2-Kings - 18:5



5 He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor (among them) that were before him.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 2-Kings 18:5.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel: so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Juda, nor any of them that were before him:
In Jehovah, God of Israel, he hath trusted, and after him there hath not been like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among any who were before him;
He had faith in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah who were before him.
He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel;
He hoped in the Lord, the God of Israel. And after him, there was no one similar to him, among all the kings of Judah, nor even among any of those who were before him.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

After him was none like him - The same is said of Josiah (marginal reference). The phrase was probably proverbial, and was not taken to mean more than we mean when we say that such and such a king was one of singular piety.

He trusted in the Lord - See the character of this good king:
1. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel;
2. He clave to the Lord;
3. He was steady in his religion; he departed not from following the Lord;
4. He kept God's commandments. And what were the consequences?
1. The Lord was with him;
2. He prospered whithersoever he went.

He trusted in the Lord God of Israel,.... To be his protector and defender, and had no dependence on idols as an arm of flesh; the Targum is, he trusted in the Word of the Lord God; not in Nehushtan, but in him the brasen serpent was a type of, even in the Word and Son of God, his alone Saviour and Redeemer:
so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah: for though Josiah was like him in some things, yet not in all:
nor any that were before him; from the times of the division of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; and Ben Gersom and Abarbinel think that David and Solomon are not to be excepted; David sinning in the case of Uriah, and Solomon falling into idolatry, crimes that Hezekiah was not guilty of.

He trusted in the Lord God of Israel--without invoking the aid or purchasing the succor of foreign auxiliaries like Asa (1-Kings 15:18-19) and Ahaz (2-Kings 16:17; Isaiah. 7:1-25).
so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah--Of course David and Solomon are excepted, they having had the sovereignty of the whole country. In the petty kingdom of Judah, Josiah alone had a similar testimony borne to him (2-Kings 23:25). But even he was surpassed by Hezekiah, who set about a national reformation at the beginning of his reign, which Josiah did not. The pious character and the excellent course of Hezekiah was prompted, among other secondary influences, by a sense of the calamities his father's wicked career had brought on the country, as well as by the counsels of Isaiah.

The verdict, "after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah," refers to Hezekiah's confidence in God (בּטח), in which he had no equal, whereas in the case of Josiah his conscientious adherence to the Mosaic law is extolled in the same words (2-Kings 23:25); so that there is no ground for saying that there is a contradiction between our verse and 2-Kings 23:25 (Thenius).

Trusted - Without calling in foreign succours to establish or help him; which his father Ahaz did; and before him Asa. Before him - Of the kings of Judah only; for David and Solomon were kings of all Israel. The like is said of Josiah, 2-Kings 23:25. Each of them, excelled the other in several respects. Hezekiah in this, that he fell upon this work in the beginning of his reign, which Josiah did not, and with no less resolution, undertaking to do that which none of his predecessors durst do, even to remove the high places, wherein Josiah did only follow his example.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


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