2-а царів 12:17

The brief account of Hazael's campaign against Jerusalem is completed by Ch2 24:23-24. Hazael had gone down along the coast after defeating Israel (see Kg2 13:3), for the purpose of making war upon Judah also, and had taken Gath, which Rehoboam had fortified (Ch2 11:8). He then set his face, i.e., determined, to advance to Jerusalem; and Joash took the temple treasures, etc. According to the Chronicles, he sent an army against Judah and Jerusalem, which destroyed all the princes of the nation and sent much booty to the king to Damascus, as the small army of the Syrians had smitten the very large army of Judah. To protect Jerusalem, after this defeat, from being taken by the Syrians, Joash sent all the treasures of the temple and palace to Hazael, and so purchased the withdrawal of the Syrians. In this way the two brief accounts of the war may be both reconciled and explained; whereas the opinion, still repeated by Thenius, that the two passages treat of different wars, has no tenable ground to rest upon. The Philistian city of Gath (see the Comm. on Jos 13:3) appears to have belonged at that time to the kingdom of Judah, so that the Gathites were not among the Philistines who made an incursion into Judah in the reign of Joram along with the Arabian tribes of the south (Ch2 21:16). And it is impossible to determine when Gath was wrested from the Syrians again; probably in the time of Joash the son of Jehoahaz of Israel, as he recovered from the Syrians all the cities which they had taken from the Israelites under Jehoahaz (Kg2 13:25), and even smote Amaziah the king of Judaea at Bethshemesh and took him prisoner (Kg2 14:13; Ch2 25:21.). "All the consecrated things, which Jehoshaphat, Joram, and Ahaziah had consecrated, and his own consecrated things," i.e., what he (Joas…

When Joash had revolted from God and become both an idolater and a persecutor the hand of the Lord went out against him, and his last state was worse than his first. I. His wealth and honour became an easy prey to his neighbours. Hazael, when he had chastised Israel (Kg2 10:32), threatened Judah and Jerusalem likewise, took Gath, a strong city (Kg2 12:17), and thence intended to march with his forces against Jerusalem, the royal city, the holy city, but whose defence, on account of its sinfulness, had departed. Joash had neither spirit nor strength to make head against him, but gave him all the hallowed things, and all the gold that was found both in his exchequer and in the treasures of the temple (Kg2 12:18), to bribe him to march another way. If it were lawful to do this for the public safety, better part with the gold of the temple than expose the temple itself; yet, 1. If he had not forsaken God, and forfeited his protection, his affairs would not have been brought to this extremity, but he might have forced Hazael to retire. 2. He diminished himself, and made himself very mean, lost the honour of a prince and a soldier, and of an Israelite too, in alienating the dedicated things. 3. He impoverished himself and his kingdom. And, 4. He tempted Hazael to come again, when he could carry home so rich a booty without striking a stroke. And it had this effect, for the next year the host of Syria came up against Jerusalem, destroyed the prince, and plundered the city, Ch2 24:23, Ch2 24:24. II. His life became an easy prey to his own servants. They conspired against him and slew him (Kg2 12:20, Kg2 12:21), not aiming at his kingdom, for they opposed not his son's succeeding him, but to be avenged on him for some crime he had committed; and we are told in Chronicles that hi…

12:17 Hazael, a perennial oppressor of God’s people (8:28; 9:14-15; 10:32-33; 13:3), had assassinated the Aramean king Ben-hadad II and seized the throne (8:15). Hazael’s campaign against Israel and Judah probably came after the death of the Assyrian king Shamshi-adad V in 811 BC and before Adad-nirari III (810–783 BC) launched a series of campaigns in 805 BC, leading to the capture of Damascus in 802 BC. Free of Assyria’s heavy hand, Hazael could launch a campaign southward. • Whether Gath is the well-known city of the Philistines (1 Sam 5:8; 6:17) or a Hebrew city otherwise known as Gittaim (2 Sam 4:3; Neh 11:33) is disputed.