2 Kings 15:33

Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign,.... Alone, after the death of his father: and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his reign, upon the whole, was a good reign: and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok; a person well known in those times; Dr. Lightfoot (h) thinks he was high priest. (h) Works, vol. 1. p. 100.

2 Kings 15:33-34 . Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign — Namely, properly and alone; for he had reigned before this as his father’s deputy. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord — Josephus gives him a very high character; that he was pious toward God, just toward men, and laid himself out for the public good; that whatever was amiss he took care to have it rectified; and, in short, wanted no virtue that became a good prince. And though the high places were not taken away, yet, to draw the people from them, and keep them close to God’s holy place, he showed great respect to the temple, and built, or rebuilt rather, the higher gate, not indeed of the temple itself, but of one of its courts, probably that which led to the king’s palace, 2 Chronicles 23:20 . “If magistrates,” says Henry, “cannot do all they would for the suppression of vice and profaneness, let them do so much the more for the support and advancement of piety and virtue, and bringing of them into reputation. If they cannot pull down the high places of sin, yet let them build and beautify the high gate of God’s house.”

Verse 33. - Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem - i.e. sixteen years from his appointment to be regent, as appears plainly from 2 Chronicles 26:23 and 2 Chron 27:1 (comp. Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' 9:10. § 4; 12. § 1) - and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. So the author of Chronicles ( 2 Chronicles 27:1 ); Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' 9:11. § 2) calls his mother "Jerasa." 2 Kings 15:33

Reign of Jotham of Judah (cf. 2 Chronicles 27:1-9 ). - 2 Kings 15:32 . "In the second year of Pekah Jotham began to reign." This agrees with the statement in 2 Kings 15:27 , that Pekah became king in the last year of Uzziah, supposing that it occurred at the commencement of the year. Jotham's sixteen years therefore came to a close in the seventeenth year of Pekah's reign ( 2 Kings 16:1 ). His reign was like that of his father Uzziah (compare 2 Kings 15:34 , 2 Kings 15:35 with 2 Kings 15:3 , 2 Kings 15:4 ), except, as is added in Chr. 2 Kings 15:2 , that he did not force himself into the temple of the Lord, as Uzziah had done ( 2 Chronicles 26:16 ). All that is mentioned of his enterprises in the account before us is that he built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, that is to say, that he restored it, or perhaps added to its beauty. The upper gate, according to Ezekiel 9:2 compared with 2 Kings 8:3 , 2 Kings 8:5 , 2 Kings 8:14 and 2 Kings 8:16 , is the gate at the north side of the inner or upper court, where all the sacrifices were slaughtered, according to Ezekiel 40:38-43 . We also find from 2 Chronicles 27:3 . that he built against the wall of Ophel, and several cities in the mountains of Judah, and castles and towers in the forests, and subdued the Ammonites, so that they paid him tribute for three years. Jotham carried on with great vigour, therefore, the work which his father had began, to increase the material prosperity of his subjects.

Yet, from the fact that in 2 Chronicles 33:1, as in 2 Kings 21:1, the duration of Manasseh's reign is stated to have been fifty-five years, without any mention being made of an interruption, we may probably draw this conclusion at least, that the captivity did not last long, and that he received his liberty upon a promise to pay tribute, although he appears not to have kept this promise, or only for a short period. For that, in the period between Hezekiah and Josiah, Judah must have come into a certain position of dependence upon Assyria, cannot be concluded from 2 Kings 23:19 (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:15 with 2 Chronicles 17:28) and 2 Chronicles 23:29, as E. Gerlach thinks.

An exact repetition of 1 Kings 15:16 . From the book before him 1 Kings 15:31 the writer extracts a passage which happens to correspond exactly with one which he has already extracted from the "Book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah." He does not object to repeating himself (compare 1 Kings 14:21 , 1 Kings 14:31 ; 1 Kings 14:30 ; 1 Kings 15:6 ; 2 Kings 17:6 ; 2 Kings 18:11 ).