father was, 2Ki 21:26. If his father put himself under that humiliation, the people will put him under it.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 21:1-18

Reign of Manasseh (cf. 2 Chron 33:1-20). - 2Ki 21:1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, so that he was not born till after Hezekiah's dangerous illness (2Ki 20:1.).

2Ki 21:2

Having begun to reign at this early age, he did not choose his father's ways, but set up the idolatry of his father Ahab again, since the godless party in the nation, at whose head chiefs, priests, and (false) prophets stood, and who would not hearken to the law of the Lord, and in the time of Hezekiah had sought help against Assyria not from Jehovah, but from the Egyptians (Isa 28:7, Isa 28:14., Isa 30:9.), had obtained control of the young an inexperienced king, and had persuaded him to introduce idolatry again. On 2Ki 21:2 cf. 2Ki 8:18 and 2Ki 16:3.

2Ki 21:3-5

ויּבן ויּשׁב , "he built again"the high places, which Hezekiah had destroyed (2Ki 18:4), erected altars for Baal and an Asherah, like Ahab of Israel (1Ki 16:32-33). האשׁרה is the image of Asherah mentioned in 2Ki 21:7, whereas in the Chronicles the thought is generalized by the plurals לבּעלים and האשׁרות . To these two kinds of idolatry, the idolatrous bamoth and the (true) Baal-and Asherah-worship, Manasseh added as a third kind the worship of all the host of heaven, which had not occurred among the Israelites before the Assyrian era, and was probably of Assyrian or Chaldaean origin. This worship differed from the Syrophoenician star-worship, in which sun and moon were worshipped under the names of Baal and Astarte as the bearers of the male and female powers of nature, and was pure star-worship, based upon the idea of the unchangeableness of the stars in contradistinction to the perishableness of everything earthly, according to which the stars were worshipped not merely as the originators of all rise and decay in nature, but also as the leaders and regulators of sublunary things (see Movers, Phöniz. i. pp. 65 and 161). This star-worship was a later development of the primary star-worship of Ssabism, in which the stars were worshipped without any image, in the open air or upon the housetops, by simple contemplation, the oldest and comparatively the purest form of deification of nature, to which the earlier Arabians and the worshippers of the sun among the Ssabians (Zabians) were addicted (cf. Delitzsch on Job 31:26-27), and which is mentioned and forbidden in Deu 4:19 and Deu 17:3. In this later form the sun had sacred chariots and horses as among the Persians (2Ki 23:11), and incense was offered to the stars, with the face turned towards the east, upon altars which were built either upon housetops, as in the case of the Nabataeans (Strabo, xvi. 784), or within the limits of the temple in the two courts (cf. Eze 8:16, also 2Ki 21:5; 2Ki 23:12, and 2Ch 33:5; Jer 19:13; Zep 1:5). This burning of incense took place not merely to the sun and moon, but also to the signs of the zodiac and to all the host of heaven, i.e., to all the stars (2Ki 23:5); by which we are no doubt to understand that the sun, moon, planets and other stars, were worshipped in conjunction with the zodiac, and with this were connected astrology, augury, and the casting of nativities, as in the case of the later so-called Chaldaeans.

(Note: Movers ( Phöniz . i. p. 65) correctly observes, that "in all the books of the Old Testament which are written before the Assyrian period there is no trace of any (?) star-worship; not that the Phoenician (Canaanitish) gods had not also a sidereal significance, but because this element was only a subordinate one, and the expressions, sun, moon, and stars, and all the host of heaven, which are not met with before, become for the first time common now,"- although his proofs of the difference between the Assyrian star-worship and the Phoenician and Babylonian image-worship stand greatly in need of critical sifting.)

This star-worship is more minutely described in 2Ki 21:4, 2Ki 21:5. The two verses are closely connected. The מזבּחות וּבנה of 2Ki 21:4 is resumed in מזב ויּבן in 2Ki 21:5, and the יי בּבית of 2Ki 21:4 is more minutely defined in the יי בּית חצרות בּשׁתּי of. 2Ki 21:5. "In the two courts:"not merely in the outer court, but even in the court of the priests, which was set apart for the worship of Jehovah.

2Ki 21:6

He also offered his son in sacrifice to Moloch, like Ahaz (2Ki 16:3), in the valley of Benhinnom (Chr. cf. 2Ki 23:10), and practised soothsaying and witchcraft of every kind. On ונחשׁ עונן see Deu 18:10 and Lev 19:26, אוב עשׂה , he made, i.e., appointed, put into office, a "necromancer and wise people"(cf. Lev 19:31 and Deu 18:11).

2Ki 21:7

Yea, he even placed the image of Asherah in the temple, i.e., in the Holy Place. In the description of his idolatry, which advances gradatim , this is introduced as the very worst crime. According to the express declaration of the Lord to David (2Sa 7:13) and Solomon (1Ki 9:3 compared with 2Ki 8:16), the temple was to serve as the dwelling-place of His name.

2Ki 21:8

The word of the Lord, "I will no more make the foot of Israel to move out of the land which I gave to their fathers,"refers to the promise in 2Sa 7:10 : "I will appoint my people a place, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be stirred up no more,"which had been fulfilled by the building of the temple as the seat of the name of the Lord, in the manner indicated in pp. 85ff. The lasting fulfilment of this promise, however, was made to rest upon the condition of Israel's faithful adherence to the commandments of God (cf. 1Ki 9:6.).

2Ki 21:9

This condition was not observed by the Israelites; Manasseh seduced them, so that they did more evil than the Canaanites, whom Jehovah had destroyed before them.

2Ki 21:10-12

The Lord therefore announced through the prophets, to the rebellious and idolatrous nation, the destruction of Jerusalem and the deliverance of Judah into the hands of its enemies; but, as is added in 2Ch 33:10, they paid no heed to them. The prophets who foretold this terrible judgment are not named. According to 2Ch 33:18, their utterances were entered in the annals of the kings. Habakkuk was probably one of them, since he (Hab 1:5) predicted the Chaldaean judgment as a fact which excited astonishment and appeared incredible. The Amorites are mentioned in 2Ki 21:11 instar omnium as the supporters of the Canaanitish ungodliness, as in 1Ki 21:26, etc. - The phrase, "that whosoever heareth it, both his ears may tingle,"denotes such a judgment as has never been heard of before, and excites alarm and horror (cf. 1Sa 3:11 and Jer 19:3). The Keri שׁמעהּ is a correction, to bring the pronom. suff. into conformity with the noun רעה so far as the gender is concerned, whereas in the Chethîb שׁמעיו the masculine suffix is used in the place of the feminine, as is frequently the case.

2Ki 21:13

"I stretch over Jerusalem the measure of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab."The measure ( קו ) and the plummet ( משׁקלת , lit., a level) were applied to what was being built (Zec 1:16), and also to what was being made level with the ground, i.e., completely thrown down (Amo 7:7). From this sprang the figurative expressions, measure of desolation and plummet of devastation (Isa 34:11). - The measure of Samaria therefore denotes the measure which was applied to the destruction of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab denotes the extermination of the royal house of Ahab. The meaning is: I shall destroy Jerusalem as I have destroyed Samaria, and exterminate its inhabitants like the house of Ahab. In the second hemistich the same thing is expressed, if possible, still more strongly: "I wipe away Jerusalem as one wipes the dish, and (having) wiped (it), turns it upon its upper side ( פּניה )."The wiping of a dish that has been used, and the turning over of the dish wiped, so as not to leave a single drop in it, are a figurative representation of the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the utter extermination of its inhabitants.

2Ki 21:14-15

With the destruction of Jerusalem the Lord forsakes the people of His possession, and give it up to its enemies for a prey and spoil. נחלתי שׁארית : Judah is called the remnant of the people of God's inheritance with a reference to the rejection and leading away of the ten tribes, which have already taken place. On וּמשׁסּה בּז see Isa 42:22; Jer 30:16.

To this announcement of the judgment there is appended in 2Ch 33:11. the statement, that Jehovah caused Manasseh the king to be taken prisoner by the generals of the king of Assyria and led away to Babylon in chains; and that when he humbled himself before God there, and made supplication to Him, He brought him back to Jerusalem and placed him upon his throne again; whereupon Manasseh fortified the walls of Jerusalem still further, placed garrisons in the fortified cities, removed the idol from the temple, abolished from the city the idolatrous altars erected in Jerusalem and upon the temple-mountain, restored the altar of Jehovah, and commanded the people to offer sacrifice upon it. - This incident is omitted in our book, because the conversion of Manasseh was not followed by any lasting results so far as the kingdom was concerned; the abolition of outward idolatry in Jerusalem did not lead to the conversion of the people, and after the death of Manasseh even the idolatrous abominations that had been abolished were restored by Amon.

(Note: The historical truth of these accounts, which Rosenmüller, Winer, and Hitzig called in question after the example of Gramberg, has been defended by Ewald, Bertheau, and even by Thenius; and the latest attack which has been made upon it by Graf in the theol. Studien u. Krit. 1859, iii., has been met by E. Gerlach in the same magazine of 1861. For further remarks see the Commentary on the Chronicles.)

2Ki 21:16

Manasseh also sinned grievously by shedding innocent blood till Jerusalem was quite filled with it. לפה פּה , from one edge to the other, see at 2Ki 10:21. This statement has been paraphrased by Josephus thus ( Ant. x. 3, 1): Manasseh slew πάντας ὁμῶς τοὺς δικαίους τοὺς ἐν τοῖς Ἑεβραίοις , and did not spare even the prophets, with the additional clause, which exaggerates the thing: καὶ τούτων δέ τινας καθ ̓ ἡμέραν ἀπέσφαξε, ὥστε αἵματι ῥεῖσθαι τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα .

(Note: The widespread Jewish and Christian legend, that Manasseh put to death the prophet Isaiah, and indeed had him sawn in sunder, to which there is an allusion in Heb 11:37, also belongs here. (See Delitzsch, Comm. on Isaiah , p. 5.))

2Ki 21:17-18

Manasseh was buried "in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza.""His house"cannot be the royal palace built by Solomon, because the garden is also called the garden of Uzza, evidently from the name of its former possessor. "His house"must therefore have been a summer palace belonging to Manasseh, the situation of which, however, it is impossible to determine more precisely. The arguments adduced by Thenius in support of the view that it was situated upon Ophel, opposite to Zion, are perfectly untenable. Robinson ( Pal. i. p. 394) conjectures that the garden of Uzza was upon Zion. The name עוּא ( עזּה ) occurs again in 2Sa 6:8; 1Ch 8:7; Ezr 2:49, and Neh 7:51.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 21:19-22

Reign of Amon (cf. 2Ch 33:21-25). - Amon reigned only two years, and that in the spirit of his father, that is to say, worshipping all his idols. The city of Jotbah, from which his mother sprang, was, according to Jerome (in the Onom. s. v. Jethaba), urbs antiqua Judaeae; but it is not further known.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 21:23-25

His servants conspired against him and slew him in his palace; whereupon the people of the land, i.e., the population of Judah ( הארץ עם = יהוּדה עם , 2Ch 26:1), put the conspirators to death and made Josiah the son of Amon king, when he was only eight years old.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 21:26

Amon was buried "in his grave in the garden of Uzza,"i.e., in the grave which he had had made in the garden of Uzza by the side of his father's grave. He had probably resided in this palace of his father. יקבּר , one buried him.

Constable: 2Ki 18:1--25:30

III. THE SURVIVING KINGDOM chs. 18--25

In this third major section of 1 and 2 Kings the writer showed that the captivity of Judah was also a natural consequence of not following the covenantal relationship with Yahweh. The remaining kings in 2 Kings all ruled over the Southern Kingdom. This part of the book concludes with events that happened in Judah immediately following the Babylonian Captivity in 586 B.C.

Constable: 2Ki 21:1-18

B. Manasseh's Evil Reign 21:1-18

Manasseh began reigning as vice-regent with his father Hezekiah when he was 12 years old in 697 B.C. This arrangement continued for 11 years until Hezekiah died in 686 B.C. For a total of 55 years Manasseh was king of Judah. He reigned longer than any Hebrew king, and he was Judah's worst king spiritually.

"Manasseh was the Ahab of Judah' and the antithesis of the great David."¹²⁹

Among his other serious sins Manasseh built idol altars in Yahweh's temple (v. 4). This diminished the reputation of Yahweh considerably. Canaanite idolatry, Ahab's Baalism, Canaanite astral worship, Ahaz's human sacrifice, and Saul's spiritism were all heresies he revived even though the Law of Moses condemned them (Exod. 20:3-5). He did not follow David's example, he defiled the temple with idolatry, and he rejected the Mosaic Covenant. Thus he not only acted opposite to Hezekiah, but he also scorned the examples of Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. In his day the people were more wicked in their religious practices than even the Canaanites had been (v. 9).

Isaiah and Micah were two of the prophets that God had used to warn the nation before Manasseh's reign, and their influence undoubtedly continued after their deaths. According to Jewish tradition Manasseh sawed Isaiah in two (cf. Heb. 11:37).¹³⁰ But we have no record that any prophets ministered during Manasseh's reign with the possible exception of Nahum whose ministry was against Assyria.¹³¹

Not only did Manasseh apostatize himself, he also led the nation in departing from God (v. 11). The "line of Samaria" (v. 13) refers to the righteous standard God had used to measure Samaria's fidelity to His will. The "plummet of Ahab's house" (v. 13) was the same plumb line of righteousness by which God had judged Ahab's family. God would abandon His people temporarily but not permanently (v. 14; cf. Deut. 28:63-64).

Manasseh's murders included those of his own children (v. 6) as well as Isaiah. Manasseh's many sins stained Judah deeply. Even Josiah's later reforms could not avert God's judgment (23:36). His burial reflects the fact that his behavior resulted in his people esteeming him lightly. God had disciplined him personally (cf. 2 Chron. 33:11-13), and he had become a channel of God's discipline for Judah.

Perhaps we should view the fact that God allowed such a wicked king to rule his people so long as an evidence of His longsuffering desire that Manasseh and Judah would repent. The king did repent later in life (2 Chron. 33:15-19). His long life was not a blessing for faithfulness as Hezekiah's had been but an instrument of chastening for Judah.

Constable: 2Ki 21:19-26

C. Amon's Evil Reign 21:19-26

Amon reigned two years (642-640 B.C.). Rather than continuing the repentance his father began, Amon reverted to the policies of Manasseh's earlier reign and rebelled against Yahweh completely. This provoked some of his officials to assassinate him (v. 23). Again we see that rebellion against God often leads to one's premature personal destruction (cf. 1 John 5:16). To their credit the leaders of Judah executed the king's assassins and so prevented anarchy.

Amon may have been the only king of either Israel or Judah who bore the name of a foreign god. Amon-Re was the sun god of Egypt. His father may have named him in honor of this god. However the Hebrew word amon means "faithful" so his name may not connect with Amon-Re.

Guzik: 2Ki 21:1-26

2 Kings 21 - The Wicked Reigns of Manasseh and Amon

A. The reign of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah.

1. (1-2) A summary of the reign of Manasseh, a 55 year rule of evil.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

a. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king: This means that he was born in the last fifteen years of Hezekiah's life, the additional fifteen years that Hezekiah prayed for. Those additional fifteen years brought Judah one of its worst kings.

i. "Had this good king been able to foresee the wickedness of his unworthy son, he would doubtless have no desire to recover from his sickness. Better by far die childless than beget a son such as Manasseh proved to be." (Knapp)

b. And he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem: This was both a remarkably long and a remarkably evil reign. A long career or longevity is not necessarily evidence of the blessing and approval of God.

i. "A degenerate plant of so noble a vine." (Trapp)

ii. "Manasseh is named in Assyrian annals (Menasi or Minse, King of Yaudi) among twelve rulers of Palestine who brought tribute in kind to their overlord." (Wiseman)

c. According to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before: Manasseh imitated the sins of both the Canaanites and the Israelites of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 16:3). Since God brought judgment on these groups for their sin, casting them out of their land, then similar judgment against and unrepentant Judah should be expected.

2. (3-9) The specific sins of Manasseh.

For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers; only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them." But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

a. He rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed: Manasseh opposed the reforms of his father Hezekiah and he brought Judah back into terrible idolatry.

i. This shows us that repentance and reform and revival are not permanent standing conditions. What is accomplished at one time can be opposed and turned back at another time.

b. He raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image: Manasseh did not want to imitate his godly father. Instead, he imitated one of the very worst kings of Israel: Ahab. He embraced the same state-sponsored worship of Baal and Asherah (honored with a wooden image) that marked the reign of Ahab.

c. He worshiped all the host of heaven and served them: Manasseh did not only bring back old forms of idolatry; he also brought new forms of idolatry to Judah. At this time the Babylonian Empire was rising in influence, and they had a special attraction to astrological worship. Manasseh probably imitated this.

d. He also built altars in the house of the LORD: It was bad enough for Manasseh to allow this idol worship into Judah. Worse, he corrupted the worship of the true God at the temple, and made the temple a place of idol altars, including those dedicated to his cult of astrological worship (he built altars for all the host of heaven).

e. He made his son pass through the fire: Manasseh sacrificed his own son to the Canaanite god Molech, who was worshipped with the burning of children.

f. Practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums: Manasseh invited direct Satanic influence by his approval and introduction of these occult arts.

g. He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of . . . the LORD: Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility, and worshipped through ritual prostitution. This means that Manasseh made the temple into an idolatrous brothel, dedicated to Asherah.

i. "From the whole it is evident that Asherah was no other than Venus; the nature of whose worship is plain enough from the mention of whoremongers and prostitutes." (Clarke)

h. But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil: This describes the basic attitude of the people of Judah during the 55-year reign of Manasseh. They paid no attention to the generous promises of God, promising protection to His obedient people. In addition, they were willingly seduced by Manasseh's wickedness and were attracted to do more evil.

i. He was indeed a wicked king, but perhaps the greater sin was on behalf of the people who accepting this seduction willingly. 2 Chronicles 33:10 says, And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. God spoke to both the people and the leader, but they rejected His word.

ii. "He did all he could to pervert the national character, and totally destroy the worship of the true God; and he succeeded." (Clarke)

iii. "How superficial had been the nation's compliance with Hezekiah's reforms! Without a strong spiritual leader, the sinful people quickly turned to their own evil machinations. The judgment of God could not be far away." (Patterson and Austel)

iv. This was a transformation of the culture from something generally God honoring to a culture that glorified idolatry and immorality. In general we can say this happened because the people wanted it to happen. They didn't care about the direction of their culture.

3. (10-15) God promises judgment against Judah.

And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, "Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.' "

a. The LORD spoke by His servants the prophets: When the leaders and the popular culture had abandoned God, the LORD still had a voice to Judah. He spoke by the prophets to His disobedient people.

i. "The prophets were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. These five following verses contain the sum of what these prophets spoke." (Clarke)

b. He has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him: This was a remarkable achievement of evil. The Amorites were among the Canaanite tribes who populated the Promised Land before Israel captured it, and they were infamous for their violent, immoral, and depraved culture.

c. Both his ears will tingle: In other places in the Old Testament, tingling ears are a sign that an especially severe judgment was coming (1 Samuel 3:11, Jeremiah 19:3).

d. The measuring line of Samaria: God's logic is simple. If Judah insisted on imitating the sins of the northern kingdom, then God would answer their similar sins with a similar judgment. God would cleanse Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down, subjecting them to their enemies.

i. "To wipe a dish and turn it upside-down to drain signified the depopulation of the land (cf. Jeremiah 51:34)." (Wiseman)

ii. So I will forsake: "Forsake is a strong, forceful word used to describe the skinning of an animal. It is sometimes translated cast off." (Dilday)

4. (16) Manasseh persecutes the people of God.

Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

a. Manasseh shed very much innocent blood: This puts Manasseh, King of Judah, in the same spiritual family as Ahab, King of Israel. Under both of these kings - among others - the people of God were persecuted by the religion of state-sponsored idolatry. The extent of it was so great that it could be metaphorically said, he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another with the blood of his victims.

i. We see the tragic progression in Manasseh's sin.

· First, idolatry is tolerated among God's people.

· Then idolatry is promoted.

· Then idolatry is supported and funded.

· Then the worship of the true God is undermined.

· Then the worshippers of the true God are persecuted and murdered.

· Then the judgment of God soon comes.

b. In doing evil in the sight of the LORD: By tradition, one of the evils done by Manasseh was the murder of Isaiah the prophet. Many think that Hebrews 11:37 (they were sawn in two) is a reference to the martyrdom of Isaiah.

i. "To shed innocent blood implies oppression against the young, innocent and godly (cf. 2 Kings 24:3-4). The uncorroborated Jewish tradition (The Ascension of Isaiah) says that Isaiah was sawn in half during the reign of Manasseh (cf. Hebrews 11:37)." (Wiseman)

5. (17-18) Conclusion of Manasseh's reign

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh; all that he did, and the sin that he committed; are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

a. All that he did, and the sin that he committed: This was the terrible legacy of Manasseh, who was born of one of the better kings of Judah (Hezekiah).

b. Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 2 Chronicles 33:11-19 describes a remarkable repentance on the part of Manasseh. Because he and his people would not listen to the warnings of God, the LORD allowed the Babylonians to bind King Manasseh and take him as a captive to Babylon. There, when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers (2 Chronicles 33:12) and God answered his prayer and restored him to the throne. Manasseh then proved that his repentance was genuine by taking away the idols and the foreign gods from Jerusalem, and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:16).

i. This is a wonderful example of the principle, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Manasseh was raised by a godly father, yet he lived in defiance of his father's faith for most of his life. Nevertheless, at the end of his days he truly repented and served God. In this way, we can say that it was very true that Manasseh rested with his fathers.

ii. Yet, his repentance was too late to change the nation. "The widespread revolts during the reign of Ashurbanipal, which occurred from 652-648 B.C., may provide the occasion for Manasseh's summons to Babylon and imprisonment. If so, his subsequent release and reform were apparently far too late to have much of an effect on the obdurately backslidden people." (Patterson and Austel)

iii. It was also not soon enough to change the destiny of the kingdom. "Years later, when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, the writer would blame Judah's punishment on the sins of Manasseh (2 Kings 24:3-4)." (Dilday)

B. The reign of Amon, son of Manasseh.

1. (19-22) A two year, evil reign

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. He forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.

a. He reigned two years in Jerusalem: This unusually short reign is an indication that the blessing of God was not upon the reign of Amon.

b. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done: Amon sinned as Manasseh had sinned, without having the repentance that Manasseh repented. It is likely that one of the greatest sorrows to the repentant Mansseh was that his sons and others who were influenced by his sin did not also repent.

i. "There is not one bright spot in this king's character to relieve the darkness of his life's brief record." (Knapp)

ii. 2 Chronicles 33:23 says: And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

iii. "Glycas saith that Amon hardened himself in sin by his father's example, who took his swing in sin, and yet at length repented. So, thought he, will I do; wherefore he was soon sent out of the world for his presumption, dying in his sins, as 2 Chronicles 33:23." (Trapp)

2. (23-26) The assassination of Amon.

Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place.

a. The servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house: This story of conspiracy and assassination seems to belong among the kings of Israel, not Judah. Yet when the kings and people of Judah began to imitate the sins of their conquered northern neighbors, they slipped into the same chaos and anarchy that marked the last period of Israel's history.

i. "Although the Scriptures give no reason for the conspiracy, its cause may lie within the tangled web of revolts that Asurbanipal suppressed from 642-639 and that caused him to turn his attention to the west. . . . Amnon's death may thus reflect a power struggle between those who wished to remain loyal to the Assyrian crown and those who aspired to link Judah's fortunes to the rising star of Psammetik I (664-609) of Egypt's Twenty-Sixth Dynasty." (Patterson and Austel)

b. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon: This was a hopeful sign. Up to this point, the people of Judah had largely tolerated some 57 years of utterly wicked kings who led the nation in evil. Now it seems that they wanted righteousness and justice instead of the evil they had lived with for so long.

i. In some way, it could be said that the people of Judah had these wicked kings for more than 50 years because that is what they wanted. God gave them the leaders they wanted and deserved. Now, as the people of the kingdom turned towards godliness, God will give them a better king.

c. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place: Though king Amon was assassinated, God did not yet allow Judah to slip into the same pit of anarchy that Israel had sunk into. Because of the righteous action of the people of the land, there was no change of dynasty, and the rightful heir to the throne of David received the throne.

i. "The only positive contribution Amon made to the history of Judah was to produce one of the best kings to reign on the throne of Jerusalem." (Dilday)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 2 Kings (Outline)

• MOAB REBELS. (2Ki 1:1)
• AHAZIAH'S JUDGMENT BY ELIJAH. (2Ki 1:2-8)
• ELIJAH BRINGS FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON AHAZIAH'S MESSENGERS. (2Ki 1:9-16)
• AHAZIAH DIES, AND IS SUCCEEDED BY JEHORAM. (2Ki 1:17-18)
• ELIJAH DIVINES JORDAN. (2Ki 2:1-10)
• HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (2Ki 2:11-18)
• ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2Ki 2:19-25)
• JEHORAM'S EVIL REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 3:1-3)
• MESHA, KING OF MOAB, REBELS. (2Ki 3:4-5)
• ELISHA PROMISES WATER AND VICTORY OVER MOAB. (2Ki. 3:6-24)
• ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (2Ki 4:1-7)
• PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (2Ki 4:8-17)
• RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
• PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (2Ki 4:38-41)
• SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (2Ki 4:42-44)
• NAAMAN'S LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:1-7)
• ELISHA SENDS HIM TO JORDAN, AND HE IS HEALED. (2Ki 5:8-15)
• ELISHA REFUSES NAAMAN'S GIFTS. (2Ki 5:15-19)
• GEHAZI, BY A LIE, OBTAINS A PRESENT, BUT IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:20-27)
• ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (2Ki 6:1-7)
• DISCLOSES THE KING OF SYRIA'S COUNSEL. (2Ki 6:8-17)
• HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (2Ki 6:18-23)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (2Ki 6:24-33)
• ELISHA PROPHESIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA. (2Ki. 7:1-16)
• THE UNBELIEVING LORD TRODDEN TO DEATH. (2Ki 7:17-20)
• THE SHUNAMMITE'S LAND RESTORED. (2Ki 8:1-6)
• HAZAEL KILLS HIS MASTER, AND SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:7-15)
• JEHORAM'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 8:16-23)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:24)
• JEHU IS ANOINTED. (2Ki. 9:1-23)
• AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (2Ki 9:27-35)
• JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. (2Ki 9:36-37)
• JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
• HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Ki 10:18-29)
• JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (2Ki 11:1-3)
• HE IS MADE KING. (2Ki 11:4-12)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ki 11:13-16)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (2Ki 11:17-20)
• JEHOASH REIGNS WELL WHILE JEHOIADA LIVED. (2Ki. 12:1-18)
• HE IS SLAIN. (2Ki 12:19-21)
• JEHOAHAZ'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 13:1-7)
• JOASH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki. 13:8-25)
• AMAZIAH'S GOOD REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 14:1-6)
• HE SMITES EDOM. (2Ki 14:7)
• JOASH DEFEATS HIM. (2Ki 14:8-16)
• HE IS SLAIN BY A CONSPIRACY. (2Ki 14:17-20)
• AZARIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 14:21-22)
• JEROBOAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 14:23-29)
• AZARIAH'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:1-7)
• ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 15:8-16)
• MENAHEM'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:17-21)
• PEKAHIAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:22-24)
• PEKAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:27-31)
• JOTHAM'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:32-38)
• AHAZ' WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki. 16:1-16)
• HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 16:17-19)
• HOSHEA'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 17:1-6)
• SAMARIA TAKEN, AND ISRAEL FOR THEIR SINS CARRIED CAPTIVE. (2Ki. 17:7-41)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 18:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37)
• SENNACHERIB BESIEGES JERUSALEM. (2Ki. 18:17-37)
• HEZEKIAH IN DEEP AFFLICTION. (2Ki 19:1-5)
• COMFORTED BY ISAIAH. (2Ki 19:6-7)
• SENNACHERIB SENDS A BLASPHEMOUS LETTER TO HEZEKIAH. (2Ki 19:8-13)
• HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. (2Ki. 19:14-34)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ki 19:35-36)
• SENNACHERIB SLAIN. (2Ki 19:37)
• HEZEKIAH'S LIFE LENGTHENED. (2Ki 20:1-7)
• THE SUN GOES TEN DEGREES BACKWARD. (2Ki 20:8-20)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)
• AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 21:19-26)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 22:1-2)
• HE PROVIDES FOR THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 22:3-7)
• HILKIAH FINDS THE BOOK OF THE LAW. (2Ki 22:8-15)
• JOSIAH CAUSES THE LAW TO BE READ. (2Ki 23:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
• JEHOIAKIM PROCURES HIS OWN RUIN. (2Ki 24:1-7)
• JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 24:8-9)
• JERUSALEM TAKEN. (2Ki 24:10-16)
• ZEDEKIAH'S EVIL REIGN. (2Ki 24:17-20)
• JERUSALEM AGAIN BESIEGED. (2Ki 25:1-3)
• ZEDEKIAH TAKEN. (2Ki. 25:4-30)

TSK: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

The events detailed in these books (Kings) are highly interesting and important. The account of the wisdom, magnificence, and extended commerce of Solomon; the rash and impolitic conduct of Rehoboam; the disobedient prophet; the widow of Zarephath; Elijah and the prophets of Baal; Ben-hadad’s pride and defeat; Elijah’s assumption into heaven; Elisha’s succession to his ministry, and the series of illustrious miracles he performed; the panic flight of the Syrians; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael; and the predicted death of Ahab and Jezebel, and their children, are all pregnant with instruction, and have furnished themes for frequent dissertation. We perceive in these impressive histories the characters and qualities of men painted with the utmost fidelity, and the attributes of God displayed with great effect. we contemplate the exact accomplishment of God’s promises and threatenings, the wisdom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of his government. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with pleasure in filling up the striking outlines presented to our view. The authenticity of these books is attested by the prophecies they contain, which were subsequently fulfilled; by the citation of our Saviour and his Apostles; by their universal reception by the Jewish and Christian churches; and by the corresponding testimonies of profane authors and ancient sculptures.

TSK: 2 Kings 21 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Ki 21:1, Manasseh’s reign; 2Ki 21:3, His great idolatry; 2Ki 21:10, His wickedness causes prophecies against Judah; 2Ki 21:17, Amon succeeds him; 2Ki 21:19, Amon’s wicked reign; 2Ki 21:23, He being slain by his servants, and those murderers slain by the people, Josiah is made king.

Poole: 2 Kings 21 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 21

Manasseh’ s idolatry, 2Ki 21:1-9 . Judgments prophesied against Judah, 2Ki 21:10-15 . Manasseh shed innocent blood; dieth, 2Ki 21:16-18 . Amon his son succeedeth him; and is slain by his servants; who are slain by the people: Josiah his son is made king, 2Ki 21:19-26 .

MHCC: 2 Kings 21 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Ki 21:1-9) Wicked reign of Manasseh.

(2Ki 21:10-18) The prophetic denunciations against Judah.

(2Ki 21:19-26) Wicked reign and death of Amon.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Kings

This second book of the Kings (which the Septuagint, numbering from Samuel, called the fourth ) is a continuation of the former book; and, some think, might better have been made to begin with the fifty-first verse of the foregoing chapter, where the reign of Ahaziah begins. The former book had an illustrious beginning, in the glories of the kingdom of Israel, when it was entire; this has a melancholy conclusion, in the desolations of the kingdoms of Israel first, and then of Judah, after they had been long broken into two: for a kingdom divided against itself cometh to destruction. But, as Elijah's mighty works were very much the glory of the former book, towards the latter end of it, so were Elisha's the glory of this, towards the beginning of it. These prophets out-shone their princes; and therefore, as far as they go, the history shall be accounted for in them. Here is, I. Elijah fetching fire from heaven and ascending in fire to heaven, ch. 1 and 2. II. Elisha working many miracles, both for prince and people, Israelites and foreigners, ch. 3-7. III. Hazael and Jehu anointed, the former for the correction of Israel, the latter for the destruction of the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, ch. 8-10. IV. The reign of several of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, ch. 11-16. V. The captivity of the ten tribes, ch. 17. VI. The good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, ch. 18-20. VII. Manassah's wicked reign, and Josiah's good one, ch. 21-23. VIII. The destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, ch. 24 and 25. This history, in the several passages of it, confirms that observation of Solomon, That righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings 21 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have a short but sad account of the reigns of two of the kings of Judah, Manasseh and Amon. I. Concerning Manasseh, all the account we have of him here is, 1. That he devoted himself to sin, to all manner of wickedness, idolatry, and murder (2Ki 21:1-9 and 2Ki 21:16). 2. That therefore God devoted him, and Jerusalem for his sake, to ruin (2Ki 21:10-18). In the book of Chronicles we have an account of his troubles, and his repentance. II. Concerning Amon we are only told that he lived in sin (2Ki 21:19-22), died quickly by the sword, and left good Josiah his successor (2Ki 21:23-26). By these two reigns Jerusalem was much debauched and much weakened, and so hastened apace towards its destruction, which slumbered not.

Constable: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Second Kings continues the narrative begun in 1 Kings. It opens with the translation of godly Elijah to heaven and closes with the transportation of the ungodly Jews to Babylon. For discussion of title, writer, date, and scope of 2 Kings, see the introductory section in my notes on 1 Kings.

Message¹

Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.

First Kings emphasizes the facts of these thrones. The earthly throne consistently failed, but the heavenly throne consistently prevailed. Second Kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of God.

The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of God comes through the pre-exilic prophets who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 Kings. These prophets were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah in Israel. In Judah they were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Notice first the revelation of this book concerning human failure.

The reason the nations failed was the people lost their vision of Yahweh. We can see this quite clearly in the attitudes and actions of the kings. Most of the kings were evil because they had no vision of the throne in heaven. They did not appreciate their position under God. A few of them were good, but even these fell short of the standard of devotion to God that David had set. Some of them conducted reforms, but none of them removed the places of pagan worship in the land (the "high places"). Essentially they conducted state business with little concern for God. Idolatry and foreign alliances are the evidence that the people lacked a vision of God. Another evidence of this is the people's inability to perceive their national setbacks as divine discipline. The prophets were constantly trying to help the people see this.

The method by which the nations failed was the people forgot their national vocation. They developed, on the one hand, an improper exclusiveness. They did not believe God could have any pity or mercy on any other people but themselves. Jonah demonstrated this attitude. On the other hand, they failed to be exclusive as God meant them to be. They formed alliances with other nations contrary to God's will. God intended His people to be a blessing to all other people and to trust in Him alone. The people not only lost their vision of God, they also lost their vision of their own vocation as a unique nation in the world (Exod. 19:5).

The evidence that the nations failed was the people lost their spiritual sensitivity. It is amazing but true that the ministry of the writing prophets that occupies so much space in the Old Testament was very ineffective in their own day (e.g., Isa. 53:1). The religious reformations that did take place were fairly superficial (cf. 2 Kings 22:8-20). When Hezekiah began his reform it took 16 days simply to carry the accumulated rubbish out of the temple (2 Chron. 29:17). In Josiah's day not even one copy of the Law was available until someone discovered one among the debris in the temple. When the people heard it read they were completely unfamiliar with it (2 Chron. 34:14-21).

Notice too in this book the revelation concerning the victory of God. There is much evidence of this as well.

The reason for God's victory is traceable to His promise, with an oath, to bless Abraham's descendants (Gen. 22:16-18). He will allow nothing to keep Him from fulfilling that promise. His covenant with Abraham underlies all of His dealings with the Israelites that this book documents. Remember that the Davidic Covenant grew out of the Abrahamic Covenant. God's covenants rested on His love.

The method by which God accomplished victory was by using the prophets as His messengers to communicate with His people and by using direct intervention to control their history.

The evidence of God's victory is the continued existence of the physical seed of Abraham. The Jews still exist today. Arnold Toynbe, the historian, called the Jews a fossil race. God has preserved them to fulfill His purposes on the earth. So even though they failed Him, He has not failed them.

I would summarize the message of 2 Kings, therefore, as follows. Though people fail God, God will not fail people. This is foundational to the doctrine of eternal security that the New Testament expounds more fully.

The main reason the Israelites failed God was they lost sight of Him. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision (of God) the people cast off restraint." When people lose sight of God their ideals deteriorate. They turn to idolatry to fill the vacuum left by God's absence. Also, their purposes suffer defeat. They do not achieve fulfillment or realize their destiny. Furthermore their consciences become dead. They become unresponsive to the Word of God. You have a high calling. Point people to God.

On the other hand, God will never fail humanity (Isa. 42:1, 4). The man who said this, Isaiah, could do so because He did not lose sight of God. His vision of God was clear and great (Isa. 1:1; 6:1). It enabled him to maintain confidence in the throne in heaven when the throne on earth was failing terribly (Isa. 40:27-31). Is your confidence in God? Many evangelicals are wringing their hand in distress because the Christian cause seems to be suffering in America. God is still on His throne.

If we are to serve our generation faithfully, we must see God. When we do, we will find inspiration in the certainty of His ultimate victory. How can we keep God in our view? Read the Word daily. Pray. Bring Him into all your decisions, your worries, your fears. Do not lose sight of Him for one day. Do not forget your vocation in life (Matt. 28:19-20). Ask God to keep you spiritually sensitive.

Constable: 2 Kings (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Kings)

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

4. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:15

5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24

6. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29

C. The second period of antagonism 9:30-17:41

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

2. Athaliah's evil reign in Judah 11:1-20

3. Jehoash's good reign in Judah 11:21-12:21

4. Jehoahaz's evil reign in Israel 13:1-9

5. Jehoash's evil reign in Israel 13:10-25

6. Amaziah's good reign in Judah 14:1-22

7. Jeroboam II's evil reign in Israel 14:23-29

8. Azariah's good reign in Judah 15:1-7

9. Zechariah's evil reign in Israel 15:8-12

10. Shallum's evil reign in Israel 15:13-16

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

15. Ahaz's evil reign in Judah ch. 16

16. Hoshea's evil reign in Israel 17:1-6

17. The captivity of the Northern Kingdom 17:7-41

III. The surviving kingdom chs. 18-25

A. Hezekiah's good reign chs. 18-20

1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12

2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37

3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13

4. Hezekiah's prayer 19:14-19

5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37

6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11

7. The prophecy of Babylonian captivity 20:12-19

8. Hezekiah's death 20:20-21

B. Manasseh's evil reign 21:1-18

C. Amon's evil reign 21:19-26

D. Josiah's good reign 22:1-23:30

1. Josiah's goodness 22:1-2

2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27

3. Josiah's death 23:28-30

E. Jehoahaz's evil reign 23:31-35

F. Jehoiakim's evil reign 23:36-24:7

G. Jehoiachin's evil reign 24:8-17

H. Zedekiah's evil reign 24:18-25:7

I. The captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Constable: 2 Kings

2 Kings

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book brings us to the conclusion of the kingdom of Israel, (chap. xvii.) and to the captivity of Juda, at Babylon, chap. xxv. We behold some virtuous princes reigning over the two tribes [of Juda and Benjamin], while the ten were uniformly governed by men of perverse morals. (Worthington) --- Yet there were some who adhered to the Lord in both kingdoms. David and his descendants (Haydock) occupy the throne near 480 years; and, after the captivity, continue in some degree of honour till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) --- But various families rule over Israel; some by usurpation, (Haydock) others by God's appointment: who thus chooses to chastise the wicked. He still watches over his Church, and sends his prophets for the instruction of all. (Worthington) --- We have enquired in the preface of the former Book, who composed this. (Haydock) --- The kingdom of Israel subsists about 250, (Worthignton) or 254 years. This Book contains the transactions of 308 years. (Calmet) --- But the chronology is extremely perplexed. To the sixth year of Ezechias, when Israel was led away captive, the kingdom of Juda seems to have lasted 260, and that of Israel only 241 years, though they both commenced at the same period. The errors regard the kings of Isreal, according to Houbigant, who would assign the following years to the respective kings of Juda and Israel. 1. Of Juda: Solomon, 40; Roboam, 17; Abiam, 3; Asa, 41, Josaphat, 25; Joram, 8; Ochozias, 1; (the same is said to have begun to reign in the preceding year, the 11th of Joram, 4 Kings ix. 29, incorrectly) Athalia, 6; Joas, 40; Amasias, 29p; (he reigns 15 after the death of Joas, king of Isreal) Azarias, 52; Joatham, 16; Achaz, 16; Ezechias, 6; in which year, the three hundredth from the commencement of Solomon's reign, and the two hundred and sixtieth of the kingdom of Juda, Samaria was taken. 2. The kings of Israel: Jeroboam, 22; Nadab, 2; Baasa, 24; Ela, 2; Zambri, 7 days; Amri, 12; Achab, 22; Ochozias, 2; Joram, 12; Jehu, 28; Joachaz, 17; Joas, 16; Jeroboam, 41; Zacharias, 10½; (in the text 10 is omitted.; Haydock) Sellum, 1 month; Manahem, 10; Phaceia, 2; Phacee, 30; (in the text, 20.; Haydock) Osee, 9; in all, 261½ years, (Houbigant, Chron. Sac.) or 261 years and 7 months. The variation of 19 months, which still appears, may be owing to some of the years being incomplete. (Haydock) --- 3. After a reign of 28 years over Juda, Ezechias is succeeded by Manasses, who reigns 55: Amon, 2; Josias, 31; Joachaz, a few months; Eliacim, or Joakim, 11; Joachin, Conias, or Jechonias, had reigned ten years with his father. After three months and ten days reigning alone, he is led away to Babylon with part of the people. Matthanias, or Sedecias, is appointed in his stead; but proving refractory, is also, after nine years, deprived of his sight, and conducted with 832 of his subjects to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor had already led away 3023, under Joachin. After the death of Godolias, who was left to govern the miserable remains of the people, the year of the world 3417, he made 745 more captives, and thus an end was put to the kingdom of Juda. The scourge had been retarded for some time, by the repentance of Manasses, and the prayers of the prophets. (Calmet)

Gill: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

Gill: 2 Kings 21 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 21

In this chapter a short history is given of the two wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon; Manasseh is charged with great idolatry, with enchantments and witchcrafts, and seducing the children of Israel, 2Ki 21:1 and a prophecy is given out of the destruction of Jerusalem for his sins, 2Ki 21:10, and an account is given of his death and burial, 2Ki 21:17, and of his son and successor Amon, and the evils committed by him, 2Ki 21:19 and of the conspiracy against his life, which succeeded, and Josiah his son reigned in his stead, 2Ki 21:23.