Bible Commentaries
2 Kings 14

Introduction

2 Kings 13:1 to 2 Kings 17:6 . The remainder of the history of Israel to the fall of Samaria, with the contemporary annals of Judah, is of the nature of chronicle rather than history. There are few interesting narratives like those in the earlier parts of the book. The exceptions are: ( a) the death of Elisha ( 2 Kings 13:14 ff.); ( b) the war between Israel and Judah ( 2 Kings 14:8-16); ( c) the repairs of the Temple at Jerusalem by Ahaz ( 2 Kings 16:10-16). The main sources are: ( a) the records of the kings of Israel and Judah; ( b) the biography of Elisha; ( c) Deuteronomic notes of reigns, etc.; ( d) later additions.

Verses 1-22

2 Kings 14:1-22 . The Reign of Amaziah, son of Joash, King of Judah.— Amaziah was a virtuous king like his father Joash, but not according to the standard of David. This is the judgment of the Deuteronomist, who refers to the law-book of his age, approving the king’ s forbearance in not punishing the sons of his father’ s murderers ( Deuteronomy 21:1-9 *, Deuteronomy 24:16). Amaziah was successful in his wars with Edom, whose territory was peculiarly important to Judah as giving access to the Red Sea. The Edomites were defeated in the Valley of Salt as in David’ s time ( 2 Samuel 8:13, LXX). There is a place of the same name near Beersheba, but the topography here seems to require it to be in the southern Arabah, S. of the Dead Sea, especially as the result of the campaign was the recovery and rebuilding of Elath ( 2 Kings 14:22). “ The Rock” (Sela) was captured, and its name changed to Joktheel ( 2 Kings 14:7). Whether the famous rock city Petra is meant is doubtful. Petra lies in the extreme S. of the Edomite Arabah, between the Dead and Red Seas, and is approached by a wady on the eastern side (see Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp. 91ff.). It is possibly mentioned in Judges 1:36.* Stanley identified Sela, “ the cliff,” with Kadesh Barnea, and this is the name of the “ rock” which Moses smote there ( Numbers 20:8 ff.); but Kadesh would lie outside the sphere of operations if the king of Judah was trying to get to the port of Elath. Amaziah, elated by his conquest of Edom, challenged Jehoash, king of Israel, to “ look him in the face.” Whether this means in battle or to regard him no longer as a vassal is uncertain. The king of Israel replied in a parable comparing the king of Judah to a thistle, and himself to a cedar of Lebanon. After ignominiously defeating Amaziah, Joash demolished the northern wall of Jerusalem. Amaziah, like his father, was killed in a conspiracy, and was succeeded by his son Azariah.

Verses 23-29

2 Kings 14:23-29 . Reign of Jeroboam II.— The Deuterono-mistin a short section gives the dry details of Jeroboam’ s reign, the most famous of Israel’ s kings. During his forty-one years he completely freed Israel from the Syrians, and extended his territory from the entering in of Hamath to the Dead Sea. Israel’ s flourishing condition during his reign is depicted by Amos, who saw the hollowness underlying the apparent prosperity of his age. Hamath ( Isaiah 10:9 *) lies far N. of the Holy Land, on the Orontes in Syria. It was the limit of the kingdom of David and Solomon ( 2 Samuel 8:9, 1 Kings 8:65). The words “ which had belonged to Judah” ( 2 Kings 14:28) are very obscure. Burney proposes a bold emendation, and reads instead of Hamath the similar Heb. word “ wrath” : “ he turned away the wrath” of Yahweh against Israel. Amos speaks of Hamath ( Amos 6:2 *) as an independent kingdom, and its fall in Sennacherib’ s days deeply impressed Judah ( 2 Kings 18:34).

2 Kings 14:25 . Jonah the son of Amittai: this prophet can hardly be the author of the Book of Jonah, called the son of Amittai, whose adventures are there related. His native village of Gath-hepher is in the neighbourhood of Nazareth ( Joshua 19:13). Jonah is mentioned in Tob_14:4-8 , but the reading is doubtful. Tobit’ e home was in Naphtali.