The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand six hundred. Who were the commanders and principal officers of his army; and such a number supposed a large army, as follows. read more
And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred ,.... Which was larger than that in his father's time by 7500, 2 Chronicles 25:5 besides officers: that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy ; they were ready to fight, and fight valiantly, whenever the king had any occasion for them, or the land was invaded. read more
Uzziah the prosperous. I. A YOUTHFUL SOVEREIGN . ( 2 Chronicles 26:1-3 .) 1 . His names. Uzziah, "Might of Jehovah" ( 2 Kings 15:13 , 2 Kings 15:30 , 2 Kings 15:32 , 2 Kings 15:34 ; Isaiah 1:1 ; Isaiah 6:1 ; Amos 1:1 ; Zechariah 14:5 ); Azariah, "Whom Jehovah aids" ( 2 Kings 14:21 ; 2 Kings 15:1 , 2 Kings 15:6 , 2 Kings 15:8 , 2 Kings 15:17 , 2 Kings 15:23 , 2 Kings 15:27 ; 1 Chronicles 3:12 );—the former, the designation taken by or conferred... read more
The reign of fifty-two years spoiled in an hour. Many a reign, indeed, was a spoiled reign which had begun well, promised well, and continued well for some length, of time. But the reign of Uzziah, of all the reigns of Judah and of Israel the longest with the one exception of that of Manasseh, and particularly full of prosperity, and remarkably varied prosperity within, of success in just foreign wars, and of that which led to these things, viz. the most gracious tokens of the Divine... read more
A victorious career. Perhaps it is not well understood that Uzziah was one of the strongest of the kings of Judah, and ran a remarkably successful course. Had not his sun set in some dark clouds, his name and fame would probably have stood far higher than they do. But when we have made necessary allowances, there remains before our eyes the picture of— I. A VICTORIOUS CAREER . This, whether we have regard to: 1 . The extension of his kingdom; he prevailed against the Edomites,... read more
Of the mighty men of valour . The "of" here is incorrect; the former sub-stautive is not necessarily in construct state, and this word has the prefix of the preposition לְ ; nor is the rendering "valour" for our Hebrew text חָיִל so likely a rendering as that found in the foregoing verse, "host." Render, The whole number of the chief of the fathers in the mighty men of the host was, etc. So in the next verse. "with mighty power" will be better rendered "with the strength of a ... read more
An army ; Hebrew, חֵיל צָבָא . "A force of host" would render this expression, though by an ambiguous use of the word חֵיל , construct state of חַיִל . This verse gives the number of the body of the army proper, which shows it seven thousand five hundred more than that of Amaziah in the foregoing chapter ( 2 Chronicles 26:5 ). read more
Compare 2 Chronicles 25:5. It will be seen that Uzziah had not added much to the military strength of the nation by his conquests. His army exceeds that of his father Amaziah by 7,500 men only. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 26:1-15
We have here an account of two things concerning Uzziah:? I. His piety. In this he was not very eminent or zealous; yet he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He kept up the pure worship of the true God as his father did, and was better than his father, inasmuch as we have no reason to think he ever worshipped idols as his father did, no, not in his latter days, when his heart was lifted up. It is said (2 Chron. 26:5), He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who, some think, was... read more