2 Chronicles Chapter 22

2 Chronicles 22  •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 10
 
2. It is known that forty-two should be twenty-two, as it is in 2 Kings 8:2626Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. (2 Kings 8:26).
9. I am not anxious about it, additional facts so often clear up difficulties, but I think this verse can be easily reconciled with 2 Kings 9:2727But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (2 Kings 9:27). First, the order that he should be buried because he was Jehoshaphat's son was executed by his servants taking him up in the chariot to Jerusalem. When he saw Joram killed he turned and fled and Jehu pursued, not personally at the time for he went on to the palace and had Jezebel cast down, and ate and drank, etc. But he did not let him go any more than the king of Israel; hence he orders others to smite him. Found in Samaria—a natural place for him as Ahab's family was there—thence he sought to escape and took the road to Megiddo and was slain, brought to Jehu, he had him sent up to Jerusalem and buried. But the story is not dear; or, as is more consistent perhaps, they found him in Samaria, brought him to Jehu, and he escaped thence and fled, and was then killed in his chariot, died at Megiddo, and was then taken to Jerusalem and buried. The apparent immediate connection in 2 Kings 9:27,27But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (2 Kings 9:27) is only in italics. In Chronicles Jehu seeks Ahaziah after killing his brethren; it was on his way to Samaria after the death of Ahab's sons (2 Kings 10:11-1311So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. 12And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way, 13Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. (2 Kings 10:11‑13)), and then it was in verses 8, 9, of our chapter that he sought and found Ahaziah. This makes the account plain so far that there is no kind of contradiction. If Gur and Ibleam are between Samaria and Megiddo, not Jezreel and Megiddo, it would be almost certainly the true one, and I apprehend this is the case if modern maps are to be trusted, but in another order. From Samaria Ibleam is beyond Megiddo; from Jezreel it is to the right, being north of Megiddo, Samaria south, Jezreel east, but it is the going up, or ascent, to go there, and he got as far as Megiddo though wounded in his chariot and no further. The ascent to Ibleam was the road from Samaria. It is very possible it did not go through Megiddo; there is a range of mountains between Samaria and Megiddo in the map. But from Jezreel nothing would take him to Megiddo. Kings mentions nothing of Ahaziah's going to Samaria, which was quite natural as Ahab's family was there, and it was his way, or nearly so, to Jerusalem, but merely says, Jehu gave orders to smite him too, which was done on his way to Ibleam. Once slain, Jehu made no difficulty about his being buried being Jehoshaphat's son.