Chapter Twenty-Nine

1–36. The enthronement of Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah; the god-pleasing character of his reign; the opening of the temple, its cleansing, the beginning of proper performance of worship and the first sacrifices.

2 Chronicles 29:1. Hezekiah began his reign at the age of twenty-five, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. 2 Chronicles 29:2. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his father David had done. Compare (2 Kgs 18:2-3). Zechariah, the father of Hezekiah’s mother, some rabbis identified with the prophet and high priest Zechariah, who was killed during Joash’s reign (2 Chr 24:20-22) – an entirely arbitrary and clearly untenable supposition in light of the chronological absurdity it allows: the time span between the persons being compared is by no means less than over a hundred years. The comparison of Hezekiah (verse 2), as later of Josiah (2 Chr 34:2), with David in application to these two kings has special precision, because of all Judah’s kings only Hezekiah and Josiah most closely resembled David in matters of piety (Sir 49:5). It was precisely the reforms in the area of worship that Hezekiah and Josiah brought about that secured for them a good reputation.

2 Chronicles 29:3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them, The restoration of worship by Hezekiah begins with the opening of the temple of the Lord, which had been closed by Ahaz (2 Chr 28:24).

2 Chronicles 29:4. and he commanded the priests and the Levites to come, and he gathered them in the eastern plaza, 2 Chronicles 29:5. and said to them: Listen to me, O Levites! Now consecrate yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and remove the uncleanness from the sanctuary. 2 Chronicles 29:6. For our fathers have acted unfaithfully and done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have turned their backs, 2 Chronicles 29:7. and they have shut the doors of the porch, and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense, and have not offered burnt offerings in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:8. And the wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to ridicule, as you see with your own eyes. 2 Chronicles 29:9. And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are now in captivity because of this. 2 Chronicles 29:10. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 2 Chronicles 29:11. My sons! Do not be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him and to be his servants and to burn incense. The cleansing of worship could happen only through the mediation of the priests and Levites; and it is to them that Hezekiah addresses the appropriate speech (verses 5–11) “in the eastern plaza” (verse 4), that is, from the entrance to the temple – in the temple court or before it. The servants of the altar were to (verse 5) first purify themselves, and then engage in cleansing the temple, which had fallen into deep neglect (verses 5–7) during the preceding reign. In verses 8–9 there is a reference to the troubles that the Judeans suffered under Ahaz from the Syrians, Israelites, Edomites, and Philistines (cf. 2 Chr 28:5-19; 2 Kgs 16:5-7; Isa 7:1). The end of verses 9 and 10, according to the LXX translation, are read somewhat differently in different manuscripts, and the existing duality here is reflected in the corresponding difference between the Slavonic and Russian translations of this passage. The accepted LXX text reads: δ καὶ νῦν ἐστιν. Ἐπι τούτοις νῦν ἐδτιν ἐπὶ καρδίας διαθέκην μοῦ, διαθήκην Κυρίου Θεοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Such a rendering corresponds fairly accurately to the Hebrew Masoretic text, and it agrees with the reading of the Russian Synodal translation: “sons, daughters and wives are now in captivity. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel.” In other Greek codices (for example 74, 106, 120, 121, 134 in Holmes, cf. Origenis Hexaplorum Quae Supersunt) the reading is: καὶ νῦν είσι ἐπὶ τούτοις. Νῦν ούν θεσθε ἐπὶ καρδίας ῦμῶν, τοῦ διαθέσθαι διαθήκην μετὰ Κυρίου Θεοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Close to the latter reading stands the Slavonic translation “as now they are. Now therefore lay upon your hearts to make a covenant.” Thus, according to one reading (Hebrew, Vulgate, accepted LXX and Russian), verse 10 speaks of Hezekiah’s own intention to make a covenant with the Lord, while according to another (some LXX codices, Slavonic text) reading, Hezekiah directs this proposal or exhortation to the priests and Levites. The first reading, as more thoroughly attested textually and closer agreeing with the context of the speech (the address to the priests and Levites “my sons” concludes only in the following, 11th verse), deserves preference; the initiative of renewal of the theocratic covenant comes from the king.

2 Chronicles 29:12. And the Levites rose up: Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah, of the sons of Kohath; and of the sons of Merari: Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallelel; and of the family of Gershon: Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah; 2 Chronicles 29:13. and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; 2 Chronicles 29:14. and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. 2 Chronicles 29:15. They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves, and went in obedience to the king’s command to cleanse the house of the Lord according to the word of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:16. And the priests entered into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took it to carry it out to the brook Kidron. 2 Chronicles 29:17. And they began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of that same month they entered the porch of the Lord; and they consecrated the house of the Lord for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 2 Chronicles 29:18. And they came to King Hezekiah and said: We have cleansed the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, and all its vessels, and the table for the bread of the presence, and all its vessels; 2 Chronicles 29:19. and all the vessels that King Ahaz had abandoned during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and sanctified, and behold they are before the altar of the Lord. In fulfillment of the king’s command, the priests and Levites hastily performed the cleansing of the temple from all the uncleanness of idolatry that had been brought into it during the preceding reign. In exact accordance with the Pentateuch (Gen 46:11; Exod 6:16; Num 3:27) and others, the Levites are grouped (verse 12) according to three patriarchs, the sons of Levi: Kohath, Merari, and Gershon. Similarly mentioned are the well-known families of singers and composers of psalms: Asaph (1 Chr 6:39; Ps 49) and others, Heman (1 Kgs 4:31; 1 Chr 6:33; Ps 88:1) and others, as well as the well-known family of the Levite Elizaphan (Num 3:30; Exod 6:22; Lev 10:4) and others. The cleansing and consecration of the temple was carried out quickly: after the eight-day cleansing of the porch, over eight days the temple itself was cleansed, and all the work of cleansing the sanctuary was completed on the sixteenth day of the month. The date “sixteenth day” follows naturally from what was said about the time of cleansing the main parts of the temple and thus has obvious advantages over the date adopted in the Greek textus receptus: τῆ ἡμέρα τῆ τρῖς και δεκάτη – on the 13th day. However, the date “16th day” appears also in many Greek codices, for example XI, 60, 74, 106, 134, 158, 243, 19, 55, 64, 71, 93, 108, 119 in Holmes, in the Aldine and Complutensian Bibles, in Saint Cyril of Alexandria, and Origenis Hexaplorum Quae Supersunt.

2 Chronicles 29:20. And King Hezekiah rose early in the morning and gathered the officials of the city, and went to the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:21. And he brought seven bulls and seven rams and seven lambs and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah; and he commanded the sons of Aaron, the priests, to offer a burnt offering on the altar of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:22. So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; and they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; and they killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 2 Chronicles 29:23. Then they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 2 Chronicles 29:24. And the priests killed them, and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:25. And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the ordinance of David and of Gad, the king’s seer, and of the prophet Nathan, for the ordinance was from the Lord through his prophets. 2 Chronicles 29:26. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David and the priests with the trumpets. 2 Chronicles 29:27. And Hezekiah commanded the burnt offering to be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David, king of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:28. And all the assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, until the burnt offering was finished. 2 Chronicles 29:29. When the burnt offering was finished, the king and all who were with him bowed and worshiped. 2 Chronicles 29:30. And King Hezekiah and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer, and they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed and worshiped. 2 Chronicles 29:31. Then Hezekiah said and spoke: “Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were willing-hearted brought burnt offerings. 2 Chronicles 29:32. The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs – all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:33. Other holy sacrifices were: six hundred out of the cattle and three thousand out of the small livestock. 2 Chronicles 29:34. But the priests were too few and could not skin all the burnt offerings, so their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the other priests had consecrated themselves, for the Levites were more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests were. 2 Chronicles 29:35. Moreover there were many burnt offerings with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offering. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 2 Chronicles 29:36. And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had prepared the people, for the thing had come about suddenly. The subsequent moment was the restoration of regular temple worship. The latter began with a great sin offering (verses 21–24) precisely for all Israel (verse 24), and not for the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah alone, since by Hezekiah’s time the fall of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was only a matter of time and soon became an accomplished fact (cf. 2 Kgs 17:3-6), so that Hezekiah could regard the inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel as members of one Israel (hence he later invites them to Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover, (2 Chr 30:5-11)). The ritual of the sin offering in this case was distinguished by special, extraordinary solemnity, exceeding in the number of sacrifices the norm prescribed by the law (cf. (Lev 4), “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pages 418–421). The laying on of hands by the king and the assembly upon the goats of the sin offering (verse 23), being a general feature of sacrificial ritual (Exod 29:10; Lev 4:4), most nearly reminds us of the laying on of hands by the high priest upon the scapegoat on the day of atonement ((Lev 16:21); “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pages 463–465) Even greater solemnity distinguished the performance of the most important of the sacrifices – the burnt offering (verses 24–29). Apart from the ordinary ritual determined by the law of Moses for this sacrifice ((Lev 1); “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pages 409–413), its performance in this case was accompanied by an orchestra of temple music and singing – according to the ordinance of David and the prophets Nathan and Gad ((verse 25); see (1 Chr 23:5) and others). The ordinance of David and the two prophets close to him is here set as an equivalent, spirit-inspired addition to the provisions of the law of Moses about worship and sacrifices (on the use of instrumental music and singing in worship and sacrifices the law of Moses gives no binding ordinances: provisions on sounding the trumpets (Lev 25:9; Num 10:10) refer to exceptional cases); after the Babylonian captivity, music became a permanent feature of daily worship and sacrifice (Sir 50:18). Regarding what is said in verse 25 about David, the blessed Theodoret remarks: “this convicts the foolishness of the Jews, who do not allow themselves to call the great David a prophet, for here Scripture, having mentioned three, adds: for the ordinance was from the Lord through his prophets” (Quaestiones in II Paralipomenon. Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca. T. LXXX. Col. 850–852). The musical instruments named here (verses 25–28) belong to three main classes of musical instruments of biblical antiquity, which knew stringed, wind, and percussion instruments. Of two types of the latter: the tambourine (Heb. tof) and the cymbal (Heb. metziltayim, Gk. κυμβαλον, κύμβαλα, Lat. Cymbala, named here (verse 25) as cymbal), which, unlike the tambourine, had only temple usage (and not secular, as the former), consisted of two metal bowls (“large flat copper plates” according to Josephus), which the player held in both hands and struck against each other. The stringed instruments: the harp (Heb. nevel, Gk. ψαλτήρ, Lat. psalterium) and the lyre or harp (Heb. kinnor, Gk. κίνυρα, κιθαρα, Lat. cithara) according to Josephus (“Antiquities of the Jews”, VII, 12, 3) had the following structure: “the cithara had ten strings, which were struck with a plectrum, the nebel was furnished with twelve strings, and it was played directly with the plectrum.” The number of strings, however, was not always the same. Both instruments are distinguished, as is thought on the basis of church father testimonies, by the different position of the resonating box: in the harp – above, in the lyre – below (cf. “Explanatory Bible”, vol. II, page 312). The harp, like the cymbal, had only temple usage, while the lyre had widespread use in secular music as well. Of wind instruments (such as the pipe, Heb. ugab, flute khalil), here the trumpets are named (Heb. chatzotzerot, LXX: σάλπιγγες, Lat. tubae). The shape of the musical trumpets, invented by Moses himself, Josephus (“Antiquities of the Jews”, III, 12, 6) describes as follows: “the trumpet was somewhat less than a cubit in length; its tube was narrow, only slightly wider than a flute; its mouthpiece was sufficiently large to receive the mass of air that the player blows into it; and it ends with a wide opening, like a hunting horn.” The description given by Josephus of this instrument is supplemented by depictions of the musical trumpet on the triumphal arch of Titus in Rome and on Hebrew coins. The description of the end of the sacrifice (verse 29) fully agrees with the account of this in Sirach (Sir 50:19). “The words of David and Asaph,” by which, according to Hezekiah’s instruction, the Levites were to praise the Lord (Heb. hallel Yehova), can be only the psalms of both inspired composers of psalms: Asaph is credited in the Psalter, according to the inscriptions, with 12 psalms (49; 72–82, Heb.: 50, 73–83). Of the psalms of David the “hallelujah” or “songs of ascent” (99–125) and others could preferentially have been used here. Hezekiah addresses (verse 31) first the priests: “you have filled your hands” – a technical expression about the functions of priests at the altar (Exod 28:41; Lev 9:17), especially in the offering of the ordination sacrifice (2 Chr 13:9). Then (in the same verse) he invites those present to bring sacrifices to the Lord; zebahim – sacrifices in general, but here (as, for example, in (Lev 17:8)) – properly peace offerings, a characteristic feature of which was the making of sacrificial meals after them: hence the abundance of sacrificial animals (verses 32–33). Regarding the peace offering, its types, character, significance, and ritual, we read in the chapter (Lev 3) and (Lev 7:12-21) (“Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pages 416–417, 428–430).

2 Chronicles 29:34. But the priests were too few and could not skin all the burnt offerings, so their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the other priests had consecrated themselves, for the Levites were more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests were. According to the laws of sacrificial ritual, the flaying of the sacrificial animal was the work of the priest ((Lev 1:6); “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, page 411). Only with regard to the peace offering – a sacrifice of somewhat lesser holiness than the burnt offering and sin offering – could the participation of Levites in this work be permitted – because of the enormous number of sacrifices and the lack of those who perform the sacrifices – priests – who did not have time, either for lack of time (2 Chr 30:3) or negligence, to purify themselves and approach the altar in sufficient numbers. Regarding this account of 2 Chronicles, the blessed Theodoret provides such a historical analogy: “This, as we observe, happens even now. For, in the absence of a presbyter and in case of dire necessity, it is also the duty of a deacon to administer baptism to the one requiring it.” (Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca. T. LXXX. Col 851–852).