character of this reign is described; while, lastly, the unhappy fate and end of the king are

recorded, although without mention of what led to it. Manifestly the point of view in the Book of

Kings is simply "prophetic" - not, as in Chronicles, priestly - and the writer hurries over events

alike of a political and a personal character, to indicate what seems to him of main importance' the

theocratic relation of the people to Jehovah.*

* Bahr, u.s., p. 376.

The brief outline in the Book of Kings is a mply filled up in that of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 26.).

Here, also, the first event recorded is the taking of Elath. This important harbor, from which, as

from the neighboring Ezion-Geber, Solomon had sent his fleet of traders to Ophir (1 Kings 9:26-

28; 2 Chronicles 8:17, 18), lay on the north-eastern end of the Gulf of Akabah, and at present

bears the same name. Of its ancient greatness only a tower remains for protection of the pilgrims

to Mecca.*

* It is the tenth station on the road from Cairo to Mecca.

Around it are ruins and wretched hovels; but abundance of date-palms still betokens the former

fertility. For half -an-hour beyond the town stretch, along the blue gulf, sands covered with

beautiful shells; the view being finally shut off by granite and sandstone mountains. Such is the

present aspect of "Eloth" (or Elath) "the strong trees." There can be little doubt that when in the

days of Joram of Judah "Edom revolted" (2 Kings 8:20-22), Elath recovered its independence. The

conquest of Edom by Amazia h had apparently only extended as far as Petra, about half, way

between the Dead Sea and Elath. In occupying it again and rebuilding it, Uzziah therefore

completed the subjection of the country by his father. Such an expedition could not, in the state of

Edom, have offered any real difficulty, however much its success must, after the late disasters,

have raised the courage of Judah and inspired the people with confidence. These circumstances, as

well as the place which the narrative occupies in the sacred t ext, lead us to infer that this was the

first military undertaking of Uzziah, And, in view of his ultimate purpose as regarded Israel, the

king would naturally begin with what was not only certain of success, but would also secure his

rear in any future ex edition. Nor was this all. A wide-reaching plan of national restoration would

p

embrace the revival of commerce. And what prominence the new Tarshish mercantile marine held

in public thought, and how it affected life in Judah in the days of Jotham, the successor of Uzziah,

appears from the allusion in Isaiah 2:16.

As regards the religious condition of the country it is significant that, as the reign of former kings,

so the present was characterized by a combination of doing "the right in the sight of Jehovah,"

with a continuance of "the high places," and their sacrifices and worship. It seems to indicate that

this strange mixture in religion marked the highest point attained by the people. But even this

qualified adherence to the worship of the Lord was only temporary, as the text explains: "in the

days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God"* (2 Chronicles 26:5). This prepares us

alike for the later history of the king, and for what we shall learn of the condition of the people.

* For the pre sent Masoretic text: (...) (in the A.V. "understanding in the visions") we have

evidently to read (the second word) (...) , "in the fear" - as many Codd., the LXX., Syr. Targ., the

Jewish, and mostly all Christian interpreters. The first word should then b e rendered either

"understanding" in the fear of God (so the LXX.) or "instructing" in it. We prefer the latter

interpretation (with the Syr. Targ., Rabbis, and many interpreters). The expression occurs in the

same sense in Nehemiah 8:9. This Zechariah is not otherwise known. Needless to say that he was

not the "prophet" of that name; nor even he that is mentioned in Isaiah 8:2, who lived a generation

But the first or religious period of the reign of Uzziah was one of continuous and progressive

prosperity. Although it is not possible to determine the precise chronological succession of events,

it seems likely that the expedition against the Philistines soon followed that to the Red Sea. The