Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 11:4

"And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into the house of Jehovah; and he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of Jehovah, and showed them the king`s son." — 2 Kings 11:4 (ASV)

And the seventh year. —This was when perhaps discontent at Athaliah’s tyranny had reached a climax.

Jehoiada. —The high priest (2 Kings 11:9). The curious fact that his rank is not specified here upon the first mention of his name suggests the inference that in the original source of this narrative he had been mentioned as high priest, and husband of Jehosheba, at the beginning of the story, as in 2 Chronicles 22:11.

The rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard. —This should rather be, the centurions of the Carians and the Couriers—that is, the officers commanding the royal guard. The terms translated “Carians” and “Couriers” are obscure. Thenius prefers to translate the first “executioners.” (Compare Notes on 1 Kings 1:38; 2 Samuel 8:18; 2 Samuel 15:18; 2 Samuel 16:6; 1 Chronicles 18:17.)

Thenius argues against the idea that so patriotic and pious a king as David could have employed foreign and pagan soldiers as his bodyguard.

But did David not himself serve as a mercenary with Achish, king of Gath, and commit his parents to the care of the king of Moab? And would the mercenaries who enlisted in the guard of the Israelite sovereigns not adopt the religion of their new country? (Compare the case of Uriah the Hittite.)

Thenius explains the apparently gentilic ending of the words translated “Cherethites and Pelethites” in Samuel, and that translated “captains” in this place, as marking an adjective denoting position or class. It may be so, but sub judice lis est.

Made a covenant with them. —The chronicler gives the names of the centurions. His account of the whole transaction, while generally coinciding with the one given here, presents certain striking differences. The most salient of these is the prominence assigned to the priests and Levites in the matter.

These deviations are explicable on the assumption that the chronicler drew his information from a large historical compilation somewhat later than the Books of Kings. This compilation contained much more than the Books of Kings, though it was mainly based upon the same annalistic sources.

The compilers of the two canonical histories were guided in their choice of materials and manner of treatment by their individual aims and points of view, which differed considerably. (See the Introductions to Kings and Chronicles.) At the same time, it must not be forgotten that the account before us is the older and more original, and therefore the more valuable when regarded as mere history.