2 Kings 22:4
in 2 Kings 22“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of Jehovah, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people:
KJV
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:
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This verse in 2 Kings 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat he may sum the silver - As Josiah began to seek the Lord as soon as he began to reign, we may naturally conclude that the worship of God that was neglected and suppressed by his father, was immediately restored; and the people began their accustomed offerings to the temple. Ten years therefore had elapsed since these offerings began; no one had, as yet, taken account of them; nor were they applied to the use for which they were given, viz., the repairing the breaches of the temple.
This site's exposition
sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah
on 2 Kings 22:3-5
In his eighteenth year Josiah sends Shaphan to have Hilkiah the high priest count the money. By 2 Chronicles 34:3 to 8 his seeking began in his eighth year and the purge of idols in his twelfth. The eighteenth year marks the finding of the book, well into the reform.
This site's exposition
Go up to Hilkiah
Albert Barnes traces Hilkiah the high priest as father or grandfather of Seraiah, the high priest, and as an ancestor of Ezra the scribe. Adam Clarke reckons the gifts had gathered for ten years. This count put them to use.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord" for the thirty-one years in which he reigned. In the eighteenth year from the beginning of his rule, he began to purify Judah …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); for, it seems, they took much the same way of raising the money that Joash took, ch. xii. When people gave by a little at a time the burden was insensible, and, the contribution being voluntary, it was not complained of.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Go up to Hilkiah the high priest,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hilkiah - Hilkiah was the father (or grandfather) of Seraiah (compare 1Ch 6:13-14, with Neh 11:11), high priest at the time of the captivity 2Ki 25:18. and ancestor of Ezra the scribe Ezr 7:1. It is evident from the expressions of this verse that a collection for the repairs of the temple, similar to that established in the reign of Joash 2Ki 12:9-10, had been for some considerable time in progress (compare 2Ch 34:3), and the king now sent to know the result.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֲלֵ֗ה | ʾaleh | go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חִלְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ | chilkiyahu | Hilkiah | H2518 → | 34 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֣ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַגָּד֔וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְיַתֵּ֣ם | veyatem | so he may complete | H8552 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֶּ֔סֶף | hakesef | the money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| הַמּוּבָ֖א | hamuva' | which has been brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָסְפ֛וּ | ʾasefu | they have gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| שֹׁמְרֵ֥י | shomerei | [the] keepers of | H8104 → | 468 times |
| הַסַּ֖ף | hasaf | the threshold | H5592 → | 32 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
עֲלֵ֗הgo up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חִלְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙Hilkiah
chilkiyahuH2518 →34 times
הַכֹּהֵ֣ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
הַגָּד֔וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
וְיַתֵּ֣םso he may complete
veyatemH8552 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכֶּ֔סֶףthe money
hakesefH3701 →403 times
הַמּוּבָ֖אwhich has been brought
hamuva'H935 →2568 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָסְפ֛וּthey have gathered
ʾasefuH622 →200 times
שֹׁמְרֵ֥י[the] keepers of
shomereiH8104 →468 times
הַסַּ֖ףthe threshold
hasafH5592 →32 times
מֵאֵ֥תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 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 Kings 12:4Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house…
it leads to
- Exodus 35:5
Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;
- Exodus 30:12–16
“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when…
- Exodus 35:29
So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3–9
Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy…
- Exodus 35:22
So all who had willing hearts, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings, rings and necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry. And they all presented their gold as a wave…
- Exodus 35:5
Through
1 Chronicles 9:11Azariah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple;
it leads to
- Nehemiah 11:11
Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jachin; Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God;
- Acts 5:26
At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.
- Nehemiah 11:11
Through
1 Chronicles 9:19Shallum son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives from the Korahites were assigned to guard the thresholds of the Tent, just as their fathers had been assigned…
it leads to
- Numbers 26:9–11
and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who fought against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the…
- Numbers 26:9–11
Where this verse is studied
What the record shows
1 entry- Hilkiah — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
City of David bulla of 'Azariah son of Hilkiah'
Biblical figure (High priest under Josiah, 640/639-609 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The bulla gives no priestly title, and both Hilkiah and Azariah were common names in Judah. Tsvi Schneider, who published the seal, titled his study with a question mark, 'Azariahu Son of Hilkiahu (High Priest?),' precisely because the link to the high-priestly family is an inference from the names.
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); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 22:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.