2 Chronicles 26

In the same report in 2 Kings 14:1, his name appears as Azariah. Some scholars guess that he used his birth name until he became king. Then he changed his name. People in ancient times sometimes changed their names to mark notable events in life, whether happy or sad. When Naomi lost her husband and sons, she told her widowed daughters-in-law, “Call me Mara, because I’m bitter” (Ruth 1:20). Mara is a Hebrew word for “bitter.” Naomi’s name was just the opposite: “pleasant,” “happy,” or “joyful.”

All scholars seem to know about Zechariah is how to say his name—and that he was not the prophet who wrote the book of Zechariah. That Zechariah lived in the 500s BC, two-and-a-half centuries later.

The Hebrew phrase describing what Zechariah taught the king was “the fear of God.” The Hebrew word, yira, can mean fear, respect, reverence. It didn’t seem to mean that they should be afraid that God would punish them. But, instead, it implies that he had earned the people’s respect.

A modern parallel: Israelis planting settlements on Palestinian land, in Jerusalem, throughout the West Bank, and along the coastal plains where Philistines once lived.

Location of Gur-baal is unknown, possibly on the Arabian peninsula. The third group of Judah’s enemies, Mount Seir, is a mystery. So, what follows are educated guesses. Second Chronicles 20:23 suggests they lived in the long north-south mountain range known as Mount Seir, in the traditional land of Edom. That’s where Jacob’s twin brother Esau settled. Some ancient manuscripts identify the people as the Meunim, which some scholars associate with the town of Maon, about a dozen miles southeast of the Edom town of Petra. But when Jewish scholars, in the century before Jesus was born, translated this verse into Greek, the international language of the time, they called the people Ammonites. See verse 8, which hints at that.

Some scholars say Uzziah’s army appears to show up in a text from the reign of Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser III, reportedly written in about 742 BC. Uzziah ruled from about 767-740 BC. The document says “Azriyau of Yaudi” fought against the Assyrians, perhaps with a coalition of forces trying unsuccessfully to halt the expansion of the ruthless Assyrian Empire, famous for torturing captives by impaling them.

The Chronicles writer is likely describing a skin disease, which the people called leprosy (verse 23). It may not have been what we now call Hansen’s disease. The Hebrew word is sara, which can mean an infectious skin disease. People with serious skin diseases were considered ritually unclean. They were not allowed to worship in the Temple. Anyone who touched them was considered ritually unclean as well and had to go through cleansing rituals. See Leviticus 5:3. Jews thought to have been cured of leprosy or any other skin disease had to sacrifice two birds, bathe, and wait another week before the priest could declare the person cured on the eighth day. Then came a second sacrifice: three lambs with grain and olive oil (Leviticus 14).