2 Kings 15:1-10

Azariah’s Reign over Judah

15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. ²  15:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease ³  until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ⁴  while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ⁵  15:7 Azariah passed away ⁶  and was buried ⁷  with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Zechariah’s Reign over Israel

15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria ⁸  for six months. 15:9 He did evil in the sight of ⁹  the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate ¹⁰  the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam ¹¹  and took his place as king.

[15:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:3]  ² tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”

[15:5]  ³ tn Traditionally, “he was a leper.” But see the note at 5:1.

[15:5]  ⁴ tn The precise meaning of בֵית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhofÿshit), “house of […?],” is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.

[15:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Azariah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

[15:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

[15:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they buried him.”

[15:8]  ⁸ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[15:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[15:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn away from.”

[15:10]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads, “and he struck him down before the people and killed him” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). However, the reading קָבָל עָם (qaval ’am), “before the people,” is problematic to some because קָבָל is a relatively late Aramaic term. Nevertheless, the Aramaic term qobel certainly antedates the writing of Kings. The bigger problem seems to be the unnecessary intrusion of an Aramaic word at all here. Most interpreters prefer to follow Lucian’s Greek version and read “in Ibleam” (בְיִבְלְעָם, bÿivle’am). Cf. NAB, TEV.