2 Kings 18:2
in 2 Kings 18He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.
KJV
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Twenty and five years old was he - This statement, combined with that of 2Ki 16:2, would make it necessary that his father Ahaz should have married at the age of 10, and have had a child born to him when he was 11 years of age. This is not impossible; but its improbability is so great, that most commentators suggest a corruption in some of the numbers. The Zachariah here mentioned was perhaps one of the “faithful witnesses” of Isaiah Isa 8:2.
This site's exposition
in the third year of Hoshea
on 2 Kings 18:1-3
Hezekiah's reign opens dated against Hoshea's rebellion, the last king Israel will ever have, so Judah's reformer and Israel's collapse are set side by side in one sentence. The formula that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did echoes across the book of Kings as the standard every king is measured against, and few earn it without qualification. David is named as the standard rather than Solomon, whose later years the text has already judged.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the third year. Of Hoshei'a's rebellion. 1 See above,:1, and Rashi there. 2 I.e., in the third year of Hoshei'a's rebellion against Ashur and declaring his independence, Chizkiyoh became king.—Metzudas Dovid
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. 7 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
16 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 |
| עֶשְׂרִ֨ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וְחָמֵ֤שׁ | vechamesh | and five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| שָׁנָה֙ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הָיָ֣ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְמָלְכ֔וֹ | vemalekho | when became king he | H4427 → | 348 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וָתֵ֙שַׁע֙ | vatesha' | and nine | H8672 → | 58 times |
| שָׁנָ֔ה | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מָלַ֖ךְ | malakh | he reigned | H4427 → | 348 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְשֵׁ֣ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אִמּ֔וֹ | ʾimo | mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| אֲבִ֖י | ʾavi | [was] Abi | H21 → | |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| זְכַרְיָֽה׃ | zekharyah | Zechariah | H2148 → | 43 times |
בֶּן־a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עֶשְׂרִ֨יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
וְחָמֵ֤שׁand five
vechameshH2568 →343 times
שָׁנָה֙year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
הָיָ֣הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
בְמָלְכ֔וֹwhen became king he
vemalekhoH4427 →348 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֤יםand twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
וָתֵ֙שַׁע֙and nine
vatesha'H8672 →58 times
שָׁנָ֔הyear[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
מָלַ֖ךְhe reigned
malakhH4427 →348 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וְשֵׁ֣םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
אִמּ֔וֹmother his
ʾimoH517 →220 times
אֲבִ֖י[was] Abi
ʾaviH21 →
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
זְכַרְיָֽה׃Zechariah
zekharyahH2148 →43 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.
