2 Kings 22:4

2Ki 22:4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:

Ver. 4. Go up to Helkiah the high priest.] Who perhaps was father to Jeremiah the prophet. {Jer 1:1}

That he may sum the silver.] That is, Count it; or as some will, Stamp it, and put it into current money.

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.

Or, coin, as verse 9.

Or, vessel.

Certain of the Priests were appointed to this office, as 2 Kings 12:9.

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

Verse 4. That he may sum the silver] As Josiah began to seek the Lord as soon as he began to reign, we may naturally conclude that the worship of God that was neglected and suppressed by his father, was immediately restored; and the people began their accustomed offerings to the temple. Ten years therefore had elapsed since these offerings began; no one had, as yet, taken account of them; nor were they applied to the use for which they were given, viz., the repairing the breaches of the temple.

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

4. Hilkiah the high priest] From 1Ch_6:13 it seems that he was the son of Shallum, and judging from Ezr_7:1 he appears to have been an ancestor of Ezra.

that he may sum the silver] R.V. money. With a view to a restoration of the temple, a collection of money like that in the reign of Joash (see above, chap. 12.) had been in progress, and now, acting on the precedent of that previous time, as appears from the great similarity in the language used to describe them both, Josiah sets about the repair of all that had fallen into decay during the seven and fifty years which had passed since the death of Hezekiah.

the keepers of the door have gathered of the people] The keepers of the door were the priests (see 2Ki_12:9) who had charge of the treasury into which the offerings of the devout were put. In Chronicles they are said to be the Levites. It is noted in 2 Chron. that money was not only gathered from Judah and Benjamin, but also from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel.

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.

Go up to Hilkiah the high priest,.... Who had an apartment in the temple; there was an Hilkiah, a priest, in those times, who was the father of Jeremiah the prophet, Jer 1:1, whom an Arabic writer (l) takes to be the same with this; but it is not likely:

that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord which the people voluntarily offered for the repairing of it; this he would have the priest take an account of, that the sum total might be known; his meaning is, that he should take it out of the chest in which it was put, and count it, that it might be known what it amounted to; see Kg2 12:9, some understand this of melting and coining the silver thus given

which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: who were Levites, Ch2 34:9, either porters of the door, or rather the treasurers, as the Targum; the keepers of the vessels of the sanctuary, that had the care of them, as the Jewish commentators generally interpret it.

(l) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 68.

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

Hilkiah - Hilkiah was the father (or grandfather) of Seraiah (compare 1Ch 6:13-14, with Neh 11:11), high priest at the time of the captivity 2Ki 25:18. and ancestor of Ezra the scribe Ezr 7:1.

It is evident from the expressions of this verse that a collection for the repairs of the temple, similar to that established in the reign of Joash 2Ki 12:9-10, had been for some considerable time in progress (compare 2Ch 34:3), and the king now sent to know the result.

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

Together, so as to be reduced into a mass, and refined by fire. (Pagnin) --- Septuagint, "seal up the money." Protestants, "that he may sum the silver which," &c. (Haydock) --- Let him make all be paid up that is due, (Piscator) and cease to demand any more. --- Door-keepers. Their office was of some consequence, 1 Paralipomenon ix. 26, 29. (Calmet)

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).

That he may sum the silver, i.e. take an exact account how much it is, and then dispose it in manner following.

The keepers of the door were priests or Levites, as appears from 2Ki 12:9; 2Ch 8:14; 23:4; 34:9.

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

4. Hilkiah the high priest — Son of Shallum and grandson of Zadok. 1Ch_6:12-13. His name is immortalized by his discovery of the book of the law.

Sum the silver — Ascertain the sum or complete amount of the silver now on hand.

Which the keepers of the door have gathered — The arrangement for receiving money was like that in the time of Jehoash, (2Ki_12:9-12,) when a chest was placed at the door of the temple into which the people put their contributions for repairing the house of the Lord; and “when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord.” The keepers of the door were Levites, (1Ch_23:5,) sometimes priests. 2Ki_12:9.

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

Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Hilkiah is mentioned again in the genealogy of Ezra. (Ezr_7:1) He is there called "the son of Shallum." That he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord. A collection must have been progressing for some time. As in the reign of Joash, after the impieties and idolatry of Athaliah, it was found necessary to collect money for the repair of the temple, (2Ki_12:4-14) so now, after the wicked doings of Manasseh and Amen, a renovation of the sacred building was required, and the money needed was being raised by a collection. Great care was taken in all such cases that an exact account should be kept and rendered. Which the keepers of the door literally, of the thresholdhave gathered of the people. The money had, apparently, been allowed to accumulate in a box or boxes, (see 2Ki_12:9) from the time when the collection was first authorized, probably six years previously. The high priest was now required to count it, to take the sum of it, and undertake the distribution.

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