2 Kings 12:5-6

12:5 The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.” ¹ 

12:6 By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple.

2 Kings 12:8

12:8 The priests agreed ²  not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. ³ 

2 Kings 19:2

19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, ⁴  clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:

2 Kings 23:8

23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined ⁵  the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. ⁶  He tore down the high place of the goat idols ⁷  situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate.

2 Kings 12:4

12:4 Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal ⁸  all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, ⁹  the silver received from those who have made vows, ¹⁰  and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple. ¹¹ 

2 Kings 12:9

12:9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of ¹²  the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple.

[12:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurer, and let them repair the damage of the temple, with respect to all the damage that is found there.” The word מַכָּר (makar), translated here “treasurer,” occurs only in this passage. Some suggest it means “merchant” or “benefactor.” Its usage in Ugaritic texts, where it appears in a list of temple officials, suggests that it refers in this context to individuals who were in charge of disbursing temple funds.

[12:8]  ² tn Outside of this passage the verb אוּת (’ut) appears only in Gen 34:15-22.

[12:8]  ³ tn Heb “and not to repair the damages to the temple.” This does not mean that the priests were no longer interested in repairing the temple. As the following context makes clear, the priests decided to hire skilled workers to repair the damage to the temple, rather than trying to make the repairs themselves.

[19:2]  ³ tn Heb “elders of the priests.”

[23:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “defiled; desecrated,” that is, “made ritually unclean and unusable.”

[23:8]  ⁵ sn These towns marked Judah’s northern and southern borders, respectively, at the time of Josiah.

[23:8]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads “the high places of the gates,” which is problematic in that the rest of the verse speaks of a specific gate. The translation assumes an emendation to בָּמוֹת הַשְּׁעָרִים (bamot hashÿ’arim), “the high place of the goats” (that is, goat idols). Worship of such images is referred to in Lev 17:7 and 2 Chr 11:15. For a discussion of the textual issue, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 286-87.

[12:4]  ⁵ tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.

[12:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the silver of passing over a man.” The precise meaning of the phrase is debated, but עָבַר (’avar), “pass over,” probably refers here to counting, suggesting the reference is to a census conducted for taxation purposes. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the silver of persons, his valuation.” The precise meaning of the phrase is uncertain, but parallels in Lev 27 suggest that personal vows are referred to here. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the Lord.”

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “on the right side of the altar as a man enters.”