Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 25:16

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The destruction of Jerusalem (24:18-25:21)

All Judah’s most capable administrators had been taken captive to Babylon. The few advisers who were left to Zedekiah had no true understanding of the situation, either political or religious, and persuaded the weak king to seek Egypt’s help in rebelling against Babylon. This was a policy that Jeremiah clearly saw was disastrous, for it would lead only to the horrors of siege and destruction. His advice was that Judah accept its fate as God’s will and submit to Babylon (18-20; 2 Chronicles 36:11-14; Jeremiah 21:1-10; Jeremiah 27:12-15; Jeremiah 37:6-10).

Zedekiah, however, followed the advice of the pro-Egypt party and rebelled against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar decided to crush the rebellious city once and for all. When Egypt came to Jerusalem’s aid, the siege was temporarily lifted, but Jeremiah warned that this would only make Babylon more determined to crush Judah, and Egypt with it. The pro-Egypt party accused Jeremiah of being a traitor and had him imprisoned (Jeremiah 37:1-28).

The Babylonians returned and soon Jeremiah’s prophecy came true. The horrors of the siege are vividly described in the book of Lamentations (Lamentations 2:10-12,Lamentations 2:19-21; Lamentations 4:4-5,Lamentations 4:7-10). When, after a year and six months, the Babylonians finally made a break in the wall, Zedekiah and some of his men tried to escape, but were captured (25:1-7).

Babylonian soldiers then poured into the city, seizing anything of value that could be taken back to Babylon, and burning or smashing what remained. This was the end of Jerusalem (587 BC). The leaders of the rebellion were killed, and the most useful citizens taken captive (8-17).

In the course of arresting the chief officials of Jerusalem, the Babylonians released Jeremiah from jail and gave him full freedom to decide where he would like to live, Babylon or Judah. Jeremiah chose to stay in Judah with a small number of farmers and other poorer people who were of no use to Babylon (18-21; Jeremiah 39:11-6).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE LOOTING AND DESTRUCTION OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

"And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases of the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the fire-pans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the brass of all these vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with network."

The pillars mentioned here were the Jachin and Boaz which adorned the entrance to the Temple of Solomon. They were of immense weight, being composed of brass elaborately forged and cast by Solomon's friend Hiram of Tyre. In a word, what is described here is the wiping off the face of the earth of the very last vestiges of the glory of Solomon. His reign was throughout an inglorious disaster; but the Jews had fallen in love with it. In the actions recorded here God destroyed their idol.

The totality of the destruction wrought upon Jerusalem was phenomenal. Unger has this: "Excavations at Jerusalem and Palestine show how thorough was the destruction wrought by the Chaldean invasion. Not a trace of Solomon's temple, nor of the houses of the Davidic kings has remained. Diggings at Azeka, Beth-Shemesh and Lachish furnish mute evidence of the terrific destruction."Merrill F. Unger, op. cit., p. 291.

Also the extent of the depopulation of Judah was probably much more extensive that some believe. The Lord had promised to make Jerusalem "a desolation," and that is certainly what it became.

"That which was of gold, in gold, that which was of silver, in silver" This means that the vessels made of precious metals were melted down and converted to metal bars.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Without weight - The Babylonians did not take the trouble to weigh the brass as they did the gold and silver. In the Assyrian monuments there are representations of the weighing of captured articles in gold and silver in the presence of the royal scribes.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

I. The Captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar’s commander-in-chief, returned to destroy Jerusalem more thoroughly and to preclude any successful national uprising in Judah.

His burning of Yahweh’s house (2 Kings 25:9) was a statement that the Babylonians had overcome Yahweh as much as it was an effort to keep the remaining Judahites from worshipping Him. This act would have thoroughly demoralized even the godly in Judah, since in the ancient Near East the condition of the house (temple) of a god reflected on that god’s reputation. The breaking down of Jerusalem’s walls (2 Kings 25:10) prevented the inhabitants from defending themselves but also visualized the fact that Judah no longer had any defense. Yahweh had been her defense. The third deportation removed all but the poorest of the people from the land (2 Kings 25:11-12).

The writer’s emphasis on the desecration of Yahweh’s temple (2 Kings 25:13-17) illustrates God’s abandonment of His people (cf. 1 Kings 9:7-9). His special interest in the pillars (2 Kings 25:17) draws attention to the fact that Israel, which God had established (Jachin), had suffered destruction. Israel’s strength (Boaz) had also departed from her because of her apostasy (cf. Samson). Most scholars believe the Babylonians either destroyed the ark of the covenant or took it to Babylon from which it never returned to Jerusalem (but cf. 2 Chronicles 5:9). A few believe the Jews hid it under the temple esplanade.

The Babylonians also cut the priesthood back (2 Kings 25:18-21) so the people could not unite around it and rebel. Its temporary termination also meant that Israel was no longer able to worship God as He had prescribed because she had been unfaithful to Him. Access to God as the Mosaic Law specified was no longer possible. Both the temple furnishings and the priesthood that God had ordained for access to Himself were no longer available to the people. Israel could no longer function as a kingdom of priests as God had intended her to live (Exodus 19:5-6).

Ezekiel and Daniel both ministered in Babylon during the Captivity: Ezekiel to the exiles in their settlement, and Daniel to the Babylonians and Medo-Persians in their capitals. The context of the Book of Esther is also the Babylonian captivity and the Persian capital.

"In the exile and beyond it, Judaism was born." [Note: Bright, p. 323.]

By this, Bright meant the present form of Israelite worship that operates around the world today without a temple and Levitical priesthood.

Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:22) was a descendant of Josiah’s secretary (of state? 2 Kings 22:3). He was a friend of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 39:14) who followed that prophet’s advice to cooperate with the Babylonians. Ishmael (2 Kings 25:25) possessed royal blood and evidently wanted to rule over Judah (cf. Jeremiah 41:2). Mizpah, the Babylonian provincial capital, was just seven miles north of Jerusalem (cf. 1 Samuel 7:5-12).

"It is not altogether clear whether this [Gedaliah’s assassination] is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (=early July; Jeremiah 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (=early August; Jeremiah 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jeremiah 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jeremiah 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zechariah 8:19)." [Note: The NET Bible note on 25:25.]

It is ironic that the Judahites who rebelled against the Babylonians and God’s will in an attempt to secure their independence ended up fleeing back to Egypt. Their forefathers had been slaves there, and God had liberated them from Egypt 850 years earlier (2 Kings 25:26; cf. Deuteronomy 28:68).

In 560 B.C., the Babylonian king Evilmerodach (562-560 B.C.) permitted Jehoiachin to enjoy a measure of freedom. Perhaps the writer of Kings chose to end his book on this positive note because in the Abrahamic Covenant, God had promised that He would never abandon His chosen people completely (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 12:7). In the Mosaic Covenant, He also assured them that if they repented, He would bring them back into their land (Deuteronomy 30:1-5; cf. 1 Kings 8:46-53). God’s mercy to Jehoiachin also points to the continuation of the Davidic dynasty that God had promised would never end (2 Samuel 7:16). God’s mercy to His people is one of the persistently recurring motifs in Kings.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:   9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.   10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.   11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.   12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.   13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.   14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.   15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.   16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.   17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.   18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:   19 And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:   20 And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:   21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.

      Though we have reason to think that the army of the Chaldeans were much enraged against the city for holding out with so much stubbornness, yet they did not therefore put all to fire and sword as soon as they had taken the city (which is too commonly done in such cases), but about a month after (compare 2 Kings 25:8; 2 Kings 25:3) Nebuzar-adan was sent with orders to complete the destruction of Jerusalem. This space God gave them to repent, after all the foregoing days of his patience, but in vain; their hearts (for aught that appears) were still hardened, and therefore execution is awarded to the utmost. 1. The city and temple are burnt, 2 Kings 25:9; 2 Kings 25:9. It does not appear that the king of Babylon designed to send any colonies to people Jerusalem and therefore he ordered it to be laid in ashes, as a nest of rebels. At the burning of the king's house and the houses of the great men one cannot so much wonder (the inhabitants had, by their sins, made them combustible), but that the house of the Lord should perish in these flames, that that holy and beautiful house should be burnt with fire (Isaiah 64:11), is very strange. That house which David prepared for, and which Solomon built at such a vast expense--that house which had the eye and heart of God perpetually upon it (1 Kings 9:3)-- might not that have been snatched as a brand out of this burning? No, it must not be fire-proof against God's judgments. This stately structure must be turned into ashes, and it is probable the ark in it, for the enemies, having heard how dearly the Philistines paid for the abusing of it, durst not seize that, nor did any of its friends take care to preserve it, for then we should have heard of it again in the second temple. One of the apocryphal writers does indeed tell us that the prophet Jeremiah got it out of the temple, and conveyed it to a cave in Mount Nebo on the other side Jordan, and hid it there (2 Macc. ii. 4, 5), but that could not be, for Jeremiah was a close prisoner at that time. By the burning of the temple God would show how little cares for the external pomp of his worship when the life and power of religion are neglected. The people trusted to the temple, as if that would protect them in their sins (Jeremiah 7:4), but God, by this, let them know that when they had profaned it they would find it but a refuge of lies. This temple had stood about 420, some say 430 years. The people having forfeited the promises made concerning it, those promises must be understood of the gospel-temple, which is God's rest for ever. It is observable that the second temple was burnt by the Romans the same month, and the same day of the month, that the first temple was burnt by the Chaldeans, which, Josephus says, was the tenth of August. 2. The walls of Jerusalem are demolished (2 Kings 25:10; 2 Kings 25:10), as if the victorious army would be revenged on them for having kept them out so long, or at least prevent the like opposition another time. Sin unwalls a people and takes away their defence. These walls were never repaired till Nehemiah's time. 3. The residue of the people are carried away captive to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:11; 2 Kings 25:11. Most of the inhabitants had perished by sword or famine, or had made their escape when the king did (for it is said, 2 Kings 25:5; 2 Kings 25:5, His army was scattered from him), so that there were very few left, who with the deserters, making in all but 832 persons (as appears, Jeremiah 52:29), were carried away into captivity; only the poor of the land were left behind (2 Kings 25:12; 2 Kings 25:12), to till the ground and dress the vineyards for the Chaldeans. Sometimes poverty is a protection; for those that have nothing have nothing to lose. When the rich Jews, who had been oppressive to the poor, were made strangers, nay, prisoners, in an enemy's country, the poor whom they had despised and oppressed had liberty and peace in their own country. Thus Providence sometimes remarkably humbles the proud and favours those of low degree. 4. The brazen vessels, and other appurtenances of the temple, are carried away, those of silver and gold being most of them gone before. Those two famous columns of brass, Jachin and Boaz, which signified the strength and stability of the house of God, were broken to pieces and the brass of them was carried to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:13; 2 Kings 25:13. When the things signified were sinned away what should the signs stand there for? Ahaz had profanely cut off the borders of the bases, and put the brazen sea upon a pavement of stones (2 Kings 16:17); justly therefore are the brass themselves, and the brazen sea, delivered into the enemy's hand. It is just with God to take away his ordinances from those that profane and abuse them, that curtail and depress them. Some things remained of gold and silver (2 Kings 25:15; 2 Kings 25:15) which were now carried off; but most of this plunder was brass, such a vast quantity of it that it is said to be without weight,2 Kings 25:16; 2 Kings 25:16. The carrying away of the vessels wherewith they ministered (2 Kings 25:14; 2 Kings 25:14) put an end to the ministration. It was a righteous thing with God to deprive those of the benefit of his worship who had slighted it so long and preferred false worships before it. Those that would have many altars shall now have none. 5. Several of the great men are slain in cold blood--Seraiah the chief priest (who was the father of Ezra as appears, Ezra 7:1), the second priest (who, when there was occasion, officiated for him), and three door-keepers of the temple (2 Kings 25:18; 2 Kings 25:18), the general of the army, five privy-counsellors (afterwards they made them up seven, Jeremiah 52:25), the secretary of war, or pay-master of the army, and sixty country gentlemen who had concealed themselves in the city. These, being persons of some rank, were brought to the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:19; 2 Kings 25:20), who ordered them to be all put to death (2 Kings 25:21; 2 Kings 25:21), when, in reason, they might have hoped that surely the bitterness of death was past. These the king of Babylon's revenge looked upon as most active in opposing him; but divine justice, we may suppose, looked upon them as ringleaders in that idolatry and impiety which were punished by these desolations. This completed the calamity: So Judah was carried away out of their land, about 860 years after they were put in possession of it by Joshua. Now the scripture was fulfilled, The Lord shall bring thee, and the king which thou shalt set over thee, into a nation which thou hast not known,Deuteronomy 28:36. Sin kept their fathers forty years out of Canaan, and now turned them out. The Lord is known by those judgments which he executes, and makes good that word which he has spoken, Amos 3:2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.