Commentary for II Kings 15:5
וַיְנַגַּ֨ע יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַיְהִ֤י מְצֹרָע֙ עַד־י֣וֹם מֹת֔וֹ וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּבֵ֣ית הַחָפְשִׁ֑ית וְיוֹתָ֤ם בֶּן־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ עַל־הַבַּ֔יִת שֹׁפֵ֖ט אֶת־עַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a house set apart. And Jotham the king’s son was appointed over the palace, judging the people of the land.
Rashi on II Kings
Adonoy brought a plague upon the king. It is explained in Divrei Hayomim2II Divrei Hayomim 26:16-21. that he entered the Temple to burn incense on the Incense Altar.3He was punished with tzora'as for attempting to assume the role of the kohein gadol and burn incense on the altar. See II Divrei Hayomim 26-16:21 and Rashi in Bamidbar 17:5.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Metzudat David on II Kings
In Chronicles it says that Azariah came to the Beit Hamikdash out of anger with the priests and gave incense despite the priests' objections.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Rashi on II Kings
In a retirement house. He made himself a house in the cemetery,4The word חפשי means freedom. The Gemara in Maseches Horiyos 10a explains that Uzziyohu became “free” of the duties of being king. Targum indicates that he lived outside the walls of Yerusholayim. The reason is because a metzora is forced to live in isolation. He was therefore unable to attend to his royal duties and was thus “freed” from his responsibilities. 5The house was in the cemetery because our Rabbis taught in Maseches Nedarim 12b that a metzora is accounted as dead. And like the dead who is free from the many toils of life, as it states in Tehilim 88:6, “I am [considered] among the dead who are free,” so is a metzora. as it is stated, ”I am [considered] among the dead who are free.”6Tehilim 88:6. In [Talmud] Yerushalmi.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy