Jotham, the quiet righteous reign: he did right 'according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter into the temple of Hashem' — the lesson of the leprosy learned. He builds the upper gate, fortifies, subdues Ammon. The chapter’s whole theology is one line: 'So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Hashem his God.' Sixteen years, and the people still deal corruptly beneath him.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.
verse value 5665
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "year" (שָׁנָה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·twenty" (בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 355: year, year. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "Jerushah" (יְרוּשָׁ֖ה), "daughter·of·Zadok" (בַּת־צָדֽוֹק). The root שנה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·his·reigning" (root מלך, 344x in II Chronicles); "son·of·twenty" (root בן, 225x in II Chronicles); "in·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 127x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים [son·of·twenty] (672) + וְחָמֵ֤שׁ [and·five] (354) + שָׁנָה֙ [year] (355) + יוֹתָ֣ם [Jotham] (456) + בְּמׇלְכ֔וֹ [in·his·reigning] (98) + וְשֵׁשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה [and·six·ten] (1181) + שָׁנָ֔ה [year] (355) + מָלַ֖ךְ [he·reigned] (90) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + וְשֵׁ֣ם [and·name·of] (346) + אִמּ֔וֹ [his·mother] (47) + יְרוּשָׁ֖ה [Jerushah] (521) + בַּת־צָדֽוֹק [daughter·of·Zadok] (602) = 5665.
And he did that which was right in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter into the temple of Hashem. And the people did yet corruptly.
verse value 3597
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "only" (רַ֕ק, 2 letters) and the longest is "corrupting" (מַשְׁחִיתִֽים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "not·he·came" (לֹא־בָ֖א), "corrupting" (מַשְׁחִיתִֽים). The root עשה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 384x in II Chronicles); "and·he·did" (root עשה, 159x in II Chronicles); "not·he·came" (root בוא, 159x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Rashi
as all that his father Uzziah the good deeds that his father had done. That is what R. Simeon ben Yohai said in Tractate Sotah (sic. Should be Sukkah 45b): If Abraham would take upon himself all the sins of the generations until his time, I would take upon myself the sins of the generations from Abraham until my time. And if Jotham the son of Uzziah were with me, we would take upon ourselves the sins of all the generations from Abraham until the end of all generations, for in all the kings before him and after him we find sin, except in Jotham. Concerning David it is written, (I Kings 15:5): “Only concerning the matter of Uriah the Hittite”; concerning Solomon it is written, (ibid. 11:4): “His wives turned his heart away”; Rehoboam forsook the Lord’s Torah; Abijah (ibid. 15:3): “went in all his father’s sins”; Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the House of the Lord and put the prophet in prison; Jehoshaphat associated with a wicked man (Ahab and his son Ahaziah); Joram killed his brother; Ahaziah’s mother advised him to sin; Joash killed Zechariah and was [later punished by being] sexually molested (Yer. Kid. 1:7); Amaziah prostrated himself before the graven images of Seir; Uzziah entered the Temple to burn incense; Ahaz went in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made monuments for the baalim; Hezekiah became haughty and there was anger upon him, and the sages did not concur with him on three things that he did (Pes. 4:9); Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord; Josiah did not heed the words of prophecy from God; Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not humble himself before Jeremiah (below 36:12). In Jotham, however, no trace of sin was found. (R. Eliezer the son of Moses told me this.) the people were still acting corruptly as it is written in II Kings (15:35): “the people were still slaughtering and burning incense [on the high places].”
Metzudat David
'according to all that his father Uzziah had done' – Meaning: in what was right he acted like his father, but not in the trespass; he did not enter the Sanctuary to burn incense as his father had done. 'And the people did yet corruptly' – Meaning: even though Jotham was a completely righteous man, the people nonetheless corrupted their ways and did not learn from his ways.
Malbim
however he did not enter - He did not enter the sanctuary itself, inward past the courtyard of Israel, as his father had done. And the people did yet corruptly - I explained in [my commentary to] Kings that they were offering sacrifices at the high places.
He built the upper gate of the house of Hashem, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.
verse value 2585
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "he" (ה֗וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·house·of·Hashem" (בֵּית־יְהֹוָ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 57: he·built, he·built. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "the·gate·of" (אֶת־שַׁ֥עַר), "and·in·wall·of" (וּבְחוֹמַ֥ת), "the·Ophel" (הָעֹ֛פֶל). The root בנה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 384x in II Chronicles); "he·built" (root בנה, 60x in II Chronicles); "he" (root הוא, 56x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·upper', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: ה֗וּא [he] (12) + בָּנָ֛ה [he·built] (57) + אֶת־שַׁ֥עַר [the·gate·of] (971) + בֵּית־יְהֹוָ֖ה [the·house·of·Hashem] (438) + הָעֶלְי֑וֹן [the·upper] (171) + וּבְחוֹמַ֥ת [and·in·wall·of] (462) + הָעֹ֛פֶל [the·Ophel] (185) + בָּנָ֖ה [he·built] (57) + לָרֹֽב [for·much] (232) = 2585.
Rashi
and in the wall of the rampart - Heb. עֹפֶל, similar to (Isa. 32:14): “rampart and tower (עפֶל וָבַחַן) .” He built strongholds.
Ralbag
'and on the wall of Ophel' - This is a high place in Jerusalem.
Metzudat David
'He built the upper gate of the house of Hashem' – Meaning: he built a lofty structure upon it, or it had fallen and he rebuilt it anew.
Metzudat Zion
Ophel - The name of a tower, as in 'and he came to the Ophel' (II Kings 5).
Malbim
the upper gate - Mentioned above (23:20) as the gate from which they went to the king's house; and he fortified it. and on the wall of Ophel - Mentioned in Nehemiah (3:26); see there.
Moreover he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forest he built castles and towers.
verse value 2054
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 40 letters. Verse gematria: 2054 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·built" (בָּנָ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·hill-country·of·Judah" (בְּהַר־יְהוּדָ֑ה, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 57: he·built, he·built. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "in·hill-country·of·Judah" (בְּהַר־יְהוּדָ֑ה), "and·in·the·forest" (וּבֶחֳרָשִׁ֣ים). The root בנה appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·cities" (root עיר, 89x in II Chronicles); "he·built" (root בנה, 60x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·hill-country·of·Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְעָרִ֥ים [and·cities] (326) + בָּנָ֖ה [he·built] (57) + בְּהַר־יְהוּדָ֑ה [in·hill-country·of·Judah] (237) + וּבֶחֳרָשִׁ֣ים [and·in·the·forest] (566) + בָּנָ֔ה [he·built] (57) + בִּירָנִיּ֖וֹת [castles] (678) + וּמִגְדָּלִֽים [and·towers] (133) = 2054.
Rashi
and in the forests he built palaces - Heb. בִּירָנִית, an expression of a large palace (בִּירָה).
Ralbag
'and in the forest he built' - Meaning, in fields or in forests; and he did this to strengthen his kingdom.
Metzudat Zion
And in the forest (u'vecharashim) - In woodlands, as in 'choresh meitzal' (Ezekiel 31:3), where the same word is used to mean a shading bough. Castles (biraniyot) - Palaces, as in 'for the palace is not for man' (I Chronicles 29).
Malbim
and in the forest - In the dense woods he built fortresses; see what I wrote on Isaiah 17, regarding the phrase "like the forsaken places of the wood and the treetop." And [Scripture] tells that he followed his father's practice of building fortified cities, except that his father built them in Ashdod and among the Philistines, while he built his in Judah.
He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render to him, in the second year also, and in the third.
verse value 8831
Insights
Verse structure: 27 words, 129 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְ֠ה֠וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "to·him" (לוֹ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Ammon" (בְּנֵֽי־עַמּוֹן֮, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 228: sons·of·Ammon, sons·of·Ammon. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "with·king·of" (עִם־מֶ֣לֶךְ), "and·they·gave·to·him" (וַיִּתְּנוּ־ל֨וֹ), "and·barley" (וּשְׂעוֹרִ֖ים). The root עמון appears 3 times in this verse. 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "with·king·of" (root מלך, 344x in II Chronicles); "sons·of" (root בן, 225x in II Chronicles); "and·they·gave·to·him" (root נתן, 116x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'thousand', dividing the verse into phrases of 19 and 8 words.
Metzudat David
'and ten thousand of barley' – [The word "measures," i.e., kor,] stated for the wheat applies here as well, meaning ten thousand kor-measures of barley.
Metzudat Zion
Render (heshivu) - Since they sent [tribute] three times, it therefore says 'heshivu' ['returned'] - meaning, they sent, and sent again, and sent yet again.
Malbim
He fought also - After they had given tribute to his father, they rebelled against him, and he fought against them and prevailed over them. So much did they render to him - That is, the first time they repaid him the debt they owed from the past years in which they had rebelled and not paid the tax imposed on them; and afterward he decreed a fine on them, that they pay the same for two more years, as a penalty for their rebellion.
So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Hashem his God.
verse value 1590
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "because" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·he·grew·strong" (וַיִּתְחַזֵּ֖ק, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "his·ways" (דְּרָכָ֔יו). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 384x in II Chronicles); "his·God" (root אלהים, 202x in II Chronicles); "because" (root כי, 131x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jotham', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתְחַזֵּ֖ק [and·he·grew·strong] (531) + יוֹתָ֑ם [Jotham] (456) + כִּ֚י [because] (30) + הֵכִ֣ין [he·ordered] (85) + דְּרָכָ֔יו [his·ways] (240) + לִפְנֵ֖י [before] (170) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהָֽיו [his·God] (52) = 1590.
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
verse value 3814
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "and·Judah" (וִיהוּדָֽה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "behold·them" (הִנָּ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·all·his·wars" (וְכׇל־מִלְחֲמֹתָ֖יו, 10 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in II Chronicles. Unique to this verse in II Chronicles (hapax): "and·all·his·wars" (וְכׇל־מִלְחֲמֹתָ֖יו). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of·Israel" (root מלך, 344x in II Chronicles); "and·Judah" (root יהודה, 129x in II Chronicles); "and·all·his·wars" (root כל, 113x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·his·ways', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְיֶ֙תֶר֙ [and·remainder·of] (616) + דִּבְרֵ֣י [acts·of] (216) + יוֹתָ֔ם [Jotham] (456) + וְכׇל־מִלְחֲמֹתָ֖יו [and·all·his·wars] (590) + וּדְרָכָ֑יו [and·his·ways] (246) + הִנָּ֣ם [behold·them] (95) + כְּתוּבִ֔ים [written] (478) + עַל־סֵ֥פֶר [in·book·of] (440) + מַלְכֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [kings·of·Israel] (641) + וִיהוּדָֽה [and·Judah] (36) = 3814.
Malbim
twenty-five years old - This is stated a second time because the kings of Israel counted his reign as including the years he governed during his father's lifetime, as I wrote in my commentary to Kings; here, therefore, [Scripture] is precise, counting only the years he reigned on his own after his father's death.
He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
verse value 3713
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 42 letters. The shortest word is "year" (שָׁנָ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·twenty" (בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֧ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 355: year, year. The root שנה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·his·reigning" (root מלך, 344x in II Chronicles); "son·of·twenty" (root בן, 225x in II Chronicles); "he·was" (root היה, 133x in II Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·reigning', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֧ים [son·of·twenty] (672) + וְחָמֵ֛שׁ [and·five] (354) + שָׁנָ֖ה [year] (355) + הָיָ֣ה [he·was] (20) + בְמׇלְכ֑וֹ [in·his·reigning] (98) + וְשֵׁשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה [and·six·ten] (1181) + שָׁנָ֔ה [year] (355) + מָלַ֖ךְ [he·reigned] (90) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם [in·Jerusalem] (588) = 3713.
Rashi
Metzudat David
Malbim