Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/323

Rh reigned in his stead. And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the. Howbeit the would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his children alway. In his

of the brethren, their possessions, and their massacre by Jehoram are not likely to be the product of the Chronicler's unaided imagination.

2. brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat] It was necessary to define brethren, for the word by itself means no more than "kinsmen"; cp. 1 Chr. xii. 3 (note).

Azariah] Since this name (with a slight variation of spelling) is repeated in the list it is probable that the text is corrupt. Yet the error may be no more than the omission of some epithet which distinguished one Azariah from the other in the original text of the verse. The LXX. gives no help.

king of Israel] Cp. xi. 3, note.

3. their father gave them] Rehoboam did the same; xi. 23.

precious things] Heb. migdānōth; cp. xxxii. 23.

4. strengthened himself] Cp. i. 1 (note).

5—7 (= 2 Kin. viii. 17—19).&emsp;

6. of Ahab] Cp. xviii. 1 (note).

7. the house of David] In 2 Kin. Judah, a term sparingly used in Chron.; cp. xi. 3 (note).

a lamp] Thus figuratively applied the Heb. word is written nīr; ordinarily "lamp" is nēr in Heb.