Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Kings 12:17-18

"Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the king`s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem." — 2 Kings 12:17-18 (ASV)

There was probably a considerable interval between the conclusion of the arrangement for the repairs and the Syrian expedition described in these verses. For the events that happened, see 2 Chronicles 24:15–22.

This is the first and last time we hear of the Damascene Syrians undertaking such a distant expedition. Gath (see the note on Joshua 13:3) could only be reached from Syria by traveling through Israel or Judah. It was not more than 25 or 30 miles from Jerusalem. It is uncertain whether the city belonged to Judah or to the Philistines at this time.

Hazael set his face... This phrase indicates a general determination, but especially a determination to go somewhere (compare Jeremiah 42:15 and Luke 9:51). Jerusalem can scarcely have been the primary object of this expedition, or it would have been attacked by a less circuitous route. Perhaps the Syrians were prompted to make a sudden march against the Jewish capital after learning, while at Gath, that a revolution had occurred there (compare 2 Chronicles 24:18–23).

Jehoash did not submit without a struggle, as the details in Chronicles show. It was only after his army was defeated that he followed the example of his ancestor Asa and bought the friendship of the Syrians with the temple treasures (1 Kings 15:18; compare the conduct of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:15–16).

Jehoram and Ahaziah — Though these two monarchs had been worshippers of Baal, they had combined that idolatrous cult with a certain amount of decent respect for the traditional religion. It is evident from this passage that they had made costly offerings to the temple.