ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 2 Kings 14

2 Kings 14:1–15:7 Amaziah, Jeroboam II, and Azariah. The recovery that began under Jehoash (see note on 13:23–25) continues into ch. 14. The house of Jehu brings Israel relief from Syria to the north and also from a hostile Judah to the south.

2 Kings 14:1–6 Amaziah was a relatively good king of Judah (he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord). Like others before him, he failed to remove the high places (see note on 1 Kings 3:2), but he basically kept the Law of Moses. Yet the Judean kings from Joash to Jotham are regarded as not like David (contrast 1 Kings 3:3; 22:43 with 2 Kings 14:3; 15:3). There is some doubt in the authors’ minds about the wholeheartedness of these kings’ commitment to the Lord.

2 Kings 14:7 struck down ten thousand Edomites. Edom had revolted against Judean rule during Jehoram’s reign (8:20–22). Amaziah does not reestablish Judean control over Edom, but this important victory does improve Judah’s ability to trade (see note on 14:22).

2 Kings 14:9–10 A thistle . . . sent to a cedar. Emboldened by the success of his Edomite campaign (v. 7), Amaziah of Judah has decided to confront the more powerful Jehoash of Israel. Jehoash responds with this insult as a warning.

2 Kings 14:11–14 Beth-shemesh. This town on the northwest border of Judah, about 20 miles (32 km) by road from Jerusalem, guarded an important pass from the Philistine plain. Judah’s defeat here led inevitably to an assault on Jerusalem itself and the destruction of about 600 feet (183 m) of the city wall on the northern side.

2 Kings 14:15–17 the rest of the acts of Jehoash. The information about Jehoash’s death is repeated from 13:12–13 (where he is called Joash). This may have been to contrast his death with that of Amaziah (see 14:19). It is also possible that Jehoash is highlighted here because he, as king of Israel, was essentially also the ruler of Judah in this period, as was his son Jeroboam after him. Amaziah is not said to have “ruled” in Judah after Jehoash’s death but merely to have lived fifteen years there. On the Chronicles of the Kings, see note on 1 Kings 14:19.

2 Kings 14:19 they made a conspiracy against him. Amaziah was bound to be unpopular since Jerusalem was invaded during his failed military action (vv. 11–14). Lachish was the most important fortified city in Judah besides Jerusalem. It defended one of the east-west valleys that gave access to the Judean Plateau and Jerusalem from the coastal plains.

2 Kings 14:22 Azariah, the next king of Judah, strengthened Amaziah’s gains in Edom by claiming the port of Elath at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba (the Red Sea). (But see 16:6 and note.) This town was closely associated with Ezion-geber and the worldwide trade of Solomon’s day (1 Kings 9:26). It stood at the southern end of the great King’s Highway that ran all the way north to Damascus.

2 Kings 14:25 The Assyrian assault on the area north of Israel had seriously weakened the kingdoms of that region, including Syria. This had allowed Jehoash to recapture some Israelite towns from the Syrians (13:25). In the next few years, the Assyrian kings only occasionally ventured out on military campaigns to their west. This allowed Jeroboam II of Israel, son of Jehoash, to continue the Israelite recovery begun by his father. In fact, he restored the border of northern Israel to the size it had been during Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 8:65). Jonah the son of Amittai, whose story is told in the book of Jonah, had prophesied that Jeroboam would accomplish this.

2 Kings 14:27 To blot out the name of Israel from under heaven would be to destroy Israel completely (see Deut. 9:14–19), making forgiveness and restoration impossible (see Deut. 29:20).

2 Kings 14:28 Judah in Israel. This phrase reflects the unusual situation during the reigns of Jehoash and Jeroboam II, when the kings of Israel apparently controlled Judah as well (see note on vv. 15–17). During this time territory is being restored (see v. 22) to both the north and the south. Jeroboam II ruled Israel 40 years, from 786 to 746 b.c.