2 Chronicles 34:8

34:7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

KJV

Save image

Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair Yahweh his God’s house.

Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

34:9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.

What does 2 Chronicles 34:8 mean?

2 Chronicles 34:8 is a verse in the book of 2 Chronicles, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include שְׁמֹנֶה (shᵉmôneh), שָׁנֶה (shâneh), מָלַךְ (mâlak). It connects to 38 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Now

the

eighteenthשְׁמֹנֶהshᵉmôneh/shem-o-neh'/H8083a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven); also (as ordinal) eighth

yearשָׁנֶהshâneh/shaw-neh'/H8141a year (as a revolution of time)

his

reign,מָלַךְmâlak/maw-lak'/H4427to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel

when

had

purgedטָהֵרṭâhêr/taw-hare'/H2891to be pure (physical sound, clear, unadulterated; Levitically, uncontaminated; morally, innocent or holy)

the

land,אֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)

and

the

house,בַּיִתbayith/bah'-yith/H1004a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)

sentשָׁלַחshâlach/shaw-lakh'/H7971to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)

Shaphanשָׁפָןshâphân/shaw-fawn'/H8227a species of rockrabbit (from its hiding), i.e. probably the hyrax

the

sonבֵּןbên/bane/H1121a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

Azaliah,אֲצַלְיָהוּʼĂtsalyâhûw/ats-al-yaw'-hoo/H683Atsaljah, an Israelite

and

MaaseiahמַעֲשֵׂיָהMaʻăsêyâh/mah-as-ay-yaw'/H4641Maasejah, the name of sixteen Israelites

the

governorשַׂרsar/sar/H8269a head person (of any rank or class)

the

city,עִירʻîyr/eer/H5892a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)

and

JoahיוֹאָחYôwʼâch/yo-awkh'/H3098Joach, the name of four Israelites

the

JoahazיוֹאָחָזYôwʼâchâz/yo-aw-khawz'/H3099Joachaz, the name of two Israelites

the

recorder,זָכַרzâkar/zaw-kar'/H2142properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male

repairחָזַקchâzaq/khaw-zak'/H2388to fasten upon; hence, to seize, be strong (figuratively, courageous, causatively strengthen, cure, help, repair, fortify), obstinate; to bind, restrain, conquer

the

houseבַּיִתbayith/bah'-yith/H1004a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)

the

LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

his

God.אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 34:8

CLARKE · whole chapter

finds the book of the law in the temple, which is read by Shaphan before the king, 2Chr 34:14-19. He is greatly troubled, and consults Huldah the prophetess, 2Chr 34:20-22. Her exhortation, and message to the king, 2Chr 34:23-28. He causes it to be read to the elders of Judah, and they make a covenant with God, 2Chr 34:29, 2Chr 34:32. Josiah reforms every abomination, and the people serve God all his days, 2Chr 34:33. Verse 2 He declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left - He never swerved from God and truth; he never omitted what he knew to be his duty to God and his kingdom; he carried on his reformation with a steady hand; timidity did not prevent him from going far enough; and zeal did not lead him beyond due bounds. He walked in the golden mean, and his moderation was known unto all men. He went neither to the right nor to the left, he looked inward, looked forward, and looked upward. Reader, let the conduct of this pious youth be thy exemplar through life. Verse 4 The altars of Baalim - How often have these been broken down, and how soon set up again! We see that the religion of a land is as the religion of its king. If the king were idolatrous, up went the altars, on them were placed the statues, and the smoke of incense ascended in ceaseless clouds to the honor of that which is vanity, and nothing to the world; on the other hand, when the king was truly religious, down went the idolatrous altars, broken in pieces were the images, and the sacrificial smoke ascended only to the true God: in all these cases the people were as one man with the king. Verse 5 He burnt the bones of the priests - כומריא kumeraiya, the kemarim, says the Targum. See this word explained, 2Kgs 23:5 (note). Verse 6 The cities of Manasseh - Even those who were under the government of the Israelitish king permitted their idols and places of idolatry to be hewn down and destroyed: after the truth was declared and acknowledged, the spade and the axe were employed to complete the reformation. Verse 9 And they returned to Jerusalem - Instead of וישבו vaiyashubu, "they returned," we should read יושבי yoshebey, "the inhabitants;" a reading which is supported by many MSS., printed editions, and all the versions, as well as by necessity and common sense. See the note on 2Chr 19:8, where a similar mistake is rectified. Verse 12 All that could skill of instruments of music - Did the musicians play on their several instruments to encourage and enliven the workmen? Is not this a probable case from their mention here? If this were really the case, instrumental music was never better applied in any thing that refers to the worship of God. It is fabled of Orpheus, a most celebrated musician, that such was the enchanting harmony of his lyre, that he built the city of Thebes by it: the stones and timbers danced to his melody; and by the power of his harmony rose up, and took their respective places in the different parts of the wall that was to defend the city! This is fable; but as all fable is a representation of truth, where is the truth and fact to which this refers? How long has this question lain unanswered! But have we not the answer now? It is known in general, that the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, about the seventy-ninth year of the Christian era. It is also known that, in sinking for wells, the workmen of the king of Naples lighted on houses, etc., of those overwhelmed cities; that excavations have been carried on, and are now in the act of being carried on, which are bringing daily to view various utensils, pictures, and books, which have escaped the influence of the burning lava; and that some of those parchment volumes have been unrolled, and facsimiles of them engraved and published; and that our late Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., king of Great Britain, expended considerable sums of money annually in searching for, unrolling, and deciphering those rolls. This I record to his great credit as the lover of science and literature. Now, among the books that have been unrolled and published, is a Greek Treatise on Music, by Philodemus; and here we have the truth represented which lay hidden under the fables of Orpheus and Amphion. This latter was a skillful harper, who was frequently employed by the Theban workmen to play to them while engaged in their labor, and for which they rewarded him out of the proceeds of that labor. So powerful and pleasing was his music, that they went lightly and comfortably through their work; and time and labor passed on without tedium or fatigue; and the walls and towers were speedily raised. This, by a metaphor, was attributed to the dulcet sounds of his harp; and poetry seized on and embellished it, and mythology incorporated it with her fabulous system. Orpheus is the same. By his skill in music he drew stones and trees after him, i.e., he presided over and encouraged the workmen by his skill in music. Yet how simple and natural is the representation given by this ancient Greek writer of such matters! See Philodemus, Col. viii. and ix. Orpheus, and Amphion, by their music, moved the workmen to diligence and activity, and lessened and alleviated their toil. May we not suppose, then, that skillful musicians among the Levites did exercise their art among the workmen who were employed in the repairs of the house of the Lord? May I be allowed a gentle transition? Is it not the power and harmony of the grace of Jesus Christ in the Gospel, that convert, change, and purify the souls of men, and prepare them for and place them in that part of the house of God, the New Jerusalem? A most beautiful and chaste allusion to this fact and fable is made by an eminent poet, while praying for his own success as a Christian minister, who uses all his skill as a poet and musician for the glory of God: - Thy own musician, Lord, inspire, And may my consecrated lyre Repeat the psalmist's part! His Son and thine reveal in me, And fill with sacred melody The fibres of my heart. So shall I charm the listening throng, And draw the Living Stones along By Jesus' tuneful name. The living stones shall dance, shall rise, And Form a City in the skies, The New Jerusalem. Charles Wesley. Verse 14 Found a book of the law - See on 2Kgs 22:8 (note). Verse 22 Huldah the prophetess - See on 2Kgs 22:14 (note). Verse 27 Because thine heart was tender - "Because thy heart was melted, and thou hast humbled thyself in the sight of the Word of the Lord, מימרא דיי meymera daya, when thou didst hear his words, ית פתגמוי yath pithgamoi, against this place," etc. Here the Targum most evidently distinguishes between מימרא meymera, the Personal Word, and פתגם pithgam, a word spoken or expressed. Verse 28 Gathered to thy grave in peace - See particularly the note on 2Kgs 22:20 (note). Verse 30 The king went - See on 2Kgs 23:1 (note). Verse 31 Made a covenant - See on 2Kgs 23:3 (note). And see the notes on that and the preceding chapter, 2 Chronicles 33 (note), for the circumstances detailed here. Verse 32 To stand to it - It is likely that he caused them all to arise when he read the terms of the covenant, and thus testify their approbation of the covenant itself, and their resolution to observe it faithfully and perseveringly. Introduction Josiah celebrates a passover, 2Chr 35:1; regulates the courses of the priests; assigns them, the Levites, and the people, their portions; and completes the greatest passover ever celebrated since the days of Solomon, vv. 2-19. Pharaoh Necho passes with his army through Judea, 2Chr 35:20. Josiah meets and fights with

WESLEY · 2 Chronicles 34:8

The house - The house of God, called the house by way of eminency.

HENRY_FULL · 2 Chronicles 34:8–13

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. 10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord , and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord , to repair and amend the house: 11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music. 13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters. Here, 1. Orders are given by the king for the repair of the temple, v. 8 . When he had purged the house of the corruptions of it he began to fit it up for the services that were to be performed in it. Thus we must do by the spiritual temple of the heart, get it cleansed from the pollutions of sin, and then renewed, so as to be transformed into the image of God. Josiah, in this order, calls God the Lord his God. Those that truly love God will love the habitation of his house. 2. Care is taken about it, effectual care. The Levites went about the country and gathered money towards it, which was returned to the three trustees mentioned, v. 8 . They brought it to Hilkiah the high priest ( v. 9 ), and he and they put it into the hands of workmen, both overseers and labourers, who undertook to do it by the great, as we say, or in the gross, v. 10, 11 . It is observed that the workmen were industrious and honest: They did the work faithfully ( v. 12 ); and workmen are not completely faithful if they are not both careful and diligent, for a confidence is reposed in them that they will be so. It is also intimated that the overseers were ingenious; for it is said that all those were employed to inspect this work who were skilful in instruments of music; not that their skill in music could be of any use in architecture, but it was an evidence that they were men of sense and ingenuity, and particularly that their genius lay towards the mathematics, which qualified them very much for this trust. Witty men are then wise men when they employ their wit in doing good, in helping their friends, and, as they have opportunity, in serving the public. Observe, in this work, how God dispenses his gifts variously; here were some that were bearers of burdens, cut out for bodily labour and fit to work. Here were others (made meliori luto—of finer materials ) that had skill in music, and they were overseers of those that laboured, and scribes and officers. The former were the hands: these were the heads. They had need of one another, and the work needed both. Let not the overseers of the work despise the bearers of burdens, nor let those that work in the service grudge at those whose office it is to direct; but let each esteem and serve the other in love, and let God have the glory and the church the benefit of the different gifts and dispositions of both.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Deuteronomy 6:14

Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

Deuteronomy 6:15

(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 28:15

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deuteronomy 28:25

The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 29:24

Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?

Deuteronomy 31:16

And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

Deuteronomy 31:17

Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

Deuteronomy 32:20

And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

Joshua 23:16

When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

Joshua 24:20

If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

2 Samuel 8:16

And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

2 Samuel 20:24

And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:

2 Kings 15:27

In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.

2 Kings 15:37

In those days the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

2 Kings 22:3

And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying,

1 Chronicles 18:15

And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder.

2 Chronicles 13:17

And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

2 Chronicles 15:2

And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

2 Chronicles 18:25

Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

Isaiah 1:28

And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

Isaiah 7:4

And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 7:5

Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

Isaiah 7:9

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

Isaiah 9:21

Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 24:5

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 24:6

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Jeremiah 1:2

To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

Jeremiah 2:19

Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 15:6

Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

Jeremiah 21:1

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

Jeremiah 26:24

Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Jeremiah 29:3

By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

Jeremiah 29:21

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;

Jeremiah 29:25

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

Jeremiah 36:10

Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the ears of all the people.

Jeremiah 39:14

Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.

Jeremiah 40:11

Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan;

Ezekiel 8:11

And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

Topics

Temple, the First

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with 2 Chronicles 34:8.

Genesis 17:12

And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

Genesis 19:10

But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

Genesis 24:40

And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:

Genesis 24:7

The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Genesis 5:10

And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:13

And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:16

And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:17

And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

Frequently asked questions

What does 2 Chronicles 34:8 say?

2 Chronicles 34:8 (King James Version) reads: "Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God."

Is 2 Chronicles 34:8 in the Old or New Testament?

2 Chronicles 34:8 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of 2 Chronicles.

Reflect

As you read 2 Chronicles 34:8, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on 2 Chronicles 34:8 →

← 34:7 34:9 →