2 Kings Chapter 21

Old Testament Historical 26 Verses

What is 2 Kings 21 about?

The decline and fall of both Israel and Judah, culminating in Assyrian and Babylonian exile. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Hephzibah.
2And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, whereof Jehovah said, In Jerusalem will I put my name.
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.
6And he made his son to pass through the fire, and practised augury, and used enchantments, and dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
7And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever;
8neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
9But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.
10And Jehovah spake by his servants the prophets, saying,
11Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, that were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols;
12therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Behold, I bring such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.
13And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
14And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.
16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
18And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
19Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother`s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
20And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father.
21And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:
22and he forsook Jehovah, the God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of Jehovah.
23And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.
24But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
26And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.

What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, etc.] So that he was born three years after Hezekiah’s recovery from his sickness, and in the seventeenth year of his reign: and reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem: among which must be reckoned the time of his captivity in Babylon; his reign was the longest of any of the kings of Judah: and his mother’s name was Hephzibah; the name the church goes by, and signifies, “my delight or pleasure is in her”, (<236204>Isaiah 62:4), no doubt she was a good woman, or Hezekiah would not have made choice of her for a wife; it is a tradition of the Jews f245, that she…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18) Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign--He must have been born three years after his father's recovery; and his minority, spent under the influence of guardians who were hostile to the religious principles and reforming policy of his father, may account in part for the anti-theocratic principles of his reign. The work of religious reformation which Hezekiah had zealously carried on was but partially accomplished. There was little appearance of its influence on the heart and manners of the people at large. On the contrary, the true fear of…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“Manasseh was twelve years old - Manasseh, therefore, was not born at the time of Hezekiah’s dangerous illness; and it is probable that Hezekiah had at that time no son to succeed him. According to Josephus, this was the principal cause of his grief. Hephzibah - Jewish tradition makes Hephzibah, Hezekiah’s wife, the daughter of Isaiah; but this is scarcely probable. She was, however, no doubt, known to the prophet, and it may well have been in special compliment to her that Isaiah introduced her name Isaiah 62:4 as one that Jerusalem would bear after her restoration to God’s favor. The name means, “My delight (is)…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“Reigned - In which time the years of his imprisonment are comprehended. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 21:3”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“21:1-2 fifty-five years: Manasseh’s long reign (697–642 BC) certainly cannot be attributed to his faithfulness to the Lord but to the Lord’s continued honoring of his covenant promises (see also 8:19; 19:34; 20:6; 2 Sam 7:11-16). External conditions were largely stable. Though the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (680–669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (668–626 BC) conducted a number of military campaigns, none was directed against Judah until later in Manasseh’s reign, probably around 650–648 BC (see 2 Chr 33:10-13). Ashurbanipal’s attention was on building projects, religious pursuits, and the arts, including a great library. •…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“am 3306-3361, bc 698-643 was twelve: Kg2 20:21; Ch1 3:13; Ch2 32:33, Ch2 33:1-9; Mat 1:10, Manasses Hephzibah: Pro 5:19; Isa 62:4 \*marg. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 21:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“Reign of Manasseh (cf. 2 Chron 33:1-20). - Kg2 21:1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, so that he was not born till after Hezekiah's dangerous illness ( Kg2 20:1.). Kg2 21:2 Having begun to reign at this early age, he did not choose his father's ways, but set up the idolatry of his father Ahab again, since the godless party in the nation, at whose head chiefs, priests, and (false) prophets stood, and who would not hearken to the law of the Lord, and in the time of Hezekiah had sought help against Assyria not from Jehovah, but from the Egyptians ( Isa 28:7, Isa 28:14., Isa 30:9.), had obtained…”
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