2 Kings 12:10
in 2 Kings 12Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah.
KJV
And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Kings 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe king’s scribe and the high priest - It was necessary to associate with the high priest some civil authority and activity, in order to get the neglected work performed.
This site's exposition
bored a hole in the lid
on 2 Kings 12:9-10
Jehoiada bores a hole in a chest's lid and sets it beside the altar where everyone entering can see it, money dropped in past retrieving rather than handled by any one man's account. It stands as Scripture's first dedicated building fund, a public box in place of a private collection, and its design answers the failure of the verses just before it. When the chest is full, the king's scribe and the high priest come up together, a civil officer beside the priesthood, to count and bag what has gathered.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest,....
When public distributions are made faithfully public contributions will be made cheerfully. The money that was given, (1.) Was dropped into the chest through a hole in the lid, past recall, to intimate that what has been once resigned to God must never be resumed.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Why repair ye not the breaches of the house?--This mode of collection not proving so productive as was expected (the dilatoriness of the priests was the chief cause of the failure), a new arrangement was proposed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The king’s scribe - Or “secretary” (1Ki 4:3 note). Such persons are often seen in the Assyrian sculptures, with a roll, apparently of parchment, in one hand and a pen in the other, taking account for the king of the spoil brought in from foreign expeditions.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Whenever. A daily occurrence (constantly). 9 I.e., when they saw that the boxes were full they would “bag and count the money.”—Radak They saw that there was much money in the box, and they would go up—the king’s scribe [and the Kohein Gadol ] etc.
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. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּרְאוֹתָ֔ם | kirotam | when saw they | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רַ֥ב | rav | much | H7227 → | 454 times |
| הַכֶּ֖סֶף | hakesef | the money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| בָּֽאָר֑וֹן | baaron | [was] in the chest | H727 → | |
| וַיַּ֨עַל | vaiyaal | and he came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| סֹפֵ֤ר | sofer | [the] scribe of | H5608 → | 159 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְהַכֹּהֵ֣ן | vehakohen | and the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַגָּד֔וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיָּצֻ֙רוּ֙ | vaiyatzuru | and they tied up | H6696 → | 38 times |
| וַיִּמְנ֔וּ | vaiyimnu | and they counted | H4487 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֶּ֖סֶף | hakesef | the money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| הַנִּמְצָ֥א | hanimtza' | which was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בֵית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּרְאוֹתָ֔םwhen saw they
kirotamH7200 →1300 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
רַ֥בmuch
ravH7227 →454 times
הַכֶּ֖סֶףthe money
hakesefH3701 →403 times
בָּֽאָר֑וֹן[was] in the chest
baaronH727 →
וַיַּ֨עַלand he came up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
סֹפֵ֤ר[the] scribe of
soferH5608 →159 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְהַכֹּהֵ֣ןand the priest
vehakohenH3548 →750 times
הַגָּד֔וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
וַיָּצֻ֙רוּ֙and they tied up
vaiyatzuruH6696 →38 times
וַיִּמְנ֔וּand they counted
vaiyimnuH4487 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכֶּ֖סֶףthe money
hakesefH3701 →403 times
הַנִּמְצָ֥אwhich was found
hanimtza'H4672 →455 times
בֵית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
2 Samuel 8:17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 18:16
Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 6:8
Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,
- 1 Chronicles 24:3–4
With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.
- 1 Chronicles 16:39
And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
- 1 Chronicles 18:16
Through
2 Kings 22:12and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
it leads to
- Jeremiah 26:24
Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
- 2 Kings 25:22
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over the people he had left behind in the land of Judah.
- Jeremiah 26:24
Through
2 Kings 19:2And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:1
This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
- Isaiah 2:1
This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
- Isaiah 1:1
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.