2 Kings 23:35

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 unto Pharaohnechoh.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

THE REIGN OF JEHOIAKIM (2Kings 23:35 to 2Kings 24:7).

(35) And Jehoiakim gave.—And the silver and the gold did Jehoiakim give . . . He had to pay for his elevation. The raising of the fine of 2Kings 23:33 is described in this verse.

But he taxed . . .—The king kept his pledge to Pharaoh, but not out of his own means. He exacted the money from “the people of the land,” i.e., the people of all classes, levying a fixed contribution even upon the poorest of his subjects. As in 2Kings 11:14; 2Kings 14:21; 2Kings 21:24, Thenius insists that “the people of the land” are the national militia, and he renders: “he exacted the silver and the gold, along with (i.e., by the help of) the people of the land.” But this is, to say the least, very questionable. (See Note on 2Kings 11:14.)

(36) He reigned eleven years.—Not eleven full years. (Comp. Jeremiah 25:1 with 2Kings 24:12; and Jeremiah 3 with 2Kings 25:8.)

His mother’s name was Zebudah.—So the Hebrew margin and Targum. Hebrew text, Syriac, Vulg., Arabic, Zebidah. Zebadiah may have been the real name. The mother of Jehoahaz was Hamutal (2Kings 23:31). Thus Josiah had at least two wives, and probably more. (Comp. 2Kings 24:15.) He could not have been over fourteen when he begot Jehoiakim.

Rumah.—Perhaps Arumah, near Shechem (Judges 9:41), as Josephus has Abumah. This is interesting as a slight indication that Josiah’s power extended over the territory of the former kingdom of Samaria.

(37) He did that which was evil . . .—Jeremiah represents him as luxurious, covetous, and violent (Jeremiah 22:13 seq.). He murdered Urijah a prophet (Jeremiah 26:20 seq.). Ewald thinks that he introduced Egyptian animal-worship (Ezekiel 8:7 seq.), which is rendered highly probable by his relation of dependence on Necho. (Comp. the introduction of Assyrian star-worship under Ahaz.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

23:31-37 After Josiah was laid in his grave, one trouble came on another, till, in twenty-two years, Jerusalem was destroyed. The wicked perished in great numbers, the remnant were purified, and Josiah's reformation had raised up some to join the few who were the precious seed of their future church and nation. A little time, and slender abilities, often suffice to undo the good which pious men have, for a course of years, been labouring to effect. But, blessed be God, the good work which he begins by his regenerating Spirit, cannot be done away, but withstands all changes and temptations.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the room of Josiah his father - Not "in the room of Jehoahaz his brother;" the phrase is intended to mark the fact, that Neco did not acknowedge that Jehoahaz had ever been king.

Turned his name to Jehoiakim - Compare 2 Kings 23:30 and 2 Kings 24:17. It seems likely, from their purely Jewish character, that the new names of the Jewish kings, though formally imposed by the suzerain, were selected by the individuals themselves. The change now made consisted merely in the substitution of יהוה yehovâh for אל 'êl ("God, Yahweh, will set up"). Both names alike refer to the promise which God made to David 2 Samuel 7:12 and imply a hope that, notwithstanding the threats of the prophets, the seed of David would still be allowed to remain upon the throne.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

29. In his days Pharaoh-nechoh—(See 2Ch 35:20-27).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh,.... The one hundred talents of silver and the talent of gold, which he imposed as a tribute upon the land:

but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh; he did not take it out of his own treasures nor the treasures of the house of the Lord, which perhaps might be exhausted, but levied it of the people of the land:

he exacted the silver and gold of the people of the land, required them to pay it in:

of everyone according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh: everyone was taxed according to his abilities, in proportion to what he was worth, or to the estate he was possessed of.

Geneva Study Bible

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 unto Pharaohnechoh.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

35. he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land] The king did not undertake to pay, as had been done aforetime (cf. 2 Kings 16:8; 2 Kings 18:15) this tax out of any treasures in the house of the Lord, or of the king’s house. In those troublous days there was likely to be but little in store, so a tax was laid on the whole people.

2 Kings 23:36 to 2 Kings 24:7. Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar makes him tributary. His many adversaries. Jehoiachin, his son, succeeds him (2 Chronicles 36:5-8)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 35. - And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. Jehoiakim, i.e., paid the tribute, which Nechoh had fixed (ver. 33), regularly. He did not, however, pay it out of the state treasury, which was exhausted. 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 unto Pharaoh-Nechoh; rather, he had the land valued (comp. Leviticus 27:8), and "exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his valuation." 2 Kings 23:35

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

From the words "Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of his father Josiah," it follows that the king of Egypt did not acknowledge the reign of Jehoahaz, because he had been installed by the people without his consent. "And changed his name into Jehoiakim." The alteration of the name was a sign of dependence. In ancient times princes were accustomed to give new names to the persons whom they took into their service, and masters to give new names to their slaves (cf. Genesis 41:45; Ezra 5:14; Daniel 1:7, and Hvernick on the last passage). - But while these names were generally borrowed from heathen deities, Eliakim, and at a later period Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:17), received genuine Israelitish names, Jehoiakim, i.e., "Jehovah will set up," and Zidkiyahu, i.e., "righteousness of Jehovah;" from which we may infer that Necho and Nebuchadnezzar did not treat the vassal kings installed by them exactly as their slaves, but allowed them to choose the new names for themselves, and simply confirmed them as a sign of their supremacy. Eliakim altered his name into Jehoiakim, i.e., El (God) into Jehovah, to set the allusion to the establishment of the kingdom, which is implied in the name, in a still more definite relation to Jehovah the covenant God, who had promised to establish the seed of David (2 Samuel 7:14), possibly with an intentional opposition to the humiliation with which the royal house of David was threatened by Jeremiah and other prophets. - "But Jehoahaz he had taken (לקח, like יקּח in 2 Kings 24:12), and he came to Egypt and died there" - when, we are not told. - In 2 Kings 23:35, even before the account of Jehoiakim's reign, we have fuller particulars respecting the payment of the tribute which Necho imposed upon the land (2 Kings 23:33), because it was the condition on which he was appointed king. - "The gold and silver Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh; yet (אך equals but in order to raise it) he valued (העריך as in Leviticus 27:8) the land, to give the money according to Pharaoh's command; of every one according to his valuation, he exacted the silver and gold of the population of the land, to give it to Pharaoh Necho." נגשׂ, to exact tribute, is construed with a double accusative, and בּערכּו אישׁ placed first for the sake of emphasis, as an explanatory apposition to הערץ את־עם.