2 Kings 21.

Matthew Henry

In this chapter we have a short but sad account of the reigns of two of the kings of Judah, Manasseh and Amon. I. Concerning Manasseh, all the account we have of him here is, 1. That he devoted himself to sin, to all manner of wickedness, idolatry, and murder (Kg2 21:1-9 and Kg2 21:16). 2. That therefore God devoted him, and Jerusalem for his sake, to ruin (Kg2 21:10-18). In the book of Chronicles we have an account of his troubles, and his repentance. II. Concerning Amon we are only told that he lived in sin (Kg2 21:19-22), died quickly by the sword, and left good Josiah his successor (Kg2 21:23-26). By these two reigns Jerusalem was much debauched and much weakened, and so hastened apace towards its destruction, which slumbered not.

1–9. How delightful were our meditations on the last reign! How many pleasing views had we of Sion in its glory (that is, in its purity and in its triumphs), of the king in his beauty! (for Isa 33:17 refers to Hezekiah), and (as it follows there, Kg2 21:20) Jerusalem was a quiet habitation because a city of righteousness, Isa 1:26. But now we have melancholy work upon our hands, unpleasant ground to travel, and cannot but drive heavily. How has the gold become dim and the most fine gold changed! The beauty of Jerusalem is stained, and all her glory, all her joy, sunk and gone. These verses give such an account of this reign as make it, in all respects, the reverse of the last, and, in a manner, the ruin of it.
I. Manasseh began young. He was but twelve years old when he began to reign (Kg2 21:1), born when his father was about forty-two years old, three years after his sickness. If he had sons before, either they were dead, or set by as unpromising. As yet they knew of nothing bad in him, and they hoped he would prove good; but he proved very bad, and perhaps his coming to the crown so young might help to make it so, which yet will by no means excuse him, for his grandson Josiah came to it younger than he and yet acted well. But being young, 1. He was puffed up with his honour and proud of it; and thinking himself very wise, because he was very great, valued himself upon his undoing what his father had done. It is too common for novices to be lifted up with pride, and so to fall into the condemnation of the devil. 2. He was easily wrought upon and drawn aside by seducers, that lay in wait to deceive. Those that were enemies to Hezekiah's reformation, and retained an affection for the old idolatries, flattered him, and so gained his ear, and used his power at their pleasure. Many have been undone by coming too soon to their honours and estates.
II. He reigned long, longest of any of the kings of Judah, fifty-five years. This was the only very bad reign that was a long one; Joram's was but eight years, and Ahaz's sixteen; as for Manasseh's, we hope that in the beginning of his reign for some time affairs continued to move in the course that his father left them in, and that in the latter end of his reign, after his repentance, religion got head again; and, no doubt, when things were at the worst God had his remnant that kept their integrity. Though he reigned long, yet some of this time he was a prisoner in Babylon, which may well be looked upon as a drawback from these years, though they are reckoned in the number because then he repented and began to reform.
III. He reigned very ill.
1. In general, (1.) He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and which, having been well educated, he could not but know was so (Kg2 21:2): He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, as if on purpose to provoke him to anger, Kg2 21:6. (2.) He did after the abominations of the heathen (Kg2 21:2) and as did Ahab (Kg2 21:3), not taking warning by the destruction both of the nations of Canaan and the house of Ahab for their idolatry; nay (Kg2 21:9), he did more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed. When the holy seed degenerate, they are commonly worse than the worst of the profane.
2. More particularly, (1.) He rebuilt the high places which his father had destroyed, Kg2 21:3. Thus did he trample upon the dust, and affront the memory, of his worthy father, though he knew how much he was favoured of God and honoured of men. He concurred, it is probable, with Rabshakeh's sentiments (Kg2 18:22), that Hezekiah had done ill in destroying those high places, and pretended the honour of God, and the edification and convenience of the people, in rebuilding them. This he began with, but proceeded to that which was much worse; for, (2.) He set up other gods, Baal and Ashtaroth (which we translate a grove), and all the host of heaven, the sun and moon, the other planets, and the constellations; these he worshipped and served (Kg2 21:3), gave their names to the images he made, and then did homage to them and prayed for help from them. To these he built altars (Kg2 21:5), and offered sacrifices, no doubt, on these altars. (3.) He made his son pass through the fire, by which he dedicated him a votary to Moloch, in contempt of the seal of circumcision by which he had been dedicated to God. (4.) He made the devil his oracle, and, in contempt both of urim and prophecy, he used enchantments and dealt with familiar spirits (Kg2 21:6) like Saul. Conjurers and fortune-tellers (who pretended, by the stars or the clouds, lucky and unlucky days, good and bad omens, the flight of birds, or the entrails of beasts, to foretel things to come) were great men with him, his intimates, his confidants; their arts pleased his fancy, and gained his belief, and his counsels were under their direction. (5.) We find afterwards (Kg2 21:16) that he shed innocent blood very much in gratification of his own passion and revenge; some perhaps were secretly murdered, others taken off by colour of law. Probably much of the blood he shed was theirs that opposed idolatry and witnessed against it, that would not bow the knee to Baal. The blood of the prophets is, in a particular manner, charged upon Jerusalem, and it is probable that he put to death many of them. The tradition of the Jews is that he caused the prophet Isaiah to be sawn asunder; and many think the apostle refers to this in Heb 11:37, where he speaks of those that had so suffered.
3. Three things are here mentioned as aggravations of Manasseh's idolatry: - (1.) That he set up his images and altars in the house of the Lord (Kg2 21:4), in the two courts of the temple (Kg2 21:5), in the very house of which God had said to Solomon, Here will I put my name, Kg2 21:7. Thus he defied God to his face, and impudently affronted him with his rivals immediately under his eye, as one that was neither afraid of God's wrath nor ashamed of his own folly and wickedness. Thus he desecrated what had been consecrated to God, and did, in effect, turn God out of his own house and put the rebels in possession of it. Thus, when the faithful worshippers of God came to the place he had appointed for the performance of their duty to him, they found, to their great grief and terror, other gods ready to receive their offerings. God had said that here he would record his name, here he would put it for ever, and here it was accordingly preserved, while the idolatrous altars were kept at a distance; but Manasseh, by bringing them into God's house, did what he could to alter the property, and to make the name of the God of Israel to be no more in remembrance. (2.) That hereby he put a great slight upon the word of God, and his covenant with Israel. Observe the favour he had shown to that people in putting his name among them, - the kindness he intended them, never to make them move out of that good land, - and the reasonableness of his expectations from them, only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, Kg2 21:7, Kg2 21:8. Upon these good terms did Israel stand with God, and had as fair a prospect of being happy as any people could have; but they hearkened not, Kg2 21:9. They would not be kept close to God either by his precepts or by his promises; both were cast behind their back. (3.) That hereby he seduced the people of God, debauched them, and drew them into idolatry, Kg2 21:9. He caused Judah to sin (Kg2 21:11), as Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. His very example was enough to corrupt the generality of unthinking people, who would do as their king did, right or wrong. All that aimed at preferment would do as the court did; and others thought it safest to comply, for fear of making their king their enemy. Thus, one way or other, the holy city became a harlot, and Manasseh made her so. Those will have a great deal to answer for that not only are wicked themselves, but help to make others so.

10–18. Here is the doom of Judah and Jerusalem read, and it is heavy doom. The prophets were sent, in the first place, to teach them the knowledge of God, to remind them of their duty and direct them in it. If they succeeded not in that, their next work was to reprove them for their sins, and to set them in view before them, that they might repent and reform, and return to their duty. If in this they prevailed not, but sinners went on frowardly, their next work was to foretel the judgments of God, that the terror of them might awaken those to repentance who would not be made sensible of the obligations of his love, or else that the execution of them, in their season, might be a demonstration of the divine mission of the prophets that foretold them. The prophets were deputed judges to those that would not hear and receive them as teachers. We have here,
I. A recital of the crime. The indictment is read upon which the judgment is grounded, Kg2 21:11. Manasseh had done wickedly himself, though he knew better things, had even justified the Amorites, whose copy he wrote after, by outdoing them in impieties, and debauched the people of God, whom he had taught to sin and forced to sin; and besides that (though that was bad enough) he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood (Kg2 21:16), had multiplied his murders in every corner of the city, and filled the measure of Jerusalem's blood-guiltiness (Mat 23:32) up to the brim, and all this against the crown and dignity of the King of kings, the peace of his kingdom, and the statutes in these cases made and provided.
II. A prediction of the judgment God would bring upon them for this: They have done that which was evil, and therefore I am bringing evil upon them (Kg2 21:12); it will come and it is not far off. The judgment should be, 1. Very terrible and amazing; the very report of it should make men's ears to tingle (Kg2 21:12), that is, their hearts to tremble. It should make a great noise in the world and occasion many speculations. 2. It should be copied out (as the sins of Jerusalem had been) from Samaria and the house of Ahab, Kg2 21:13. When God lays righteousness to the line it shall be the line of Samaria, measuring out to Jerusalem that which had been the lot of Samaria; when he lays judgment to the plummet it shall be the plummet of the house of Ahab, marking out for the same ruin to which that wretched family was devoted. See Isa 28:17. Note, Those who resemble and imitate others in their sins must expect to fare as they fared. 3. That it should be an utter destruction: I will wipe it as a man wipes a dish. This intimates, (1.) That every thing should be put into disorder, and their state subverted; they should be turned upside down, and all their foundations put out of course. (2.) That the city should be emptied of its inhabitants, which had been the filth of it, as a dish is emptied when it is wiped: "They shall all be carried captive, the land shall enjoy her sabbaths, and be laid by as a dish when it is wiped." See the comparison of the boiled pot, not much unlike this, Eze 24:1-14. (3.) That yet this should be in order to the purifying, not the destroying, of Jerusalem. The dish shall not be dropped, not broken to pieces, or melted down, but only wiped. This shall be the fruit, the taking away of the sinners first, and then of the sin. 4. That therefore they should be destroyed, because they should be deserted (Kg2 21:14): I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance. Justly are those that forsake God forsaken of him; nor does he ever leave any till they have first left him: but, when God has forsaken a people, their defence has departed, and they become a prey, an easy prey, to all their enemies. Sin is spoken of here as the alpha and omega of their miseries. (1.) Old guilt came in remembrance, as that which began to fill the measure (Kg2 21:15): "They have provoked me to anger from their conception and birth as a people, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt." The men of this generation, treading in their fathers' steps, are justly reckoned with for their fathers' sins. (2.) The guilt of blood was that which filled the measure, Kg2 21:16. Nothing has a louder cry, nor brings a sorer vengeance, than that.
This is all we have here of Manasseh; he stands convicted and condemned; but we hope in the book of Chronicles to hear of his repentance, and acceptance with God. Meantime, we must be content, in this place, to have only one intimation of his repentance (for so we are willing to take it), that he was buried, it is likely by his own order, in the garden of his own house (Kg2 21:18); for, being truly humbled for his sins, he judged himself no more worthy to be called a son, a son of David, and therefore not worthy to have even his dead body buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. True penitents take shame to themselves, not honour; yet, having lost the credit of an innocent, the credit of a penitent was the next best he was capable of. And better it is, and more honourable, for a sinner to die repenting, and be buried in a garden, than to die impenitent, and be buried in the abbey.

19. Here is a short account of the short and inglorious reign of Amon, the son of Manasseh. Whether Manasseh, in his blind and brutish zeal for his idols, had sacrificed his other sons - or whether, having been dedicated to his idols, they were refused by the people - so it was that his successor was a son not born till he was forty-five years old. And of him we are here told, 1. That his reign was very wicked: He forsook the God of his fathers (Kg2 21:22), disobeyed the commands given to his fathers, and disclaimed the covenant made with his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord, but in all the way which his father walked in, Kg2 21:20, Kg2 21:21. He trod in the steps of his father's idolatry, and revived that which he, in the latter end of his days, had put down. Note, Those who set bad examples, though they may repent themselves, yet cannot be sure that those whom they have drawn into sin by their example will repent; it is often otherwise. 2. That his end was very tragical. He having rebelled against God, his own servants conspired against him and slew him, probably upon some personal disgust, when he had reigned but two years, Kg2 21:23. His servants, who should have guarded him, murdered him; his own house, that should have been his castle of defence, was the place of his execution. He had profaned God's house with his idols, and now God suffered his own house to be polluted with his blood. How unrighteous soever those were that did it, God was righteous who suffered it to be done. Two things the people of the land did, by their representatives, hereupon: - (1.) They did justice on the traitors that had slain the king, and put them to death; for, though he was a bad king, he was their king, and it was a part of their allegiance to him to avenge his death. Thus they cleared themselves from having any hand in the crime, and did what was incumbent on them to deter others from the like villainous practices. (2.) They did a kindness to themselves in making Josiah his son king in his stead, whom probably the conspirators had a design to put by, but the people stood by him and settled him in the throne, encouraged, it may be, by the indications he gave, even in his early days, of a good disposition. Now they made a happy change from one of the worst to one of the best of all the kings of Judah. "Once more," says God, "they shall be tried with a reformation; and, if that succeed, well; if not, then after that I will cut them down." Amon was buried in the same garden where his father was, Kg2 21:26. If his father put himself under that humiliation, the people will put him under it.

Adam Clarke

Manasseh succeeds his father Hezekiah, reigns fifty-five years, and fills Jerusalem and the whole land with abominable idolatry and murder, Kg2 21:1-9. God denounces the heaviest judgments against him and the land, Kg2 21:10-15. Manasseh's acts and death, Kg2 21:16-18. Amon his son succeeds him, and reigns two years; is equally profligate with his father; is slain by his servants, and buried in the garden of Uzza; and Josiah his son reigns in his stead, Kg2 21:19-26.

1. Manasseh was twelve years old - He was born about three years after his father's miraculous cure; he was carried captive to Babylon, repented, was restored to his kingdom, put down idolatry, and died at the age of sixty-seven years. See 2 Chronicles 33:1-20.

2. After the abominations of the heathen - He exactly copied the conduct of those nations which God had cast out of that land.

3. Made a grove - He made Asherah, the Babylonian Melitta or Roman Venus. See Kg2 17:10, and the observations at the end of that chapter; and see here on Kg2 21:7 (note).
Worshipped all the host of heaven - All the stars and planets, but particularly the sun and the moon.

4–5. Built altars - He placed idolatrous altars even in the temple.

6. Made his son pass through the fire - Consecrated him to Moloch.
Observed times - ועונן veonen; he practiced divination by the clouds; by observing their course at particular times, their different kinds, contrary directions, etc., etc.
Used enchantments - ונחש venichesh; he used incantations, spells, and charms.
Dealt with familiar spirits - ועשה אוב veasah ob; he was a necromancer; was a raiser of spirits, whom he endeavored to press into his service; he had a Python.
And wizards - וידענים veyiddeonim; the knowing ones, the white witches, and such like; see on Lev 19:26-31 (note), where most of these terms are particularly explained and illustrated.

7. He set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house - Every one may see that Asherah here must signify an idol, and not a grove; and for the proof of this see the observations at the end of the chapter, Kg2 21:26 (note).

8. Neither will I make the feet of Israel - Had they been faithful to God's testimonies they never had gone into captivity, and should even at this day have been in possession of the promised land.

9. Seduced them to do more evil - He did all he could to pervert the national character, and totally destroy the worship of the true God; and he succeeded.

10–11. The Lord spake by - the prophets - The prophets were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. These five following verses contain the sum of what these prophets spoke. It is said that Isaiah not only prophesied in those days, but also that he was put to death by Manasseh, being sawn asunder by a wooden saw.

12. Both his ears shall tingle - תצלנה titstsalnah; something expressive of the sound in what we call, from the same sensation, the tingling of the ears. This is the consequence of having the ears suddenly pierced with a loud and shrill noise; the ears seem to ring for some time after. The prophets spoke to them vehemently, so that the sound seemed to be continued even when they had left off speaking. This was a faithful and solemn testimony.

13. The line of Samaria - I will treat Jerusalem as I have treated Samaria. Samaria was taken, pillaged, ruined, and its inhabitants led into captivity; Jerusalem shall have the same measure.
And the plummet of the house of Ahab - The house of Ahab was totally destroyed, and not a man of his race left to sit upon the throne of Israel: so shall it be done to the house or royal family of Judah; they shall be all finally destroyed, and not a man of their race shall any more sit on the throne of Judah; nor shall Judah have a throne to sit on. Thus Jerusalem shall have the same weight as well as the same measure as Samaria, because it has copied all the abominations which brought that kingdom to total destruction.
I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish - The Vulgate translates this clause as follows: Delebo Jerusalem, sicut deleri solent tabulae; "I will blot out Jerusalem as tablets are wont to be blotted out." This is a metaphor taken from the ancient method of writing: they traced their letters with a stile on boards thinly spread over with wax; for this purpose one end of the stile was sharp, the other end blunt and smooth, with which they could rub out what they had written, and so smooth the place and spread back the wax, as to render it capable of receiving any other word. Thus the Lord had written down Jerusalem, never intending that its name or its memorial should be blotted out. It was written down The Holy City, The City of the Great King; but now God turns the stile and blots this out; and the Holy Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, is no longer to be found! This double use of the stile is pointed out in this ancient enigma: -
De summo planus; sed non ego planus in imo:
Versor utrinque manu, diverso et munere fungor:
Altera pars revocat, quicquid pars altera fecit.
"I am flat at the top, but sharp at the bottom;
I turn either end, and perform a double function:
One end destroys what the other end has made."
But the idea of emptying out and wiping a dish expresses the same meaning equally well. Jerusalem shall be emptied of all its wealth, and of all its inhabitants, as truly as a dish turned up is emptied of all its contents; and it shall be turned upside down, never to be filled again. This is true from that time to the present hour. Jerusalem is the dish turned upside down, the tablet blotted out to the present day! How great are God's mercies! and how terrible his judgments!

14–15. I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance - One part (the ten tribes) was already forsaken, and carried into captivity; the remnant (the tribe of Judah) was now about to be forsaken.

16. Shed innocent blood very much - Like the deities he worshipped, he was fierce and cruel; an unprincipled, merciless tyrant: he slew innocent people and God's prophets.

17. Now the rest of the acts - In Ch2 33:11, etc., we read that the Assyrians took Manasseh, bound him with fetters, and took him to Babylon; that there he repented, sought God, and was, we are not told how, restored to his kingdom; that he fortified the city of David, destroyed idolatry, restored the worship of the true God, and died in peace.
In Ch2 33:18, Ch2 33:19, His prayer unto God is particularly mentioned. What is called his prayer, is found in the Apocrypha, just before the first book of the Maccabees. There are some good sentiments in it; but whether it be that which was made by Manasseh is more than can be proved. Even the Romish Church have not received it among the canonical books.
Are they not written - There are several particulars referred to here, and in Ch2 33:11-19, which are not found in any chronicles or books which now remain, and what the books of the seers were, mentioned in Chronicles, we cannot tell.

18. In the garden of his own house - It was probably a burying-place made for his own family, for Amon his son is said to be buried in the same place, Kg2 21:26.

19–22. He reigned two years in Jerusalem - The remark of the rabbins is not wholly without foundation, that the sons of those kings who were idolaters, and who succeeded their fathers, seldom reigned more than two years. So Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, Kg1 15:25; Elah, the son of Baasha, Kg1 16:8; Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, Kg1 22:51; and Amon, the son of Manasseh, as mentioned here, Kg2 21:19.

23–25. The servants of Amon conspired - What their reason was for slaying their king we cannot tell. It does not seem to have been a popular act, for the people of the land rose up and slew the regicides. We hear enough of this man when we hear that he was as bad as his father was in the beginning of his reign, but did not copy his father's repentance.

26. The garden of Uzza - The family sepulcher or burying-place.

It is said Kg2 21:3, Kg2 21:7, that "Manasseh made a grove; and he set a graven image of the grove," etc. וישם את פסל האשרה אשר עשה vaiyasem eth pesel haasherah, asher asah: "And he put the graven image of Asherah, which he had made," into the house.
Asherah, which we translate grove, is undoubtedly the name of an idol; and probably of one which was carved out of wood.
R. S. Jarchi, on Gen 12:3, says, "that אשרה asherah means a tree which was worshipped by the Gentiles;" like as the oak was worshipped by the ancient Druids in Britain.
Castel, in Lex. Hept. sub voce אשר, defines אשרה asherah thus, Simulacrum ligneum Astartae dicatum; "A wooden image dedicated to Astrate or Venus."
The Septuagint render the words by αλσος; and Flamminius Nobilis, on Kg2 23:4, says Rursus notat Theodoretus το αλσος esse Astartem et Venerem, et ab aliis interpretibus dictum Ashatroth; i.e. "Again Theodoret observes, αλσος is Astarte and Venus; and by other interpreters called Ashtaroth."
The Targum of Ben Uzziel, on Deu 7:5, ואשירהם תגדעון vaasheyrehem tegaddeun; i.e., "Their groves shall ye cut down" - translates the place thus, ואילני סיגדיהון תקצצון ,suht ecalp e veilaney sigedeyhon tekatsetsun; "And the oaks of their adoration shall ye cut down."
From the above it is pretty evident that idols, not groves, are generally intended where אשרה asherah and its derivatives are used.
Here follow proofs: -
In Kg2 23:6, it is said that "Josiah brought out the grove from the house of the Lord." This translation seems very absurd; for what grove could there be in the temple? There was none planted there, nor was there room for any. The plain meaning of ויצא את השרה מבית יהוה vaiyotse eth haasherah mibbeyth Jehovah, is, "And he brought out the (goddess) Asherah from the house of the Lord, and burnt it," etc.
That this is the true meaning of the place appears farther from Kg2 23:7, where it is said, "He broke down the houses of the sodomites," (הקדשים hakkedeshim, of the whoremongers), "where the women wove hangings for the grove" (בתים לאשרה bottim laasherah, "houses or shrines for Asherah.") Similar perhaps to those which the silversmiths made for Diana, Act 19:24. It is rather absurd to suppose that the women were employed in making curtains to encompass a grove.
The Syriac and Arabic versions countenance the interpretation I have given above. In Kg2 23:6, the former says, "He cast out the idol, dechlotho, from the house of the Lord;" and in Kg2 23:7 : "He threw down the houses, dazoine, of the prostitutes; and the women who wove garments, ledechlotho, for the idols which were there." The Arabic is exactly the same.
From the whole it is evident that Asherah was no other than Venus; the nature of whose worship is plain enough from the mention of whoremongers and prostitutes.
I deny not that there were groves consecrated to idolatrous worship among the Gentiles, but I am sure that such are not intended in the above-cited passages; and the text, in most places, reads better when understood in this way.

John Gill

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 21

In this chapter a short history is given of the two wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon; Manasseh is charged with great idolatry, with enchantments and witchcrafts, and seducing the children of Israel, Kg2 21:1 and a prophecy is given out of the destruction of Jerusalem for his sins, Kg2 21:10, and an account is given of his death and burial, Kg2 21:17, and of his son and successor Amon, and the evils committed by him, Kg2 21:19 and of the conspiracy against his life, which succeeded, and Josiah his son reigned in his stead, Kg2 21:23.

1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was born three years after Hezekiah's recovery from his sickness, and in the seventeenth year of his reign:

and reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem: among which must be reckoned the time of his captivity in Babylon; his reign was the longest of any of the kings of Judah: and his mother's name was Hephzibah; the name the church goes by, and signifies, "my delight or pleasure is in her", Isa 62:4, no doubt she was a good woman, or Hezekiah would not have made choice of her for a wife; it is a tradition of the Jews (a), that she was the daughter of Isaiah, whose name, they say, is not mentioned, because so wicked a king was unworthy of such a grandfather.

(a) Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Paralipom. fol. 86. F.

2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Was guilty of idolatry:

after the abomination of the Heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did.

3. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed,.... The temples and altars upon them, see Kg2 18:4,

and he reared up altars for Baal; in the high places he rebuilt:

and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel: which was either an idol itself, or a shade of trees where idols were placed; or rather Asherah, rendered "a grove", is the same with Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, the figure of which he made and worshipped; for groves were not so soon and easily planted, raised, and made; so the same in Kg1 16:33.

and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them: the sun, moon, and stars, particularly the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus.

4. And he built altars in the house of the Lord,.... In the holy place, as distinct from the courts in the next verse; and these were sacred to the idols of the Gentiles:

of which the Lord said, in Jerusalem will I put my name; in the temple there, devoted to his service, called by his name, and where his name was called upon, see Deu 12:5 and to erect altars to idols here must be very abominable to him.

5. And he built altars for all the host of heaven,.... Sun, moon, and stars:

in the two courts of the house of the Lord; in the court of the priests, and in the court of the people; and all this must be supposed to be done, not as soon as he began to reign, but when he was grown up to man's estate, and had children, as the next verse shows; unless it can be thought that those nobles in Judah, who liked not the reformation made by Hezekiah, took the advantage of his youth, and advised him to these idolatries.

6. And he made his son pass through the fire,.... To Molech, after the manner of the old Canaanites and Phoenicians; his son Amon, that succeeded him, and other children, as appears from Ch2 33:6, where mention is made of the place where it was done, the valley of the son of Hinnom:

and observed times; lucky or unlucky, which was judged of by omens, and by the position of the stars:

and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards; to get knowledge of things to come; all which are forbid and condemned by the law of Moses; see Deu 18:10,

he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger; in all those evils before mentioned, which were very abominable in the sight of God.

7. Which was either an image that had been placed in a grove planted by him, and now removed into the house or temple of the Lord; or, as some think, this was a representation of a grove, a carved grove of gold or silver, in the midst of which an image was placed in the temple; though what Selden observes (b), seems best of all, that this was an image of Asherah, as in the original text; that is, of Astarte or Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, Kg1 11:5, the same the Phoenicians are said to call Astroarche, and affirm it to be the moon (c): in Ch2 33:7 it is called a carved image the idol he had made; and an Arabic writer (d) says, it had four faces, which seems to be a figure of the cherubim; but, according to Suidas (e), it was the statue of Jupiter, who also says it had four faces:

of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son: that is, of which house or temple:

in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever; see Kg1 8:29; see Gill on Kg2 21:3.

(b) De Dis Syris, Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 233. (c) Herodian. l. 5. c. 15. (d) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 66. (e) In voce

8. Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers,.... Or suffer them to be carried captive into another land, as in the times of the judges; that is, on the following condition:

only if they will observe to do according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them by obedience to which they had the tenure of the land of Canaan, Isa 1:19.

9. But they hearkened not,.... To the voice of God in his law by Moses, and were not obedient to it:

and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel: he set up more idols, and drew the people into more and greater idolatries, than the old Canaanites; and these were the more aggravated by having a law given to them, and prophets sent to instruct them in it, and by the benefits and blessings bestowed upon them by the lawgiver, which laid them under greater obligations to him; see Jer 2:11.

10. And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets,.... Who prophesied in the days of Manasseh; and were, according to the Jewish chronology (f), Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk:

saying: as follows.

(f) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 55.

11. Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,.... Before named, Kg2 21:3,

and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did that were before him; one of the seven nations of Canaan, a principal of them, and which is put for all the rest:

and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: the worship of them, as the Targum; which he did both by his edicts, and by his example.

12. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Who, though kind and gracious to Israel as their covenant God, is yet just and righteous, as well as he is a sovereign Being and Lord of all:

behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle; it will make such a noise in the world, and be so horrible and terrible; and if, he report of it would be so dreadful as to make a man's ears tingle, and his heart tremble, what must it be to endure it! Eze 22:14.

13. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,.... The Targum is, the line of destruction; and the sense is, that the same measure should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is, the same lot and portion should befall one as the other, that is, be utterly destroyed:

and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum is, the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying, that the same calamities should come upon the families of Jerusalem, and especially on the family of Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab. It is a metaphor from builders that take down as well as raise up buildings by rule and measure, see Sa2 8:2.

and I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down; as when one takes a dish or cup that has broth in it, or any liquid, as oil; and the Septuagint render it alabaster, in which ointment used to be put; and wipes it clean, that nothing may appear in it; and then turns it with its mouth downward, that, if any thing should remain, it might drain out; signifying hereby the emptying o Jerusalem of its palaces and houses, wealth and riches and of all its inhabitants; and yet the empty dish being preserved, seems to denote the restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years' captivity. According to the Vulgate Latin version, the metaphor is taken from the blotting out of writing tables, and turning and rubbing the style upon them till the writing is no more seen.

14. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance,.... The whole land of Canaan was the Lord's inheritance; ten tribes in it were already removed, only Judah with Benjamin was left, and the Lord threatens to forsake that remnant:

and deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and spoil to all their enemies; which was fulfilled in their captivity in Babylon.

15. Because they have done that which was evil in my sight,.... Committed idolatry:

and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day; being always prone to idolatry, so provoking to God, and which they were guilty of quickly after they came out of Egypt, in the worship of the golden calf, and had ever since at times been criminal this way; and now the measure of their iniquity being almost up, would be reckoned for together.

16. Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much,.... Putting to death the prophets that reproved him and his people for their idolatries, and such who would not comply therewith; and it is commonly said, both by Jewish and Christian writers, that Isaiah was slain, and even sawn asunder by him; see Gill on Heb 11:37,

till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; a metaphor taken from filling a vessel brimful:

beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; the sin of idolatry he drew them into, and even obliged them to commit.

17. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did,.... Both good and bad, for he repented, and was humbled, and did many good things afterwards, though not recorded in this book:

and his sin that he sinned; his idolatry:

are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? in which were recorded the most memorable events of their reigns; and in the canonical book of Chronicles are many things concerning Manasseh, which are not written here; see Ch2 33:11.

18. And Manasseh slept with his fathers,.... Or died, after a reign of fifty five years, and a life of sixty seven:

and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; whether the burial of him here was his own choice, judging himself unworthy to lie with the kings of Judah, who had been guilty of such great sins, or whether the will of others, on the same account, is not certain; and as much at a loss are we for the reason of this garden being called the garden of Uzza, whether from Uzzah that died for touching the ark, Sa2 6:6 or from King Uzziah, Kg2 15:7. The Jews buried in gardens in the times of Christ, who himself was buried in one, Joh 19:41. The Romans had sometimes sepulchres in their gardens (g), Galba the emperor was buried in his gardens (h); and so had other nations. Cyrus king of Persia was buried in a garden (i):

and Amon his son reigned in his stead; of whom we have the following account.

(g) Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Romas. l. 2. c. 22. p. 274. (h) Eutrop. Hist. Roman. l. 7. Sueton. Vit. Galb. c. 20. Tacit. Hist. l. 1. c. 49. (i) Strabo. Geograph l. 15. p. 502.

19. And Amon was twenty two years old when he began to reign,.... Being born in the forty fifth of his father's life, and in the thirty third of his reign:

and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; which, as Abarbinel observes, was the usual time the sons of wicked kings reigned, and instances in the son of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab, Kg1 15:25. An Arabic writer (k) says, he reigned twelve years, but according to the Jews only two:

and his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah; there was a place called Jotbath, which was one of the stations of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Num 33:33 but it can scarcely be thought to be the same place.

(k) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67.

20. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed idolatry:

as his father Manasseh did: he imitated him in that, but not in his repentance and humiliation, Ch2 33:23.

21. And he walked in all the ways that his father walked in,.... In his wicked way, his idolatry, witchcraft, and murders:

and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them; Baal, Ashtoreth, and all the host of heaven, and all the carved images his father made, which it seems he only removed, but did not break in pieces, Ch2 33:22.

22. And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers,.... Of David, Solomon, &c.

and walked not in the way of the Lord; prescribed by him in his law for the worship of him.

23. And the servants of Amon conspired against him,.... Some of his domestic servants, and perhaps his courtiers, not on account of his idolatry, but for some ill usage of them:

and slew the king in his own house: which they had an opportunity to do, being his servants.

24. And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against King Amon,.... On occasion of his death, there seems to have been an insurrection of the people in a body, to avenge the death of their king, who might be beloved on account of his idolatry, so depraved was the nation; or it may be only to avenge his death because he was their king, whose life these men ought not to have taken away: and the rather this may be thought to be the reason by what follows:

and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead; who had been prophesied of by name above three hundred years before, see Kg1 13:2.

25. Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? See Gill on Kg2 21:17.
2 Kings 21:26

JFB

MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign--He must have been born three years after his father's recovery; and his minority, spent under the influence of guardians who were hostile to the religious principles and reforming policy of his father, may account in part for the anti-theocratic principles of his reign. The work of religious reformation which Hezekiah had zealously carried on was but partially accomplished. There was little appearance of its influence on the heart and manners of the people at large. On the contrary, the true fear of God had vanished from the mass of the people; corruption and vice increased, and were openly practised (Isa 28:7, &c.) by the degenerate leaders, who, having got the young prince Manasseh into their power, directed his education, trained him up in their views, and seduced him into the open patronage of idolatry. Hence, when he became sovereign, he introduced the worship of idols, the restoration of high places, and the erection of altars or pillars to Baal, and the placing, in the temple of God itself, a graven image of Asherah, the sacred or symbolic tree, which represented "all the host of heaven." This was not idolatry, but pure star-worship, of Chaldaic and Assyrian origin [KEIL]. The sun, as among the Persians, had chariots and horses consecrated to it (Kg2 23:11); and incense was offered to the stars on the housetops (Kg2 23:12; Ch2 33:5; Jer 19:13; Zep 1:5), and in the temple area with the face turned toward the sunrise (Eze 8:16).

5. the two courts of the house of the Lord--the court of the priests, and the large court of the people.

6. made his son pass through the fire--(See on Kg2 16:3).

observed times--from an observation of the clouds.

used enchantments--jugglery and spells.

dealt with familiar spirits--Septuagint, "ventriloquists," who pretended to ask counsel of a familiar spirit and gave the response received from him to others.

and wizards--wise or knowing ones, who pretended to reveal secrets, to recover things lost and hidden treasure, and to interpret dreams. A great influx of these impostors had, at various times, poured from Chaldea into the land of Israel to pursue their gainful occupations, especially during the reigns of the latter kings; and Manasseh was not only their liberal patron, but zealous to appear himself an adept in the arts. He raised them to be an influential class at his court, as they were in that of Assyria and Babylon, where nothing was done till they had ascertained the lucky hour and were promised a happy issue.

7. And he set a graven image--The placing of the Asherah within the precincts of the temple, which was dedicated to the worship of the true God, is dwelt upon as the most aggravated outrage of the royal idolater.

8–9. Neither will I make the feet of Israel move . . . out of the land which I gave their fathers--alluding to the promise (Sa2 7:10).

only if they will observe, &c.--This condition was expressed from the first plantation of Israel in Canaan. But that people not only did not keep it, but through the pernicious influence of Manasseh, were seduced into greater excesses of idolatrous corruption than even the original Canaanites.

10–11. And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets--These were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings, were put on record in the national chronicles (Ch2 33:18) and now form part of the sacred canon.

12. whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle--a strong metaphorical form of announcing an extraordinary and appalling event (see Sa1 3:11; Jer 19:3; also Hab 1:5).

13. the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab--Captives doomed to destruction were sometimes grouped together and marked off by means of a measuring-line and plummet (Sa2 8:2; Isa 34:11; Amo 7:7); so that the line of Samaria means the line drawn for the destruction of Samaria; the plummet of the house of Ahab, for exterminating his apostate family; and the import of the threatening declaration here is that Judah would be utterly destroyed, as Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab had been.

I will wipe Jerusalem, &c.--The same doom is denounced more strongly in a figure unmistakably significant.

14–15. I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance--The people of Judah, who of all the chosen people alone remained. The consequence of the Lord's forsaking them would be their fall into the power of their enemies.

16–18. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood--Not content with the patronage and the practice of idolatrous abomination, he was a cruel persecutor of all who did not conform. The land was deluged with the blood of good men; among whom it is traditionally said Isaiah suffered a horrid death, by being sawn asunder (see on Heb 11:37).

19. AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (Kg2 21:19-26)

Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign--This prince continued the idolatrous policy of his father; and, after an inglorious reign of two years, he was massacred by some of his own domestics. The people slew the regicide conspirators and placed his son Josiah on the throne.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 22