2 Kings 16:18

16:18 He also removed the Sabbath awning ¹  that had been built ²  in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria. ³ 

2 Kings 16:1

Ahaz’s Reign over Judah

16:1 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah.

2 Kings 9:18

9:18 So the horseman ⁴  went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ⁵  Jehu replied, “None of your business! ⁶  Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.”

2 Kings 1:16

1:16 Elijah ⁷  said to the king, ⁸  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ⁹  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ¹⁰ 

2 Kings 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ¹²  “Go, ask ¹³  Baal Zebub, ¹⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Kings 23:13

23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, ¹⁵  that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom.

Ezekiel 44:3

44:3 Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal ¹⁶  before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way.”

Ezekiel 46:2

46:2 The prince will enter by way of the porch of the gate from the outside, and will stand by the doorpost of the gate. The priests will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out. But the gate will not be closed until evening.

¹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מוּסַךְ (musakh; Qere) / מִיסַךְ (misakh; Kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see HALOT 557 s.v. מוּסַךְ and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189-90.

² tn Heb “that they built.”

³ sn It is doubtful that Tiglath-pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 190, 193.

⁴ tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”

⁵ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

⁶ tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”

⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

¹⁰ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

¹¹ map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

¹² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

¹³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

¹⁴ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

¹⁵ sn This is a derogatory name for the Mount of Olives, involving a wordplay between מָשְׁחָה (mashÿkhah), “anointing,” and מַשְׁחִית (mashÿkhit), “destruction.” See HALOT 644 s.v. מַשְׁחִית and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.

¹⁶ tn Heb “to eat bread.”