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 Joash (compare the account in 2 Chron 23, which is more elaborate in several points).

Verse 4
In the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada sent for the captains of the king’s body-guard to come to him into the temple, and concluded a covenant with them, making them swear and showing them the king’s son, namely, to dethrone the tyrant Athaliah and set the king’s son upon the throne. המּאיות שׂרי, centuriones, military commanders of the executioners and runners, i.e., of the royal body-guard. The Chethîb מאיות may be explained from the fact that מאה is abridged from מאיה (vid., Ewald, §267, d.). On ורצים כּרי = והפּלתי הכּרתי   (1Ki 1:38) see the Comm. on 2Sa 8:18; and on ל as a periphrasis of the genitive, see Ewald, §292, a. In 2Ch 23:1-3 the chronicler not only gives the names of these captains, but relates still more minutely that they went about in the land and summoned the Levites and heads of families in Israel to Jerusalem, probably under the pretext of a festal celebration; whereupon Jehoiada concluded a covenant with the persons assembled, to ensure their assistance in the execution of his plan.

Verses 5-8
Jehoiada then communicated to those initiated into the plan the necessary instructions for carrying it out, assigning them the places which they were to occupy. “The third part of you that come on the Sabbath (i.e., mount guard) shall keep the guard of the king’s house (ושׁמרי is a corruption of ושׁמרוּ), and the third part shall be at the gate Sur, and the third part at the gate behind the runners, and (ye) shall keep guard over the house for defence; and the two parts of you, (namely) all who depart on the Sabbath, shall keep the guard of the house of Jehovah for the king; and ye shall surround the king round about, every one with his weapons in his hand; and whoever presses into the ranks shall be slain, and shall be with the king when