For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem ,.... He and his nobles, and the great sanhedrim or senate of the nation, had consulted together: to keep the passover in the second month ; in the month Ijar, as the Targum, because they could not keep it in the first month, as it should have been kept, according to the law of God, for the reasons following. read more
For they could not keep it at the time ,.... In the month Nisan, as the Targum adds, on the fourteenth day of the month, as the law enjoined, because the cleansing of the temple was not finished until the sixteenth day, see 2 Chronicles 29:17 and, besides this, two other reasons follow: because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently ; that is, a sufficient number of them were not sanctified, to slay all the passover lambs the people that came to the feast would want: ... read more
In the second month - In Ijar, as they could not celebrate it in Nisan, the fourteenth of which month was the proper time. But as they could not complete the purgation of the temple, till the sixteenth of that month, therefore they were obliged to hold it now, or else adjourn it till the next year, which would have been fatal to that spirit of reformation which had now taken place. The law itself had given permission to those who were at a distance, and could not attend to the... read more
Letters to Ephraim: generosity. Hezekiah now took a very bold and decided course. There had been no direct dealings between the king or court of Judah and the people of Ephraim (Israel) since the kingdom of David was rent in twain. If we understand that this action was taken in the first year of his reign, while Hoshea was on the throne of Samaria, it certainly was bold even to audacity, and was calculated to rouse the resentment of that ruler. If, however, we hold (with Keil and others)... read more
Preparations for a grand national Passover. I. A PASSOVER DECIDED ON . ( 2 Chronicles 30:1 , 2 Chronicles 30:5 .) 1 . By whom ! Hezekiah, his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, with both of whom he had taken counsel. The important step, not adopted without deliberation, was concurred in by the entire body of the people ( 2 Chronicles 30:4 ). If any in the nation held aloof, these were the priests and the Levites ( 2 Chronicles 30:15 ). 2 . For whom... read more
The celebration of the Passover, with its sacred suggestions. The whole of this chapter is concerned with Hezekiah's call of priests, Levites, princes, and congregation of the people to observe and celebrate with himself the grand solemnity of the Passover. From the analogy of the precedent provided for individual cases of certain kinds of necessity ( Numbers 9:10 ), this celebration for the whole nation is fixed for the fourteenth day of the second month instead of the first. This was... read more
This and the following verse are well explained by Numbers 9:6-13 , where the particular instance of the "defilement by a dead body" simply exemplified other legitimate instances of defilement or non-sanctification ( 2 Chronicles 29:5 , 2 Chronicles 29:15 , 2 Chronicles 29:34 ), and where absence on a journey similarly exemplified other unavoidable absence. read more
At that time . The words seem like a reminiscence of the "at that day," twice occurring in 2 Chronicles 30:6 of Numbers 9:1-23 . But anyway the meaning is plain "at the appointed season." read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 30:1-12
Here is, I. A passover resolved upon. That annual feast was instituted as a memorial of the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt. It happened that the reviving of the temple service fell within the appointed days of that feast, the seventeenth day of the first month: this brought that forgotten solemnity to mind. ?What shall we do,? says Hezekiah, ?about the passover? It is a very comfortable ordinance, and has been long neglected. How shall we revive it? The time has elapsed for... read more