2 Kings 23:31-34

Jehoahaz’s Reign over Judah

23:31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother ²  was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 23:32 He did evil in the sight of ³  the Lord as his ancestors had done. ⁴  23:33 Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him in Riblah in the land of Hamath and prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem. ⁵  He imposed on the land a special tax ⁶  of one hundred talents ⁷  of silver and a talent of gold. 23:34 Pharaoh Necho made Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. ⁸ 

2 Kings 23:1

The King Institutes Religious Reform

23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁹ 

2 Kings 3:15

3:15 But now, get me a musician.” ¹⁰  When the musician played, the Lord energized him, ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 22:11

22:11 “‘For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, “He will never return to this land. ¹² 

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.”

³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

⁴ tn Heb “according to all which his fathers had done.”

⁵ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has “when [he was] ruling in Jerusalem,” but the marginal reading (Qere), which has support from Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses, has “[preventing him] from ruling in Jerusalem.”

⁶ tn Or “fine.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “almost four tons of silver and about seventy-five pounds of gold.”

⁸ tn Heb “and he took Jehoahaz, and he came to Egypt and he died there.”

⁹ tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”

¹⁰ tn The term used refers to one who plays a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp.

¹¹ tn Heb “the hand of the Lord came on him.” This may refer to what typically happened, “[for] when a musician played, the hand of the Lord would come upon him.”

¹² tn Heb “For thus said the Lord concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of his father who went away from this place: He will not return there again.”