2 Kings 12 Study Notes

12:13-15 The record is positive concerning the overseers, saying they were so honest that no accounting was necessary. Yet, at this point, funds were inadequate for replacing the utensils necessary for the temple worship. Later, funds became available for this purpose (2Ch 24:14).

12:16 This verse clarifies v. 4.

12:17-18 Second Kings omits any record of Joash’s late unfaithfulness to the Lord (2Ch 24:17-22). A plundering expedition by King Hazael of Aram was judgment for early stages of Joash’s unfaithfulness. This campaign demonstrated the collapse of joint Israelite power. Just two decades earlier, when Jehu seized the throne of Israel, Israel was competing with Hazael for Ramoth-gilead on nearly equal terms. Now, Hazael apparently marched freely through the territory of Israel to the coast and then south along the coast to capture Gath. With Gath captured and Judah weak, the route to Jerusalem was open. Joash sent the treasures of the palace and the temple to buy off Hazael.

From Chronicles we learn that after more years of Joash’s unfaithfulness, Aram, likely under Ben-hadad, again invaded Judah, entered Jerusalem (2Ch 24:23), killed many people, and seized still more plunder. Several factual differences distinguish this actual penetration of Jerusalem from Hazael’s threat to Jerusalem mentioned above. Though revival formally began with Joash, it was short-lived and shallow. This could explain why the return of prosperity, power, and blessing was delayed until later.

12:19-21 After the formula sentences about the end of Joash’s reign, the text reports that he died by assassination—a tragedy almost certainly instigated by his idolatry and the plundering of Jerusalem. The assassination occurred at Beth-millo. Similarities in root meaning hint that Silla might be another word for the ramp or descending highway just southeast of Jerusalem. This possibility could give the meaning “the Beth-millo that goes down parallel to the highway.”