2 Chronicles 21:20
in 2 Chronicles 21Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He died, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years: and he departed without being desired; and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
KJV
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseDeparted without being desired - He was hated while he lived, and neglected when he died; visibly cursed of God, and necessarily execrated by the people whom he had lived only to corrupt and oppress. No annalist is mentioned as having taken the pains to write any account of his vile life. This summary mention of him consigns him to the execration of posterity, and holds in the view of every prudent governor, the rock on which he split and wrecked the state.
This site's exposition
departed without being desired
The chapter closes on the saddest epitaph among the kings of Judah: he reigned eight years and departed without being desired, a phrase the commentators read as the plain opposite of the mourning a beloved king receives. He is buried in the city of David, among his fathers by location, but not in the sepulchres of the kings, a distinction the text draws without explaining it further.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Desired - This is an emphatical expression, because it is usual with men to desire the deaths of some persons, whom afterward they lament, and heartily wish they were alive again.
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Not in the sepulchres of the kings - Compare the similar treatment of Joash 2Ch 24:25 and Ahaz 2Ch 28:27.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and he departed joyless The meaning is: all his life he was in distress and in illnesses, and with him was fulfilled (Deut.:15): “See, I have set before you today life, etc.” and (Job:1) “short of days and full of fear.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and at the end the end that the prophet had foretold him of.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים | sheloshim | thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| וּשְׁתַּ֙יִם֙ | ushetayim | and two [years] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הָיָ֣ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְמָלְכ֔וֹ | vemalekho | when became king he | H4427 → | 348 times |
| וּשְׁמוֹנֶ֣ה | ushemoneh | and eight | H8083 → | 109 times |
| שָׁנִ֔ים | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מָלַ֖ךְ | malakh | he reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּלֹ֣א | belo' | with not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חֶמְדָּ֔ה | chemdah | desire | H2532 → | 21 times |
| וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙ | vaiyikberuhu | and people buried him | H6912 → | 133 times |
| בְּעִ֣יר | beir | in [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְלֹ֖א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְּקִבְר֥וֹת | bekivrot | in [the] graves of | H6913 → | 67 times |
| הַמְּלָכִֽים׃ | hamelakhim | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
בֶּן־a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שְׁלֹשִׁ֤יםthirty
sheloshimH7970 →172 times
וּשְׁתַּ֙יִם֙and two [years]
ushetayimH8147 →768 times
הָיָ֣הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
בְמָלְכ֔וֹwhen became king he
vemalekhoH4427 →348 times
וּשְׁמוֹנֶ֣הand eight
ushemonehH8083 →109 times
שָׁנִ֔יםyears
shanimH8141 →877 times
מָלַ֖ךְhe reigned
malakhH4427 →348 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙and he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּלֹ֣אwith not
belo'H3808 →5168 times
חֶמְדָּ֔הdesire
chemdahH2532 →21 times
וַֽיִּקְבְּרֻ֙הוּ֙and people buried him
vaiyikberuhuH6912 →133 times
בְּעִ֣ירin [the] city of
beirH5892 →1090 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בְּקִבְר֥וֹתin [the] graves of
bekivrotH6913 →67 times
הַמְּלָכִֽים׃the kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 22:28Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
it leads to
- Hosea 8:8
Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel.
- Psalms 31:12
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel.
- Jeremiah 48:38
On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.
- Hosea 8:8
Through
2 Chronicles 23:21and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 11:20
and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been put to the sword at the royal palace.
- 2 Kings 11:20
Through
Jeremiah 22:18Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas,…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 13:30
Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”
- Jeremiah 16:6
“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
- 1 Kings 13:30
Through
2 Chronicles 24:25And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 24:21–22
But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 28:27
And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his…
- 2 Chronicles 24:21–22
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.