2 Chronicles · Chapter 26

Verse 1. The people of Judah took Uzziah] They all agreed to place this son on his father’s throne.

Verse 1. The people of Judah took Uzziah — Called also Azariah, 2 Kings 14:21; both names signifying the same thing, the strength, or help of God. Of this and verses 1, 3, 4, see notes on 2 Kings 14:21, 22; and 15:2, 3.

Verse 1. Uzziah is called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21.

Verse 2. He built Eloth] See Clarke’s notes on “2 Kings 14:21”. This king is called by several different names; see Clarke’s note on “2 Kings 15:1”.

2. Built Eloth — Commonly written Elath; situated on the eastern arm of the Red Sea. See on 2 Kings 14:22. After that the king slept with his fathers — That is, after the king Amaziah, his father, slept with his fathers. These words indicate that Uzziah fortified Elath at the beginning of his reign, and soon after his father’s decease, and the work seems to have been a very notable act of his reign.

Verse 5. In the days of Zechariah] Who this was we know not, but by the character that is given of him here. He was wise in the visions of God-in giving the true interpretation of Divine prophecies. He was probably the tutor of Uzziah.

Verse 5. He sought God in the days of Zechariah — Who was probably the son of that Zechariah whom his grand-father Joash slew. Who had understanding in the visions of God — Either the visions with which he himself was favoured, or the visions of the preceding prophets. He was well skilled in prophecy, and conversed much with the heavenly world; was an intelligent, devout, and good man; and had such influence on Uzziah, that while he lived he sought God, sought his favour, direction, and aid; trusted in him, cleaved to him, and persisted in his worship, and in the true religion. Happy are the great men who have such about them, and are willing to be advised by them: but unhappy those who seek God only while they have such with them, and have not a principle in themselves to bear them out to the end.

Ver. 5. Uzziah sought God in the days of Zechariah. This good priest being dead, as above, it must mean that Zechariah had established a course of religious instruction for youth, and that this prince had been educated by Jecoliah his mother, in those happy rudiments. He had understanding in the visions of God, and was a learned expositor of the law.

5. He sought God in the days of Zechariah — Of this Zechariah we know nothing more than that he had understanding in the visions of God. He was a prophet, perhaps also a priest, who acted as a spiritual adviser to the king. As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper — Thus the chronicler continually impresses upon his reader the moral lessons of history.

Verse 6. And brake down the wall of Gath — Which had been taken by Hazael, in the days of Joash his grand-father, chap. 12:17; but was either relinquished by him, because it lay so far from his other dominions; or retaken by the Philistines, who had now repaired its fortifications and kept it.

Ver. 6. Brake down the wall of Jabneh, twelve miles from Gath, and near the rock of Etam, where Samson was surprised. It is called Jamnia in 1 Mac. 4:15.

6. Warred against the Philistines — He would avenge, and, as far as possible, restore, the losses his kingdom had sustained from these enemies in Jehoram’s time. Compare 2 Chronicles 21:16, 17. Brake down the wall of Gath — This city had been taken by Hazael of Syria in the days of Joash. 2 Kings 12:17. Jabneh — Represented in the modern Yebna, near the Philistine coast. The same as Jabneel in Joshua 15:11, where see note. Ashdod — The most powerful of the Philistine cities. See note on Joshua 11:22.

Verse 7. And God helped him] “And the WORD of the Lord helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gerar, and the plains of Meun.”-Targum. These are supposed to be the Arabs which are called the Meuneons, or Munites, or Meonites.

7. And against the Arabians — These also injured Israel in the days of Jehoram. 2 Chronicles 21:16. The position of Gur-baal is unknown; but from its association here with the Mehunims, we infer that it was somewhere in the vicinity of Mount Seir. On the Mehunims, or Maonites, see notes on 2 Chronicles 20:1; 1 Chronicles 4:41; and Judges 10:12.

Verse 8. The Ammonites gave gifts] Paid an annual tribute.

8. The Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah — That is, they paid tribute to him, as the Philistines and Arabians had done to Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 17:11.

9. Built towers… at the corner gate — Thus repairing and fortifying the city at the places where it had been broken down by Joash. 2 Chronicles 25:23; 2 Kings 14:13, note. The valley gate — The gate opening westward into the valley of Hinnom, probably at the place of the modern Jaffa gate. The turning of the wall — Perhaps a bend or angle in the wall near the northeast corner of Zion. See note on Nehemiah 3:19.

V. 10. Towers-To guard his cattle from the inroads which the Arabians were accustomed to make: and to give notice of the approach of any enemy.

Verse 10. Built towers in the desert] For the defence of his flocks, and his shepherds and husbandmen.

And in Carmel] Calmet remarks that there were two Carmels in Judea: one in the tribe of Judah, where Nabal lived, and the other on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near to Kishon; and both fertile in vines. He loved husbandry.] This is a perfection in a king: on husbandry every state depends. Let their trade or commerce be what they may, there can be no true national prosperity if agriculture do not prosper; for the king himself is served by the field. When, therefore, the king of a country encourages agriculture, an emulation is excited among his subjects; the science is cultivated; and the earth yields its proper increase; then, should trade and commerce fail, the people cannot be reduced to wretchedness, because there is plenty of bread.

Verses 10, 11. He built towers in the desert — Partly to guard his cattle from the inroads and depredations which the Arabians were accustomed to make: and partly to give notice of the approach of any enemy, and to put some stop to their march on that side. Uzziah had an army that went out to war by bands — Some bands at one time, and some at another, as occasion required.

Ver. 10. He built towers in the desert, for the defence of his flocks and estates. In every view he adorned his country, and multiplied his people.— It is recorded, that an earthquake happened during this reign, which is named by Amos the prophet: Amos 1:1. It shook the whole land of Judea; and in the course of the year the hiatus which had been opened, allowed the mountain west of Jerusalem to subside for the space of half a mile.

10. Towers in… desert — Such towers were a necessity on exposed frontiers, where marauding parties were wont to surprise and plunder all who kept not a lookout against such plunderers. Compare 2 Chronicles 20:24; 2 Kings 9:17; 17:9. Digged many wells — Better as the margin, cut out many cisterns. In a desert country, where there are no springs, it was necessary to form such cisterns to catch and hold rain water, which falls in Palestine only in winter months. The low country — The Shephelah, or plain of Philistia, whose territory Uzziah had conquered, verse 6. The plains — Hebrew, the mishor; the upland plateau beyond the Jordan. In Carmel — In this connexion the margin is the better rendering, in the fruitful fields, for Mount Carmel was not under Uzziah’s control. He loved husbandry — Literally, loved the ground; but the common version gives the true sense. The whole verse testifies to the agricultural enterprise of Uzziah.

Verses 10, 11. He built towers in the desert — Partly to guard his cattle from the inroads and depredations which the Arabians were accustomed to make: and partly to give notice of the approach of any enemy, and to put some stop to their march on that side. Uzziah had an army that went out to war by bands — Some bands at one time, and some at another, as occasion required.

Verse 14. Shields, and spears] He prepared a vast number of military weapons, that he might have them in readiness to put into the hands of his subjects on any exigency.

14. Habergeons — Coats of mail. See note on 1 Samuel 17:5.

Verse 15. Engines-to shoot arrows and great stones] The Targum says, “He made in Jerusalem ingenious instruments, and little hollow towers, to stand upon the towers and upon the bastions, for the shooting of arrows, and projecting of great stones.”

This is the very first intimation on record of any warlike engines for the attack or defense of besieged places; and this account is long prior to any thing of the kind among either the Greeks or Romans. Previously to such inventions, the besieged could only be starved out, and hence sieges were very long and tedious. Shalmaneser consumed three years before such an inconsiderable place as Samaria, 2 Kings 17:5, 6; Sardanapalus maintained himself in Nineveh for seven years, because the besiegers had no engines proper for the attack and destruction of walls, &c., and it is well known that Troy sustained a siege of ten years, the Greeks not possessing any machine of the kind here referred to. The Jews alone were the inventors of such engines; and the invention took place in the reign of Uzziah, about eight hundred years before the Christian era. It is no wonder that, in consequence of this, his name spread far abroad, and struck terror into his enemies.

15. Engines… to shoot arrows and great stones — These must have been of somewhat similar construction to the Roman balista and catapults — enormous bows or springs, set in a wooden framework, and so contrived as to hurl with the greatest violence both darts and stones.

V. 16. Into Jerusalem-Into the holy place, where the altar of incense stood, and into which none but the priests might enter, much less offer incense.

Verse 16. He transgressed against the Lord] “He sinned against the WORD of the Lord his God.”-T.

Went into the temple to burn incense] Thus assuming to himself the priest’s office. See this whole transaction explained in the notes on 2 Kings 15:5.

Verse 16. When he was strong — Strengthened in his kingdom, and free from the fear of any enemy; his heart was lifted up to his destruction — Thus the prosperity of fools, by puffing them up with pride, destroys them. He had done so much business, and attained so much honour, that he began to think no business, no honour too great, or too good for him; no, not that of the priesthood. He went unto the temple of the Lord — Into the holy place, where the altar of incense stood, and into which none but priests might enter, much less offer incense.

16. When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction — His great power, wealth, and fame fostered in him a disposition to feel that nothing was too good for him and nothing was above him. Thus “pride” went “before destruction… a haughty spirit before a fall.” Went into the temple… to burn incense — “With a lofty feeling of his power, Uzziah wished to make himself high priest of his kingdom, like the kings of Egypt and of other nations.” — Keil. Here was Uzziah’s great sin. It is not mentioned in Kings, though its punishment is mentioned there. Such sacrilege and invasion of the priest’s office demanded the opposition from the priests and the punishment from God, which it so promptly received.

V. 18. Withstood-Heb. stood up against Uzziah, not by force, or laying hands upon him to restrain him, for in the next verse you still find the censer in his hand; but only by admonition and reproof, which follows. Neither, &c.-Expect that God will punish thee, or put some brand of infamy upon thee for this presumption. But this they express modestly, because they considered that he to whom they spake, though an offender, was their sovereign.

Verse 18. And they withstood Uzziah — Hebrew, stood up against Uzziah, not by force, or laying hands upon him to restrain him, for in the next verse we still find the censer in his hand; but only by admonition and reproof, which follows. Neither shall it be for thine honour, &c. — Expect that God will punish thee, or put some brand of infamy upon thee for this presumption. But this they express modestly, because they considered that he to whom they spake, though an offender, was their sovereign.

18. They withstood Uzziah — Azariah and his assistants were too frail of zeal and respect for the law and service of Jehovah not to resist such high-handed offence.

V. 19. His forehead-So that he could not hide his shame: though it is probable it was also in the rest of his body. From beside-By a stroke from an invisible hand coming from the altar; that he might be assured this was the effect of God’s displeasure.

Verse 19. Then Uzziah was wroth — With the priests. While he was wroth the leprosy rose up in his forehead — So that he could not hide his shame: though it is probable it was also in the rest of his body. From beside the incense-altar — By a stroke from an invisible hand, coming from the altar; that he might be assured this was the effect of God’s displeasure.

19. The leprosy even rose up in his forehead — A judgment as sudden and signal as that which smote Miriam and Gehazi. Numbers 12:10; 2 Kings 5:27. The offence was such as to demand swift and signal retribution.

V. 20. Thrust-Not by force, which needed not, for he voluntarily hasted away, as it follows; but by vehement persuasions and denunciations of God’s farther judgments upon him, if he did not depart.

Verse 20. Because the Lord had smitten him.] “Because the WORD of the Lord had brought the plague upon him.”-T.

Verse 20. They thrust him out from thence — Not by force, which needed not, for he voluntarily hasted away, as it follows; but by vehement persuasions and denunciations of God’s further judgments upon him, if he did not depart.

V. 21. His death-God would have this leprosy to be incurable, as a lasting monument of his anger against such presumptuous invaders of the priest’s office. Dwelt, &c.-As he was obliged to do by law, which he durst not now resist, being under the hand of God, and under the fear of worse plagues, if he did not so. For-He dwelt in a several house, because he might not come into the temple or courts, nor consequently into any publick assembly. So the punishment answered the sin, as face does to face in a glass. He thrust himself into the temple of God, whether the priests only had admission: and for that was thrust out of the very courts of the temple, into which the meanest of, his subjects might enter. He invaded the dignity of the priesthood, to which he had no right, and is for that deprived of the royal dignity, to which he had an undoubted right.

Verse 21. And dwelt in a several house] He was separated, because of the infectious nature of his disorder, from all society, domestic, civil, and religious.

Jotham-was over the king’s house] He became regent of the land; his father being no longer able to perform the functions of the regal office.

Verse 21. Uzziah was a leper unto the day of his death — God would have this leprosy to be incurable, as a lasting monument of his anger against such presumptuous invaders of the priest’s office. Dwelt in a several house, &c. — As he was obliged to do by law, which he durst not now resist, being under the hand of God, and under the fear of worse plagues, if he did not so. For he was cut off from the house of the Lord — He dwelt in a several house, because he might not come into the temple and courts, nor consequently into any public assembly. So the punishment answers the sin, as face does to face in a glass. He thrust himself into the temple of God, whither the priests only had admission: and for that was thrust out of the very courts of the temple, into which the meanest of his subjects might enter. He invaded the dignity of the priesthood, to which he had no right, and is for that deprived of the royal dignity, to which he had an undoubted right.

Ver. 21. Uzziah the king was a leper. His error in seizing the censer is ascribed to regal pride; for many princes among the gentiles were both princes and priests; as Æneas king of Troy, and Agamemnon among the Greeks; yet we nowhere find that Cyrus exercised the office of a priest.

21. A several house — Free from, or apart from, others, as the law required. Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:3. See note on 2 Kings 15:5. Jotham his son was over the king’s house — Thus the son was pro-rex some time before his father’s death.

Verse 22. The rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet-write.] This work, however, is totally lost; for we have not any history of this king in the writings of Isaiah. He is barely mentioned, Isaiah 1:1; 6:1.

Ver. 22. The rest of the acts of Uzziah—did Isaiah write. The rabbins very much lament the loss of this book.

Verse 23. They buried him-in the field of the burial] As he was a leper, he was not permitted to be buried in the common burial-place of the kings; as it was supposed that even a place of sepulture must be defiled by the body of one who had died of this most afflictive and dangerous malady. II CHRONICLES

23. In the field of the burial — In 2 Kings 15:7, we have simply, “they buried him with his fathers in the city of David.” But here it appears that he was not buried in the royal sepulchre, but in a burial plot belonging to the kings. This was doubtless on account of his leprosy.