2 Kings 11:19

And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) And he took the rulers . . . the land.—Jehoiada now arranges a procession to escort the king in triumph from the Temple to the palace.

The rulers . . . guard.—Rather, the captains of the hundreds (the centurions) and the Carians and the Couriers; or, as Thenius prefers, the lictors and the satellites.

They brought down the king from the house of the Lord.—Down from the Temple to the bridge connecting Moriah with Zion.

And came by the way . . . king’s house.—Rather, and entered the king’s house by way of the gate of the Couriers. This gate, therefore, belonged not to the Temple, but to the palace, and was probably the chief entrance thereto.

And he sat on the throne.—The proceedings ended with the solemn enthronement of the king in the palace of his fathers. (The LXX. reads more suitably: “And they seated him on the throne;” so Chronicles.)

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 11:19-20. He took the rulers over hundreds, &c. — Brought them out of the temple, that they might conduct the king in state to the royal palace. By the way of the gate of the guard — By the gate of the royal palace, where the king’s guard stood. And he sat on the throne of the kings — Which was the accomplishment of his inauguration. And all the people rejoiced — Josephus says, they kept a feast of joy many days; making good Solomon’s observation: When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth, and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:17-21 King and people would cleave most firmly to each other, when both had joined themselves to the Lord. It is well with a people, when all the changes that pass over them help to revive, strengthen, and advance the interests of religion among them. Covenants are of use, both to remind us of, and bind us to, the duties already binding on us. They immediately abolished idolatry; and, pursuant to the covenant with one another, they expressed mutual readiness to help each other. The people rejoiced, and Jerusalem was quiet. The way for people to be joyful and at peace, is to engage fully in the service of God; for the voice of joy and thanksgiving is in the dwellings of the righteous, but there is no peace for the wicked.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They conducted the king down from the temple hill, across the valley of the Tyropoeum, and up the opposite hill to the royal palace, entering it not by the "horse-gate" 2 Kings 11:16, where Athaliah had just been slain, but by the "gate of the guard" 2 Kings 11:6, which was probably the main gate of the palace on the eastern side (see 2 Chronicles 23:20).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2Ki 11:17-20. Jehoiada Restores God's Worship.

17, 18. a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people—The covenant with the Lord was a renewal of the national covenant with Israel (Ex 19:1-24:18; "to be unto him a people of inheritance," De 4:6; 27:9). The covenant between the king and the people was the consequence of this, and by it the king bound himself to rule according to the divine law, while the people engaged to submit, to give him allegiance as the Lord's anointed. The immediate fruit of this renewal of the covenant was the destruction of the temple and the slaughter of the priests of Baal (see 2Ki 10:27); the restoration of the pure worship of God in all its ancient integrity; and the establishment of the young king on the hereditary throne of Judah [2Ki 11:19].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

By the way of the gate of the guard, i.e. by the gate of the royal palace, where the king’s guard stood.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard,.... Of which 2 Kings 11:4 and all the people of the land; as many as were assembled together on this occasion:

and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord; the temple, which was built on an eminence:

and came by the way of the gate to the king's house; the gate of the royal palace, where the king's guards were placed, and did their duty: and he sat on the throne of the kings: where the kings of Judah used to sit, and this finished the formality of his being made king.

Geneva Study Bible

And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. And he took the rulers [R.V. captains] and the captains] R.V. the Carites. On these words cf. above on verse 4.

and they brought down the king] The movement was a popular one, the people taking part with the soldiers and the priests. In 2 Chron. ‘the nobles and the governors of the people’ are included in the list. The temple was on a lofty height. Hence the phrase ‘brought down’.

by the way of the gate of the guard to [R.V. unto] the king’s house] This gate would be specially ready for the king’s entry, as it was one of those secured by the arrangements described in verse 6.

he sat on the throne of the kings] On this throne, and its position in the palace which Solomon built, cf. note on 1 Kings 7:7.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - And he took the rulers - literally, princes - over hundreds - i.e. the five centurions of 2 Chronicles 23:2 - and the captains - rather, and the Carites (see the comment on ver. 4) - and the guard - i.e. the "runners," the other division of the guard - and all the people of the land - those who had flocked to his standard either originally (2 Chronicles 23:2) or since - and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord. They escorted Joash from the temple to the palace, first bringing him down into the valley of the Tyropoeon, and then conducting him up the opposite, or western hill, on which the palace stood. And came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. The "gate of the guard" is probably that called in ver. 6 "the gate behind the guard." We may presume that it was the main entrance to the palace on the eastern side. And he sat on the throne of the kings. Not till he had placed Joash on the royal throne of his ancestors, in the great throne-room of the palace, was Jehoiada content with the work of the day. 2 Kings 11:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

And he took the captains, and they brought the king down out of the house of Jehovah, etc. The word יקּח is not to be pressed, but simply affirms that Jehoiada entrusted the persons named with the duty of conducting the king into his palace. Beside the captains over a hundred (see at 2 Kings 11:4) there are mentioned והרצים הכּרי, i.e., the royal halberdiers (the body-guard), who had passed over to the new king immediately after the fall of Athaliah and now followed their captains, and הארץ כּל־עם, all the rest of the people assembled. Instead of the halberdiers there are mentioned in the Chronicles בּעם המּושׁלים האדּירים, the nobles and lords in the nation-a completion implied in the facts themselves, since Jehoiada had drawn the heads of the nation into his plan, and on the other hand the express allusion to the body-guard might be omitted as of inferior importance. We cannot infer from ירידוּ that the bridge between Moriah and Zion was not yet in existence, as Thenius supposes, but simply that the bridge was lower than the temple-courts. Instead of הרצים שׁער, the gate of the runners (i.e., of the halberdiers), we find in the Chronicles העליון שׁער, the upper gate, which appears to have been a gate of the temple, according to 2 Kings 15:35 and 2 Chronicles 27:3. The statement that they came by the way of the runners' gate into the house of the king is not at variance with this, for it may be understood as meaning that it was by the halberdiers' gate of the temple that the entry into the palace was carried out. - In 2 Kings 11:20 this account is concluded with the general remark that all the people rejoiced, sc. at the coronation of Joash, and the city was quiet, when they slew Athaliah with the sword. This is the way, so far as the sense is concerned, in which the last two clauses are to be connected.