Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/348

284 to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent. And Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? Now from the time that Amaziah did

22. to his tent] Cp. vii. 10 (note).

23. the son of Jehoahaz] i.e. the son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz and Ahaziah being varying forms of the same name; cp. xxi. 17 (note).

brake down the wall] Rather, made a breach (or breaches) in the wall. The same verb is used in Neh. i. 3 ("broken down") and ibid. iv. 7 ("the breaches").

the gate of Ephraim] Its precise position is not known, but it was no doubt in the north or north-west wall of the city, on the road to Ephraim. Cp. Neh. viii. 16.

the corner gate] Heb. text doubtful, but LXX. . Cp. xxvi. 9; Jer. xxxi. 38; Zech. xiv. 10. Most probably this gate also was near the north-west angle of the walls, but nothing certain is known of its position.

four hundred cubits] About 600 feet according to the ancient cubit, and 700 according to the later standard; cp. iii. 3 (note).

24. And he took] The verb is missing in Chron., and is supplied from Kings.

with Obed-edom] i.e. with the family of Obed-edom which (1 Chr. xxvi. 4—8, 15) served as doorkeepers in the House of God. The words are an addition of the Chronicler.

25—28 (= 2 Kin. xiv. 17—20).&emsp;

27. from the time] The Chronicler characteristically connects the conspiracy with Amaziah's apostasy; in Kings the only fact of the conspiracy is stated.