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2Ki_11:1-20. (2Ch_22:10 to 2Ch_23:21.)
4And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard [centurions of the life-guards and of the runners] and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and shewed them the king’s Song of Solomon 5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of [those of] you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 6And a third part shall be at the gate of [omit of] Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard [runners] so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down [to prevent entrance]. 7And two parts of [omit two parts of] all [those of] you that go forth on the sabbath [—of both sorts of soldiers—] even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. 8And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within [breaketh through] the ranges [ranks] let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as lie cometh in. 9And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. 11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner [hand wall] of the temple [house] to the left corner [hand wall] of the temple [house] along by [towards] the altar and the temple. 12And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king [lit. Live the king].
13And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guardand of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord. 14And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar [was standing on a platform] as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced [were rejoicing] and blew [blowing] with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, treason. 15But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges [through the ranks]; and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord. 16And they laid hands on her [made room for her on either hand]; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain.
17And Jehoiada made a [the] covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people; between the king also and the people. 18And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. 19And 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 [runners] to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and [but] they slew [had slain] Athaliah with the sword beside [at] the king’s house.
2Ki_11:1. But Athaliah, &c. We may suppose that she had carried on the government as queen-regent ( âְּáִéøָä cf. 1Ki_15:13; 1Ki_11:19), [In the latter place it is applied to a queen-consort, as in Jer_13:18; Jer_29:2. In 1Ki_15:13 and here it is applied to the queen-mother. It is a title which implies more actual political power and influence than îַìְëָּä . The queen-mother has always been, and is, a personage of influence in oriental countries. For the importance of this role in the Israelitish monarchy, and for the influence exerted on the history by some of the individuals who filled it (Bathsheba, Maacah, Athaliah, Jezebel), see Stanley’s Lectures, 2d ser. p. 432], during the absence of her son at Ramoth and at Jezreel (2Ki_8:28-29), and now she took the royal authority directly into her own hands. In order to establish herself on the throne, she proceeded in the usual manner of oriental usurpers (see above, on chap. 10). She slew all the “seed royal,” i.e., all the male members of the royal house who might eventually become pretenders to the throne. The forty-two “brethren of Ahaziah,” who were slain by Jehu (2Ki_10:13 sq.), were not, therefore, all the princes there were, but a certain portion of them, especially those who were grown up.
2Ki_11:2. Jehosheba was the sister of Ahaziah, but not the daughter of Athaliah. She was the daughter of another wife of king Jehoram. According to 2Ch_20:11, she was the wife of Jehoiada, the priest—a statement the truth of which Thenius unjustly questions. It explains Jehoiada’s conduct most satisfactorily. The Chronicler has åַúִּúֵּï , after äַîּåּîָúִéí , and this word must here be supplied. çֲãַø äַîִּèּåֹú is not the “bed-chamber” (Luther, E. V.) either of the royal princes (Clericus), or of the priests and levites (Vatablus), but the room of the palace in which the beds, mattresses, and coverlets were stored, and where no one lived. The child, who was an infant at the breast, was temporarily hidden here, and then he was brought, for greater security, into the house of Jehovah, i.e., into a room adjoining the temple, or into one of the temple chambers, so that he was under the care of the high-priest. With her, i.e., with the wet-nurse, whose care he yet needed; not, “with Jehosheba” (Thenius), for she could not remain concealed for so long a time. The nurse remained with him, after he was weaned, as his attendant until his sixth year. Instead of àִúָּä the Chronicler has, less precisely, àִúָּí , with them, i.e., in their family. The priest and Jehosheba kept him in concealment. The Sept. translate àִúָּí , in Chronicles, by ìåô ’ áὐôῆò , which they also give for àִúָּä in Kings. We cannot infer, with Keil, that he was concealed “in the house of the high-priest, in one of the courts of the temple,” for there is no hint anywhere that the high-priest and his family lived in any part of the temple-building (cf. Neh_3:26 sq., from which the contrary seems more probable).
2Ki_11:4. And the seventh year Jehoiada sent, &c. For ùָׁìַç the Chronicler has äִúְçַæַּ÷ , i.e., “he took courage.” It seemed to Jehoiada doubtful whether he ought to keep the prince any longer in concealment. Perhaps also the government of Athaliah had become more and more unendurable. In 2Ki_11:15; 2Ki_11:18 he is called simply äַëֹּäֵï , whereby he is designated as high-priest. Cf. 2Ki_12:11. The centurions were the commanders each of a hundred men of the life-guards and the runners (see notes on 1Ki_1:38; 1Ki_14:27). The Chronicler gives the names of these centurions and of their fathers, which he can only have obtained from the original document which served as authority both for him and for the writer of this history. As there are five names given we may infer that the entire life-guard consisted of 500 men. It is to be noticed that their agreement is not called a ùֶׁ÷ֶø , as in the case of Baasha, Zimri, &c., but a áְּøִéú . Only Athaliah calls it ùֶׁ÷ֶø , 2Ki_11:14. The oath which Jehoiada took of them in the holy place can only have been to this effect, that they would bring about the elevation of the prince to the throne, but, for the present, would keep the intention to do so secret. He then showed the prince to them. In the account in Chronicles the words: “And took an oath of them in the house of Jehovah, and showed them the king’s son,” are wanting. Instead, we read there: “And they went about in Judah, and gathered the levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the congregation (i.e., the collected representatives of the people) made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he (Jehoiada) said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign as the Lord hath said of the sons of David.” There is no contradiction here, for we may well suppose that Jehoiada at first only admitted the five chiefs into the secret, and won their adhesion, but that they, before they proceeded to carry out the plan proposed (2Ki_11:5 sq.), sought to assure themselves of the support of the levites and of the representative family chiefs, and invited them to one of the three great yearly festivals, at which they were accustomed to visit Jerusalem according to the law, so that their presence there would not attract attention. [See appendix to this section for a detailed comparison of the two accounts.]
2Ki_11:5. And he commanded them, &c. Jehoiada’s plan was to take military possession of the two places, which here were of prime importance, the palace and the temple. In the latter was the young prince, who was then to be crowned and anointed; in the former was the throne, of which he was afterwards to take possession. 2Ki_11:5-6 treat of the taking possession of the palace; 2Ki_11:7-8 of that of the temple. It should be particularly observed that Jehoiada’s words are addressed to the centurions of the life-guard and of the runners (2Ki_11:4). Therefore when he says (2Ki_11:5): A third part îִëֶּí ; and (2Ki_11:7): both sorts áָּëֶí , he means of course no other than the soldiers under the command of these captains, who are distinctly mentioned, in 2Ki_11:9, as their “men,” so that it is simply impossible to understand by it, “levites.” The entire body of men at their disposal consisted, therefore, of those who had to undertake guard-duty on the sabbath, and of those who were released from service on that day. Those who entered upon service at that time were to hold control of the palace at three points; one third at the áֵּéú äַîֶּìֶêְ , by which we have to understand here the royal residence proper, in distinction from the less important accessory buildings connected with it (2Ki_11:5, in which, it may be remarked in passing, åְùָׁîְøåְ must be read instead of åְֹùׂîְøֵé . The Sept. add after öõëáêὴí ïἴêïõ ôïῦ âáóéëÝùò , the words: ἐí ôῷ ðõëῶíé .) The second third-part was to hold the gate ñåּø . No gate by this name is mentioned elsewhere. According to the signification of the stem ñåּø , to depart from the way, it can refer only to the exit or side-door of the palace. The third third-part received the charge áַּùַּׁòַø àַçַø äָøָöִéí , or, as it is called in 2Ki_11:19 simply, ùַׁòַø äָøָöִéí . [The “runners” were probably couriers whose line of duty was to act as the king’s messengers. This gate was probably so called, because it was the one before which they were usually stationed, either on guard-duty, or awaiting commands which were directed to their department of the service, or both.—W. G. S.] Since the new king held his solemn entry into the palace through this gate (2Ki_11:19), it must have been the chief gate; through which there was the most direct approach to the royal residence. It was “behind” the runners, since their usual station was before it. The word îַñָּç is not a proper name (Luther: Massa; Vulg.: Messa), but means repulse, defence, that which wards off, from ðñç , to ward off, and it is in apposition to îִùְׁîֶøֶú . It may be referred to all three of the third-parts, since all three were intended to ward off and expel every one who might desire to gain admission to the palace. This was the duty assigned to those who commenced duty on the sabbath. Those who were released on that day were to guard the temple (2Ki_11:7). They were not to be divided up into subdivisions to do duty at separate posts, but their two éָãåֹú were to form ùְׂãֵøåֹú and to take the young king in their midst (2Ki_11:8) By éָãåֹú are meant, in distinction from ùְׁìִùִׁéú (2Ki_11:5-6) the two different sorts of soldiers, according to their weapons and duties, i.e., the life-guards and the runners. ùְׂãֵøåֹú are the ranks, in which they were to arrange themselves, between which the king went out of the temple into the palace. Any one who broke through them and ventured inside was to be slain (2Ki_11:8). “Let it be observed with what accuracy áָּëֶí is used in 2Ki_11:7, where the reference is to a distinction of functions, and îִëֶּí in 2Ki_11:5, where the reference is to merely numerical subdivisions of the force” (Thenius). The final words of 2Ki_11:8 : And be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in, belong to the directions which Jehoiada gave for the division of the numbers and of the functions of the soldiers for this especial case. They cannot, therefore, be taken as of general signification, referring to all the life of the king, under all circumstances: “In all his business, or, in all his movements” (Keil), as in Deu_28:6; Deu_31:2, but they refer to the execution of this plan, and are to be understood of the movement of the king from the temple to the palace (Thenius). In 2Ki_11:9 sq. follows the actual execution of the commands of Jehoiada which have been imparted in the preceding verses.
2Ki_11:10. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give, &c. Instead of the sing. äַçֲðִéú , the Chronicler has the plural äַçֲðִéúִéí , and all the ancient versions present the plural in the verse before us. It seems that it stood originally äַçֲðéúֹú (Isa_2:4; Mic_4:3), and the last ú was lost by an error in copying (Keil). “We must understand that these were not David’s own weapons, but some which he had captured, and placed in the temple as an offering. According to Ewald, whose opinion Thenius approves, Jehoiada gave these weapons to the captains, “in order to begin and consecrate the enterprise on which they were about to enter, of restoring the family of David to the throne, by using the weapons of the great ancestor of that family.” But perhaps his only reason for distributing these arms among them was, that those who had retired from service at the palace had left their weapons there. The centurions divided these weapons among their soldiers, as 2Ki_11:11 expressly mentions, among the “runners,” not, therefore, among levites. When the men were thus armed, they were stationed: “From the right-hand side of the house to the left-hand side of the house, along towards the altar and the temple,” so that they surrounded and covered the person of the king. The meaning is that they shut off the space from the temple-building proper to the altar, and that the king stood in the midst of this space. Whether one row stood across the front from side to side, and two others parallel, along the side (Bertheau), or whether one row stood from the right-hand corner of the temple to the altar, and the other from the altar to the left-hand corner (Thenius), must be left undecided. Not until after the troops had been thus arranged, did Jehoiada lead out the young prince into the midst of the open space (2Ki_11:12). äָòֵãåּú does not mean the insignia regia (Clericus), or the phylacteries (Deu_6:8, Grotius), but, the Law, and, if not the whole Pentateuch, at least the Decalogue, which is so often called the “Testimony” (Exo_25:21; Exo_16:34, &c.). This was probably given into his hands as a symbol of what is declared to be the law for the king in Deu_17:19, whereas the diadem was placed upon his head (2Sa_1:10). He was then anointed (1Ki_1:39). To clap the hands was a sign of delight and approval (Isa_55:12). Besides the armed force, the priests, and the levites, a multitude of people was also present (2Ki_11:14), which denotes that the coronation took place on a feast-day, when the people collected in Jerusalem from all parts of the country. The acclamations of the people are in the same words as in 1Ki_1:25.
2Ki_11:13. And when Athaliah heard the noise, &c. As worshipper of Baal, who, at that time, had his own temple in Jerusalem (2Ki_11:18), Athaliah took no part in the feasts of the worshippers of Jehovah, in the Jehovah-temple, and, on this day, she paid the less heed to what was going on in the temple, inasmuch as the change of the guards in the palace had taken place as usual, and nothing indicated any unusual disturbance. The great outcry, which she either heard herself, as she well might in view of the short distance from the palace to the temple, or which was reported to her by her attendants, aroused her suspicions, so that she betook herself thither. Josephus states that she went out of the palace with her own troops ( ìåôὰ ôῆò ἰäßáò óôñáôéᾶò ), and that, when she came to the temple, the priests allowed her to enter, but the guards prevented her guards from following; that Athaliah, when she saw the crowned boy, cried out, and commanded that he who had dared to try to usurp her authority should be put to death, and that thereupon Jehoiada gave orders that she should be led out and executed outside of the temple. [That the queen should have gone down in person into the temple, without guards or attendants, to quell what must have appeared to be a mere vulgar riot, is certainly an astonishing incident—W. G. S.] The words äָøָöִéï äָòָí cannot be translated: “Of the people who flocked to the spot” (Luther, after the Vulg.). “The text must have read originally äָøָöִéï åְäָòָí , and the å must have fallen out by a copyist’s error” (Thenius, Keil). The Chronicler transposes the words: äָòָí äָøָּöִéí , and adds: åְäַîְäַìְìִéí àֶúÎäַîֶּìֶêְ , i. e., the people who were flocking together and hailing the king. The øָöִéí are, however, in this context, always the “runners” who formed a part of the royal guards (2Ki_11:4; 2Ki_11:6; 2Ki_11:11; 2Ki_11:19), so that the word can mean nothing else in 2Ki_11:13, and the text of the Chronicles cannot, with any good reason at all, be preferred.
2Ki_11:14. The king stood òַìÎäָòָîּåּã , i.e., not “at the column” (Luther) [or, “by a pillar” (E. V.)], but at the appointed, traditional place, which was reserved for the king, by established usage ( áַּîִּùְׁôָּè ), as in chap, 2Ki_23:3; 2Ch_34:31. Thenius understands by it “the top step of the stairs which led up to the temple,” but this would not be any especial position, because the priests passed and stood there every day. Evidently a particular place is meant, an elevated dais or platform (Vulg.: tribunal), which was reserved for the king alone, for, when Athaliah saw the prince standing there, she knew at once what the transaction was which was being accomplished. The people, who stood in the forecourt, could not have seen the king, if he had stood on the top of the temple-steps, on account of the altar ten cubits high which stood in the court of the priests. The platform in question must have stood before the altar, at the entrance to the inner fore-court ( áַּîָּáåֹà 2Ch_23:13), so that the king, when he stood upon it, was the first object to strike the eye of Athaliah as she entered. Solomon had caused just such arrangements to be made (2Ch_6:13; see Exeg. on 1Ki_8:22)—The Vulg. incorrectly renders äַùָּׂøִéí by cantores, the Sept. by ïἱ ᾠäïß , and Luther by “singers,” as if the word were äַùָּׁøִéí . They are the centurions, as in 2Ki_11:4; 2Ki_11:9. The word is correctly translated in the Sept. and Vulg. versions of Chronicles by ïἱ ἄñ÷ïíôåò , and principes.— äַçֲöֹöְøåֹú , trumpets, for trumpeters. Since the word occurs in 2Ki_12:14, in the enumeration of the utensils of the temple, and is also used in Num_10:2 to designate the trumpets or horns of the priests, and since, moreover, 1Ch_15:24 (2Ki_13:8), the priests appear as îַçְöְöøִéí áַּçֲöֹöְøåֹú , we can think here only of levites or priests as the persons who were blowing the trumpets.—And all the people of the land, i.e., “the multitude which was present” (Bertheau), as in 2Ki_11:13, not, “the entire force of militia, which was present in Jerusalem” (Thenius).—Athaliah rent her clothes, not so much in grief as from terror, like Joram, 2Ki_6:30.
2Ki_11:15. But Jehoiada the priest commanded, &c. The centurions of the life-guard are here designated as commanders of the army in general. “The readers are to be reminded by this addition that the military forces were willing to obey Jehoiada” (Bertheau).—Have her forth through (or between) the ranks, ìַùְּׂãֵøֹú , i.e., within the ranks, “so that she was led through the ranks, and was hindered from taking any measures in accord with her adherents” (Bertheau). Any one who might desire to take her part, or to assist her, was to be slain.— éָùִׂéîåּ ìָäּ éָãַéִí (2Ki_11:16), i.e., not, as Luther [and the E. V.] translate, following the Sept. ( ἐðÝâáëïí áὐôῇ ÷åῖñáò ), and the Vulg. (imposuerunt ei manus), “They laid hands on her,” but, as the Chaldee version renders it, and as almost all the expositors understand it: “They made for her two sides,” i.e., they made room for her, opening the ranks on both sides, “formed in rank and escorted her out” (Keil). By îְáåֹà äַñּåּñִéí , the entrance-way for horses into the royal stables is to be understood, so that it is not the “horse-gate” (Neh_3:28), as Josephus understands, for this was a gate of the inner city, and led into the city, not into the palace. She was not to be conducted by the way into the palace, because the new king was to make his solemn entry into the palace by this. It does not follow, however, that Athaliah was “to die shamefully and disgracefully by the stables” (Thenius), for the royal stables were not, as such, a shameful or unclean place.
2Ki_11:17. And Jehoiada made the covenant, &c. Not a covenant (Luther), but the covenant, i.e., the covenant of Jehovah with Israel, which had been broken by the false worship of Jehoram, Ahaziah, and Athaliah. This covenant was solemnly renewed. It attached primarily to the relation between the king and people on the one hand, and Jehovah on the other (they were to be Jehovah’s people and belong to Him, Deu_4:28), then, also, to the relation between the king and the people. The people was to be, from that time on, once more the people of God; it was to worship and serve Him alone. The king was to rule according to the “testimony,” i.e., the Law of Jehovah, which had been solemnly put into his hands, and the people were to be loyal to the legitimate king of the family of David. The immediate and necessary consequence of this renewal of the covenant was the destruction of the temple of Baal, with its altars and idols (2Ki_11:18). When and by whom this temple was built is nowhere stated. It is most probable that it was erected by Jehoram, under the influence of Athaliah (2Ki_8:18), as the one in Samaria was built by Ahab, under the influence of Jezebel (1Ki_16:32). Thenius is wrong in inferring from 2Ch_24:7, that this temple was erected “in the enclosure of the temple of Jehovah,” for that passage says only that Athaliah and her sons had plundered the Jehovah-temple of all which they could use in the worship of Baal. There can be no doubt that we must understand it to refer to a building on another elevation. It is certain also that Mattan, the priest of Baal who was slain, did not perform his functions in the same place with Jehoiada. [The grounds which lead Bähr to believe that the temple of Baal was not on Mount Moriah are not satisfactory. Every indication which we have in regard to it goes to show that it was there. Mount Moriah is just the spot which would have been chosen for the site of a temple by any nation of ancient times which might have lived at Jerusalem. There was no other elevation near or convenient. The “old city” was perhaps in some places a little higher than Mount Moriah, but it presented no sharp and clear elevation, such as those which ancient nations always chose as sites of temples, if there was one in the neighborhood. The other hills were too far away. It would be little in accord with the character of Athaliah to suppose that she gave up the best site, which was, at the same time, one of the grandest in the world, according to the taste in those matters, to the Jehovah-religion, and sought another for her own favorite deities. The Jehovah-religion may have been strong enough in Judah to force a compromise, and maintain a joint possession of the mountain. 2Ch_24:7 says that Athaliah and her sons had “broken down” or “torn down ( ôָּøְòåּ ) the house of God” Just how much that means we cannot perhaps determine, but the temple was standing and available for worship, &c., at this time, as we see, and it may well be meant that they broke down such portions of the walls of the courts, &c., as was necessary to get room for the temple of Baal. See also 2Ki_12:5 (Exeg.) and 2Ch_24:7. Still farther, if 2Ki_11:18 is in its proper chronological position before 2Ki_11:19, and is not, as Thenius thinks, to be taken as belonging after it in order of time, then it gives a strong ground for believing that the temple of Baal was on Mount Moriah. They stayed to tear it down before they formed the procession, and left the temple-mountain to “go down” and escort the king into the palace. It cannot be regarded, therefore, as “beyond doubt” that Mattan and Jehoiada did not perform their functions in the same place. That the latter did not like the juxtaposition, we may well believe, but if the question was whether to share Mount Moriah with the worshippers of Baal, or to remove the Jehovah-worship from it, or to give up the Jehovah-worship altogether, we may easily imagine what course he would have chosen.—W. G. S.]—Duncker, whom Weber again follows, deduces from the sentence: The priests appointed ôְּ÷ֻãֹּú over the house of the Lord, the arbitrary conclusion that, in spite of the victory of the priestly party, “Nevertheless the number of the servants of Baal was so great, and their courage was so little broken, that it was necessary to protect the temple of Jehovah against their attacks by especial guards” Thenius also thinks that there is reference here to a kind of temple-officers which had not existed before, “by whom a new desecration of the temple by the worship of false gods was to be prevented” We must understand by it, as is expressly stated 2Ch_23:18, the overseers who were appointed by David (1 Chronicles 25.), and who, during the time that idolatry prevailed, had not been regularly kept up, or perhaps had not been appointed at all. That the article is wanting cannot be decisive to the contrary. [So Keil. Ewald, Thenius, and Bunsen, on the contrary, think that they were intended to protect the temple against the attacks of the heathen. The Chronicler develops this short note into an elaborate statement, as he does all the notices of the origin of any ritual formalities or hierarchical organizations. It is not clear, however, that it should have been thought necessary, just at the time when the Jehovah-religion could once more count on the support of the throne, to appoint new and permanent officers to protect the temple from heathen attacks and desecrations. Moreover, this clause, thus understood, makes the position of 2Ki_11:18 before 2Ki_11:19 probably incorrect as regards the order of time. Shall we understand that they stayed to appoint temple-officers before completing the inauguration of the king? It would be most reasonable to understand it to state simply that they appointed a guard to stay and protect the temple from any sudden attack of the enraged worshippers of Baal, while all the rest went to escort the king into the palace, and see him mount the throne.—W. G. S.] According to 2Ki_11:19, the centurions mentioned in 2Ki_11:4, with their troops, the life-guards and the runners, escorted the king down ( åַéֹּøִéãåּ ) from the House of Jehovah in a solemn procession arranged ( åַéִּ÷ַּç ) by the priest Jehoiada. Escorted him down, it is said, because there was a ravine between Mount Moriah and Mount Zion, over which at that time there probably was no bridge. They came through the “Gate of the Runners” (the Chronicler gives áְּúåֹêְ instead of ãֶּøֶêְ , by way of explanation) into the palace, where the throne stood, upon which the king seated himself. The Gate of the Runners belonged therefore to the palace. The Sept. take áֵּéú äַîֶּìֶêְ as a direct genitive, ïἴêïõ ôïῦ âáóéëÝùò . It was unquestionably the chief gate, for the solemn entry would not take place through any other (Thenius). Ewald, Thenius, and Bertheau connect åְäָòִéø ùָׁ÷ָèָä with the following, in opposition to the massoretic punctuation: “And the city remained quiet when they slew Athaliah with the sword:” that is to say, her adherents remained peaceful and did not venture to make any movement to save her. But, in that ease, the words “with the sword” would be unnecessary. The correct interpretation of the words is rather that the concluding sentence is intended to append to 2Ki_11:16 an emphatic statement of the manner in which she was put to death, and, at the same time, to call attention to the fact that, by her death, the last member of the house of Ahab was removed, and the legitimate authority of the house of David was restored. In this interpretation this sentence brings the account to a well-rounded close.
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