justice. The position of this note, which is altogether omitted in the Chronicle, at the end of the account of Jotham in 2Ki 15:37, appears to hint that this war broke out only towards the end of Jotham's reign, so that he could not undertake anything important against this foe.
Verses 8-9
The repetition of the chronological statement already given in 2Ch 27:1 is probably to be explained by supposing that two authorities, each of which contained this remark, were used.
Chap. 28
Verses 1-4
In the general statements as to the king's age, and the duration and the spirit of his reign, both accounts (2Ch 28:1-4; 2Ki 16:1-4), agree entirely, with the exception of some unessential divergences; see the commentary on 2Ki 16:1-4. From 2Ch 28:5 onwards both historians go their own ways, so that they coincide only in mentioning the most important events of the reign of this quite untheocratic king. The author of the book of Kings, in accordance with his plan, records only very briefly the advance of the allied kings Rezin and Pekah against Jerusalem, the capture of the seaport Elath by the Syrians, the recourse which the hard-pressed Ahaz had to the help of Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria, whom he induced, by sending him the temple and palace treasures of gold and silver, to advance upon Damascus, to capture that city, to destroy the Syrian kingdom, to lead the inhabitants away captive to Kir, and to slay King Rezin (2Ch 28:5-9). Then he records how Ahaz, on a visit which he paid the Assyrian king in Damascus, saw an altar which so delighted him, that he sent a pattern of it to the priest Urijah, with the command to build a similar altar for the temple of the Lord, on which Ahaz on his return not only sacrificed himself, but also commanded that all the sacrifices of the congregation should be offered. And finally, he recounts how he laid violent hands on the brazen vessels of the court, and caused the outer covered sabbath way to be removed into the temple because of the king of Assyria (2Ch 28:10-18); and then the history of Ahaz is concluded by the standing formulae (2Ch 28:19, 2Ch 28:20). The author of the Chronicle, on the contrary, depicts in holy indignation against the crimes of the godless Ahaz, how God punished him for his sins. 1. He tells us how God gave Ahaz into the hand of the king of Syria, who smote him and led away many prisoners to Damascus,
