chief of all the fathers of Israel - This name is frequently used in Chronicles for Judah and Benjamin, now all that remained of Israel. Having cautiously entrusted the secret of the young prince’s preservation to all the leading men in the kingdom, he enlisted their interest in the royal cause and got their pledge to support it by a secret oath of fidelity.
they came to Jerusalem - The time chosen for the grand discovery was, probably, one of the annual festivals, when there was a general concourse of the nation at the capital.