1sn The name Joahaz is an alternate form of Jehoahaz.
2sn The referent here is Joash of Judah (see 12:21), not Joash of Israel, mentioned earlier in the verse.
3map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4tnHeb “the name of his mother.”
5tnHeb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”
6tnHeb “according to all which Joash his father had done, he did.”
7tnHeb “when the kingdom was secure in his hand.”
8tnHeb “he struck down his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”
9tnHeb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the Lord commanded, saying.”
10tnHeb “on account of sons.”
11tnHeb “on account of fathers.”
12sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.
13tn Or “struck down.”
14tnHeb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here to meeting in battle. See v. 11.
15tnHeb “the animal of the field.”
16sn Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
17tn Or “you have indeed defeated Edom.”
18tnHeb “and your heart has lifted you up.”
19tnHeb “be glorified.”
20tnHeb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
21tnHeb “did not listen.”
22tnHeb “went up.”
23tnHeb “looked at each other [in the] face.”
24tnHeb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
25tc The MT has the plural form of the verb, but the final vav (ו) is virtually dittographic. The word that immediately follows in the Hebrew text begins with a yod (י). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.
26tnHeb “came to.”
27tnHeb “four hundred cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
28tnHeb “the sons of the pledges.”
29map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
30sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
31tnHeb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoash, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
32tnHeb “lay down with his fathers.”
33tnHeb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
34tnHeb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
35tnHeb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
36tnHeb “and they carried him on horses.”
37tnHeb “he”; the referent (Azariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38sn This must refer to Amaziah.
39tn Heb “lay with his fathers.”
40map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
41tnHeb “in the eyes of.”
42tnHeb “turn away from all.”
43tn The phrases “in the north” and “in the south” are added in the translation for clarification.
44tnHeb “which he spoke by the hand of.”
45tcHeb “for the Lord saw the very bitter affliction of Israel.” This translation assumes an emendation of מֹרֶה (moreh), which is meaningless here, to ַהמַּר (hammar), the adjective “bitter” functioning attributively with the article prefixed. This emendation is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate. Another option would be מַר הוּא (mar hu’), “it was bitter.”
46tnHeb “[there was] none but the restrained, and [there was] none but the abandoned, and there was no deliverer for Israel.” On the meaning of the terms עָצוּר (’atsur) and עָזוּב (’azur), see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
47tnHeb “name.”
48tn The phrase “from under heaven” adds emphasis to the verb “blot out” and suggest total annihilation. For other examples of the verb מָחָה (makhah), “blot out,” combined with “from under heaven,” see Exod 17:14; Deut 9:14; 25:19; 29:20.
49tnHeb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?” The phrase “to Judah” is probably not original; it may be a scribal addition by a Judahite scribe who was trying to link Jeroboam’s conquests with the earlier achievements of David and Solomon, who ruled in Judah. The Syriac Peshitta has simply “to Israel.” M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 162) offer this proposal, but acknowledge that it is “highly speculative.”
50tnHeb “lay down with his fathers.”
51tn The MT has simply “with the kings of Israel,” which appears to stand in apposition to the immediately preceding “with his fathers.” But it is likely that the words “and he was buried in Samaria” have been accidentally omitted from the text. See 13:13 and 14:16.