by 2 Chronicles 26:1-23, Uzziah
This interpretive Commentary contains an outline that I created. To follow along, I highly suggest that you follow along in your Bible to read the verses that I am interpreting. Enjoy!
26:1-2, Uzziah becomes king and builds Elath
Uzziah means “Yahweh is my strength”, his name in the book of Kings is Azariah, which means “Yahweh has helped”. The names have similar meanings which might explain why they are used interchangeably.[1] Hebrew reads as Eloth but they both refer to the same city. Elath was an important seaport that was constructed by Solomon and opened trade for Judah with Arabia, Africa, and India.[2] Wilcock states, “The building of Elath was a sign both of God’s blessing and of the qualities in Uzziah which brought blessing. It meant that both the territory and the trade of the kingdom now reached further than they had done since the time of Solomon. It marked Uzziah as a man of vision.”[3]
26:3-5, Uzziah overview and his righteousness
Zechariah was a counsellor for Uzziah, he was skilled in understanding the ancient prophecies.[4] Some manuscripts have “visions of God” versus “fear of God”.[5]
26:6-8, God’s assistance in war
Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod are within ten or fifteen miles of each other which forms a triangle that controls the northern section of the Philistine plain directly west of Jerusalem.[6] The countries east of the Jordan, the Ammonites, gave gifts as tributes to Uzziah as his kingdom was extended into the Egyptian frontier.[7]
26:9-10, Built towers and dug wells
Towers in Jerusalem were strategically placed where the resistance could be stationed to discharge missiles at the enemy. The towers in the desert were built for defense, observation, and shelter for animals. Jamieson mentions, “He dug also a great many wells. . . Some of these ‘were in the desert,’ that is, in the district to the southeast of Jerusalem, on the west of the Dead Sea, an extensive grazing district ‘in the low country’ lying between the mountains of Judah and the Mediterranean; ‘and in the plains,’ east of the Jordan.”[8]
26:11-15, Uzziah’s army, weapons, military innovations, and fame
A well-trained army means that they were a standing army and did not have to rely on recruitment from farmers when battles occurred. Matthews explains, “The wealth of Uzziah afforded him the opportunity to arm his soldiers with the traditional weaponry in the Near East in the Iron Age. . . In the past some interpreters had suggested that these were catapults, but there is no evidence of the use of catapults this early.”[9]
26:16-21, Uzziah’s sin and punishment
Burning incense was a sacred act that was done only by priests.[10] The physical location of the alter of incense was inside the outer chamber of the temple where only officiating priests were allowed.[11] Uzziah knew this. To make the situation worse, Uzziah became angry at being rebuked, that is what brought the harsh punishment.[12] Regarding leprosy, Matthews states, “Those studying the ancient Near Eastern languages have concluded that the term often translated ‘leprosy’ is more accurately rendered ‘lesion,’ or, less technical, ‘scaly skin.’ Such patches could be swelled or weeping, as well as flaking.[13]
26:22-23, Uzziah’s burial and successor
Uzziah was not buried with the other kings, he was near them but could not be with them as he was a corpse of a leper and would have polluted the other kings.[14]
[1] Edward Lewis Curtis and Albert Alonzo Madsen, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of Chronicles (New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1910), 448.
[2] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, et al., The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 2 Ch 26:2.
[3] Michael J. Wilcock, “1 and 2 Chronicles” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 413.
[4] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, et al., Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 279.
[5] Rick Brannan and Israel Loken, The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 2 Ch 26:5.
[6] Matthews, The IVP, 2 Ch 26:6–8.
[7] Jamieson, Commentary Critical, 279.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Matthews, The IVP, 2 Ch 26:11–15.
[10] Curtis, A Critical, 452.
[11] Matthews, The IVP, 2 Ch 26:16–19.
[12] Wilcock, “1 and 2 Chronicles”, 413.
[13] Matthews, The IVP, 2 Ch 26:16–19.
[14] Jamieson, Commentary Critical, 280.