Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign ,.... Alone, after the death of his father: and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem ; and his reign, upon the whole, was a good reign: and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok ; a person well known in those times; Dr. Lightfoot F8 Works, vol. 1. p. 100. thinks he was high priest. read more
REIGNS OF AZARIAH AND JOTHAM OVER JUDAH ; AND OF ZACHARIAH , SHALLUM , MENAHEM , PEKAHIAH , AND PEKAH OVER ISRAEL . read more
Some lessons from the history of kings. "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam," etc. The mighty Governor of the universe is represented as saying to the Jewish nation, "I gave thee a king in mine anger" ( Hosea 13:2 ). And truly, with a certain number of exceptions here and there through the ages, kings have proved malific scourges of the race. In this chapter there are mentioned no less than seven of those men who are called kings, but who, instead of having one grain of moral... read more
REIGN OF JOTHAM . Once more the writer turns from Israel to Judah, and proceeds to give an account of the reign of Jotham the son of Azariah, or Uzziah, who was appointed regent in his father's place, when Uzziah was struck with leprosy (verse 5). The account given of the reign is somewhat scanty, and requires to be supplemented from Chronicles ( 2 Chronicles 27:1-9 .). read more
A good reign. In welcome contrast with the character of the reigns we have been considering, stands this of Jotham, who walked in the footsteps of his father in all that was right. I. JUDAH WELL GOVERNED . 1. Rule in the fear of God . Jotham proved an excellent ruler. He took warning from his father's example, and "prepared his ways before the Lord his God" ( 2 Chronicles 27:6 ). His reign, indeed, was a brief one compared with his father's, and, had time been given, he... read more
Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem — i.e. sixteen years from his appointment to be regent, as appears plainly from 2 Chronicles 26:23 and 2 Chronicles 27:1 (comp. Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' 9.10. § 4; 12. § 1)— and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. So the author of Chronicles ( 2 Chronicles 27:1 ); Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' 9.11. § 2) calls his mother "Jerasa." read more
2 Kings 15:33-34. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign Namely, properly and alone; for he had reigned before this as his father’s deputy. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord Josephus gives him a very high character; that he was pious toward God, just toward men, and laid himself out for the public good; that whatever was amiss he took care to have it rectified; and, in short, wanted no virtue that became a good prince. And though the high places... read more
Judah’s decline under Ahaz (15:27-16:20)The writer of Kings records the Assyrian attack mentioned above. Pekah’s policy had proved fatal and he was assassinated by Hoshea, a sympathizer with Assyria. Hoshea then became king and won temporary relief for Israel by submitting to Assyria’s control (27-31).Before speaking further of Hoshea, the writer returns to the time before Pekah was assassinated. Pekah’s program for the conquest of Judah had begun during the reign of Jotham, but reached its... read more
33. Five and twenty years was he when he began to reign—that is, alone—for he had ruled as his father's viceroy [2 Kings 15:5]. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 15:32-38
We have here a short account of the reign of Jotham king of Judah, of whom we are told, 1. That he reigned very well, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, 2 Kgs. 15:34. Josephus gives him a very high character, stating that he was pious towards God, just towards men, and laid out himself for the public good,?that, whatever was amiss, he took care to have it rectified,?and, in short, wanted no virtue that became a good prince. Though the high places were not taken away, yet to... read more