In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria ,.... So that he reigned fourteen or fifteen years contemporary with him; for Amaziah reigned twenty nine years: and reigned forty and one years ; Josephus says F9 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 9.) c. 10. sect. 1. forty, giving only the round number. read more
REIGNS OF AMAZIAH , SON OF JOASH KING OF JUDAH , OVER JUDAH , AND OF JEROBOAM , SON OF JOASH KING OF ISRAEL , OVER ISRAEL . read more
Significant facts in God's government. "In the second year of Joash," etc. In this chapter we have a sketch of a succession of kings both of Judah and Israel. Here are two kings of Judah—Amaziah and Azariah; and Joash, Jeroboam, and his son Zachariah, kings of Israel. The whole chapter suggests certain significant facts in God's government of mankind. I. THE ENORMOUS FREEDOM OF ACTION WHICH HE ALLOWS WICKED MEN . Here we learn: 1. That God allows wicked men to... read more
In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash King of Judah —this note of time agrees with those in 2 Kings 13:10 and 2 Kings 45:1, 17, but not with that in 2 Kings 15:1 (see the comment on that passage)— Jeroboam the son of Joash King of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. Josephus says "forty years; Many moderns (Thenius, Bahr, and others) extend the term to fifty-one years. Some suppose that Jeroboam was joint-king with his father in Amaziah's... read more
REIGN OF JEROBOAM THE SON OF JOASH OVER ISRAEL . This reign, the most important of those belonging to the kingdom of Israel since that of Ahab, is treated with great brevity by the writer, whose interest is far more in Judah than in Israel. Seven verses only are devoted to him. The result of his wars is given without any account of the wars themselves. And the great fact of his ruling over Damascus only comes in by a sort of afterthought (verse. 28). The usual formulas are... read more
The reign of Jeroboam II . After the usual statement that Jeroboam "did evil in the sight of the Lord, and departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin," we have some brief notices of his reign. Note— I. THE REVIVED FORTUNES OF ISRAEL . 1. Jeroboam ' s successes in war . This able monarch continued the work of Joash. In fulfillment of the promise that God would give Israel a savior, Jeroboam was enabled to complete the recovery of... read more
Jeroboam - This is the only instance, in the history of either kingdom, of a recurrent royal appellation. We can scarcely doubt that Jeroboam II was named after the great founder of the Israelite kingdom by a father who trusted that he might prove a sort of second founder. Perhaps the prophecy of Jonah (see 2 Kings 14:25) had been already given, and it was known that a great deliverance was approaching. read more
An era of prosperity (14:23-15:7)During the long reigns of Jeroboam II in the north and Azariah (or Uzziah) in the south, Israel and Judah experienced political stability and economic development such as they had not known since the days of David and Solomon. This was possible partly because political conditions in the region were favourable to Israel and Judah.Syria had been used by God to punish Israel for its sins in following Baal. With the death of Hazael, Syrian power declined and Israel... read more
of Israel. Some codices, with one early printed edition, and Septuagint, read "over Israel". forty and one years. See note on 2 Kings 15:8 . read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 14:23-29
Here is an account of the reign of Jeroboam the second. I doubt it is an indication of the affection and adherence of the house of Jehu to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that they called an heir-apparent to the crown by his name, thinking that an honourable name which in the book of God is infamous and stigmatized as much as any. I. His reign was long, the longest of all the reigns of the kings of Israel: He reigned forty-one years; yet his contemporary Azariah,... read more