Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people ,.... They going into the same idolatry with himself willingly, at least great part of them, and therefore deserved to be smitten, and which would be a punishment to him: and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods ; which should be carried captive, as the event shows. read more
Will the Lord smite - "The Word of the Lord will send a great mortality." - Targum. read more
A reign of unmitigated shame. To the career of Jehoshaphat of almost exemplary excellence, that of Jehoram, his son, forms a contrast most humiliating. Obviously it is not the least painful feature of this latter that it so inevitably forces into our memory the parental fault, which, if it were not the cause and very foundation of an eldest son s abandoned character and course of conduct, could not fail to have given opportunity for it, and could not fail to incur the responsibility before... read more
The letter of Elijah. I. THE AUTHOR OF THE WRITING . Various suggestions. 1 . Elisha, who entered on the duties of his calling before the death of Jehoshaphat ( 2 Kings 3:11 ), and who accordingly would be the most likely party from whom should proceed such a communication as Jehoram received. In this case the name of Elijah must have been substituted in the text for that of Elisha (Kennicott, Jamieson). 2 . A later historian, "who describes the relation of Elijah... read more
A great plague; Hebrew, מַגֵּפָה , Out of the twenty-six occurrences of this word, it is rendered (Authorized Version) twenty-three times by the word "plague," twice by the word "slaughter" ( 2 Samuel 17:9 ; 2 Samuel 18:7 ), and once "stroke" ( Ezekiel 24:16 ). It is not the word ( גֶגַע ) which about sixty times (chiefly in Leviticus)describes the physical plague, but both of the words are applied to the plagues, e.g. of Pharaoh, and to the suffering that came of any... read more
The fulfillment of the threat is given in 2 Chronicles 21:16-17. read more
2 Chronicles 21:14. Behold, with a great plague, &c. There was no calamity that could be thought of which did not befall this wicked prince: whose kingdom was destroyed and depopulated by the fiercest nations; his treasures ransacked; his wives carried into captivity; his children slain; and he himself laboured under a sore disease for two years; and when he was dead, had not the honour of royal sepulchre, such as his ancestors had. All which calamities were threatened in the writing... read more
Jezebel’s Baalism in Judah (21:1-23:21)The Baalism of Ahab and Jezebel remained strong in the northern kingdom during the successive reigns of their sons Ahaziah and Joram (2 Kings 1:1-8:15). It spread to Judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram, who was married to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (21:1-20; see notes on 2 Kings 8:16-24).Judah’s next king, Ahaziah, at the direction of his mother Athaliah and her northern relatives, cooperated with the idolatrous northern... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 21:12-20
Here we have, I. A warning from God sent to Jehoram by a writing from Elijah the prophet. By this it appears that Jehoram came to the throne, and showed himself what he was before Elijah's translation. It is true we find Elisha attending Jehoshaphat, and described as pouring water on the hands of Elijah, after the story of Elijah's translation (2 Kgs. 3:11); but that might be, and that description might be given of him, while Elijah was yet on earth: and it is certain that that history is put... read more