2 Kings chapter 14
14:3, 4. Amaziah was a spiritual improvement over his father Joash, but was far from exemplary in his faith (cf. 2 Chr.
25:2, 14-16).
14:7. Edom had successfully rebelled against Judah in the days of Jehoram (cf. 8:20-22). Amaziah's God-given
success is detailed more fully in 2 Chronicles 25:5-16. Unfortunately, that victory aroused a foolish pride (cf. v. 10)
and caused spiritual compromise , for which Amaziah was rebuked by a prophet of the Lord (cf. 2 Chr. 25:14-16).
14:9. The provocation for Amaziah's challenge lay in the fact that when he had dismissed some Israelite
mercenaries, which he had planned to use in the Edomite campaign, they had looted certain Judean cities on their
way homeward (2 Chr. 25:6-10, 13). Proud Amaziah (v. 10) foolishly thought to test the battle-proven Jehoash, king
of Israel (cf. 13:25).
14:12-14. Amaziah's stubbornness will cost him his freedom (2 Chr. 25:23-25), and Jerusalem also paid a heavy
price in Jehoash's invasion and looting of the city.
14:17-19. Amaziah was still alive when Jehoash died (cf. 2 Chr. 25:25). Apparently Jehoash's son Jeroboam II,
released him and he returned home to live another fifteen years. Like his father before him, Amaziah was to die at
the hands of assassins.
14:21. Azariah is also called Uzziah (2 Chr. 26:1; Is. 1:1).
14:22. Elath had been important to the Israelites in Solomon's day (cf. 1 Kin. 9:26-28; 10:22) and in the era of
Jehoshaphat (cf. 2 Chr. 20:36).
14:25. Jeroboam II reigned 41 years, including 15 years of co-regency with his father Jehoash. He inherited a strong
kingdom and was able to reverse the military advantage that the Arameans had so long enjoyed. He pushed the
frontier of the northern kingdom beyond Hamath and Damascus in Syria (v. 28). With Adad Nerari III of Assyria dead,
and weaker kings on the Assyrian throne, Jeroboam had a free hand in Aramean affairs. Unfortunately, his military
and administrative abilities were not matched by any spiritual sensitivity (v. 24). The prophets Hosea and Amos decry
the spiritual bankruptcy of the northern kingdom in the early eighth century B.C.
2 Kings Chapter 15
15:5. During Azariah's leprosy, he lived in isolation from public activities. Therefore, he associated his son Jotham
with him as co-regent. The eighth-century prophets of the southern kingdom (Joel, Isaiah, and Micah) attest to the
loss of spiritual vitality and genuine religion in Judah.
15:10. Zachariah's assassination fulfilled the Lord's promise to Jehu to prolong his house to the fourth generation
(10:30), and fulfilled Amos' s prediction concerning the family of Jeroboam (Amos 7:9).
15:16. For this barbaric practice, see the note on 8:12.
15:19, 20. Pul was the personal name of Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, who reigned from 745 to 727 B.C.. Apparently
he allowed himself to be called by his personal name Pul in Babylon. After usurping the throne in 745 B.C., he
immediately launched a campaign against the west that brought the northern kingdom into political vassalage.
Thereafter the political situation in Israel would be heavily tied to the Assyrian throne. Tiglath-pileser III and his
successors were vigorous kings who made Assyria the dominant power in the ancient Near East until late in the
seventh century B.C.
15:25-27. Harmonization of the various scriptural data makes it clear that Pekah actually ruled only about eight years
(c. 740-732 B.C.) Apparently Pekah had laid claim to the throne some 12 years previously and had achieved some
local prominence. Because he was anti- Assyrian in sentiment, the Scriptures credit him with a full twenty years of
reign.
15:29, 30. Pekah and Rezin, an Aramean king, had attempted to pressure Ahaz of Judah into an anti- Assyrian
alliance (cf. 2 Chr. 28:5-15; Is. 7). Ahaz, however, refused and hired Tiglath-pileser against them (16:7), who
launched a second western campaign into Syro-Palestine that resulted in the capture of Damascus in 732 B.C. (16:
9, 10) and the assassination of Pekah by pro-Assyrian forces in Israel. This latter deed is corroborated in the
inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III, who also lists Israel's heavy tribute at this time.
15:35. Jotham is given a good report by the author of Chronicles. He was noted for his building activities and his
military abilities (cf. 2 Chr. 27:3-7).
15:37. Ahaz was already co-regent with his father Jotham in the days of the conspiracy of Rezin and Pekah.
2 Kings Chapters 16
16:3, 4. Ahaz was an apostate. He not only allowed corrupting religious practices to flourish but personally
participated in them. His spiritual debauchery included taking part in the heathen Molech sacrifices. This involved
sending children through the sacrificial fire as an offering to the Canaanite god Baal (cf. Lev. 20:1-5; 2 Kin. 23:10;
Jer. 7:30-33;19:5, 6; 32:35). See the note on 2 Chronicles 28:3..
16:5-10. See the note on 15:29, 30.
16:11-16. Replacing the brazen altar with a pagan altar was only one of several religious changes made by Ahaz (cf.
v. 17; 2 Chr. 28:22-25). He even went as far as to close the temple (2 Chr. 28:24).
16:17. Ahaz's capitulation to the Assyrian king was total.
2 Kings Chapters 17
17:3. Shalmaneser V, son of Tiglath-pileser III, reigned in Assyria from 727 to 722 B.C.
17:4. Apparently Hoshea had thought that the death of Tiglath-pileser III must provide a good opportunity for
freedom from Assyria vassalage. So is the Hebrew name of the capital city of Egypt's Twenty-fourth Dynasty where
Tef Nekht was king.
17:5, 6. Hoshea's misjudgment was to bring the northern kingdom to its end. After a three year siege, Samaria fell in
722 B.C. Although Shalmaneser V was still king, his general and successor, Sargon II, later took credit for the actual
capture of Samaria. Israel's population was largely deported, so the nation would no longer cause trouble for Assyria
(cf. 18:9-12).
17:17, 18. The causes of Israel's demise are rehearsed. Israel had a case record of continual spiritual harlotry (cf. 6:
3-5, 9-16). Time and again God had sent chastisement and His prophets to bring about their repentance and
restoration. Ultimately He could do nothing else than bring about the threatened judgment (cf. vv. 20-23 with Deut.
28:47-68).
17:24. Sargon sent people from various parts of the Assyrian Empire to replace the deported Israelites. They
intermarried with the remaining Israelites, and a new people known as Samaritans came into being.
17:32, 33. The newly established religion of the Samaritans was largely a mixture of Israel's corrupted religion and
the paganism brought by those who were settled in the northern kingdom. Accordingly, it was apostate, from the
onset and so the Jews rejected both the Samaritans and their religion (cf. John 4:9; 8:48).
2 Kings Chapter 18
18:4. The brazen serpent (cf. Num. 21:5-9) had remained a symbol of deliverance. However, it had become a
source of spiritual confusion and idolatrous worship, possibly associated with the worship of Asherah. Therefore, it
had to be destroyed.
18:5 Hezekiah is remembered for his great trust in the Lord, much as Josiah would be remembered for his zeal for
the law of the Lord (23:25). Hezekiah’s great spiritual concern is well documented by the author of Chronicles, who
catalogs extensively the great revival in his time (2 Chr. 29-31).
18:13. The Assyrian king Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) launched his third campaign in the year 701 B.C. His annals
report that it was directed at the western countries and against Hezekiah in particular. Hezekiah had joined with the
Phoenicians, the Philistines of Ekron, and Eqypt in an alliance against the Assyrian king.
18:14. The siege of Lachish and Hezekiah’s payment of tribute are confirmed by inscriptions from Sennacherib’s
palace at Nineveh.
18:15-17. Hezekiah’s large payment probably convinced Sennacherib that there must be much more treasure at
Jerusalem. Therefore, he put the city under siege until his present campaigning at Lachish would allow him to bring
his full army up to Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s further preparations for a siege are detailed in 2 Chronicles 32:3-8.
18:17. The names here are all known Assyrian military titles: tartan (second in command), Rab-saris (chief officer;
lit., chief eunuch), and Rab-shakeh (chief aide).
18:18. The Assyrian three-man delegation was meet by Hezekiah’s three-man team. Shebna, the scribe and royal
chamberlain, would later be replaced by Eliakim (cf. Is. 22:15-25).
18:19. The Rab-shakeh begins a bit of psychological warfare to undermine the spirit of resistance in Jerusalem (cf.
vv. 26, 27). This tactic was often practiced by Assyrian besiegers. The term great king was traditionally reserved for
leaders of super powers in the ancient Near East.
18:21. The Rab-shakeh’s evaluation of a then weak Egypt was shared by Isaiah (Is. 20; 30:3-5; 31:1-3).
18:25. Did Hezekiah trust in the Lord (cf. v. 22)? The Rab-shakeh’s claims that God had sent Sennacherib to
Jerusalem to judge it!
18:26. The Aramaic (Syrian) language was the language of international diplomacy at this time.
18:28-36. The Rab-shakeh urges the people of Jerusalem to find peace and prosperity by surrendering to
Sennacherib.
18:37. The torn clothes of Hezekiah’s three men was a sign of grief, humiliation, and sorrow (cf. 19:4)