Kommentar zu Divrej Hajamim II 25:34

for God is not with Israel, all the sons of Ephraim because Jeroboam was of the tribe of Ephraim, and he was the first to cause Israel to sin. And in every generation thereafter he remained a stumbling block for them, for they worshipped the golden calves of Jeroboam.

But if you come The meaning is: If you do not believe my words, will you not try [to put effort into your military campaign?] Come, do, and strengthen yourself for war.

to help or to cause to stumble The meaning is: He has the strength to help you without the army of Ephraim and to cause you to stumble if you take them with you.

and they were all split open, etc...after [Amaziah] had come, etc. In Lam. Rabbah it says about him, “whether he is angry or he laughs” (Prov. 29:9).

raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon after they returned to their place, as above, “they were very angry with Judah and returned to their place.” For if it were not so, i.e., if they had raided the cities of Judah as soon as they left Amaziah, Scripture would have said, “and they raided the cities of Judah from Beth-Horon to Samaria,” [i.e., going from Judah to Samaria].

that God has given counsel to destroy you i.e., If you do not hearken to My advice to follow the straight path, you should know, O king, that the Lord has given counsel to destroy you because you have done this, and have not hearkened to the counsel. Now what is the counsel? That he enticed you to provoke the king of Israel and to fall before him, as it is written: “And Amaziah the king of Judah took counsel, and he sent to Joash, etc.”

Come, let us confront each other to show our might on horses with spears.

The thistle that was in Lebanon which is of short stature.

sent to the cedar which is the greatest prince of all the trees.

passed by and trampled the thistle The cedar did not wish to kill it because it was degrading in his eyes to cut down the thistle, but a beast of the field passed by and trampled it in contempt, for how did he dare to send such a great insult to the lofty cedar? You too are like the thistle, for you have only two tribes, and now my servants will rise up against you and trample you when they hear of this disgrace.

and your heart has made you haughty to pursue glory, and you wish to be glorified also on my account. In II Kings (14:10), the reading is: “Retain your honor by staying home.”

because this was from God in order to deliver them into their hands i.e., into their hands, as above (verse 16): “I know that God has given counsel to destroy you.”

in Beth-Shemesh the war took place. It was necessary to say this lest you ask why they brought Amaziah to Jerusalem and not to Samaria when they seized him. [The answer is] that Beth-Shemesh was near Jerusalem.

and breached the wall of... He said, “From now on, he will not rebel against me, because his heart will not be so haughty since the wall has been breached”

that were found in the House of God with Obed-Edom for he and his sons were keepers of the treasures all their lives.

and the hostage children For the Jews did not permit Amaziah to be king any longer in Jerusalem until he made the children of the officers hostages so that they would no longer rebel against him, and so did Jonathan translate it in II Kings (14:14): “the children of the officers.” Rabbi Joseph (Kara) explained “the hostage children” to mean those hostages that the king had taken as security so that their fathers would not rebel against him. This, however, does not appear correct to me because we do not find that Judah had such power over others that they could have [forced them] to give Judah their children as hostages.

And from the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord and was defeated by the king of Israel, immediately they conspired against him in Jerusalem to kill him, because each one was grieved over his son, his brother, and his kinsman who were slain because of him, because he provoked the king of Israel.

and he fled to Lachish a fortified city against which Sennacherib waged war. He fled to Lachish, where he remained fifteen years until they followed him to Lachish and assassinated him there. And during those fifteen years that he was in Lachish, Jecoliah, Uzziah’s mother, reigned in his stead. This is how it appears to me. In the commentary of Rabbi Joseph (Kara), I saw that during those fifteen years that he was in Lachish, Uzziah his son reigned in his stead, but it is incorrect to interpret it in this manner, for it is written immediately following (26:1): “who was sixteen years old.” We find that when his father fled, he was only one year old. Moreover, if this is the case, it should say, “took Uzziah and made him king instead of his father during his lifetime.” Rather, Scripture intimated that he did not reign during his father’s lifetime.