2 Kings 14:25

2Ki 14:25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which [was] of Gathhepher.

Ver. 25. To the sea of the plain.] Called the salt sea. {Deu 3:17}

Jonah, the son of Amittai.] See on Jon 1:1.

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.

2Ki 14:25. He restored the coast, &c., from Hamath — Which was the northern border of the kingdom of Israel; unto the sea of the plain — The Dead sea, which was once a goodly plain, and was their southern border. Which he spake by his servant Jonah — Or Jonas; one of the lesser prophets. The only mention that we have of this prophet is in this passage, and in the account of his famous mission to Nineveh, in considering which we shall say more concerning him. What the prophecies were by which he encouraged Jeroboam to proclaim war against the king of Syria, is nowhere recorded. But as we have not every thing which the prophets did write, so several prophets did not commit any of their predictions to writing. From this place, however, we learn, that God was so gracious to the Israelites, wicked as they were, as to continue a race of prophets among them, even after Elijah and Elisha were dead. See Patrick and Dodd. Happy that land which is thus favoured! which has a succession of prophets running parallel with a succession of princes; that the word of the Lord may endure for ever!

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:25 Israel and Judah apparently lived in harmony at this time so that both kingdoms prospered and recovered nearly all the territory that Solomon had held (see 2 Chr 26:6-15). • Lebo-hamath, known from Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, lay some forty-five miles north of Damascus in the Beqa‘ Valley. The extent of Jeroboam’s conquests testifies to the northern kingdom’s military power. Israel’s victories against the Arameans were possible because Aram had been weakened by earlier conquests of Adad-nirari III of Assyria. • Jonah is the famous prophet who pronounced the doom of Nineveh but was disappointed when God spared its repentant people (Jon 3:3–4:3).

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

Hebrew, by the hand of.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 25. He restored the coast of Israel] From the description that is here given, it appears that Jeroboam reconquered all the territory that had been taken from the kings of Israel; so that Jeroboam the second left the kingdom as ample as it was when the ten tribes separated under Jeroboam the first.

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

(25) He restored.—Rather, He it was who restored the border, i.e., he wrested out of the hands of the Syrians the territory they had taken from Israel.

From the entering of Hamath—i.e., from the point where the territory of Hamath began. This was the originally determined boundary of Israel on the north (comp. Num_13:21; Num_34:8; Jos_13:5), and the prophet Ezekiel specifies it as the future limit (Eze_47:16; Eze_48:1). Israel’s territory first reached this limit under Solomon, who conquered a portion of the Hamathite domains (2Ch_8:3-4).

The sea of the plain—i.e., the Dead Sea (Num_3:17; Num_4:49; Jos_3:16). The whole length of the Dead Sea is included (comp. Amo_6:14, where virtually the same limits are specified), and the country beyond Jordan. (Comp. Note on 1Ch_5:17.)

Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet.—Comp. Jon_1:1. Ewald remarks that the activity of this prophet must have occupied a very large field, as tradition connects him with Nineveh. Hitzig and Knobel recognise the prophecy referred to here in Isaiah 15, 16. There is no difficulty in the supposition that Isaiah has “adopted and ratified the work of an earlier prophet,” as Jeremiah has so often done. (See Cheyne’s Isaiah, vol. i., p. 93.) But it is easier to prove that these chapters are not Isaiah’s, than that they belong to Jonah.

Gath-hepher.—Jos_19:13. The present Meshed, Not far north of Nazareth.

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

25. He restored the coast of Israel] Here, as before, ‘coast’ has no reference to ‘seaboard’. The territory which Jeroboam recovered was on the east of the Jordan, and so what is meant is that he acquired again the portions of Gilead and Bashan that had been lost under previous kings.

from the entering of Hamath] R.V. entering in of H. This rendering is as in A.V. of 1Ki_8:65 and elsewhere. The ‘entering in of Hamath’ or ‘as men come to Hamath’ is frequently mentioned as a northern limit of the Israelite territory, Hamath being a chief city of Syria and under the rulers of Damascus. Cf. Num_13:21; Num_34:8; Jos_13:5; Jdg_3:3.

unto the sea of the plain] R.V. of the Arabah. The sea of the Arabah is the Dead Sea. Cf. Deu_3:17; Deu_4:49; Jos_3:16; Jos_12:3. The Arabah is the name given to the valley from the Sea of Galilee southward to the desert. The name is found in A.V. in Jos_18:18, and has been introduced as a proper name in the R.V. constantly. The sea of the Arabah is defined in Jos_3:16 as ‘the salt sea’. The district restored by Jeroboam was on the east of the Jordan, and extended from the valley of the Orontes where Hamath was situated, southward to the frontiers of the Moabites.

the Lord God of Israel] R.V. the God of I. As usual.

his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai] This must be the same person to whom the prophecy of Jonah is ascribed, for it is impossible to believe that there were two persons of this name, both prophets and both sons of Amittai. Jonah must therefore have prophesied before (or early in) the reign of Jeroboam II., the commencement of whose reign is placed about b.c. 823. Thus Jonah must be the earliest of those prophets, whose writings have been preserved. That there is nothing in the book of Jonah about the prophecy mentioned in this verse need not surprise us. That book is very brief and deals with but one episode in the prophet’s life. Yet a prophet, whose ministry God employed about distant Nineveh, may certainly be expected to have had messages also for his own countrymen. Hosea (2Ki_1:1) and Amos (2Ki_1:1) also prophesied in the days of Jeroboam II.

which was of Gath-hepher] The same place is called Gittah-hepher in Jos_19:13. It was not far from Nazareth in the tribe of Zebulon. Jonah therefore was a prophet of the northern Kingdom. Jewish tradition makes him to have been the son of the widow of Zarephath, whom Elijah restored to life, and says also that it was he who attended Elijah when he set forth into the wilderness, and who was sent to anoint Jehu. All which things have no foundation but conjecture.

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.

And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel,.... Died, and was buried with them:

and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead: who was of the fourth generation from Jehu, as was promised to him, Kg2 10:30.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 15

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

He restored the coast of Israel - Jeroboam, in the course of his long reign, recovered the old boundaries of the holy land to the north, the east, and the southeast. The “entering in of Hamath” is spoken of as the northern boundary; the “sea of the plain,” or the Dead Sea, is the southern boundary (see the marginal references): here Israel adjoined on Moab. The entire tract east of Jordan had been lost to Israel in the reign of Jehu and that of Jehoahaz 2Ki 10:33; 2Ki 13:3, 2Ki 13:25. All this was now recovered: and not only so, but Moab was reduced Amo 6:14, and the Syrians were in their turn forced to submit to the Jews 2Ki 14:28. The northern conquests were perhaps little less important than the eastern 2Ki 14:28.

The word of the Lord ... which he spake - Some have found the prophecy of Jonah here alluded to, or a portion of it, in Isa 15:1-9; Isa 16:1-14 (see 2Ki 16:13); but without sufficient grounds.

This passage tends to fix Jonah’s date to some period not very late in the reign of Jeroboam II, i. e. (according to the ordinary chronology) from 823 B.C. to 782 B.C. On Gath-hepher, see the marginal reference and note.

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

CHAPTER XIV.

Wilderness, or the Dead Sea, to which place the dominion of Israel originally extended, under Jeroboam I. (Calmet) --- Opher, in the tribe of Zabulon. (Challoner) --- Protestants, "which was of Gath-hepher." (Haydock) --- We have not all the works of the prophets, nor did they write all their predictions. (Calmet) --- Here we learn at what time Jonas lived. (Menochius)

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).

The entering of Hamath was the northern border of the kingdom of Israel, Num 13:21; 34:8.

Unto the sea of the plain, i.e. unto the Dead Sea, which once was a goodly plain, Gen 13:10, which was their southern border.

Jonah, or Jonas, one of the small prophets; though this prophecy of his be not recorded there; and therefore it is remembered here.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Restored the coast — Reconquered the territory that had been taken at different times from his predecessors, and made the kingdom as extensive as it was in the days of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

Entering of Hamath — The northern border of the kingdom of Solomon, (1Ki_8:65,) commonly identified with the southern opening into the great valley of Coele-Syria. See on Jos_13:5.

Sea of the plain — The Salt or Dead Sea. Compare Deu_3:17.

Word of the Lord God — A communication or oracle granted, notwithstanding the king’s wickedness, for the comfort of Israel.

By the hand of… Jonah — That is, through his agency or instrumentality. There can be no reasonable doubt that this Jonah, the son of Amittai, is the same prophet whose ministry to the Ninevites is recorded in the prophetical book that bears his name. Josephus says: “Jonah, a prophet, foretold to Jeroboam that he should make war with the Syrians, and conquer their army, and enlarge the bounds of his kingdom on the northern parts to the city of Hamath, and on the southern to the lake Asphaltitis; for the bounds of the Canaanites were originally these, according as Joshua, the general, determined. So Jeroboam organized an expedition against the Syrians, and overran all their country, as Jonah had foretold.”

Gath-hepher — The same as Gittah-hepher, in the tribe of Zebulon. See on Jos_19:13.

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

He restored the coast of Israel from the entering in of Hamath. By "the entering in of Hamath" is to be understood the opening into the Coele-Syrian valley a little north of Baalbec, where the ground begins to slope northwards, and the streams to flow in the same direction to form the Orontes. Hamath itself was between eighty and ninety miles further to the north, on the middle Orontes, about N. lat. 35 22". The "entering in of Hamath" was always reckoned the northern boundary of the Holy Land (see Num_34:8; Jos_13:5; Jud_1:3:3; 1Ki_8:65) It corresponded with the watershed between the Orontes and the Litany. Unto the sea of the plain. The "sea of the plain" is undoubtedly the Dead Sea, the plain (ha-Arabah) being used as a sort of proper name for the lower Jordan valley, like El-Ghor at the present day (Deu_3:17; Jos_3:16 Jos_12:3, etc.) The territory recovered no doubt included all the trans-Jordanic region as far south as the river Aruon; but the recovery of dominion over Moab, and even over Ammon, which some have seen in this passage (Ewald, "History of Israel," vol. 4. p. 124), is scarcely con-rained in it. According to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai. (comp. Jon_1:1) Jonah"s date is determined by this passage. He was contemporary with Hosea and Amos, and earlier than Micah. His prophecy concerning Jeroboam is probably assigned to the early part of that king"s reign. The prophet, which was of Gath-hepher. Gath-hepher is mentioned in Joshua, under the name of Gittah-hepher, as a city of Zebulon, (2Ki_19:13) not far from Mount Tabor. It is conjecturally identified with El-Meshhed north of Nazareth, where the tomb of Jonah is shown.

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

The sea - Unto the dead sea, once a goodly plain, Gen. xiii, 10, which was their southern border.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

He brought back (השׁיב), i.e., restored, the boundary of Israel from towards Hamath in the north, to the point to which the kingdom extended in the time of Solomon (Kg1 8:65), to the sea of the Arabah (the present Ghor), i.e., to the Dead Sea (compare Deu 3:17, and Deu 4:49, from which this designation of the southern border of the kingdom of the ten tribes arose), "according to the word of the Lord, which He had spoken through the prophet Jonah," who had probably used this designation of the southern boundary, which was borrowed from the Pentateuch, in the announcement which he made. The extent of the kingdom of Israel in the reign of Jeroboam is defined in the same manner in Amo 6:14, but instead of הערבה ים the הערבה נחל is mentioned, i.e., in all probability the Wady el Ashy, which formed the boundary between Moab and Edom; from which we may see that Jeroboam had also subjugated the Moabites to his kingdom, which is not only rendered probable by Kg2 3:6., but is also implied in the words that he restored the former boundary of the kingdom of Israel-On the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, see the Comm. on Jon 1:1. Gath-hepher, in the tribe of Zebulun, is the present village of Meshed, to the north of Nazareth (see at Jos 19:13).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

He restored. From the hand of Arom.

Yonah son of Amitai. He was the one who anointed Yeihu, who said to him, “[Your] descendants of the fourth generation will occupy [the throne of Yisroel].” Our Rabbis, however, deduced, “And the word of Adonoy came to Yonah a second time,” but not a third time, because he demanded the honor of the son, but he did not demand the honor of the Father. This verse was therefore difficult to them, and they reconciled it [as follows]: Just like the word of Adonoy, Who had spoken through Yonah concerning Nineveh, and the evil decree was overturned for good, so was it changed for Yisroel in the days of Yerovom son of Yoash, from the distress in which they were found, that “the Arom’s king had destroyed them and trampled them like dirt,” and now it was changed for the good.

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.