Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 26
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 26
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 26
"And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah." — 2 Chronicles 26:1 (ASV)
Uzziah - This form of the name is found consistently in Chronicles (except in 1 Chronicles 3:12) and in the prophets. The writer of the books of Kings prefers the form Azariah. Uzziah has been regarded as a phonetic corruption of the real name, used by the common people.
"And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God: and as long as he sought Jehovah, God made him to prosper." — 2 Chronicles 26:5 (ASV)
Who had understanding in the visions of God—Another reading, supported by the Septuagint and some ancient versions, is: “who instructed him in the fear of God.”
"And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in [the country of] Ashdod, and among the Philistines." — 2 Chronicles 26:6 (ASV)
Uzziah’s expedition was the natural sequel to the Edomite war of Amaziah (2 Chronicles 25:11), which crushed the most formidable of all the tribes of the south. On Jabneh, see the note on Joshua 15:11; and on Ashdod, see the note on Joshua 13:3.
"And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim." — 2 Chronicles 26:7 (ASV)
For more on the Mehunims or Maonites, see the note on Judges 10:12.
"And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain: [and he had] husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields; for he loved husbandry." — 2 Chronicles 26:10 (ASV)
He built towers in the desert. These were refuges for the flocks and the herdsmen in the wild pasture country on the borders of the Holy Land, especially toward the south and southeast.
Wells. The alternative translation, often found in the margin, is preferable. Judea depends largely for its water supply on reservoirs where the rainfall is stored. These are generally cut into the natural rock and covered at the top.
For he had much cattle... Some prefer the reading, "for he had much cattle there, both in the low country and on the plains," referring to three pasture districts:
- The "wilderness," or the high tract to the south and southeast, extending from the western shores of the Dead Sea to the vicinity of Beersheba.
- The "low country," or the coastal plain on the west, between the hills of Judea and the sea.
- The "plains," or the rich grazing land beyond the Jordan on the plateau of Gilead.
Uzziah’s possession of this last district must have been connected with the submission of the Ammonites (see 2 Chronicles 26:8).
In the mountains, and in Carmel. These terms describe Judea proper—the hilly tract between the low coastal plain on one side and the wilderness and the Jordan Valley on the other. By "Carmel" we must understand not the famous mountain of that name, which belonged to Samaria, but the cultivated portions of the Judean hill country (see the marginal note).
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