The covenant is made before Hashem in the ears of all the people; Josiah's purge sweeps from the Asherah in the Temple to the altar at Beth-el, as the man of God had cried; a Passover as none from the days of the judges; and Josiah falls at Megiddo.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
verse value 1498
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "king" (הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Jerusalem" (וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·they·gathered" (וַיַּאַסְפ֣וּ), "all·elders·of" (כׇּל־זִקְנֵ֥י), "and·Jerusalem" (וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "to·him" (root אל, 113x in II Kings); "and·he·sent" (root שלח, 67x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'king', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח [and·he·sent] (354) + הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ [king] (95) + וַיַּאַסְפ֣וּ [and·they·gathered] (163) + אֵלָ֔יו [to·him] (47) + כׇּל־זִקְנֵ֥י [all·elders·of] (217) + יְהוּדָ֖ה [Judah] (30) + וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם [and·Jerusalem] (592) = 1498.
And the king went up to the house of Hashem, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Hashem.
verse value 5882
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 116 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "with·him" (אִתּ֗וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·prophets" (וְהַנְּבִיאִ֔ים, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·all·man·of" (וְכׇל־אִ֣ישׁ), "and·all·inhabitants·of" (וְכׇל־יֹשְׁבֵ֨י), "and·the·priests" (וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "the·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "all·words·of" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·until·great', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 8 words.
Radak
"And the priests and the prophets." The Targum translates it as "the priests and the scribes," rendering "the prophets" as "scribes," meaning students. This is because there were no other prophets present at that time, as is indicated by the fact that the king sent for Huldah. This teaches that there were no other prophets there. Similarly, the Targum translates "a judge and a prophet" as "a judge and a scribe." However, we could also interpret "prophets" according to its plain meaning, for Jeremiah and Zephaniah the son of Cushi were prophets during that period, and Uriah the son of Shemaiah may also have been a prophet at that time. They were simply not in Jerusalem at the time when Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law. But now, when the king sent to gather the men of Judah, the prophets also came to Jerusalem as well.
Metzudat David
The Book of the Covenant. The account of the reproofs that are stated in the covenant:
That which is found in the House of the Lord. And this is because in that book they found the reproofs revealed at its opening, and even it is written by the hands of Moses, the holy ones, and from the mouth of the Lord, and they are tremendous reasons to terrify the people to return to the Lord.
Malbim
All the words of the Book of the Covenant, because they found that it was rolled up in a rebuke, the conclusion of which is “These are the words of the covenant.” Afterward, the portion of Nitzavim begins, in which Moses assembled all Israel, as it is stated: “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God…” in order to pass through the covenant of the Lord, etc. And he called the scroll by the name “Book of the Covenant.” Likewise, he also assembled all the people in order that they might pass through the covenant of the Lord and His oath. And regarding this it is stated: “And all the people stood in the covenant,” as it is stated: “You are standing today, all of you.”
And the king stood on the platform, and made a covenant before Hashem, to walk after Hashem, and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people stood to the covenant.
verse value 10229
Insights
Verse structure: 26 words, 137 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "after" (אַחַ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·his·testimonies" (וְאֶת־עֵדְוֺתָ֤יו, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 617: words·of, covenant. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "to·keep" (וְלִשְׁמֹ֨ר), "and·his·testimonies" (וְאֶת־עֵדְוֺתָ֤יו), "and·his·statutes" (וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָיו֙). The root ברית appears 3 times in this verse. 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "words·of" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 23 and 3 words.
Rashi
On the pillar. The place of the standing of the king in the Temple:
Radak
“Upon the pillar.” As its Targum [Yonatan] renders it, “upon the stone pillar.” And we have already explained above in the matter of Jehoash, and in Chronicles, “And the king stood upon his standing place,” meaning in the place where he was accustomed to stand there.
His testimonies. With the vav being movable:
“And all the people stood in the covenant.” They stood and strengthened themselves, with their mouths and their hearts, in the covenant. And similarly, “Let your heart stand firm” (Deuteronomy 31:6), if your hands are strengthened. And the Targum [Yonatan]: “And all the people accepted the covenant upon themselves.”
Ralbag
"And the king stood upon the pillar." It would appear that they constructed a pillar there, and the king stood upon it at the time he read from the Torah, as is mentioned in the portion of the Hakhel assembly.
Metzudat David
“On the pillar.” On the place designated for the king to stand there.
"To establish." To fulfill the words of the Torah, which is given in the covenant:
"And [all the people] stood [in the covenant]..." – This means: They accepted the covenant.
Cross-references: II Kings 11:14; II Chronicles 34:31
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of Hashem all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Beth-el.
verse value 9496
Insights
Verse structure: 28 words, 142 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·threshold" (הַסַּף֒, 3 letters) and the longest is "Hilkiah" (אֶת־חִלְקִיָּ֩הוּ֩, 8 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "Hilkiah" (אֶת־חִלְקִיָּ֩הוּ֩), "and·priests·of" (וְאֶת־כֹּהֲנֵ֣י), "double" (הַמִּשְׁנֶה֮). The root כהן appears 2 times in this verse. 26 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "the·made" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). First appearance of the root קדרון ("Kidron") in II Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'heaven', dividing the verse into phrases of 20 and 8 words.
Rashi
And the priests of the second rank. Vice-priests, who are second to the high priests:
The gatekeepers. Officers [amarkalin] appointed over all the needs of the house, and the keys of the courtyard are in their hands:
In the plains of Kidron. In the plain of Kidron:
And they carried their dust to Bethel. To an impure place, where he defiled there the altar that Jeroboam made, and burned upon it the priests of the high places:
Radak
"And the priests of the reserve." These were second[-in-rank] to the High Priest. And Targum [Yonatan]: "and the deputy of the priests."
"Guardians of the threshold." We have explained it:
"To bring out from the House of GOD." But did Manasseh not remove everything when he repented, as it says in Chronicles: "And he removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD," etc.? Rather, Amon put them back there, and in the twelfth year of his reign [Josiah] began to purify and remove the abominations, as it says in Chronicles; but it was not completed until the eighteenth year, after he found the book, as stated here.
“in the fields of Kidron.” As its Targum renders it: “in the plain of Kidron.”
“And he took their dust to Bethel.” For there was the main center of idolatry, where the calf had been; and he defiled that place, which had contained the calf and the altar. He took the dust of the burned Baal and the Asherah and their vessels, which he had burned in Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and he took their dust there [to Bethel].
Ralbag
“And the priests of the second rank.” These are the priests who are second to him, such as the deputy high priest and those who follow him according to their respective ranks in order.
"In the fields of Kidron." This is like the Kidron Valley, and it was a plain that was there.
Metzudat David
The priests of the second rank. The priests who are second in rank to him, namely the deputy [high priest] and the anointed priest for war.
Bethel. For there was a place of impurity, for Jeroboam set up there the golden calf.
Metzudat Zion
The gatekeepers. The doorkeepers:
In the plains of Kidron. On the plain next to the Kidron valley:
Malbim
"And he commanded" – because there is written there a warning concerning idolatry, therefore he exerted all his strength immediately to eradicate all types of idolatry and to uproot them, and he began with the vessels in the Temple.
Cross-references: I Kings 18:19; II Kings 17:16; II Chronicles 34:4
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to offer in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that offered to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
verse value 7327
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 102 letters. Notable word values: "and·to·them·of" (וּלְכֹ֖ל) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·ones·burning·incense" (וְאֶת־הַֽמְקַטְּרִ֣ים, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: Judah, Judah. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·shall·end" (וְהִשְׁבִּ֣ית), "the·priests" (אֶת־הַכְּמָרִ֗ים), "and·surroundings·of" (וּמְסִבֵּ֖י). The root יהודה appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "and·to·them·of" (root כל, 66x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Rashi
And they burned incense on the high places. And those who burned on the high places in the cities of Judah:
Radak
"And he abolished the kemarim [idolatrous priests]." The men who serve before Baal are called "kemarim"; and likewise the Targum renders "kohanim" who are idol-worshippers as "kumraya." And as for what is stated there, "the kemarim along with the kohanim," both are idol-worshippers, but they differ in their garments, for the kemarim wear black; therefore they are called kemarim, from the sense of "our skin glows like an oven" (Lamentations 5:10). And it says that these kemarim were appointed by the kings of Judah for this service. And Josiah abolished the idolatry and removed the worshippers from their service, and turned them back to the good.
"And he offered incense at the high places." "And he offered incense"—each of the kings. And Targum [Yonatan]: "And they brought up spices upon the high place."
"And the environs of." As if it were written "and in the environs of."
"And those who offered incense." The explanation is that he also abolished those who offered incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon.
Ralbag
"And he suppressed the idolatrous priests (kemarim)." This means that he abolished and suppressed the kemarim, each of whom used to offer incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and in the vicinity of Jerusalem. He also abolished those who offered incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of heaven. It seemed as though he had already brought them back to the good, and abolished that idolatrous service which they used to perform for foreign gods.
Metzudat David
"And he abolished... and he offered incense..." He abolished the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer incense on the high places, in the cities of Judah and in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
"And the incense burners, etc." – He abolished those as well.
Metzudat Zion
And he abolished. A matter of nullification:
The Kemarim. They are the idol-priests who wear black, so too (Hosea 10:5): and its Kemarim will rejoice over it:
Malbim
And he suppressed the idolatrous priests, and the incense-offerers who were in the vicinity of Jerusalem, who were serving with these vessels, in such a way that the idolatry whose root was in the Temple of the Lord, its vessels and its priests, became nullified.
And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Hashem, without Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the common people.
verse value 6389
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 87 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "you" (אֹתָ֛הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Asherah" (אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרָה֩, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 360: Kidron, Kidron. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "in·wadi·of" (בְּנַ֥חַל), "and·he·crushed" (וַיָּ֣דֶק), "dry earth" (אֶת־עֲפָרָ֔הּ). The root קדרון appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "to·torrent" (root איל, 153x in II Kings); "from·the·house·of" (root בית, 141x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'dust', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Radak
"Upon the tomb[s] of the people's sons." As for the people who had worshipped them [the idols] during their lifetimes—he [Josiah] cast the ashes of the burning upon their tombs, to humiliate them: meaning, "Behold what you used to serve during your lifetimes," so that the living might be deterred. Similarly, it is stated in Chronicles: "And he scattered upon the faces of the tombs those who sacrificed to them." And it is lacking the dependent form [of the construct chain], [reading] "the tombs of those who sacrificed to them," just as [in the phrase] "the people of war." And Targum [Yonatan renders]: "To the tomb of Galya," and Galya is the name of an idol. And likewise in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: "They call the house of Galya the house of Karya."
Ralbag
And he cast the dust upon the grave of the people. This means that he cast it upon the grave of the people who were engaged in idolatry. And from this place we learn that a grave is forbidden for deriving benefit, for if it were permitted to derive benefit from it, he would have been careful to avoid this, lest they derive benefit from the graves of the people, and thus they would be found deriving benefit from idolatry.
Metzudat David
“By the Kidron Valley.” Adjacent to the stream:
"And he beat it to dust." He burned it until it was as fine as dust.
"Bnei ha'am" – those who had served them during their lifetimes; and he did this to disgrace them.
Malbim
"And he brought out" [the Asherah] – afterward he eradicated the idolatry from the courtyards, for the Asherah stood near the altar in the courtyard.
Cross-references: Exodus 32:20; II Chronicles 34:4
And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Hashem, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah.
verse value 5563
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֛ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "apartness" (הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·pulled·down" (וַיִּתֹּץ֙), "houses·of" (אֶת־בָּתֵּ֣י), "the·women" (הַנָּשִׁ֗ים). The root בית appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "houses·of" (root בית, 141x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתֹּץ֙ [and·pulled·down] (506) + אֶת־בָּתֵּ֣י [houses·of] (813) + הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים [apartness] (459) + אֲשֶׁ֖ר [that] (501) + בְּבֵ֣ית [in·the·house·of] (414) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + הַנָּשִׁ֗ים [the·women] (405) + אֹרְג֥וֹת [weaving] (610) + שָׁ֛ם [there] (340) + בָּתִּ֖ים [houses] (452) + לָאֲשֵׁרָֽה [for·the·Asherah] (536) = 5563.
Rashi
The houses of the hallowed ones. Houses of immorality:
They wove there houses. Curtains:
Radak
"And he tore down the houses of the Kedeshim." Targum Yonatan renders "the houses of the Kedeshim" as "houses of idolatry" [batei ta'uta], and the context proves this — that the women wove houses there for the Asherah. But a kadesh [male cult-prostitute] also existed in the land: "and he removed the kedeshim from the land" [1 Kings 15:12] — this the Targum translates according to its plain sense, "he expelled [them] outward" [nafkat bara]. For if "the kedeshim" [in our verse] meant a matter of sexual immorality, what place would that have in the House of the Lord? Rather, the Asherah that Manasseh made in the House of the Lord — he made there houses for women to weave hangings in honor of the Asherah.
"houses for the asherah." They used to weave hangings there, and the hangings served as houses for the asherah, just as [the term is used for] "receptacles for the poles" [holders, as in Exodus 25:27]. Perhaps those hangings were suspended around the asherah, so that the asherah had a house and a place. And the Targum [renders]: "that the women bring there receptacles for the asherah," and Ba'al HeArukh explains [that word] as similar to "mechilta," which are measures.
Ralbag
"And he tore down the houses of the sacred prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD." It is possible that along with persisting in those disgraceful practices, they also engaged in lewdness and the abominations that the other nations were accustomed to perform. And it would seem that part of the worship of some of the Asherim was that [people] would be made ready there for shameful sexual intercourse, and the women would weave houses there for the Asherah, and they would make hangings to serve as a partition and a chamber for those who came to serve the Asherah in that disgraceful act. And the Master, author of the Guide [i.e., Maimonides], already mentioned some of those shameful acts of intercourse that were the custom of the ancient idolaters to practice.
Metzudat David
"Houses of the consecrated ones." Those constructed for dwelling in them, designated for the service of the Asherah:
"Coverings." This means: curtains to hang around it [the Asherah], and its parallel is (Exodus 37:14): "holders for the poles."
Metzudat Zion
And he broke down. From the word demolition:
The hallowed things. A thing separated from human [use], and even because of impurity and prohibition, it is called in the language of holy, so too (Deuteronomy 22:9): lest the fullness be forfeited:
Malbim
And he demolished the houses of the sacred prostitutes, in which women were set apart for prostitution and for weaving hangings and curtains to cover the Asherah.
And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand as he entered the gate of the city.
verse value 10826
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 120 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·priests" (אֶת־כׇּל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙, 10 letters). 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "all·the·priests" (אֶת־כׇּל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙), "from·cities·of" (מֵעָרֵ֣י), "and·he·defiled" (וַיְטַמֵּ֣א). The root עיר appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "and·brought" (root בוא, 146x in II Kings); "man" (root איש, 119x in II Kings). First appearance of the root טמא ("and·he·defiled") in II Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sheba', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 11 words.
Radak
“And he brought all the priests.” These priests were from the seed of Aaron, and Jonathan translated them as “idol-priests,” because they had become priests to idolatry; and he brought them to Jerusalem and returned them in repentance.
And he defiled it. He designated those places as sites of impurity, in order to cast there carcasses and all forms of impurity, to distance idolatry from the hearts of the people.
"which was at the entrance of the gate." [This is] like "and which was at the entrance of the gate" [with the article], and similar to it is "sun, moon" [two nouns juxtaposed]. And the explanation is: he demolished the high places of the gates, and the high place that was at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, commander of the city, was also demolished — perhaps it was larger than the other high places, therefore it alone was mentioned.
"which was to the left of a man [entering] at the gate of the city." That is, for one who comes, a man, to the gate of the city — this high place was to his left. And so too the Targum: "at his entering [into] the gate of the city."
Ralbag
"And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah." It has already been explained in the book of Ezekiel that the priests, the sons of Zadok, are those who did not serve idolatry, whereas the rest of the priests sinned with the sin of the people of Judah. And behold, he defiled the high places by placing within them a matter of impurity.
Metzudat David
"And he brought, etc." The priests from the seed of Aaron, who had become priests to idolatry, he brought them to Jerusalem to bring them back in repentance.
And he made it impure. He cast there carcasses and the like:
Geba. "The high places that stood from Geba, etc."
"The high places of the gates." These were the ones that stood opposite the gates.
"Which was at the entrance of." Like "and which is at the entrance of," etc. And since it was greater than all of them, it is mentioned on its own.
The left hand of a man. When he comes to the city:
Malbim
"And he brought" – afterwards, he began to destroy the high places. And I have already explained (above, section 21) that the majority of the high places were dedicated to Heaven [i.e., to God, though improperly, outside the Temple], or were altars mixing the worship of the Divine Name with another god. He brought the priests of the high places, who testified from all the places where high places were found there, and he rendered the high places ritually impure through the priests themselves. He did not demolish them, because the majority were dedicated to Heaven. Likewise, he demolished the high places that were located near the gates of the cities, and the great high place that was at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua. This gate was on the left side of the city gate. And because this gate was associated with the city gate, they constructed for it a special high place, and they also rendered that one ritually impure.
Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Hashem in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren.
verse value 2564
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "indeed" (אַ֗ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·Jerusalem" (בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "they·will·go·up" (יַעֲלוּ֙), "to·altar" (אֶל־מִזְבַּ֥ח), "but·they·ate" (אִם־אָכְל֥וּ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "not" (root לא, 106x in II Kings); "for" (root כי, 76x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: אַ֗ךְ [indeed] (21) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + יַעֲלוּ֙ [they·will·go·up] (116) + כֹּהֲנֵ֣י [priests·of] (85) + הַבָּמ֔וֹת [the·high·places] (453) + אֶל־מִזְבַּ֥ח [to·altar] (88) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + כִּ֛י [for] (30) + אִם־אָכְל֥וּ [but·they·ate] (98) + מַצּ֖וֹת [unleavened·bread] (536) + בְּת֥וֹךְ [in·midst·of] (428) + אֲחֵיהֶֽם [their·brothers] (64) = 2564.
Rashi
They shall not go up. The priests who burned on the high places to idolatry, shall not go up anymore to serve on the altar of the Lord:
But they shall eat unleavened bread. Meaning but in this matter they shall not go out from their priesthood, that they are permitted to eat in the holy things, behold they are like those with blemishes, they divide and eat but they do not offer:
They ate unleavened bread. Meal-offerings, and the same law for all the holy things:
Radak
"If they eat unleavened bread." Our Sages of blessed memory explained: They are like those with blemishes who may divide [the portions] and eat, but they may not offer [the sacrifice]. And what is meant by "unleavened bread"? It refers to meal offerings that were baked as unleavened bread. The same law applies to all sacred offerings.
Ralbag
"Yet the priests of the high places shall not ascend." This means that the priests who served idols shall not ascend to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem to offer a fire-offering to the LORD. Rather, they shall eat unleavened bread of the meal offerings—their portion—and whatever befits them, together with their brethren, as though they were blemished priests.
Metzudat David
Yet they shall not ascend. Although He restored them to goodness, nevertheless He did not permit them to serve at the altar of the Lord.
"They ate unleavened bread." From the leftovers of the meal offering, which is baked as unleavened bread; and the same law applies to other sacred offerings.
"Among their brothers." This means: they took a portion among the priests, and were thus like priests with blemishes (ba'alei mumin), who do not serve but do receive a share.
Malbim
And the priests of the high places were no longer qualified to perform the Temple service, but only to eat the remainders of the meal offerings.
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
verse value 4864
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֖ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Topheth" (אֶת־הַתֹּ֔פֶת, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·he·shall·pronounce·impure" (וְטִמֵּ֣א), "the·Topheth" (אֶת־הַתֹּ֔פֶת), "in·valley·of" (בְּגֵ֣י). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Molech" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "man" (root איש, 119x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·Hinnom', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְטִמֵּ֣א [and·he·shall·pronounce·impure] (56) + אֶת־הַתֹּ֔פֶת [the·Topheth] (1286) + אֲשֶׁ֖ר [that] (501) + בְּגֵ֣י [in·valley·of] (15) + (בני) [son] (62) + בֶן־הִנֹּ֑ם [son·of·Hinnom] (147) + לְבִלְתִּ֗י [and·not·to] (472) + לְהַעֲבִ֨יר [to·make·pass·through] (317) + אִ֜ישׁ [man] (311) + אֶת־בְּנ֧וֹ [son] (459) + וְאֶת־בִּתּ֛וֹ [and·his·daughter] (815) + בָּאֵ֖שׁ [in·the·fire] (303) + לַמֹּֽלֶךְ [to·Molech] (120) = 4864.
Rashi
"The Topheth." It is the Molech, and for the name that the priests struck on drums, so that the father should not hear the cry of the son when he is burned by the hands of the form of the idolatry Molech, they called it Topheth:
Radak
"And he defiled the Topheth." This was the name of the place where they used to pass their children through to Molech; the name of that place was Topheth. And they said that it was called so because they would dance and beat drums at the time of the service, so that the father would not hear the cry of his son when they passed him through the fire, and his heart would not ache for him, and he would not take him from their hands. And this place was a valley that belonged to a man named Hinnom, and it was called the Valley of Hinnom and the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. And the Written Text says here "the sons of Hinnom," and the Qere (the traditional read form) says "the son of Hinnom," because this valley belonged to the sons of Hinnom, or to one of them. And Josiah defiled that place, meaning that he declared that place unclean, to cast there carcasses and all uncleanness, so that it would no longer enter the mind of any person to pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech.
The act of Molech was explained in midrashic interpretation. Our Sages of blessed memory said: Even though all the houses of idolatry were in Jerusalem, the Molech was outside Jerusalem. And it was made as a hollow statue, placed inside seven pots. And whoever offered fine flour, they would open one of them for him; turtledoves and young pigeons, they would open two for him; a lamb, they would open three for him; a ram, they would open four for him; a calf, they would open five for him; an ox, they would open six for him; and similarly, whoever offered his son, they would open seven for him. And the face of the calf and its hands were outstretched like a person who opens his hands to receive from his friend. And they would heat it with fire, and the priests would take the infant and place him within the hands of the Molech, and the infant would give up his soul. And why was it called Topheth and Hinnom? Topheth, because they would beat drums so that his father would not hear the voice of the child and have mercy on him and repent. Hinnom, because the infant would moan, and the sound of his moaning would rise. Another explanation: Hinnom, because the priests would say, "Here you are, may it be pleasing to you, may it be fragrant to you."
Ralbag
And he defiled the Topheth. Behold, they built there a structure in order to pass a man's son and his daughter through the fire for Molech; there was a fire on this side and a fire on that side, and the priests would pass him between the two fires.
Metzudat David
"Tophet." This is the place where they used to pass their children through to Molech. It was called by this name because they would beat drums there, so that the father would not hear the cries of his son as he was burned among the bonfires, and so that his compassion would not be stirred.
"Levilti leha'avir." This means: he defiled that place, so that it should not again enter a person's mind to pass [a child] through there to Molech.
Malbim
"And he defiled the Tophet" – it was a place outside Jerusalem, where they used to pass their children through to Molech. And although land [in the fixed, immovable sense] is not rendered forbidden [by halakhah], nevertheless he defiled the place, so that they would not find a place there to pass [their children] through to Molech.
And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Hashem, by the chamber of Nethan-melech the officer, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
verse value 8936
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 89 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·chariots·of" (וְאֶת־מַרְכְּב֥וֹת, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·he·caused·to·cease" (וַיַּשְׁבֵּ֣ת), "the·horses" (אֶת־הַסּוּסִ֗ים), "from·entrance·of" (מִבֹּ֣א). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "the·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·precincts', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Rashi
The horses. Those who bow to the sun, they had horses ready to go out to meet the sun in the morning:
Natan-Melech. Such was his name:
Which was in the Parvarim. I do not know what they are:
Radak
"And he put a stop to the horses." He also abolished this practice of the kings of Judah, who worshipped the sun and placed there horses prepared for this service, upon which they would ride out to meet the sun each morning at its rising, going out from the place that was the entrance of the House of the Lord until the Chamber of Nathan-melech. And this is what it means: "from the entrance of the House of the Lord to the Chamber of Nathan-melech" — and [the word] "bo" here is a noun, like "mavo" [entrance]. And so too the Targum renders it: "from the entrance of the House of the Sanctuary of the Lord."
"The chamber of Nathan-melech the eunuch." According to its plain sense. And the Targum [Yonatan] [renders]: "Gozah." And we have already explained this matter in the verse, "and the king gave her one eunuch."
"which are in the parvarim [outskirts]." Explanation: the outskirts of the cities. And the Targum [renders "the open lands shall shake" as]: "the outskirts shall shake." And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: "Babylon and all its outskirts." And this Nathan-melech was an officer over the outskirts of the city.
The chariots of the sun. The chariots of the horses in which they used to travel toward the sun:
Ralbag
"He put an end to the horses." Behold, the kings of Judah provided the sun-god with special horses upon which they would ride from the entrance of the House of the Lord to the chamber of whomever the king appointed as chief over the precincts. It appeared that in that chamber they were performing some service for the sun-god. And indeed, they would go from the House of the Lord toward the eastern side to that chamber to worship the sun-god, contrary to the intention of the Torah. For this reason, the Torah arranged that the Holy of Holies be situated on the western side, as we have explained in our commentary on the words of the Torah.
"And the chariots of the sun He burned with fire." This means: the chariots belonging to the horses mentioned above.
Metzudat David
"To the sun." For the kings of Judah would dedicate horses to the service of the sun, to ride them toward it in the morning, from the place where they would bring them into the House of the Lord to the chamber, etc.
The chariots of the sun. In which those horses drew [them]:
Metzudat Zion
And he abolished. A matter of nullification:
Natan-Melekh. Such was his name:
In the precincts. The open country shall quake (Ezekiel 27:28), Targum Yerushalmi: parvraya, and in the words of our Sages of blessed memory (Ketubot 54a): Babylonia and all its outskirts:
Malbim
"And he removed" – the horses that were given over to the worship of the sun; although animals are not [halachically] forbidden [through such use], he removed them, and the chariots he burned. And what is meant by "the entrance of the House of the Lord"? It was that they used to go on horses and chariots to greet the sun as it rose. Their path was from the place where they came to the House of the Lord, up to the chamber of the eunuch whose name was Nathan-melech. This chamber was located in the precincts of the city, in the east. The worshippers of the sun depicted it with the movement of the chariot, and they went out to meet it from the House of the Lord, as it is stated: "With their backs toward the Temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east" etc.
And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Hashem, did the king break down, and beat them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
verse value 9982
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 112 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·altars" (וְאֶת־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֡וֹת, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 875: and·the·altars, and·the·altars. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "upon·the·roof" (עַל־הַגָּג֩), "upper-chamber·of" (עֲלִיַּ֨ת), "and·ran" (וַיָּ֣רׇץ). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "the·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'king', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 6 words.
Rashi
And he ran from there. And he burned them from there:
Radak
"The roof, [the] upper chamber of Ahaz." The construct term is elided: "the roof" [stands for] "roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz." And so too "the ark, the covenant" [stands for] "the ark of the covenant." And "the upper chamber" is bound in construct to "Ahaz" — perhaps he [Ahaz] built it for this [idolatrous] service.
"And he rushed [it] from there." From the light [Qal] form, and it is a transitive verb, meaning, "he caused it to hasten away from there." And one may interpret it in the sense of breaking and shattering, like "for in You I will run through a troop" (Psalm 18:30), according to many. And it is possible that its root is ratzats (to crush), and it would have many cognates in its meaning. And the Targum: "and he removed them from there," meaning, "he cleared them away from there." Alternate reading: "and he removed [them] from there."
Ralbag
“Unto the brook Kidron.” The Kidron Valley is a plain:
Metzudat David
"The upper chamber of Ahaz." [Meaning] that [the altars] were upon the upper chamber of Ahaz.
"In two courtyards" – the courtyard of the priests and the courtyard of Israel.
"And he ran from there." He brought them out from there hastily and swiftly.
Metzudat Zion
He demolished. He broke and crushed:
Malbim
(12-13) "And the altars, and these altars Hezekiah did not destroy," because it was sufficient for him that he abolished their service. Likewise, "which Manasseh built in the courts of the House of the Lord," after he repented, he abolished their service. Likewise, the altars that Solomon's wives made; according to the commentators, they subsequently offered upon them to the Most High. This is particularly so according to our Sages of blessed memory, who held that he intended to build them but did not build them. For necessarily, if it is said that he did not build them at all, this contradicts the fact that it is clear here that they existed; rather, they were indeed built, but subsequently offerings were brought upon them to the Most High, not to foreign gods. Nevertheless, Josiah demolished them, since they contained even a trace of blemish.
And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the detestation of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the detestation of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
verse value 9852
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 110 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·mount·of·the·corruption" (לְהַר־הַמַּשְׁחִית֒, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that, that. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·the·high·places" (וְֽאֶת־הַבָּמ֞וֹת), "to·mount·of·the·corruption" (לְהַר־הַמַּשְׁחִית֒), "for·Ashtoreth" (לְעַשְׁתֹּ֣רֶת). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·Israel" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "upon·the·face·of" (root פנים, 72x in II Kings). First appearance of the root שקוץ ("detestable thing or idol") in II Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sons·of·Ammon', dividing the verse into phrases of 20 and 2 words.
Rashi
To the mountain of destruction. The Mount of Olives, it is the mountain of anointing, and when he mentioned its name by means of idolatry, he changed its name for disgrace:
Radak
"To the Mount of the Destroyer." [This is] the Mount of Olives, [which] is called the Mount of Anointing, but in a derogatory sense, because of the idolatry that was there, they called it the Mount of the Destroyer. And so did Targum Yonatan render it: "to the mount of olives" [tur zeitaya].
“Which Solomon built.” And how is it that Asa and Jehoshaphat did not destroy them, since they destroyed all the idolatry that had been in the Land of Israel before them? They did destroy the idolatry, but they did not destroy the high places, because at that time sacrifices were offered upon them to God. For concerning all of them it is stated: “Yet the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.” And Josiah also demolished the high places, since they had originally been established for idolatry, or in order that people not offer upon them even for the sake of Heaven, because as long as the Temple stood, the high places were forbidden. Therefore, it is written concerning him: “There was no king like him before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might,” for the kings who preceded him did not remove the high places, even though they were righteous kings.
Ralbag
"Which Solomon, king of Israel, built." We have already explained above that Solomon did not build them, but rather he turned a blind eye to his wives, who built these high places; and therefore the verse attributes their construction to Solomon.
Metzudat David
"Mount of the Destroyer." It is the Mount of Anointing (Har HaMishchah), and because of the idol worship [practiced there], it was given this derogatory name.
“Which Solomon built.” This means: He left it to his wives to build.
And he broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.
verse value 4410
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 45 letters. Verse gematria: 4410 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "man" (אָדָֽם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·pillars" (אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "the·pillars" (אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת), "the·Asherim" (אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִ֑ים), "standing place" (אֶת־מְקוֹמָ֖ם). 8 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Asherim', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְשִׁבַּר֙ [and·has·broken] (508) + אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת [the·pillars] (944) + וַיִּכְרֹ֖ת [and·he·cut] (636) + אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִ֑ים [the·Asherim] (957) + וַיְמַלֵּ֥א [and·filled] (87) + אֶת־מְקוֹמָ֖ם [standing place] (627) + עַצְמ֥וֹת [bones·of] (606) + אָדָֽם [man] (45) = 4410.
Radak
“Human bones.” The bones of idolaters, whom he would take out of their graves and place them in the places of the Asherahs and the sacred pillars, as a disgrace, and burn them there.
Ralbag
“And He filled their place with human bones.” In order to render them impure, and it appeared as though He had done this with the bones of idolaters.
Metzudat David
"Human bones." For he brought out from the graves the bones of those who had worshipped idols.
Malbim
"And he broke" – indeed, the pillars and the Asherim that were made for idolatry, which are forbidden [to be dedicated] to the Most High, he broke and crushed, and did not suffice with merely rendering them ritually impure.
Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and stamped it small to powder, and burned the Asherah.
verse value 8449
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 103 letters. The shortest word is "also" (גַּ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·altar" (אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֜חַ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "the·high·place" (הַבָּמָה֙), "and·the·high·place" (וְאֶת־הַבָּמָ֖ה), "the·high·place" (אֶת־הַבָּמָ֛ה). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "did" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings); "in·Beth-el" (root בית, 141x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'pulled·down', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 6 words.
Metzudat David
"And also the altar that was at Bethel." Although Bethel was not part of the territory of Judah, which was the domain of his kingship.
"The shrine." Like "and the shrine," which is the structure that was built to establish there the worship of stars and constellations, and the altars.
“Be fine as dust.” To be exceedingly fine, like dust.
Malbim
And also the altar that was in Beth-El, even though it was outside the boundary of Judah, he demolished it to eradicate idolatry from all the land of Israel; and after it had been used for idolatry, he demolished and burned it.
And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Hashem which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
verse value 8234
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 115 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in·the·mountain" (בָּהָ֔ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·graves" (אֶת־הַקְּבָרִ֤ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "the·graves" (אֶת־הַקְּבָרִ֤ים), "in·the·mountain" (בָּהָ֔ר), "the·bones" (אֶת־הָֽעֲצָמוֹת֙). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·there" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "as·word·of" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·defiled·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 10 words.
Ralbag
"And he took the bones from the graves." This serves as a sign that he placed there only the bones of the sinners; and for this reason he did not agree to burn upon them the bones of the man of God, and the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria were saved. Had it not been for this, his bones would already have been burned, for he was among the prophets of idolatry.
Metzudat David
On the mountain of Bethel:
"And he burned [it]." For they were worshippers of the stars [i.e., idolaters].
"Which he foretold." Already in the days of Jeroboam he foretold [it]; and to add clarification, it says again, "who foretold these words."
Malbim
And Josiah turned aside, because it was the way of idolaters to make the cemetery adjacent to the altar and the high places of their idols, for they were attached to impurity. And from this he knew that the graves were on the side of the worshippers of the calves; therefore, he sent and took the bones, etc. And in this was fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet by the word of the Lord:
Then he said: ‘What monument is that which I see’And the men of the city told him: ‘It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Beth-el.’
verse value 6418
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 102 letters. The shortest word is "what?" (מָ֚ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·man·of·God" (אִישׁ־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "signpost" (הַצִּיּ֣וּן), "grave" (הַקֶּ֤בֶר), "from·Judah" (מִֽיהוּדָ֔ה). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 342x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "the·words" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'seeing', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 16 words.
Rashi
What is this monument. Behold a grave, from one side grew thistles and nettles, and from one side myrtles and spices, and he wondered at it and said what is this and they answered him:
The grave of the man of God. And the false prophet who commanded his sons that they should bury him by him (I Kings chapter 13):
Radak
What is this monument? It appears that the old prophet commanded his sons to make a large monument over the grave, so that it would be distinguishable from the other monuments, because he knew that the prophecy of the prophet would be fulfilled, as it said, "the thing shall be," and the prophet said what Josiah would do, that he would take the bones out of their graves and burn them. Therefore, he commanded them that the monument of that grave should be distinguishable from the others, because the bones of the true prophet, he knew, would not be taken out of his grave. Therefore, Josiah asked, "What is this monument?" And in the midrash [it is told that] he saw that on one side of it grew thorns and nettles, and on one side grew myrtles and fragrant herbs. Therefore, he wondered and asked, "What is this monument?" And this was because a righteous man and a wicked man were buried in it, a true prophet and a false prophet.
And the men of the city said to him. They had a tradition in their possession that from the time the prophet was buried there until that time, more than three hundred and fifty years had passed; rather, they had a tradition in their possession, father from mouth to son.
“The grave of the man of God.” The construct noun is elided: [understand it as] “the grave — [the] grave of the man of God,” and similarly “[the] ark, the covenant.”
"Upon the altar of Bethel." It is written with the definite article attached to the construct word, contrary to the usual custom. Similar to it are "the chambers, the holy [things]" [i.e., the holy chambers] and "the peg, the loom" [i.e., the peg of the loom], and others like them, which we have written about in the book Mikhlol.
Ralbag
What is this marker? Behold, they built a structure over the tomb of the man of God to identify it, and that structure was called a marker. And Josiah asked, "What is this marker?"
Metzudat David
"What is the marker?" He saw a marker on a grave, extraordinary in its size, and asked to whom it belonged.
"The grave." This is the grave, it is that of the Man of God, etc.
Metzudat Zion
The marker. It is the sign of a grave-monument, so too (Ezekiel 39:15): and he shall set up a marker by it:
That one. This one:
And he said: ‘Let him be; let no man move his bones.’ So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
verse value 4404
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "bone" (עַצְמוֹתָ֑יו, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 622: bone, bone. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "let·alone" (הַנִּ֣יחוּ), "let·not·move" (אַל־יָנַ֣ע), "and·they·spared" (וַֽיְמַלְּטוּ֙). The root עצם appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 342x in II Kings); "who·came" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "let·not·move" (root איל, 153x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'bone', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words.
Radak
"And they escaped." For his bones were in one grave, alongside the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria; he is the old prophet, the false prophet, who was dwelling in Bethel at that time, but he came there from Samaria, as we explained above in its proper place.
Metzudat David
"So they spared his bones." Because he did not want the bones of the man of God to be disturbed, he refrained from taking the bones of the prophet buried near him, for he feared that doing so might disturb the bones of the man of God.
“Who came from Shomron.” To return with him the man of God, as it is stated there:
And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Hashem], Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el.
verse value 7381
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 86 letters. The shortest word is "and·also" (וְגַם֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·all·the·deeds" (כְּכׇל־הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that, that. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "all·houses·of" (אֶת־כׇּל־בָּתֵּ֨י), "as·all·the·deeds" (כְּכׇל־הַֽמַּעֲשִׂ֔ים). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "they·did" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Josiah', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 6 words.
Rashi
Which were in the cities of Samaria. For Josiah was king over all Israel, including those who had returned from the ten tribes through Jeremiah:
Radak
“Which were in the cities of Samaria.” Were not the Cutheans dwelling in Samaria, and had not Israel been exiled from there? Rather, the high places were still standing, and a remnant remained in the land after the exile of Israel, scattered throughout the land: a few here, a few there, and they were still serving idolatry, as it is stated, “And he slew all the priests of the high places who were there.” And similarly it is stated in Chronicles that from Ephraim and from Manasseh there was a remnant in the days of Josiah. And likewise in the days of Hezekiah there was a remnant in the land from Zebulun, from Asher, from Simeon, from Ephraim, and from Manasseh. And our Sages of blessed memory said that Jeremiah brought back some of the ten tribes, and Josiah reigned over them.
Malbim
(19–20) "And also all the houses of the high places…" and He slaughtered all the priests of the high places. For in the prophecy of the Man of God it was stated, "And he shall slaughter upon you the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones shall be burned upon you." Yet it was not the case that He slaughtered the priests of the high places upon the altar that was in Bethel. Rather, since Bethel was desolate at that time and there were no priests burning incense upon it, the necessary interpretation of His words was that He would slaughter the priests of the high places who would be found in the other cities of Israel, all of which were associated with the altar of Bethel, which was the root of them all. And what was done to them was as if it had been done to it. Therefore, it was stated there, "Thus shall be the thing which the Lord proclaimed concerning the altar that is in Bethel and concerning all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria." And the prophet prophesied only concerning the altar that was in Bethel; and Samaria had not yet been built at that time. Therefore, [Josiah] understood from the prophet the interpretation of his words, that what he said regarding slaughtering the priests of the high places would apply to the other cities of Samaria, since Bethel was desolate. Therefore, when Josiah heard the words of the prophet, he went to the other cities of Samaria, and there he slaughtered the priests of the high places.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
verse value 5138
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אָדָ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·altars" (עַל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "all·priests·of" (אֶת־כׇּל־כֹּהֲנֵ֨י), "upon·the·altars" (עַל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת), "bones·of" (אֶת־עַצְמ֥וֹת). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·there" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "upon·them" (root על, 116x in II Kings); "and·he·returned" (root שוב, 53x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַ֠יִּזְבַּ֠ח [and·he·sacrificed] (33) + אֶת־כׇּל־כֹּהֲנֵ֨י [all·priests·of] (536) + הַבָּמ֤וֹת [the·high·places] (453) + אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם֙ [that·there] (841) + עַל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת [upon·the·altars] (568) + וַיִּשְׂרֹ֛ף [and·burned] (596) + אֶת־עַצְמ֥וֹת [bones·of] (1007) + אָדָ֖ם [man] (45) + עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם [upon·them] (155) + וַיָּ֖שׇׁב [and·he·returned] (318) + יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם [Jerusalem] (586) = 5138.
Ralbag
“And he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there upon the altars.” It might seem that some Israelites still remained there, as is mentioned subsequently, and they still persisted in their wickedness, and there were priests of high places there; and Josiah slaughtered them by the altars, and burned human bones upon the altars themselves.
Metzudat David
"Who were there." Even though they had already been exiled from Samaria, nevertheless, the few who remained worshipped idols (lit. the stars and constellations) just as before.
The bones of man, of the dead:
And the king commanded all the people, saying: ‘Keep the passover to Hashem your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.’
verse value 3252
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֛ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·people" (אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "passover" (פֶ֔סַח). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "saying" (root אמר, 342x in II Kings); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings). First appearance of the root פסח ("passover") in II Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְצַ֤ו [and·he·commanded] (112) + הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ [king] (95) + אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם [all·the·people] (566) + לֵאמֹ֔ר [saying] (271) + עֲשׂ֣וּ [do] (376) + פֶ֔סַח [passover] (148) + לַיהֹוָ֖ה [to·Hashem] (56) + אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם [your·God] (106) + כַּכָּת֕וּב [as·the·written] (448) + עַ֛ל [upon] (100) + סֵ֥פֶר [book·of] (340) + הַבְּרִ֖ית [covenant] (617) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 3252.
Malbim
(21-22) And the king commanded after he had destroyed the high places and the idols, he commanded that they perform the Passover, for the essence of the Passover of Egypt was also to abolish the abomination of Egypt, which they served to the constellation of Aries, as it is stated, "Behold, we are slaughtering the abomination of Egypt before their eyes, and will they not stone us?" And what is stated, "For no Passover like this was done from the days of the judges until the days of Josiah," does not mean that no Passover was performed from the days of the judges until the days of Josiah, but rather, as the Mahar"i explained, that it was not performed in purity, with the eradication of idolatry, and with the removal of the high places until that time, because in the days of Saul and David there were high places in Israel, and likewise in the days of Solomon until the days of Hezekiah. And even in the days of Hezekiah, all Israel did not perform it, as is mentioned in Chronicles, that some of them mocked the envoys of Hezekiah. And what is stated, "from the days of the judges," is explained in Chronicles as "from the days of Samuel," for in the days of Samuel all returned in repentance, which had not occurred until the days of Josiah.
For there was not kept such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
verse value 3946
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 100: from·days·of, kings·of. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "like·the·passover" (כַּפֶּ֣סַח), "the·judges" (הַשֹּׁ֣פְטִ֔ים), "they·judged" (שָׁפְט֖וּ). The root יום appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "is·done" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Rashi
Not such a Passover was done. Not the majority of the people gathered in every Passover as they gathered in this:
From the days of the judges. From the days of Samuel, it is written in Chronicles (II 35:18) for also Samuel returned Israel to good, and gathered them to Mizpah. Another matter: not such a Passover was done to the Lord in Jerusalem, but from when the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah reigned, all Israel did not do Passover in Jerusalem, for the kingdom was divided into two from Jeroboam, and they were going to the calf that was in Bethel and in Dan, until now that the ten tribes were exiled, and Jeremiah returned them and Josiah reigned over them, and they all came to Jerusalem:
Radak
"For no Passover like this had been kept." The conclusion of the narrative is this, for the word "for" (ki) provides the reason for what preceded — similarly, "for the Lord gave all the land into our hands." That is to say: they kept the Passover as Josiah had commanded them, and they all gathered to Jerusalem. That narrative was lengthy, as it is written in Chronicles, and the conclusion of that narrative is: "For no Passover like this had been kept."
“From the days of the judges.” And in Chronicles it is written, “From the days of Samuel the prophet.” This is one and the same period, for Samuel lived during the days of the judges, and in his time the monarchy began in Israel. As for what is stated, “For no Passover like this had been kept in Israel,” it means that all of Israel was united as one heart to serve the Lord. Similarly, it is said in Samuel: “And all the house of Israel mourned after the Lord.” And it is said: “And the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.” Even the Passover that Hezekiah kept, many of Israel were not present. Moreover, they mocked the runners whom Hezekiah sent out. Even among those who were in Jerusalem, many were ritually impure, and they ate the Passover in a state of impurity.
Ralbag
"For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges." This means: since the end of the period of the Judges, namely Samuel. For during his lifetime, all Israel also returned to the Lord. And in the days of Saul and David, there were high places in Israel contrary to the intent of the Torah, even though they were permitted. And in the days of Solomon, the high places remained, and high places for idolatry were erected. And in the days of Hezekiah, not all Israel returned to the Lord; rather, some of Israel mocked the words of Hezekiah. But in the days of Josiah, in that year, all Israel returned to the Lord. And behold, the Passover kept at that time is mentioned because one of the conditions of the Passover is that an apostate Israelite not eat from it, and it appeared that in that year alone the heart of all Israel was directed to the Lord. Yet after that, they sinned in secret even in the days of Josiah. Therefore it is stated: "In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept to the Lord." And behold, for this reason the Lord did not turn back from His great wrath, as is related. For certainly, if Israel had returned to the Lord with all their soul, that divine providence would have clung to them, and the wrath of the Lord would have turned away from them. Therefore it says: "But the Lord did not turn away from the burning of His great wrath." And for this reason as well, Josiah died due to the sin of the people, for he thought that all Israel would follow the commandments of the Lord, and thus they would be worthy that all the blessings written in the Torah would cling to them, as it is written concerning them: "No sword shall pass through your land," even a sword of peace. And by the sin of the people he died, and those who had lived under his protection among the nations were punished along with them. And upon him Jeremiah lamented, as is written in the Book of Lamentations, according to what is mentioned about him in Chronicles. And our Sages of blessed memory said that what is written there about this is the verse, "The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord, was caught in their pits," etc., and this accords with what we have stated.
Metzudat David
"For it was not done." This means: Even though the Passover had been observed before, nevertheless he was compelled to command that it be performed in accordance with what is written regarding great purity, for the Passover had not been performed with such purity since the days of the Judges; and in Chronicles (II 35:18) it is stated as being from the days of Samuel, for Samuel was the last of the Judges.
“And all the days of the kings of Israel.” This phrase is dependent on “was not done,” to say that it was not done like this Passover all the days of the kings of Israel, and they are David and Solomon, who reigned over all Israel.
but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover kept to Hashem in Jerusalem.
verse value 3089
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֗י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·in·eight" (אִם־בִּשְׁמֹנֶ֤ה, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "if·in·eight" (אִם־בִּשְׁמֹנֶ֤ה), "passover" (הַפֶּ֧סַח). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "is·done" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Josiah', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: כִּ֗י [for] (30) + אִם־בִּשְׁמֹנֶ֤ה [if·in·eight] (438) + עֶשְׂרֵה֙ [ten] (575) + שָׁנָ֔ה [year] (355) + לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ [to·the·king] (120) + יֹאשִׁיָּ֑הוּ [Josiah] (332) + נַעֲשָׂ֞ה [is·done] (425) + הַפֶּ֧סַח [passover] (153) + הַזֶּ֛ה [this] (17) + לַיהֹוָ֖ה [to·Hashem] (56) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם [in·Jerusalem] (588) = 3089.
Moreover them that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the detestable things that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Hashem.
verse value 10217
Insights
Verse structure: 26 words, 136 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·also" (וְגַ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·familiar·spirits" (וְאֶת־הַ֠יִּדְּעֹנִ֠ים, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "the·ghosts" (אֶת־הָאֹב֣וֹת), "and·the·familiar·spirits" (וְאֶת־הַ֠יִּדְּעֹנִ֠ים), "and·the·teraphim" (וְאֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֨ים). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "words·of" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Josiah', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 12 words.
Rashi
The Teraphim. Forms that speak by means of sorcery, and he who makes them needs to aim one hour in the year, and one year is worthy for it:
Radak
"And the teraphim." As its Targum [translates it]: "idols," and they are images made for the purpose of divining the future. We have already explained this further in the Book of Samuel.
Metzudat David
"Upon the scroll" means: because of the scroll that Hilkiah found, for this scroll was the cause of all of this.
Metzudat Zion
The Teraphim. They are made in the form of man, and they tell the future by means of sorcery:
He removed. He removed from the land:
He fulfilled. From the word fulfillment:
In the House of the Lord. In the Temple:
And like to him was there no king before him, that turned to Hashem with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
verse value 3843
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "king" (מֶ֗לֶךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·with·all·his·soul" (וּבְכׇל־נַפְשׁוֹ֙, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·like·him" (וְכָמֹ֩הוּ֩), "who·turned" (אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֤ב), "and·with·all·his·soul" (וּבְכׇל־נַפְשׁוֹ֙). The root כמו appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "who·turned" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moses', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Radak
“Who returned to the Lord.” He was awed by the words of Torah and did according to all that is written in it. He removed the high places; he did not leave a single one, and during his days they did not offer sacrifices except in the Temple alone. The kings who preceded him, even though there were good ones among them, did not remove the high places, as it is further stated: “The people still sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.” And concerning Asa, matters were found that were not so, for he relied on the king of Aram, took silver and gold from the treasures of the House of the Lord, and sent them to him. And it is said: “Also in his illness he did not seek the Lord.” Jehoshaphat too assisted the wicked kings of Israel and intermarried with them. And concerning Hezekiah as well, it is said: “And not according to the goodness with which the Lord had dealt with him, so did Hezekiah repay Him, for his heart was lifted up.” And wrath came upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. But concerning Josiah it is said: “According to all the Torah of Moses.” And there is a dispute regarding this in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: Some said that Josiah sinned, but he performed a great repentance, “who returned to the Lord,” etc. And others said that he did not sin. But how do I fulfill the verse “who returned to the Lord”? It means that any judgment he rendered against those from the age of eight until eighteen, he returned [the property] to them. Lest you say he took from one and gave to another, the verse teaches: “with all his might,” meaning he returned to them from his own [possessions].
Ralbag
And there was no king like him before him, who turned to the Lord, etc. To the extent that he already despised all matters other than the Name, Blessed be He, and in all his possessions he was contemptuous due to his great desire to serve the Lord. How then could it be that his intention was not that Josiah, at the beginning of his affair, was good with the Lord? For it is already mentioned in Chronicles that from his youth he began to serve the Lord, Blessed be He. However, he had not completely eradicated the idols from his kingdom, and Israel were still sinning with them. Because of seeing what is written in the Book of the Torah—that evil will come to whoever does not keep the Torah and transgresses the covenant of the Lord—he aroused himself with all his strength to return Israel to His service, and he eradicated the idols that Israel had made from all the land of Israel, so that the memory of idolatry might be removed from Israel and they would not sin anymore.
Metzudat David
"And like him there was none before him." And what is stated about Hezekiah (above, 18:5): "and after him arose none like him," that refers to the matter of trust in the Lord, as stated there; but regarding repentance, none was like Josiah. And there are among our Sages of blessed memory who said (Shabbat 56b) that he never sinned, and his repentance was to repay from his own means for every judgment he had rendered from the age of eight until eighteen. And this is what is meant by "and with all his might."
Metzudat Zion
With all his might. His wealth, so too (Deuteronomy 6:5): and with all your might:
Malbim
And like him there was no king before him, etc., and concerning Hezekiah it is written, "He trusted in the Lord," and after it says, "There was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any who were before him." And the Mahariya [Abarbanel] explained that Hezekiah excelled all the kings in the quality of trust, as was the case in the matter of Sennacherib. And Josiah excelled them all in the matter of repentance, even according to those who say that anyone who claims Josiah sinned is merely mistaken; his explanation is that he repented regarding the judgments, for any judgment he rendered while he himself was under eighteen years old, he repaid from his own pocket. These are his words. And simply, the repentance was of a general nature, in that that generation, following their king, repented of all the anger they had provoked by the previous kings, and he abolished the altars and the high places from all the cities of Israel, which Hezekiah did not do, for he left the altar in Bethel and the high places in the cities of Samaria, and the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz. And they already stated in Chapter Chelek that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make Hezekiah the Messiah and Sennacherib Gog and Magog, only that Hezekiah caused some sin. That is to say, it was fitting for the general ingathering from exile to occur then, for I have already explained (in the Commentary on Isaiah, section 11, and elsewhere) that from the time the general exile of the Ten Tribes occurred by means of Sennacherib, the time of redemption had begun, namely, that if they had returned in complete repentance, the general ingathering would have occurred immediately. For redemption has two times, as it is said: "If they merit, I will hasten it; if they do not merit, at its appointed time." And if they had merited, the general redemption to gather the scattered ones would have been then. And after the matter was delayed in the days of Hezekiah, it was fitting that this should be in the days of Josiah, when they returned in complete repentance. And indeed, our Sages of blessed memory said that Jeremiah went at that time to bring back the Ten Tribes, for he thought that now was the time to find [God]. And the verse explained the reason why the matter was delayed even at that time, as it is written:
Notwithstanding Hashem turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith Manasseh had provoked Him.
verse value 3074
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "indeed" (אַ֣ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·provocations" (כׇּל־הַכְּעָסִ֔ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 87: his·anger, his·anger. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "not·turned" (לֹא־שָׁ֣ב), "from·fierceness·of" (מֵחֲר֤וֹן), "which·burned" (אֲשֶׁר־חָרָ֥ה). The root אף appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which·burned" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "upon" (root על, 116x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: אַ֣ךְ [indeed] (21) + לֹא־שָׁ֣ב [not·turned] (333) + יְהֹוָ֗ה [Hashem] (26) + מֵחֲר֤וֹן [from·fierceness·of] (304) + אַפּוֹ֙ [his·anger] (87) + הַגָּד֔וֹל [the·great] (48) + אֲשֶׁר־חָרָ֥ה [which·burned] (714) + אַפּ֖וֹ [his·anger] (87) + בִּֽיהוּדָ֑ה [in·Judah] (32) + עַ֚ל [upon] (100) + כׇּל־הַכְּעָסִ֔ים [all·the·provocations] (255) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + הִכְעִיס֖וֹ [he·provoked·Him] (171) + מְנַשֶּֽׁה [Manasseh] (395) = 3074.
Metzudat David
"Yet he did not return..." Although Josiah repented with all his heart and instructed the people in the ways of the Lord:
“Upon all the anger.” Because Israel secretly clung to the angers [i.e., the acts of provocation] with which Manasseh had provoked [God], by serving stars like him.
Malbim
Yet the Lord did not turn back from the fierceness of His anger. Although they had done repentance as it ought to be done, a decree had already been issued anew to exile the Kingdom of Judah as well, and to destroy the city and the Temple, on account of the provocations that Manasseh had provoked. And the Mahariya [Abarbanel] lengthened his words to express astonishment: Was it not the case that Manasseh did repentance, and the Lord pleaded for him and heard his prayer, as it is stated in Chronicles? And Josiah was a completely righteous man. And I have already explained the matter above in section 21, that the people did not repent in the days of Manasseh, and even Manasseh did not do complete repentance. And even if he abandoned the ways of idolatry, he did not return from the sin of murder and the other provocations; see there. And also in the days of Josiah, although the people did repentance in that year, they returned to commit transgressions in secret, as it is stated in Jeremiah (3): "And the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah," etc., "yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, and she went and played the harlot also." And it was because of the report of her harlotry that she defiled the land. And I explained there that they acted with hypocrisy — good in their public behavior but evil in their secret and hidden conduct. Therefore, their decree was sealed to remove Judah as well, and this decree had already been sealed in the days of Manasseh, as it is stated in section 21, and it was not torn up by the repentance they did now.
And Hashem said: ‘I will remove Judah also out of My sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said: My name shall be there.’
verse value 9866
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 100 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "also" (גַּ֤ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "which·I·have·chosen" (אֲשֶׁר־בָּחַ֙רְתִּי֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 140: from·upon, my·face. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "prisoners" (אָסִיר֙), "I·have·removed" (הֲסִרֹ֖תִי), "and·I·will·reject" (וּ֠מָאַסְתִּ֠י). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 342x in II Kings); "as" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 11 words.
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
verse value 3576
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "did" (עָשָׂ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "Josiah" (יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 216: words·of, words·of. The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of·the·kings·of" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "and·all·that" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "words·of" (root דבר, 147x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'did', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְיֶ֛תֶר [and·remainder·of] (616) + דִּבְרֵ֥י [words·of] (216) + יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ [Josiah] (332) + וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר [and·all·that] (557) + עָשָׂ֑ה [did] (375) + הֲלֹא־הֵ֣ם [not·they] (81) + כְּתוּבִ֗ים [written] (478) + עַל־סֵ֛פֶר [in·the·book·of] (440) + דִּבְרֵ֥י [words·of] (216) + הַיָּמִ֖ים [day] (105) + לְמַלְכֵ֥י [of·the·kings·of] (130) + יְהוּדָֽה [Judah] (30) = 3576.
In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
verse value 5601
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "went·up" (עָלָה֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "king·of·Egypt" (מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֛יִם, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "to·river·Euphrates" (עַל־נְהַר־פְּרָ֑ת), "in·Megiddo" (בִּמְגִדּ֔וֹ). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "and·went" (root הלך, 98x in II Kings); "in·his·days" (root יום, 79x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·river·Euphrates', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Radak
“Pharaoh Neco.” As its Targum [renders it]: “Pharaoh the lame,” for he was lame in his legs.
"And King Josiah went out to meet him." To fight against him, because he was passing through his border at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and he was going to fight against the king of Assyria, who had captured Carchemish from the king of Aram. He sent to him, saying, "What have I and you to do with each other, O king of Israel? It is not against you that I am today, but against the house with whom I have war," as it is written in Chronicles. And he did not heed the words of Pharaoh Necho. And our Sages of blessed memory said: What did Josiah interpret? "And no sword shall pass through your land." Even a sword of peace. Since they were doing the will of the Omnipresent and he did not know that all his generation were idolaters, only that they were doing so in secret, for in the days of Josiah Jeremiah was rebuking them, saying, "As many as are the cities of Judah, so were your gods."
"And he killed him at Megiddo, when he saw him." [Concerning] the kaph [prefix in "when he saw him"]: the battle took place in the Valley of Megiddo, as it states in Chronicles. And the meaning of "when he saw him" is: when he [Necho] saw him [Josiah] — knowing that his intent was to fight him, for he had warned him — and saw him clad in the implements of war, as it states in Chronicles, "for he disguised himself to fight him." And Josiah was punished because Josiah did not heed him, for he [Necho] was speaking to him by the mouth of God, as it states in Chronicles, "and he did not heed the words of Necho, [which came] from the mouth of God," for Jeremiah had prophesied concerning this. And our Rabbis of blessed memory said that the "God" mentioned regarding Josiah is holy [i.e., the true God]; and some of them said [it refers to the words] "cease yourself from the God who is with me" — meaning an idol. And while Pharaoh was still there fighting at Carchemish on the Euphrates, the Lord took vengeance for Josiah from him [Necho], for he remained encamped there many days, until the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, when Nebuchadnezzar came against him. And this is what Jeremiah prophesied concerning Egypt, regarding the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, who was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck, etc., and it says: "And that day shall be the Lord GOD of Hosts's day of vengeance, to avenge Himself of His adversaries" — that is the vengeance for King Josiah.
Metzudat David
"Towards him" – to prevent him from passing through his land.
"When he saw him." This means: when he fought with him, as it is stated above (14:11), "and they faced each other," which means that they fought face to face, and this is the seeing of battle.
Metzudat Zion
A lame man. Targum Yonatan translates: chagira [lame], and it is from the notion of breakage, so too (II Samuel 4:4): a son lame of feet:
By the river. Near the river:
Malbim
In his days, yet because it was promised to him through a prophet that his eyes would not see all the evil, therefore in his days Pharaoh Necho went up, and he was gathered in before the evil.
And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.
verse value 6014
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 96 letters. The shortest word is "dying" (מֵת֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "Jehoahaz" (אֶת־יְהֽוֹאָחָז֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 407: him, him. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·they·carried·him" (וַיַּרְכִּבֻ֨הוּ), "from·Megiddo" (מִמְּגִדּ֔וֹ), "Jehoahaz" (אֶת־יְהֽוֹאָחָז֙). The root קבר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·made·king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "and·they·brought·him" (root בוא, 146x in II Kings); "son·of·Josiah" (root בין, 106x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·grave', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Rashi
And they anointed. He did not need anointing, but since Jehoiakim his brother was older than him two years, as it is written in the matter (verse 36):
Radak
Regarding his burial: In the tombs of the kings, as it is stated in Chronicles, “in the tombs of his fathers.” And what is meant by “his burial”? It is possible that he had a burial place dug for himself during his lifetime.
"And they anointed him." Why did they anoint him? Is it not the case that one does not anoint a king who is the son of a king? Solomon was not anointed except because of the dispute of Adonijah; Joash was not anointed except because of the dispute of Athaliah; and Jehoahaz too was anointed because of the dispute of Jehoiakim, who was two years older than him. They anointed Jehoahaz even though he was younger than him, because he was filling the place of his ancestors, whereas Jehoiakim was not filling the place of his ancestors. This is how our Sages of blessed memory explained it.
Regarding Jehoiakim, who was two years older than Jehoahaz, we see this from the verses: it is stated, "Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign," and it is written, "Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign." Yet Jehoahaz did not reign except for six months. And behold, we find in Chronicles: "The sons of Josiah: the firstborn was Johanan, the second was Jehoiakim, the third was Zedekiah, the fourth was Shallum." And behold, the name Jehoahaz is not mentioned. They said that Johanan is Jehoahaz, and they called him the firstborn because he was the firstborn to the kingship. And Shallum is Zedekiah. It said "the third was Zedekiah" because he was the third among the sons of Josiah, and it said about him "the fourth was Shallum" because he was the fourth to the kingship of Josiah. And they called him Shallum because he completed the kingship of the House of David in his days.
I, however, interpret in Chronicles that Shallum is Jehoiachin. And when mentioning the son of the son in the order of the sons, there are many like him in the books. And the wise man Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that Johanan was the firstborn but did not reign, and Shallum is Jehoahaz. And behold, Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old at the death of his father, and Zedekiah, who was older than him, was twenty-four, and Jehoiakim was twenty-five. And behold, according to this calculation, when Zedekiah reigned he was thirty-five years old. Yet the Scripture says, "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign." Rather, Josiah his father made him king during his lifetime, three years before his death. And when Josiah died, the people did not desire his kingship, and they made Jehoahaz, who is Shallum, king. And this is what it says, "And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in place of his father." It appears that they made him king by force. And he brought proof from what is written in Jeremiah: "In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim..." and it says, "Make for yourself cords and carters' poles..." in the hand of the envoys who came to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. How could Zedekiah be king in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim? Rather, it was known among the nations that Josiah had made Zedekiah king during his lifetime, only that the people of the land did not desire him after the death of his father. And we will explain this matter in the book of Jeremiah, God willing.
Ralbag
And the common people took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and anointed him. They thought that they anointed him because of the dispute that existed between the brothers, and they thought this because he was not Jehoahaz the firstborn. And this will be clarified from what is mentioned, that Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned only three months, and after him Jehoiakim reigned, and Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And this is a sign that he was already older than him by two years. And the sons of Josiah were counted in the Book of Chronicles, and it is mentioned there that the firstborn was Johanan, the second was Jehoiakim, the third was Zedekiah, the fourth was Shallum. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, peace be upon him, explained that Shallum is Jehoahaz, for it is written in Jeremiah: "Thus says the Lord concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place, he shall not return again." And behold, after him Jehoiakim reigned, and his son, and after them Zedekiah reigned, but Johanan did not reign. And if he was the firstborn, the king of Babylon appointed whoever seemed right in his eyes. And indeed, it is mentioned in the Book of Chronicles that the firstborn was Johanan, according to what I intend to inform, that Israel already acted improperly in appointing the youngest of the sons. But they appointed him because he was inclined toward disgraceful deeds, to which their faces were accustomed. And therefore, the evil that befell them followed accordingly, for perhaps Johanan would have held fast to the deeds of Josiah his father.
Metzudat David
"In his tomb." Which he had dug for himself during his lifetime:
Malbim
"And the common people took him" – the Maharia explains that they seized him by force and made him king, not in accordance with proper legal procedure. Therefore, "and they anointed him," as our Sages of blessed memory explained, this was because his brother Jehoiakim was two years older than he. For a son of a king does not require anointing. Therefore:
Cross-references: I Kings 1:45; II Kings 11:12; II Chronicles 35:20; II Chronicles 36:1
Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
verse value 4765
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "year" (שָׁנָה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "daughter·of·Jeremiah" (בַּֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ, 8 letters). The root שלוש appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·his·reigning" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "year" (root שנה, 109x in II Kings); "son·of·twenty" (root בין, 106x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים [son·of·twenty] (672) + וְשָׁלֹ֤שׁ [three] (636) + שָׁנָה֙ [year] (355) + יְהוֹאָחָ֣ז [Jehoahaz] (37) + בְּמׇלְכ֔וֹ [in·his·reigning] (98) + וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה [three] (641) + חֳדָשִׁ֔ים [months] (362) + מָלַ֖ךְ [he·reigned] (90) + בִּירֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + וְשֵׁ֣ם [and·name·of] (346) + אִמּ֔וֹ [his·mother] (47) + חֲמוּטַ֥ל [Hamutal] (93) + בַּֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ [daughter·of·Jeremiah] (673) + מִלִּבְנָֽה [from·Libnah] (127) = 4765.
Cross-references: Jeremiah 22:10; Jeremiah 22:11; II Chronicles 36:2
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Hashem, according to all that his fathers had done.
verse value 2195
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·evil" (הָרַ֖ע, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·they·did" (אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֖וּ, 6 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·they·did" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "and·did" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֥עַשׂ [and·did] (386) + הָרַ֖ע [the·evil] (275) + בְּעֵינֵ֣י [in·eyes·of] (142) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + כְּכֹ֥ל [as·them] (70) + אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֖וּ [that·they·did] (877) + אֲבֹתָֽיו [his·fathers] (419) = 2195.
Ralbag
“Just as his fathers had done.” This means his fathers who did evil in the sight of the Lord, such as Ahaz and Manasseh and those similar to them.
And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a fine of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.
verse value 4496
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "Necho" (נְכֹ֤ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·bound·him" (וַיַּאַסְרֵ֩הוּ֩, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "from·reigning" (מִמְּלֹ֖ךְ), "and·imposed·fine" (וַיִּתֶּן־עֹ֙נֶשׁ֙), "and·talent·of" (וְכִכַּ֥ר). The root ארץ appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "in·land·of" (root ארץ, 67x in II Kings); "and·imposed·fine" (root נתן, 60x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Radak
"And Pharaoh Necho bound him." It appears that Jehoahaz, upon his accession to the throne, sought to avenge his father's blood against Pharaoh Necho. He went and raided the land of Egypt, striking them with a great blow. Upon his return, Pharaoh encountered him in the land of Hamath, captured him, and imprisoned him. This is what Ezekiel meant when he said, "He learned to tear prey; he devoured men." For what relevance is there to the statement "And he bound him" without a preceding account of a battle with him or an invasion of his land? After all, Pharaoh had excused himself before Josiah, saying to him, "It is not against you that I am today." Rather, the matter appears as we have explained, and Ezekiel's parable indicates this.
"King in Jerusalem." Thus it is written [ketiv], meaning that while he was still king in Jerusalem, for this short period of time, they took him. And it is read [qere] as "mi-melokh" [from reigning], indicating that they removed him from kingship, because he began to fight against him. Yet he had not sinned regarding his father's death, according to his own understanding, for he had not come to fight against him. Nevertheless, God, blessed be He, took vengeance upon him through him, as it is written: "and Pharaoh Necho made his brother king," so that he would be his servant, and he would know that it was from his hand that he reigned.
"And a talent of gold." According to its plain meaning, one talent of gold. And the Targum renders it "and talents of gold," meaning talents, without specifying how many.
Ralbag
"And he imposed a penalty on the land." This means that they were to pay this tax every year, and he [Pharaoh Necho] appointed Eliakim as their king.
Metzudat David
“From ruling.” To remove him from ruling in Jerusalem.
"And He appointed a punishment." For having made him king before Jehoiakim, his elder brother, who had the right to the kingship.
Metzudat Zion
And he bound him. He tied him:
Malbim
"And he bound him"—and in Chronicles it is written, "And the king of Egypt removed him [from reigning] in Jerusalem." First, they removed him from his kingdom and took him with them to Riblah, and there they bound him in bronze fetters so that he would not reign again. And he [Pharaoh] punished the land because they had enthroned the younger before the elder, and he then enthroned the one who was fit according to the law.
And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim; but he took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there.
verse value 5454
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 84 letters. Verse gematria: 5454 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "there" (שָֽׁם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Jehoahaz" (וְאֶת־יְהוֹאָחָ֣ז, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 19: his·father, and·came. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·Jehoahaz" (וְאֶת־יְהוֹאָחָ֣ז). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·made·king" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "and·came" (root בוא, 146x in II Kings); "son·of·Josiah" (root בין, 106x in II Kings). First appearance of the root יהויקים ("Jehoiakim") in II Kings. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jehoiakim', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Radak
"And he changed his name to Jehoiakim." The reason is that it should appear as though he is under his [Pharaoh's] authority and that the kingship comes to him from him, for he [Pharaoh] did not reject the name [entirely].
And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it to Pharaoh-necoh.
verse value 8295
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 98 letters. The shortest word is "indeed" (אַ֚ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "Jehoiakim" (יְהֽוֹיָקִים֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 830: to·give, to·give. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "and·the·silver" (וְהַכֶּ֣סֶף), "and·the·gold" (וְהַזָּהָ֗ב), "he·assessed" (הֶעֱרִ֣יךְ). The root כסף appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 119x in II Kings); "upon·peh" (root על, 116x in II Kings); "the·land" (root ארץ, 67x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Pharaoh', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 10 words.
Rashi
A man according to his worth. According to his wealth:
Radak
But he estimated. As the Targum: "However, he imposed a levy upon the inhabitants of the land."
A man according to his valuation. A man as is fitting for him: each one according to what was fitting to give him, in proportion to his wealth.
"He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land." He exacted [payment] from the people of the land to give the silver and the gold.
Metzudat David
But he assessed. He did not take the money according to what seemed right in his eyes, but rather he took from each person according to the value of his wealth.
On the verse "According to Pharaoh." What Pharaoh said, on account of the punishment:
“Each man was pressed according to his worth.” With a strong hand and by force, he took from each one according to his worth.
Metzudat Zion
He pressed. He forced and coerced:
Malbim
And the silver: Initially, Pharaoh punished the land. Afterwards, King Jehoiakim undertook to pay it to him. He had one talent of gold, not a hundred talents of silver (for Josiah certainly did not transgress the prohibition of "and he shall not multiply to himself silver and gold"). And he obtained permission from Pharaoh to assess the land for silver. Afterwards, he added on his own authority and exacted both the silver and the gold from the common people.
Alternatively, it can be explained that after the common people had crowned Jehoahaz, the younger, before his elder brother, contrary to the law as stated above, it is assumed that the officials and deputies were allied with Jehoiakim, for the common people are the masses. Since Pharaoh punished them with a monetary penalty for this, the primary burden of the punishment fell upon the common people and the masses. Jehoiakim made a sort of compromise: he took the silver from the entire land, but he took the gold only from the common people alone. This is what is written: "But he assessed the land to give the silver," meaning this was given by the land in general, and regarding this it says, "Every man according to his assessment brought the silver." But "and he exacted the gold from the common people," meaning this he took from the common people alone.
Now, in Chronicles, the sons of Josiah are listed as four: the firstborn is Johanan, the second is Eliakim, the third is Zedekiah, and the fourth is Shallum. The opinion of our Sages of blessed memory, in Horayot and Keritot, is that Johanan is Jehoahaz. Although Jehoiakim was the firstborn, Johanan was the firstborn for kingship. According to Ibn Ezra, Shallum is Jehoahaz. His proof is from what is written (Jeremiah 22:11): "Thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, who reigned in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: he shall not return here anymore." And according to the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory, the name Shallum is Zedekiah. See what is written in Jeremiah there.
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
verse value 4970
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 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. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in II Kings. Unique to this verse in II Kings (hapax): "Zebudah" (זְבוּדָּ֥ה), "daughter·of·Pedaiah" (בַת־פְּדָיָ֖ה), "from·Rumah" (מִן־רוּמָֽה). The root שנה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·his·reigning" (root מלך, 407x in II Kings); "year" (root שנה, 109x in II Kings); "son·of·twenty" (root בין, 106x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Radak
Zevidah. It is written with a yod, and read as zevudah with a vav and a dagesh.
Metzudat David
"Of twenty-five years." For he was two years older than Jehoahaz, his brother.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Hashem, according to all that his fathers had done.
verse value 2195
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·evil" (הָרַ֖ע, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·they·did" (אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֖וּ, 6 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·they·did" (root אשר, 318x in II Kings); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 276x in II Kings); "and·did" (root עשה, 142x in II Kings). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֥עַשׂ [and·did] (386) + הָרַ֖ע [the·evil] (275) + בְּעֵינֵ֣י [in·eyes·of] (142) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + כְּכֹ֥ל [as·them] (70) + אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֖וּ [that·they·did] (877) + אֲבֹתָֽיו [his·fathers] (419) = 2195.
Radak
Metzudat David
Malbim