Recovered Elath to Syria. . . the Syrians.The words for Syria and Edom, Syrians and Edomites, are very much alike in Hebrew writing, and the Hebrew margin, many MSS., the LXX. and Vulg. read Edomites for Syrians here. If this be correct, we must also restore Edom for Syria, as many critics propose. The meaning then becomes this: Rezin emancipated the Edomites from the yoke of Judah imposed on them by Uzziah (chap. xiv. 22) in order to win their active co-operation against Judah. Bähr, however, prefers the readings of the ordinary text, and supposes that Rezin simply expelled the Jews from Elath, and established there a commercial colony of Syrians.

(7) So Ahaz sent messengers.-See Notes on 2 Chron. xxviii. 16, 20.

Which rise up against me.-Or, which are assailing me. "The vain confidence of the rulers of Judah, described by Isaiah in his first prophetic book, was rudely shaken by the progress of the war with Pekah and Rezin. Unreasoning confidence had given way to equally unreasoning panic. They saw only one way of escape-namely, to throw themselves upon the protection of Assyria." (Robertson Smith.)

(8) Ahaz took the silver and gold.-" He was well aware that the only conditions on which protection would be vouchsafed were acceptance of the Assyrian suzerainty with the payment of a huge tribute, and an embassy was despatched laden with all the treasures of the palace and the Temple. The ambassadors had no difficulty in attaining their object, which perfectly fell in with the schemes of the great king. The invincible army was set in motion, Damascus was taken, and its inhabitants led captive, and Gilead and Galilee suffered the same fate" (Robertson Smith). (Comp. chap. xv. 29.) According to Schrader, the expedition" to Philistia" in 734 B.C., was directed against Pekah, who probably saved himself by an instant submission. It was only after Tiglath had settled matters with the northern kingdom, and so isolated Damascus, that he turned his arms against Rezin. Two whole years were spent in reducing him (733-732 B.C.) In an inscription dating from his seventeenth year, Tiglath Pileser mentions that he received tribute from Eniel, king of Hamath, Muthumbaal, king of Arvad, Sanibu of Ammon, Salamanu of Moab, Mitinti of Ascalon, Jahuhazi (Jehoahaz, i.e., Ahaz) of Judah, Qaus

(10) And king Ahaz went to Damascus. to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern

malaka of Edom, Hanun of Gaza, and other princes. This probably relates to the expedition of 734 B.C., in which year, therefore, Ahaz (Jehoahaz) must have put himself under the protection of Assyria (Schrader, K.A.T., p. 257 seq.).

(9) Went up against Damascus, and took it. -We learn from the inscriptions that Damascus stood a two years' siege. (The Eponym-list makes Tiglath Pileser march against Damascus for two successive years, namely 733 and 732 B.C.)

Carried the people of it captive to Kir.(Comp. Amos i. 5, ix. 7.) The name Kir is not found in the fragmentary remains of the annals of Tiglath Pileser. Schrader (p. 261 seq.) gives a mutilated inscription, apparently relating to the fall of Damascus.

And slew Rezin.-Sir H. Rawlinson found this fact recorded on a tablet of Tiglath Pileser's, since unfortunately lost. In the inscription just referred to Tiglath says: "I entered the gate of his city; his chief officers alive [I took, and] on stakes I caused to lift them up" (i.e., impaled them).

Kir was the aboriginal home of the Arameans, according to Amos ix. 7. It is mentioned along with Elam in Isa. xxii. 6. "It has been generally identi fied with the district by the river Cyrus (the modern Georgia). But, besides the linguistic objection pointed out by Delitzsch (Qir cannot be equivalent to Kúr), it appears that the Assyrian empire never extended to the Cyrus. We must, therefore, consider Kir to be a part of Mesopotamia. (Cheyne.)

(10) Ahaz went to Damascus, to meet Tiglath-pileser. The great king appears to have held his court there after the capture of the city, and to have summoned the vassal princes of Palestine thither to do him homage in person before his departure. (See the Note on verse 8.)

And saw an altar.-Rather, and he saw the altar, namely, that of the principal Temple. Upon the account which follows Prof. Robertson Smith well remarks that the frivolous character of Ahaz "was so little capable of appreciating the dangers involved in his new obligations, that he returned to Jerusalem with his head full of the artistic and religious curiosities he had seen on his journey. In a national crisis of the first magnitude he found no more pressing concern than the erection of a new altar in the Temple on a pattern brought from Damascus. The sundial of Ahaz (2 Kings xx. 11), and an erection on the roof of the Temple, with altars apparently designed for the worship of the host of heaven (2 Kings xxiii. 12), were works equally characteristic of the trifling and superstitious virtuoso, who imagined that the introduction of a few foreign novelties gave lustre to a reign which had fooled away the independence of Judah, and sought a

of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. (1) And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus : so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. (12) And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. (13) And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of 1his peace offerings, upon the altar. (14) And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. (15) And

his.

King of Judah

momentary deliverance by accepting a service the burden of which was fast becoming intolerable" (Proph. of Israel, p. 251).

Urijah the priest-i.e., the high priest, who ap pears to be identical with the " credible witness 99 of Îsa. viii. 2. His high official position would secure Urijah's credit as a witness.

Fashion . pattern workmanship.These terms indicate that the king's interest in the matter was artistic rather than religious.

(12) The king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. So the Targum renders. But all the other versions: "The king approached to the altar, and went up thereon." (Comp. 1 Kings xii. 32, 33.) It thus appears that Ahaz, like Uzziah, personally exercised the priestly function of sacrifice.

(13) And he burnt his burnt offering The verse describes the thank-offering of Ahaz for his late deliverance from deadly peril. From the present narrative it does not appear but that he offered it to Jehovah. The account in 2 Chron. xxviii. 23 must be understood to refer to other sacrifices instituted by Ahaz, who, like most of his contemporaries, thought the traditional worship of Jehovah not incompatible with the cultus of foreign deities. (Comp. verses 3, 4.)

(14) And he brought also the brasen altar. -Literally, And as for the brasen altar, he brought it near (to the new one), away from the front of the house, to wit, from between the (new) altar, and the house of Jehovah; and put it at the side of the (new) altar northward. The brasen altar used to stand "before the Lord," i.e., in the middle of the court of the priests, and in front of the Temple proper. verse seems to imply that Urijah had pushed it forward nearer to the sanctuary, and set the new Syrian altar in its place. Ahaz, not satisfied with this arrangement, which appeared to confer a kind of precedence on the old altar, drew it back again, and fixed it on the north side of his new altar.

The

(15) The great altar-i.e., as we say, "the high altar," the new Syrian one. So the high priest is sometimes called "the great priest" (kohen haggādôl). Ahaz orders that the daily national sacrifices, the royal offerings, and those of private individuals, shall all be offered at the new altar.

The morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering. Not that there was no meat offering in the morning, and no burnt offering in the evening. (See Exod. xxix. 38-42; Num. xxviii. 3—8.) The morning meat offering is implied in the mention of the burnt offering, because no burnt offering was offered without one (Num. vii. 87, xv. 2-12). On the other hand, the evening meat offering was the only part of the evening sacrifice which the congregation could stay out, for the burnt offering had to burn all the night through (Lev. vi. 9).

The brasen altar.-The contrast seems to imply that the new altar was of a different material.

Shall be for me to enquire by-i.e., for consulting God. So Rashi. Others (as Keil): "I will think about what to do with it." Perhaps it is simply, It shall be for me to look at," i.e., an ornamental duplicate of the other altar. (Comp. Ps. xxvii. 4.) Grätz suggests "to draw near" (i.e., to sacrifice), transposing the last two letters of the verb, which does not suit the context; and Thenius would read, "to seek," after the Syriac, which has “to ask ” (i.e., to pray), as if the old altar of sacrifice were henceforth to be an altar of prayer. (?)

(17, 18) And king Ahaz cut off.-The key to the right understanding of these verses is given in the last words of verse 18. Ahaz spoiled the Temple of its ornamental work, not out of wanton malice, but from dire necessity. He had to provide a present for the king of Assyria. Thus these verses are really a continuation of the first statement of verse 10. They inform us how Ahaz managed not to appear empty-handed at Damascus. (So Thenius.) Prof. R. Smith says: "Ahaz, whose treasures had been exhausted by his first tribute, was soon driven by the repeated demands of his masters to strip the Temple even of its ancient bronzework and other fixed ornaments. The incidental mention of this fact in a fragment of the history of the Temple incorporated in the Book of Kings is sufficient evidence of the straits to which the kingdom of Judah was reduced."

Borders of the bases.-See 1 Kings vii. 28. Thenius thinks Ahaz replaced them with unadorned plates, and set the laver up in a different fashion; but the text does not say so. (Comp., however, chap. xxv. 13, 16; Jer. lii. 17.)

Death of Ahaz.

ment of stones.

(18) And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.

(19) Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ? (20) And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

CHAPTER XVII.-(1) In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began

The brasen oxen.-These were ultimately carried off by the Babylonians (Jer. lii. 20).

A pavement of stones-i.e., a pedestal or foundation of stonework: èri Báσiv λiðívnu (LXX.).

(18) The covert for the sabbath. - A very obscure expression. The best interpretation is "the covered hall (or stand) set apart for the use of the king and his attendants when he visited the Temple on holy days" (reading, with the Hebrew margin, músak, which is attested by the Vulg., musach, and the Syriac "house of the sabbath "). The thing is not mentioned anywhere else.

In the house-i.e., in the sacred precincts, probably in the inner forecourt.

The king's entry without.-The outer entry of the king, i.e., the gate by which the king entered the inner court (Ezek. xlvi. 1, 2).

Turned he from the house of the Lord.Or, he altered in the house of the Lord, i.e., stripped them of their ornamental work.

For. Or, from fear of...-But comp. Gen. vi. 32, "through them." Ahaz durst not appear before Tiglath without a present. It is possible also that he anticipated a visit from the great king.

(19) Which he did.-Some MSS., and the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic have the usual formula, "and all which he did."

XVII.

THE REIGN OF HOSHEA, THE LAST KING OF SAMARIA. THE FALL OF SAMARIA. CAPTIVITY OF ISRAEL, AND RE-PEOPLING OF THE LAND BY FOREIGNERS.

(1) In the twelfth year of Ahaz.-If Pekah reigned thirty years (see Note on chap. xv. 27), and Ahaz succeeded in Pekah's seventeenth year (chap. xvi. 1), Ahaz must have reigned thirteen years concurrently with Pekah. Hoshea, therefore, succeeded Pekah in the fourteenth year of Ahaz.

Began Hoshea.-See the inscription of Tiglath Pileser, quoted at chap. xv. 30, according to which, Hoshea (A-u-si-ha) only mounted the throne as a vassal of Assyria. On the news of the death of Tiglath, he probably refused further tribute.

(2) But not as the kings of Israel that were before him. The preceding phrase is used of all the northern kings but Shallum, who only reigned a mouth, and had no time for the display of his religious policy. We can hardly assume that Hoshea abandoned the calf-worship of Bethel, but he may have discountenanced the cultus of the Baals and Asheras. The Seder

1

Hoshea Imprisoned.

Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. (2) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him. (3) Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him 2 presents. (4) And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

Olam states that Hoshea did not replace the calf of Bethel, which, it assumes, had been carried off by the Assyrians in accordance with the prophecy of Hosea (Hosea x. 5). We may remember that the last sovereigns of falling monarchies have not always been the worst of their line-e.g., Charles I. or Louis XVI. (3) Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria.-Shalmaneser IV. (Shalmánu-ushshir, "Shalman be gracious!"), the successor of Tiglath Pileser II., and predecessor of Sargon, reigned 727-722 B.C. No annals of his reign have come down to us in the cuneiform inscriptions, but a fragment of the Eponym. list notes foreign expeditions for the three successive years 725-723 B.C. This agrees with what Menander states (Josephus, Ant. ix. 14, 2), according to whom Shalmaneser made an expedition against Tyre (and no doubt Israel, as the ally of Tyre), which lasted five years-i.e., was continued beyond Shalmaneser's reign into that of Sargon. Nothing is known of the death of Shalmaneser.

(4) Conspiracy-i.e., as is presently explained, a conspiracy with the king of Egypt against his suzerain. Shalmaneser regarded Hoshea, and probably the king of Egypt also, as his "servant" (verse 3). (Comp. chap. xii. 20 and Jer. xi. 9.) Thenius wishes to read "falsehood," after the LXX., 'adicíav (comp. Deut. xix. 18; Micah vi. 12), a change involving transposition of two Heb. letters (sheqer for qèsher); but the change is needless.

So. The Hebrew letters should be pointed differently, so as to be pronounced Sewe, or Sewe, as this name corresponds to the Assyrian Shab'i, and the Egyptian Shabaka, the Greek Sabaco, the first king of the XXVth, or Ethiopian dynasty, whom Sargon defeated at Raphia in 720 B.C. Sargon calls him "prince," or "ruler" (shiltân), rather than "king" of Egypt; and it appears that at this time Lower Egypt was divided among a number of petty principalities, whose recognition of any central authority was very uncertain-a fact which rendered an Egyptian alliance of little value to Israel. (See Isa. xix., xx.)

Brought.-Rather, offered. The word elsewhere is always used of sacrifice.

As he had done.-Omit. The Hebrew phrase (according to a year, in a year), which is not found elsewhere, denotes the regular payment of yearly dues. This Hoshea failed to discharge.

Therefore shut him up.-Comp. Jer. xxxiii. 1, xxxvi. 5, xxxii. 2, 3. This statement seems to imply that Shalmaneser took Hoshea prisoner before the siege

of Samaria a supposition which finds support in the fact that Sargon, who ended the siege, makes no mention of the capture or death of the Israelite king.

...

(5) Then (and) the king of Assyria came up and besieged it three years. Sargon states that he took Samaria (Samerina) in his first year. Shalmaneser therefore had besieged the city some two years before his death.

The brief narrative before us does not discriminate between the respective shares of the two Assyrian sovereigns in the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel, but it is noticeable that it does not say that Shalmaneser "besieged Samaria three years,' and "took Samaria." (Comp. chap. xviii. 11.)

(6) In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria.-Comp. Hosea x. 5 seq.; Micah i. 6; Isa. xxviii. 1-4. In the great inscription published by Botta, Sargon says: "The city of Samaria I assaulted, I took; 27,280 men dwelling in the midst thereof I carried off; 50 chariots among them I set apart (for myself), and the rest of their wealth I let (my soldiers) take; my prefect over them I appointed, and the tribute of the former king upon them I laid." Placed them.-Literally, made them dwell. LXX., κατώκησεν.

In Halah. This place appears to be identical with Halahhu, a name occurring in an Assyrian geographical list between Arrabha (Arrapachitis) and Ratsappa (Rezeph). It probably lay in Mesopotamia, like Rezeph and Gozan. (See Note on 1 Chron. v. 26.)

In Habor by the river of Gozan.-Rather, on Habor the river of Gozan.

The cities of the Medes.-The LXX. seems to have read "mountains of the Medes." (Comp. Notes on 1 Chron. v. 26, where "Hara and the river of Gozan" is probably the result of an inadvertent transposition of "The river of Gozan and Hara.”)

The

(7-23) REFLECTIONS OF THE LAST EDITOR ON THE MORAL CAUSES OF THE CATASTROPHE. (7) For so it was.-Literally, and it came to pass. Sinned against the Lord... Egypt. claim of Jehovah to Israel's exclusive fealty was from the outset based upon the fact that He had emancipated them from the Egyptian bondage-a fact which is significantly asserted as the preamble to Jehovah's laws. (See Exod. xx. 2; and comp. Hosea xi. 1, xii. 9.)

Captive by Shalmaneser.

of Israel, which they had made. (9) And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. (10) And they set them up 1images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: (11) and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: (12) for they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, 'Ye shall not do this thing.

(13) Yet the LORD testified against

Had feared other gods.-Such as the Baals and Asheras of Canaan, which symbolised the productive powers of Nature, and, further, the heavenly bodies. (Comp. Amos v. 25, 26; Ezek. viii. 14, 16.) (8) Statutes of the heathen and of the kings of Israel. The national guilt was twofold. It comprised: (1) idolatry in the strict sense-i.e., worship of other gods than Jehovah; (2) a heathenish mode of worshipping Jehovah Himself-namely, under the form of a bullock, as Jeroboam I. had ordained. The term statutes " means religious rules or ordinances. (Comp. Exod. xii. 14, "statutes;" Lev. xx. 23,"manners; 1 Kings iii. 3, " ordinance.")

66

Which they had made-i.e., the statutes which the kings of Israel had made. (Comp. verse 19 b.)

(9) Did secretly. The literal sense is covered. In this connection'it is natural to remember that Heb. verbs of covering and hiding are often used in the sense of dealing perfidiously or deceitfully. (Comp. mā‘al, 1 Chron. x 13, with me'l, "mantle;" and bagad, "to deal treacherously," Hosea v. 7, with beged, garment.") The form in the text (the pihel of hāpha) is only found here.

66

They built them high places.-First, the institution of unlawful places of worship.

From the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.-The towers are such as are mentioned in 2 Chron. xxvi. 10. Here, and in chap. xviii. 8, these solitary buildings, tenanted by a few herdsmen, are contrasted with the embattled cities which protected multitudes. Wherever men were, whether in small or large numbers, these high places were established.

(10) Images and groves.-Pillars and Asheras— i.e., sacred trunks.

The second degree of guilt: the setting up of idolatrous symbols.

(11) Wrought wicked things.-Not merely idolatrous rites, but also the hideous immoralities which constituted a recognised part of the nature-worships of Canaan.

(12) For they served idols.-Rather, and they served the dunglings; a term of contempt used in 1 Kings xv. 19; Deut. xxix. 16, where see Note.

(13) Yet the Lord testified against Israel.Rather, And Jehovah adjured Israel . . . The verb means here, gave solemn warning, or charge. In verse 15 it is repeated, with a cognate noun as object: "His

of all.

of Israel.

or,

testimonies which he testified against them;" his charges (ie., precepts) which he had given them. By all the prophets, and by all the seers.— The Hebrew text is, by the hand of all his prophets— namely, every seer. One or two MSS. and the Targum have prophet, instead of his prophets. The Syriac has "by the hand of all his servants the prophets, and all the seers." The Vulg. and Arabic also have both nouns plural. Seers were such persons as, without belonging to the prophetic order, came forward in times of emergency upon a sudden Divine impulse. Thenius thinks Israel and Judah are mentioned together because the reference is to the time before the partition of the kingdom; more probably, because both apostatised, and prophets were sent to both.

And which I sent-i.e., the law which I sent. But-as according to later Jewish ideas, the prophets did not bring the Law, but only interpreted it-it seems better to understand with the Vulg. (“et sicut misi”) "and according to all that I sent to you (i.e., enjoined upon you) by my servants the prophets."

(14) Notwithstanding . . . hear.-Rather, and they hearkened not.

Necks.-Heb., neck. (Comp. Deut. x. 16; Jer. xvii. 23; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13.)

Like to the neck.-LXX. and Syriac, more than the neck. One letter different in the Hebrew.

Did not believe in the Lord their God.-The reference is not to intellectual but to moral unbelief, evincing itself as disobedience. Vulg., "qui volerunt obediren." They did not render the obedience of faith. (Comp. the use of 'aretteiv in the Greek Testament.)

(15) And they followed vanity, and became vain. The same expression occurs in Jer. ii. 5. The word "vanity" (hèbel) has the article. It denotes strictly breath; and then that which is as transient as a breath. (Comp. Job vii. 16.) Here the idols and their worship are intended. The cognate verb, "became vain," means "dealt (or, 'talked;' Job xxvii. 12) foolishly." The LXX. has 'εματαιώθησαν. (Comp. Rom. i. 21.)

(16) Molten images.-1 Kings xii. 28. Literally, a casting.

A grove.-An Asherah (1 Kings xiv 23, xvi. 33). Schlottmann writes: "That Ashera was only another name for the same supreme goddess (i.e., Ashtoreth) is at once shown by the parallelism of Baal and Ashtaroth' (Judges ii. 13) with 'Baal and Asherim' (the plural of Ashera) in Judges iii. 7. In quite the same

(18) Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of

way Baal and Ashera stand side by side in Judges vi. 28, 2 Kings xxiii. 4; and in 1 Kings xviii. 19 the 450 prophets of the Baal and the 400 of the Ashera. Further, in 2 Chron. xv. 16, xxiv. 18, the LXX. render Ashera by Astarte; and in other passages Aquila, Symmachus, and the Peshito do the same thing." He then refers to 1 Kings xiv. 23 and Isa. xvii. 8, xxvii. 9, and continues: 'according to these and many other passages, Ashera was used as the designation of the commonest material representation of the goddess. It consisted of a block of wood, of considerable size (Judges vi. 26), and resembling a tree, as is shown by the expressions used in connection with it, such as 'setting up,' 'planting,' and 'cutting down' (2 Kings xvii. 10; Deut. xvi. 21; Judges vi. 28; 2 Kings xviii. 4, &c.). In Isa. xxvii. 9 the LXX. actually renders tree;' and so the Peshito in Deut. vi. 21, Micah v. 13. Hence, we must not think of pillars like the Greek Hermae, but of a real trunk planted in the ground, rootless, but not branchless; for which purpose pines and evergreens were preferred. The tree signifies, according to an ancient and widespread conception, nature, or the world, which in this case stands as goddess at the side of the Baal-the lord of the world. (Comp. the Norse tree, Yggdrasil, and the Assyrian sacred tree.) Hence, the Ashera was set up by the altar of Baal (Judges vi. 28). (Comp. Deut. xvi. 21.)" Schlottmann adds that Movers is wrong in making Astarte and Ashera two different goddesses, the former being "the stern, cruel virgin," the latter, "the goddess who excites to pleasure; and he justly observes that, as in the case of Baal, the same deity may be conceived under contrary aspects (Riehm's Handwörterbuch Bibl. Alterthums, pp. 111-114). For the Hebrew conception of Astarte see Jer. vii. 18, xliv. 17 seq. Kuenen, Rel. of Isr. i. 88 seq., agrees with Movers, but hardly proves his