Tag Archives: J. A. Thompson

Why Doesn’t the Author of 2 Kings Mention Manasseh’s Repentance?

In 2 Chronicles 33, the author records the capture of Manasseh by the Assyrians, his subsequent imprisonment, and then his repentance and return to Jerusalem. None of this material is recorded in the parallel account of Manasseh in 2 Kings 21. Why might this be the case and, secondly, is the account in 2 Chronicles historically plausible? Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe tackle the first question in When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties:

Apparently the author of 2 Kings did not record the repentance of Manasseh because of the lack of influence it had upon the steady decline of the nation. The Book of 2 Kings concentrates primarily upon the actions of the covenant people of God as a whole. The repentance and reforms of Manasseh did relatively little to turn the nation around from its path to judgment, while his sinful leadership early in his reign did much more damage to the nation. Even in the 2 Chronicles passage we find this statement: ‘Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God’ (2 Chron. 33:17). Even though the people dedicated their sacrifices to the Lord, they were still committing sin, because sacrifices were to be made at the temple, not upon high places which were originally altars to false gods. Despite the efforts of Manasseh, the people would not totally dedicate themselves to the Lord.

Is the account of Manasseh being taken by the Assyrians plausible historically? J. A. Thompson, in vol. 9, 1, 2 Chronicles, The New American Commentary, attempts to answer this question for us.

A historical question has been raised in regard to Manasseh’s captivity in Babylon, taken there by Assyrian forces, since there is no extrabiblical documentation for these events. This fact is not, of course, a sufficient reason for rejecting their historicity. Assyrian records are by no means sufficiently comprehensive to allow any argument from silence to decide the issue. There is valuable circumstantial evidence which has persuaded a good number of scholars that historical events underlie the Chronicler’s narrative. The Assyrian records mention Manasseh. He is listed among twenty-two kings of Hatti, the seashore, and the islands, who were summoned to Nineveh by Esarhaddon (650–669 B.C.) to bring building materials for a new palace. Asshur- banipal (668–627 B.C.) mentions him among vassal kings who participated in a campaign against Egypt.

In these references Manasseh appears as submissive to the Assyrian king. The question is asked regarding what historical circumstances would have brought about his humiliation and punishment by Assyria. Various proposals have been made. Manasseh quite possibly may have been on the side of Shamash-shum-ukin, who revolted against his brother Asshur-banipal. The inscriptions of both Esarhaddon and Asshur-banipal abound in references to Egypt and the Palestinian states in the time of Manasseh, who reigned for fifty-five years.

One other important Assyrian source is the vassal-treaties of Esarhaddon dated in the year 672 B.C. The crown prince of Assyria, Asshur-banipal, was inducted at a special ceremony where representatives of all the lands under Assyrian control were present. These representatives were sworn not to arouse the anger of the gods and goddesses against him and to serve Ashur as their god. They were bound by fearful oaths to support the crown prince after the death of his father. These treaties are not entirely intact, and the name of Manasseh does not appear. But the interest and activity of both Esarhaddon and Asshur-banipal in the west may well have forced compliance with their demands on Judah. Naturally vassals took opportunity to deviate from the treaty obligations laid upon them and even to rebel. In fact, numerous rebellions are attested in the reigns of Esarhaddon and Asshur-banipal.

By all accounts, the Chronicler’s narrative is historically reliable, but it of course includes a theological wording.

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 33-35 (Manasseh and Josiah)

The reforming king, Hezekiah, was followed by his son, Manasseh, who reigned from 697-642 BC. Chapter 33, verses 1-9, describe Manasseh as one of the worst kings of Judah, if not the worst. His list of sins includes building altars for a host of pagan gods, engaging in sorcery and necromancy, placing idols inside the temple, and sacrificing his own sons as part of divination rituals.

Verse 9 summarizes Manasseh’s reign: “Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.” The Judahites had even outdone the Canaanites whom God drove out of the Promised Land centuries before.

J. A. Thompson, in vol. 9, 1, 2 Chronicles, The New American Commentary, comments on Manasseh’s depravity:

This whole passage is strongly reminiscent of Deut 18:9–13. All in all, the sins of Manasseh detail the depths to which counterfeit religion will take a person. Here was the Davidic king, the heir and keeper of the promises of the covenant with David, worshiping poles and stones and the stars. Worse yet, he was murdering his own sons, one of whom otherwise might have been heir to the throne and the covenant. Paganism, whether in its ancient or modern manifestations, is not only an offense to God but is a degradation to humankind.

To punish Judah, God brings the Assyrians down from the north. Manasseh is captured and led away to captivity with a hook through his nose. While in captivity, Manasseh finally repents of his disastrous leadership and God allows him to return to his kingdom before he dies.

In verses 21-25, we see that Manasseh’s son, Amon, rules over Judah for only two years (642-640 BC). Like his father, he continues to promote worship of foreign gods. He is assassinated by his servants, likely for political reasons. Many scholars believe he was pro-Assyrian and murdered by those who desired to rebel against Assyrian authority.

Chapter 34 opens with the announcement of the reign of King Josiah. He would rule from 640-609 BC (thirty-one years). The Chronicler gives unparalleled praise to Josiah, saying the following: “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” No other king of Judah is given this compliment.

Verses 3-7 record Josiah’s attempts to undo everything that Manasseh had done. Altars are torn down. Idols are destroyed. Josiah even takes his reforms to the lands formerly occupied by Israel, the northern kingdom. His ability to do so is possible because of the weakening of Assyrian power during this period. The Assyrians had bigger problems than trying to retain control of this Jewish province.

Why did Josiah seek after God while his father and grandfather did the opposite? We can’t know for sure, but Thompson offers the following explanation:

The initiative for reform may not have been entirely due to Josiah, for in his boyhood he would have been under the influence and constraint of a regent or regents who might well have been from among the ‘people of the land,’ who no doubt saw the dangers of the religious policies followed by Manasseh and Amon and were anxious to return to a Yahweh-centered religious practice. One persuasive proposal is that the prophets Zephaniah and Jeremiah had an influence on Josiah before the finding of the book of the law in 621 B.C.

Beginning in verse 8, we read that Josiah begins to renovate and repair the temple, which had no doubt been seriously neglected under Manasseh. As the high priest, Hilkiah, is gathering the money donated by people all over Israel and Judah, he discovers the “Book of the Law” inside the temple.

Scholars are divided over what the Book of the Law contains. The most popular view is that it refers to the Book of Deuteronomy, which is primarily the summary and re-statement of the previous four books of the Torah. Other scholars believe that the Book of the Law actually included the entire Torah – all five books. It is truly shocking that the Levites, working in the temple, and the king himself, had lost all copies of the Torah, but that seems to be the case. Some scholars speculate that the Book of the Law was hidden during Hezekiah’s reign due to threat of invasion, or possibly during Manasseh’s reign because of his apostasy.

Hilkiah gives the book to a man named Shaphan, the king’s secretary. Shaphan takes the book to Josiah and starts reading from it. Upon hearing the words from the book, Josiah tears his clothes in mourning and sends his high priest to consult with a prophetess named Huldah.

Huldah prophesies that the people of Judah will be punished by God for their worship of other gods, just as the Book of Deuteronomy warns. Huldah, however, prophesies that Josiah will not live to see the day when Judah is destroyed. Because of Josiah’s humility before God, the kingdom will survive while he is alive.

Upon hearing these words, Josiah gathers the people of Judah to the temple in Jerusalem. He reads aloud from the Book of the Law and he rededicates the nation to the covenant between God and Israel. “And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.”

In chapter 35, verses 16-19, Josiah celebrates the Passover for the first time in decades. The Chronicler claims that Josiah’s Passover celebration was unlike all previous. “No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

The nation of Judah would walk in the ways of God for the remainder of Josiah’s reign. Sadly, Josiah is killed during military action with Egypt in the year 609 BC. With his death, God’s patience with Judah would come to an end. The Assyrians had been defeated by a new superpower, the Babylonians. God would now turn Babylonian eyes toward Jerusalem and Judah.

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 14-15 (Reign of Asa)

Following Rehoboam’s death, his son Abijah occupies the throne of Judah until 911 BC. Abijah did not seek after God, but his son Asa would. Asa became king in 911 BC and remained in command until 870 BC. Chapters 14 and 15 of 2 Chronicles describe Asa’s reign.

Verses 1-8 of chapter 14 record Asa’s deeds during the first decade of his reign. Asa collects idols and destroys them. He also dismantles pagan worship centers and altars all over Judah. Because he obeys God, Asa is rewarded with a prolonged period of peace.

The peace enables Asa to mount a construction campaign where he fortifies the cities of Judah to protect against foreign attack. He also trains and equips a large army consisting of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Again, Asa clearly attributes the peace to his obedience toward God. He explains to Judah, “The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.”

In fact, there are nine mentions of Asa seeking the Lord in chapters 14-16 of 2 Chronicles. The clear implication is that seeking the Lord (obeying His commands) leads to prosperity for Asa and for any other person who does likewise. Obviously, this principle is not to be carried too far. Even in Asa’s life, there are problems and we know that godly people in the Bible faced hardship, but the general principle still holds. Those who seek after God will generally experience greater prosperity than those who don’t.

At the end of ten years, a massive army threatens Judah, led by a man known as Zerah the Cushite. Most scholars believe that Zerah is a general under the command of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Orsokon, but there are others who argue that Zerah is operating on his own and has nothing to do with Egypt.

In any case, Zerah’s army advances all the way through Judah until they are a mere 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem, at a place called Mareshah. Instead of first leading an assault on Zerah, Asa prays to God for His favor in the upcoming battle, just as his ancestors David and Solomon prayed.

“LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”

God indeed answers Asa’s prayer and causes the Cushites to flee. Asa chases them 20 miles further southwest and gathers plunder, including large numbers of livestock, from the land the Cushites previously occupied.

After Asa and his army return to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, a prophet called Azariah meets with Asa and delivers a brief, but powerful prophecy. The most important words of the prophecy proclaim, “The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Azariah reminds Asa of the period of the Judges, where the people of Israel did not seek the Lord. It was a time of great turmoil and distress, with never-ending wars. Azariah promises Asa that if he will continue his religious reforms, God will reward Asa and the kingdom of Judah.

Asa is encouraged by the prophet and continues his reforms. He gathers the livestock plundered in the battle against Zerah and prepares a covenant renewal ceremony during the Pentecost feast in the 15th year of his reign. The author of Chronicles notes that Israelites from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon had emigrated to Judah because of Asa’s obedience to God. They too participate in the covenant renewal

J. A. Thompson, in The New American Commentary Volume 9 – 1, 2 Chronicleswrites:

The Davidic kings showed an inclusive concern for the whole of Israel. This appears repeatedly from 1 Chr 13:1–5 onward. A special point is made of the inclusion of people from the north (cf. 11:13–17). These northerners came in large numbers from Israel to Jerusalem when they saw that Asa’s God was with him.

The author of Chronicles describes the covenant ceremony:

At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. . .. They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns.

Asa was so zealous for the Lord that he went as far as removing his own grandmother from her office as queen mother because she was worshipping Asherah, the pagan mistress of God. Asa destroyed the pole she was using in her worship, and burned it in the valley that divides Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Because of Asa’s action, he was rewarded with relative peace for most of his reign.

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 28-29 (Death of David)

1 and 2 Chronicles were originally a single work that was separated into two books when it was translated into the Greek Septuagint. The Chronicles was written to the Jewish people after they returned from Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC.  Jewish tradition holds that Ezra was the author of Chronicles, but scholars are divided on the issue.

The book starts with genealogies stretching from Adam to the twelve sons of Jacob, to David, all the way to the exiles of Judah. It then records the accomplishments of King David and King Solomon, and lastly records the deeds of the kings of Judah after Solomon’s death. The book ends with Judah’s capture by the Babylonians and her subsequent exile, but the last couple paragraphs of 2 Chronicles skip ahead 70 years to the decree of Cyrus the Persian to allow the Jews to return to their homeland, and there the book ends. The most likely date for the book’s creation was some time after 400 BC, 150 years or so after the return from exile.

The author of the Chronicles used some non-biblical sources to compose his sweeping history, but it seems clear that he also had the following biblical books in front of him when he wrote Chronicles: the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations.

The purposes of the author are at least three-fold. First, the exilic community needed to be reminded of its national origins, going all the way back to the dawn of mankind. Second, the Israelites needed to be reminded of their national unity under the great kings David and Solomon. Third, the Israelites needed to be reminded of the primacy of the Torah, received by Moses, and along with the Torah, the importance of proper temple worship mediated by the Levite priests.

Chapters 28-29 of 1 Chronicles record three important events: 1) David’s instructions to Solomon to build the temple, 2) Solomon’s anointing as king, and 3) David’s death. Verses 1-11 in chapter 28 get us started.

David, an old man now, summons all of the leadership of Israel to hear his final commands. We are immediately reminded of both Moses and Joshua speaking before their deaths to the leaders of Israel. David first explains that he wanted to build the temple for God, but God would not allow him because David was a warrior and had shed blood. Instead of David, God chose Solomon to build His house. Of all of David’s sons, Solomon would be the next king and he would have the honor of building the temple.

David then charges the leaders of Israel to “follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.” He turns to Solomon and instructs him to “acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind.” There are consequences for Solomon’s actions toward God. “If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

God will bless Solomon and Israel if they obey his commands (especially building the temple), but He will curse them if they do not follow His commands. This has been the consistent message from God to the people of Israel ever since they left the slavery of Egypt, and it is still His consistent message to us today.

Note also that David warns Solomon, “The LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” God is omniscient, or all-knowing. Neither Solomon nor anyone else can hide what they are thinking from God, as he sees everything with perfect clarity.

In verse 11, David gives Solomon detailed plans on how to build the temple, plans that are described more fully in verses 12-19. David tells the assembled crowd that these plans were inspired by God, so that there is no doubt that they should be followed to the letter. The temple is to be a continuation of the tabernacle, and so we see many parallels between David’s plans and the plans given to Moses in the Book of Exodus.

In chapter 29, verses 1-9, David announces the treasure he has donated to the temple building campaign and implores the leaders of Israel to likewise donate, so that Solomon has everything he needs to finish the divinely appointed construction project. The leadership responded with an outpouring of generosity and all Israel rejoiced.

In verses 10-13, David spontaneously praises God with a beautiful prayer. In this prayer he refers to God’s timelessness, omnipotence, beauty and majesty, sovereignty, and generosity. David thanks God, essentially, for being God! David realizes that literally nothing good is given to him or Israel without it coming from God. Of special note is that verse 11 was appropriated by the early Christian church as a doxology appended to the Lord’s Prayer: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory.”

David’s prayer continues in verses 14-19. He acknowledges that everything donated to build the temple comes from God in the first place. David knows that God can see the sincerity that accompanied the donations of the people of Israel. Their motives were pure. David then asks that God “keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.” Regarding Solomon, David asks God to “give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

The next day David hosts a tremendous festival for the Lord, including sacrifices, eating and drinking, and the coronation of Solomon. It is likely that David and Solomon were co-regents for a time, until David eventually died. This was a common move by kings who wanted to ensure that their chosen successors were firmly established before the king’s death. Solomon’s rule begins with rich blessings from God and the full allegiance of the leaders of Israel.

Finally, in verses 26-30, the death of the greatest king of Israel, David, is reported. The writer informs us that David “ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor.”

J. A. Thompson, in 1, 2 Chronicles: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary) concludes:

The Chronicler presents not one but two great kings as the ideal for Israel. The one was David, the warrior-king, who subdued the enemies of the people of God and established a secure domain. He was now passing, and the other, Solomon, was taking his place. Solomon was a man of peace who would build up the prosperity of the nation. These two things together—victory over enemies and a reign of peace—are both essential. For Christian readers these two ideals are fulfilled in the one man, Jesus Christ. He conquers all his foes but at the same time establishes a reign of peace for his own people. In this the tandem of David and Solomon are a type of Christ.