2 Chronicles 30:26

2Ch 30:26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel [there was] not the like in Jerusalem.

Ver. 26. There was not the like in Jerusalem.] Since the revolt of the ten tribes, there was not such a panegyris, or general assembly, nor so great a festivity.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30:26 No celebration like this had occurred since the days of Solomon. Hezekiah put into place the conditions for covenant faithfulness equal to those during the time of David and Solomon.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. Since the time of Solomon - there was not the like in Jerusalem.] For from that time the ten tribes had been separated from the true worship of God, and now many of them for the first time, especially from Asher, Issachar, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun, joined to celebrate the passover.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) For since the time of Solomon . . . there was not the like.—The chronicler himself thus compares this great festival with the twofold Feast of the Dedication of the Temple (2Ch_7:1-10). That festival, like this one, had been prolonged seven days, because the Feast of Tabernacles immediately followed upon it; and “there had been no other since the time of Solomon that could compare with this in respect of duration, or abundance of sacrifices, or number of participants, or the joy that distinguished it” (Bertheau).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. there was not the like] Cp. what is said of Josiah’s Passover; 2Ch_35:18.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the priests the Levites arose,.... The priests who were of the tribe of Levi; for there were some in Israel that were not, but were made of any of the people, as in the times of Jeroboam; though some supply the copulative "and"; so the Targum: "and blessed the people"; which was the proper work and business of the priests to do; though, while they were blessing, the Levites might be singing:

and their voice was heard; meaning not by the people, though undoubtedly it was, but by the Lord; the Targum is,"their prayer was heard or received;''for the blessing was delivered in a petitionary way, Num 6:24, and was no other than a request that God would bless them, which he did:

and their prayer came up to his holy dwellingplace, even unto heaven; see Psa 3:4 by what means it was known their prayer was heard and accepted cannot be said; there might be some visible token of it, as the people were dismissed, and departed.

Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 31

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Since the time of Solomon - Compare 2Ch 7:8-10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Israel: as many of the tribes came to join with their brethren of Juda.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

26. Since the time of Solomon… there was not the like in Jerusalem — At the dedication of the temple Solomon had held a feast fourteen days, (chap. 2Ch_7:9,) and probably this was the first time since then that any feast had been continued fourteen days in Jerusalem. Neither had there been since Solomon’s day a passover at which so many of the tribes had been represented, and over which there had been such enthusiasm and general joy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Since the time of Solomon. The reference is to Solomon"s "Feast of Tabernacles". (2Ch_7:9)

An ideal city: Jerusalem in the first days of Hezekiah.

I ITS GOD WAS GRACIOUS. (Ver. 9.) Its people had a Divinity who was:

1. Propitious towards their persons. He had given them one heart (ver. 12).

2. Propitious towards their sacrifices. He accepted them, although offered not in perfect accordance with the Law of Moses (ver. 16).

3. Propitious towards their prayers. He heard the king"s intercession (ver. 20), the priests" prayers (ver. 27), and the people"s confessions (ver. 22).

II ITS KING WAS RELIGIOUS, (2Ch_29:2) This was manifested by:

1. His care for the institutions of religion. Exemplified in his purification and dedication of the temple, including his rearrangement of the Levitical orders of musicians.

2. His zeal in the observances of religion. Shown by his revival of the Passover ordinance, and the efforts made by him to secure a national observance of the same. (2Ch_30:1)

3. His possession of the spirit of religion. Besides being a man of prayer (ver. 18), he delighted to encourage others in good works (ver. 22), and evinced his own sincerity by the abundance of his liberality (ver. 24).

III ITS MINISTERS WERE INDUSTRIOUS. (Ver. 17.)

1. In attending to their own personal sanctification. (Ver. 15.) This no ministers of religion under the New Testament dispensation can afford to neglect. He who cares nothing for the cultivation of piety in himself is not likely to be zealous in aiming at the good of others.

2. 1n discharging the public services of the sanctuary. Under the Hebrew economy these services were the offering of sacrifice and the blessing of the people (ver. 27) by the priests, with the making of music by the Levites; under the Christian economy they are chiefly the preaching of the gospel, the conducting of worship, and the superintendence of the Church. Where the ordinances of religion fall into abeyance and neglect, and the ministers of religion are as heedless of the souls of others as of their own, it is idle to expect prosperity, in either Church or state, in city or in country.

IV ITS INHABITANTS WERE JOYOUS. (Ver. 26.)

1. Exulting in Jehovahs favor. Without a conviction that they possessed this, the mere external celebration would not have filled them with such long-continued, deep, and exuberant emotion (Psa_33:21; Rom_5:11)

1. Observing the rites of religion. In turning from the worship of idols to serve the living God, they experienced an inward satisfaction which made them "sing in the ways of the Lord". (Psa_138:5)

2. Enjoying the affection of their brethren. Of one heart and mind, there was not a jarring note in their melody. They dwelt together in peace, and loved as brethren, each esteeming the other as better than himself, and all preferring one another and honouring one another. W.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had not been the like in Jerusalem It is possible that a greater multitude had come for the festival to Jerusalem in the days of Solomon, but there had never been such a great rejoicing as this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon. They were joyful about this [gathering], for if they had gathered in Jerusalem on every festival, it would have been nothing new and they would have had no cause for [special] joy But now, since they had not performed the festival pilgrimage to Jerusalem all the days of Ahaz and the wicked kings of Judah, and they were now permitted to go up to Jerusalem they rejoiced greatly. And since it was so many years since they had gone to Jerusalem, the seven days of the Festival of Matzoth were too few in their eyes and they added another seven days in which to rejoice, and they rejoiced a great rejoicing.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.