Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 14:28

"Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?" — 2 Kings 14:28 (ASV)

How he recovered Damascus, and Hamath. —Jeroboam II was probably contemporary with Rammân-nirâri, king of Assyria (B.C. 812–783). This king recorded his exaction of tribute from Tyre and Sidon, “the land of Omri” (i.e., Israel), Edom, and Philistia; and a siege of Damascus, followed by the submission of Mari’, its king, and the plundering of his palace. The subjugation of his enemy thus accounts for the permanent success of Jeroboam, who was himself a vassal of Assyria.

He recovered. —This verb was rendered “he restored” in 2 Kings 14:25, and that is the meaning here.

Damascus and Hamath. —Not the entire states so named, which were powerful independent communities, but portions of their territory, which had belonged to Israel in the days of Solomon. (See Note on 2 Chronicles 8:3–4.)

Which belonged to Judah. —This is really an epithet restricting the phrase, “Damascus and Hamath,” the meaning being, “Judean Damascus and Hamath.” (Compare the Note on 2 Kings 15:1.)

For Israel. —Heb., in Israel. The meaning is obscure, but the particle “in” seems to refer to the re-incorporation of the Damascene and Hamathite districts with Israel. Ewald would cancel “which belonged to Judah” and read “to Israel” (as do the Syriac and Arabic versions). However, the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Targum support the existing text. Others explain that he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah (i.e., to the theocratic people) through Israel (i.e., the northern kingdom, to which the recovered districts were actually annexed).

No explanation, however, is truly satisfactory. It may be that by an oversight the Judean editor wrote “to Judah” instead of “to Israel,” and that a scribe later added a marginal note “in Israel,” which afterwards found its way into the text. It is curious to find certain districts of Hamath allied with Azariah, king of Judah, against Tiglath Pileser (See Note on 2 Kings 15:1).