Discovery Box2 Kings 21:4-5
Context21:4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” 1 21:5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky.
2 Kings 21:7
Context21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. 2
2 Kings 23:11-12
Context23:11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses 3 that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) 4 He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. 5 23:12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up 6 and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley.
2 Kings 23:2
Context23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud 7 all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.
2 Kings 1:4-7
Context1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 8 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 9 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 10 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 11 asked them, “Describe the appearance 12 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.”
[21:4] 1 tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
[21:7] 2 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
[23:11] 3 tn The MT simply reads “the horses.” The words “statues of” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:11] 4 tn Heb “who/which was in the […?].” The meaning of the Hebrew term פַּרְוָרִים (parvarim), translated here “courtyards,” is uncertain. The relative clause may indicate where the room was located or explain who Nathan Melech was, “the eunuch who was in the courtyards.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 288-89, who translate “the officer of the precincts.”
[23:11] 5 tn Heb “and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.”
[23:12] 6 tc The MT reads, “he ran from there,” which makes little if any sense in this context. Some prefer to emend the verbal form (Qal of רוּץ [ruts], “run”) to a Hiphil of רוּץ with third plural suffix and translate, “he quickly removed them” (see BDB 930 s.v. רוּץ, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 289). The suffix could have been lost in MT by haplography (note the mem [מ] that immediately follows the verb on the form מִשֳׁם, misham, “from there”). Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to emend the verb to a Piel of רָצַץ (ratsats), “crush,” with third plural suffix.
[23:2] 7 tn Heb “read in their ears.”
[1:6] 10 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
[1:7] 11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
