Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Chronicles 26

ACCESSION, AGE, AND CONDUCT OF UZZIAH. INFLUENCE OF THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH (2 Chronicles 26:1–5). (Compare to 2 Kings 14:21–22; 2 Kings 15:2–3.)

Then. — And.

Uzziah. —So the chronicler always names him, except in one place (1 Chronicles 3:12), where the name Azariah appears, as in 2 Kings 14:21, 2 Kings 15:1, 2 Kings 15:6, and so on. In 2 Kings 15:13, 2 Kings 15:30, 2 Kings 15:32, and 2 Kings 15:34, Uzziah occurs (though there also the Septuagint reads Azariah, thus making the usage of Kings uniform); it also appears in the headings of the prophecies of Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah. It is not, therefore, to be regarded either as a popular abbreviation or a transcriber’s blunder, as Schrader and others suggest.

In the Assyrian inscriptions of Tiglathpileser II, this king is uniformly called Azriyahu, that is, Azariah. Clearly, therefore, he was known by both names, but to foreigners chiefly by the latter. (Compare to Azareel—Uzziel, 1 Chronicles 25:4; 1 Chronicles 25:18.)

He built. —Namely, it was he who built.

Eloth. —In Kings, Elath. The Idumean port on the Red Sea.

The first four verses are identical with the parallel in Kings. (See the Notes there.)

And he sought God. — And he continued to seek God (the Hebrew is an expression peculiar to the chronicler).

In the days of Zechariah. — An otherwise unknown prophet.

Who had understanding in the visions of God. — Literally, the skilled in seeing God — a surprising epithet, occurring nowhere else. Some Hebrew manuscripts, along with the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and the Targum, read, “in the fear of God.” This is doubtless correct; and the text should be rendered: “who had understanding (or gave instruction) in the fear of God.” So the famous Rabbis, Rashi and Kimchi, long ago suggested.

Zechariah was thus the guide and counsellor of King Uzziah, not only in religious matters but also in what we would call the political sphere. For in those days, the distinction between things sacred and secular, civil and ecclesiastical, Church and State, and religion and common life, was wholly unknown.

And as long as he sought. — Literally, in the days of his seeking.

The Lord, God ... — Such a mode of speech reveals the chronicler’s own hand.

Instead of this verse, 2 Kings 15:4 makes the deduction usual in its estimate of the character of a reign: Only the high places were not taken away; the people still used to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places.

The power and prosperity of Uzziah are accounted for by the chronicler on the ground that he sought God during the life of Zechariah, although afterwards he offended by rashly intruding upon the priest’s office and was punished with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16–21).

And he went forth and warred against the Philistines. —At the outset of his reign this able prince had given promise of his future by seizing and fortifying the port of Elath, and thus probably completing the subjugation of Edom, which his father had more than begun. Afterwards he assumed the offensive against the Philistines, Arabs, and Maonites, who had invaded the country under his predecessors (2 Chronicles 21:16; 2 Chronicles 20:1).

Brake down the wall of Gath. —After taking the city. (As to Gath, see 1 Chronicles 18:1; 2 Chronicles 11:8.)

Jabneh. —The Jamnia of Maccabees and Josephus; now the village of Jebnah, about twelve miles south of Joppa (the same as Jabneel, Joshua 15:11).

Ashdod. — Esdûd. (Compare to Joshua 13:3.) Like Gath, one of the five sovereign states of the Philistines. It commanded the great road to Egypt; therefore its possession was of first-rate importance to the contending military powers of Egypt and Assyria. Sargon captured it 719 B.C. (Compare to Isaiah 20:1.)

About Ashdod. — In Ashdod, i.e., in the canton of that name.

And among the Philistines. —That is, elsewhere in their territory. Uzziah appears to have reduced the Philistines to a state of complete vassalage. They were not, however, annexed to Judah, but ruled by their own kings.

UZZIAH’S CAMPAIGNS, PUBLIC WORKS, AND MILITARY STRENGTH
(2 Chronicles 26:6–15).

This section is peculiar to the Chronicles. Although the book of Kings passes over the facts recorded here, they are essential to forming a correct understanding of the strength and importance of the southern kingdom during the age of Uzziah and Jotham; and they are fully corroborated, not only by comparison with the data of Isaiah (Isaiah 2-4) upon the same subject, but also by the independent testimony of the cuneiform inscriptions of the period. (See Note on 2 Kings 14:28.)

Thus we find that the warlike Assyrian Tiglath-pileser II. chastised Hamath for its alliance with Judah during this reign, but abstained from molesting Uzziah himself—“a telling proof,” as Schrader says, “ for the accuracy of the Biblical account of Uzziah’s well-founded power.” The name of Uzziah is conspicuously absent from the list of western princes who, in B.C. 738, sent tribute to Tiglath: Hystaspes (Kushtashpi) , king of Commagene (Kummuhâ’a) , Rezin, king of the country of the Damascenes, Menahem of the city of the Samaritans, Hiram of the city of the Tyrians, Sibitti-bi’li of the city of the Giblites or Byblos, Urikki of Kui, Pisiris of Carchemish, Eniel of Hamath, Panammu of Sam’al, and nine other sovereigns, including those of Tabal and Arabia.

The list thus comprises Hittites and Arameans, princes of Western Asia, Phoenicia, and Arabia. The omission of Uzziah argues that the king of Judah felt himself strong enough to sustain the shock of collision with Assyria in case of need. He must have counted on the support of the surrounding states (also not mentioned in the above list), namely, Ashdod, Ascalon, Gaza, Edom, Ammon, Moab, etc. (Schrader, Keilinschr., p. 252 and following).