2 Chronicles 29:3

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month,.... And, as appears from 2 Chronicles 29:17 , on the first day of the month: opened the doors of the house of the Lord; which his father had shut, 2 Chronicles 28:24. and repaired them; or strengthened them, the hinges, and other parts of them, being loosened and weakened; and ornamented them by overlaying them with gold, the plates of which very probably his father had taken off; for, certain it is, Hezekiah overlaid them, and very probably at this time, see 2 Kings 18:16.

29:1-19 When Hezekiah came to the crown, he applied at once to work reform. Those who begin with God, begin at the right end of their work, and it will prosper accordingly. Those that turn their backs upon God's ordinances, may truly be said to forsake God himself. There are still such neglects, if the word be not duly read and opened, for that was signified by the lighting the lamps, and also if prayers and praise be not offered up, for that was signified by the burning incense. Neglect of God's worship was the cause of the calamities they had lain under. The Lord alone can prepare the heart of man for vital godliness: when much good is done in a little time, the glory must be ascribed to him; and all who love him or the souls of men, will rejoice therein. Let those that do good work, learn to do it well.

2 Chronicles 29:3-4 . He opened the doors of the house of the Lord — Which Ahaz his father had shut, 2 Chronicles 28:24 . And he brought in the priests, &c. — He found Judah low and naked, yet did not make it his first business to revive the civil interests of his kingdom, but to restore religion to a good posture. Those that begin with God, begin at the right end of their work, and it will prosper accordingly.

Verse 3. - In the first month ; i.e. Nisan, the first month of the calendar year (see vers. 2, 13, 15 of next chapter), not simply the first month of the new king's reign. And repaired them . This repairing of Hezekiah was, unhappily, subsequently undone of his own hands ( 2 Kings 18:14-16 ). 2 Chronicles 29:3

He in the first year of his reign, in the {a} first month, opened the {b} doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. (a) This is a notable example for all princes, first to establish the pure religion of God and to procure that the Lord may be honoured and served correctly. (b) Which Ahaz had shut up, 2Ch 28:24.

THE KING CHARGES THE LÉVITES, AND THEY CLEANSE THE HOUSE OF GOD (2Chronicles 29:3-19). (3) In the first month—i.e., in the month Nisan, the first month of the sacred year; not in the first month of his reign. (Comp. 2Chronicles 29:17 and 2Chronicles 30:23.) Opened the doors.—Which his father had closed (chap. 28:24). And repaired them.—By overlaying them with metal—bronze or gold-leaf (2Kings 18:16).

2Ch 29:3-11. He Restores Religion. 3. in the first year of his reign, in the first month—not the first month after his accession to the throne, but in Nisan, the first month of the sacred year, the season appointed for the celebration of the passover. he opened the doors of the house of the Lord—which had been closed up by his father (2Ch 28:24). and repaired them—or embellished them (compare 2Ki 18:16).

The purification of the temple by the priests and Levites. - 2 Chronicles 29:3 . In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he caused the doors of the house of Jahve to be opened and repaired (הזּק as in 2 Chronicles 24:12 , where it alternates with הדּשׁ). Cf. herewith the remark in 2 Kings 18:16 , that Hezekiah caused the doors of the היכל to be covered with leaf-gold. The date, in the first month, in the first year of his reign, is variously interpreted. As the Levites, according to 2 Chronicles 29:17 , began the purification on the first day of the first month, in eight days had reached the porch, and on the sixteenth day of the first month had completed the work, while the king had, according to 2 Chronicles 29:4 , before called upon the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves for the work, and those summoned then assembled their brethren for this purpose, and after they had consecrated themselves, began the cleansing ( 2 Chronicles 29:15 ), it would seem as if the summons of the king and the calling together of the remaining Levites had occurred before the first day of the first month, when they began the purification of the house of God. On that account Caspari (Beitrge z. Einleit. in d. B. Jesaiah, S. 111) thinks that the first month ( 2 Chronicles 29:3 ) is not the first month of the year (Nisan), but the first month of the reign of Hezekiah, who probably became king shortly before Nisan, towards the end of the year.

But it is not at all likely that הראשׁון החדר is used in a different sense in 2 Chronicles 29:3 from that in which it is used in 2 Chronicles 29:17 . We therefore hold, with Berth. and others, the first month, both in 2 Chronicles 29:3 and in 2 Chronicles 29:17 , to be the first month of the ecclesiastical year Nisan, without, however, accepting the supposition of Gumpach and Bertheau that the years of Hezekiah's reign began with the first of Tishri, for for that way of reckoning there are no certain data in the historical books of the Old Testament. The statement, "in the first year of his reign, in the first month" (not in the first year, in the first month of his reign), is sufficiently explained if Hezekiah ascended the throne in one of the last months of the calendar year, which began with Nisan.