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2 KINGS 21

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 21:1-9
  ¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hephzibah. ²He did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel. ³For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. ⁴He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." ⁵For he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶He made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord provoking Him to anger. ⁷Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. ⁸And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them." ⁹But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

21:1 "Manasseh" This was the name (BDB 586; NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 930-931) of Joseph's oldest son and, therefore, one of the tribes of Israel. Here, it is the name of the son of Hezekiah and a king of Judah (cf. 2 Chronicles 33).

▣ "twelve years old" This means that this evil king was born in the fifteen year period of YHWH's grace to Hezekiah. One can only speculate what happened. Godly Hezekiah is followed by wicked Manasseh but this was characteristic of Judah's kings (i.e., Asa ‒ Josiah). This may be referred to in Ezekiel 18.

God's plans are mysterious (cf. Isa. 55:9-11) but He does have a plan!

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

▣ "reigned fifty-five years" This is the longest reign of any Judean king. He reigned during the time of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF ASSYRIA

▣ "Hephzibah" The word means "My delight is in her" (BDB 343).

▣ "according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed" The children of Abraham were also dispossessed because of their idolatry (cf. Gen. 15:12-16). See my exegetical note from 2 Chronicles 32 below.

2 Chr. 33:2-7 "all the abominations of the nations"What a list of pagan gods and superstitions (cf. Lev. 19:26,31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-12; 2 Kgs. 21:3-7; Jer. 7:30-31)!

1. rebuilt the high places (Canaanite)
   1. altars for the Ba'als (male god)
   2. made Asherim (female god)
2. worshiped the host of heaven (Assyrian, Babylonian, i.e., sun, moon, constellations), 2 Chr. 33:5; the "host of heaven" can refer to angels, cf.1 Kgs. 22:19, but here to astral deities, cf. Deut. 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs. 12:16; 21:3; 23:4; Jer. 8:2
3. worshiped Molech (cf. Lev. 18:21; 20:2-4; Deut. 18:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35), 2 Chr. 33:6
4. practiced witchcraft (cf. Deut. 18:10; see article in Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 957), 2 Chr. 33:6
5. used divination (cf. Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:10; Jer. 27:9; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 945-951), 2 Chr. 33:6
6. practices sorcery (cf. Exod. 22:18; Lev. 19:26; Jer. 27:9; NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 735-738), 2 Chr. 33:6
7. dealt with mediums (cf. Lev. 19:31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:11; Isa. 8:19; 19:3), 2 Chr. 33:6
8. dealt with spiritists (cf. Lev. 19:31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:11; Isa. 8:19; 19:3; NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 303-304), 2 Chr. 33:6

He even put some of these pagan altars in the temple, 2 Chr. 33:4,7,15.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

SPECIAL TOPIC: MOON WORSHIP

SPECIAL TOPIC: MOLECH

SPECIAL TOPIC: DIVINER

See full notes at Deut. 18:10-11.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ABOMINATION (OT)

21:3 "he rebuilt the high places" These were local altars and places of worship for the fertility gods of Canaan, Ba'al and Asherah. In the period of the Judges these same sites were used to worship YHWH. See Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, "High Places," pp. 284-285.

▣ "made an Asherah" This was a wooden symbol of the female consort to Ba'al (BDB 81; NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 569-570). It was a carved tree according to v. 7. But, Deuteronomy 16:21 has "plant," therefore, it is possible it was a live tree.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

▣ "the host of heaven" This refers to the worship of Babylonian astrology and the signs of the zodiac (cf. Deut. 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs. 17:16; 23:4).

SPECIAL TOPIC: Lord OF HOSTS

21:4 "He built altars in the house of the Lord" Manasseh placed these idolatrous altars in Solomon's temple. Possibly it was mandated by Assyrian treaty obligations.

▣ "I will put My name" In Deuteronomy YHWH chooses Jerusalem as the site of His temple. This was to be the only sacrificial altar in the land (i.e., 2 Kgs. 21:7; Deut. 12:5,11,14,18,21,26; 14:23-25; 15:20; 16:2,11,15; 17:8,10; 18:6; 26:2; 31:11; 1 Kgs. 8:16,29; 9:3). One altar for the one true God"!

SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH (OT)

21:5 "altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord" This was Babylonian astral worship. Unbelievable! Solomon's Temple had only two courts, therefore, these were located in the priests' area.

▣ "the two courts" The temple described in 1 Kings 6 does not have two courts. Some assume

1. that the one court was later separated or extended, cf. 2 Chr. 20:5, "new court"); see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 317
2. that this reflects Ezekiel's temple (cf. Ezek. 40:19)

21:6 All of these practices were condemned in the Torah. See the notes online at Deut. 18:10-12!

▣ "He made his son pass through the fire" This was the worship of the fertility god Molech (cf. Lev. 18:21; 2 Kgs. 16:3; 17:17). This was a Phoenician fire god that the Canaanites adopted. The oldest son was burned to this god (the LXX has "sons"). This was done in the valley outside of Jerusalem to insure the fertility of crops, herds, and humans. It is the place Jesus called Gehenna. It became the garbage dump for Jerusalem.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MOLECH

SPECIAL TOPIC: GEHENNA

This could mean:

1. This term (BDB 778 II, KB 857, #1) is etymologically related to the root "cloud" (BDB 777 I). Therefore, divination by observing clouds.
2. Scholars believe it refers to an Arabian root meaning "the hum of insects" or "sound of the wind" (KB 857, #3).
3. From a Ugaritic root to "recite music" or "recite magic spells" (KB 857, #4).

This (BDB 638 II, KB 690) was an attempt to know the answer to questions or know the future by means of observing certain natural phenomenon or use of a cup (cf. Gen. 44:5).

This term can refer to personal and impersonal means of speaking to the dead (BDB 15, KB 20 II, NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 303-304). Literally the term is "a bottle" (i.e., like sounds from a bottle), often translated "familiar spirit." In the LXX it is translated "ventriloquist" (cf. Lev. 19:31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:11; 2 Kgs. 23:24; 1 Chr. 10:13; 2 Chr. 33:6; Isa. 19:3).

Literally "a knowing one" (BDB 396, KB 393). These are always linked to "mediums" (cf. Lev. 19:31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:11; 1 Sam. 28:3,9; 2 Kgs. 23:24; 2 Chr. 33:6; Isa. 8:19; 19:3).

21:8 "the feet of Israel wander" This has two connotations.

1. YHWH will forgive and no more exile
2. YHWH's people will walk in His covenant and not deviate from it

▣ "if only they will. . ." The covenant is conditional on human response. Manasseh's idolatry, in part, caused the exile (cf. Deuteronomy 27-28).

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

▣ "the law" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

▣ "My servant Moses" See SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT and SPECIAL TOPIC: THE MOSAIC AUTHORSHIP OF THE PENTATEUCH.

21:9 "But they did not listen" There is no greater sin than rebellion in the presence of great light and truth!

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE SIN UNTO DEATH

▣ "Manasseh seduced them" What an opportunity and responsibility leadership possesses (cf. v. 16). He was Judah's most idolatrous and wicked king!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 21:10-15
  ¹⁰Now the Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹"Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, having done wickedly more than all the Amorites did who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols; ¹²therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. ¹³I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they will become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; ¹⁵because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.'"

21:10 "the prophets" Notice that none are named. See SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHECY (OT).

21:11 "the Amorites" This is a collective term (BDB 57) for all Canaanite tribes (cf. Gen. 15:16), as is "Canaanite." "Amorite" often refers to those tribes that dwelled in the hill country as opposed to the coastal plain.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PRE-ISRAELITE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE

21:12 "both his ears will tingle" This was an idiom of surprising judgment (cf. 1 Sam. 3:11; Jer. 19:3; NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 342).

Notice the three images/idioms of YHWH's sure judgment.

1. tingling ears
2. the measuring lines
3. the dish cleaning

21:13 "I will stretch. . .the line" This is an idiom of judgment using a construction term for measurement (cf. Isa. 34:11; Lam. 2:8; Amos 7:7-8).

As YHWH judged Samaria, so too, Jerusalem. YHWH is no respecter of persons. The Canaanites sinned; He removed them from His land (cf. Gen. 15:12-21; now because His people have sinned in the same way, they, too, will be removed (i.e., exile)!

The two VERBS which follow this idiom of judgment are very graphic.

1. wipe out, clear ‒ BDB 562, KB 567, used three times (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 913-914)
2. turn over ‒ BDB 245, KB 753, Qal PERFECT

21:14 "the remnant" Here, this refers to Judah and Benjamin. The curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are now in effect.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE REMNANT, THREE SENSES

21:15 "they have done evil" Israel's rebellion was no new thing (cf. Amos 5:25-26)!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 21:16-18
  ¹⁶Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁷Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did and his sin which he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ¹⁸And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son became king in his place.

21:16 "shed very much innocent blood" Tradition says Manasseh killed Isaiah by putting him inside a log and sawing the log in two (Josephus, Antiq. 10.3.1 and the non-canonical book, "The Ascension of Isaiah"), which is alluded to in Heb. 11:37.

It is possible the faithful would not tolerate Manasseh's idolatry or it may refer to children offered to Molech.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MOLECH

▣ "from one end to another" This is literally, "mouth to mouth" (BDB 804).

21:18 Manasseh was buried in Uzza's garden. This was because

1. the cave where David and his descendants were buried was full
2. the evil of Manasseh caused him to be buried separately

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 21:19-26
  ¹⁹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. ²¹For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. ²²So he forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. ²³The servants of Amon conspired against him and killed the king in his own house. ²⁴Then the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁶He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

21:19 "Amon" His name (BDB 54 III) means "to support," "help," or "nurse." This name could be related to the Egyptian god, Amnon of Thebes.

▣ "Meshullemeth" This name (BDB 1024) means "at peace" or "safe."

▣ "Haruz" This name (BDB 358 IV) means "industrious."

21:22 "did not walk in the way" "Walk" refers to lifestyle faith. "The way" refers to God's guidance and was the early name of the church in Acts.

21:23 "The servants of Amon conspired against him" This was

1. the pro-Egyptian faction
2. pro-YHWH group

21:24 "the people of the land" This term, in this context, refers to land owners and influential persons. See notes at 2 Kgs. 11:14,17,18,19,20.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why does 2 Kings 21 not record Manasseh's repentance as 2 Chr. 33:11-19 does?
2. How can we account for the fluctuation between good and evil kings? (note Ezekiel 18)
3. List the evils Manasseh did.
4. How are the practices of v. 6 related to our day?
5. Why does Kings not mention Manasseh's exile and repentance? (See Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 227-228)

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