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New Defender's Study Bible Notes
14:6 he slew not. As often noted throughout the history of Old Testament kings, when a revolution was successful, the victor not only killed his predecessor but also all his sons, in order to prevent retaliation. Amaziah, however, to his credit during these early years of his reign, showed greater respect for the divine law, sparing all the children of the murderers of his own father.
14:9 The thistle. Joash thus sought to help Amaziah see his victory over Edom more realistically, comparing the armies of Judah and Israel to a thistle and giant cedar, respectively, and trying thereby to prevent war between the two sister nations. But this only stung Amaziah’s pride still more, and he hastened into a disastrous battle with Israel.
14:15 acts of Jehoash. Although not mentioned in the Bible, Jehoash paid tribute to Assyria. This fact is mentioned on a stele of the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari III, where the king boasts of recovering tribute from “Jehoash the Samarian.”
14:21 Azariah. Azariah is the same as Uzziah See II Chronicles 26:1ff. The great prophet Isaiah began his prophecies during Uzziah’s reign (Isaiah 1:1).
14:23 Jeroboam the son of Joash. Jeroboam II followed in the sins of Jeroboam I but was a successful king in the political sense. His name has been found on an 8th century B.C. seal excavated at Megiddo.
14:25 restored the coast of Israel. An unmentioned reason for the successful reign of Jeroboam II may well have been the spiritual revival of Nineveh under the preaching of Jonah, thus bringing in a period of freedom from the Assyrian invasions for a significant time period. See Jonah 3.
14:25 Jonah. This passage clearly proves the historicity of the prophet Jonah. Liberal theologians and skeptics generally have denied the truth of the story of Jonah and the whale, arguing that it was merely a parable. According to this record, however, Jonah was well-known as a prophet in Israel for other prophecies in addition to those on his prophetic missionary journey to Nineveh, the capital of the large and dangerous Assyrian empire.