Chapter 24 in II Chronicles opens the reign of Yoash. In the previous chapter, we saw the revolution and the conspiracy: Yoash was raised secretly in the Holy of Holies, and when Yehoyada the Kohen decided to bring him into the light and crown him, Atalyah was put to death, and Yoash arose to reign. The entire chapter revolves around two distinct eras: the days of Yehoyada, during which Yoash did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem and renovated the House of Hashem, and the days after his passing. In this lesson, we will focus on the first part of the chapter - up until the passing of Yehoyada the Kohen.
בֶּן־שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים יֹאָשׁ בְּמׇלְכוֹ וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ צִבְיָה מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע׃ וַיַּעַשׂ יוֹאָשׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה כׇּל־יְמֵי יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן׃ - Yoash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Tzivyah of Be'er Sheva. And Yoash did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem all the days of Yehoyada the Kohen.
Notice the emphasis: "all the days of Yehoyada the Kohen." In II Kings 12 it says, "all his days that Yehoyada the Kohen instructed him," whereas here the text comes to be more precise. The Malbim explains: there it says "all his days," and the author of Divrei HaYamim comes and tells you - know that this was only all the days of Yehoyada's life; afterward, he sinned. Indeed, we will see later that after the death of Yehoyada, the officers came and bowed down to him, treating him as a deity, and this is what ultimately led him to rebel and corrupt his ways.
וַיִּשָּׂא־לוֹ יְהוֹיָדָע נָשִׁים שְׁתָּיִם וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת׃ - And Yehoyada took for himself two wives, and he fathered sons and daughters.
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that since we will see later that Yoash killed the sons of Yehoyada, Scripture needed to inform us that he had sons, so we would know where they came from. Here the Sages ask, as the Malbim cites: How could a Kohen Gadol marry two wives, when a Kohen Gadol may not marry two wives? The Malbim answers: he married them one after the other. Furthermore, Scripture informs us that even though he was ninety years old, he married two young virgins (ne'arot). Specifically ne'arot, for a Kohen Gadol is forbidden to marry a bogeret (a fully matured maiden), as we learned in Yevamot that in a bogeret her virginity has diminished and weakened and she is not considered a virgin. Both of these women died during his lifetime, and he fathered more sons and daughters - fulfilling "they shall still bring forth fruit in old age" (Tehillim 92:15), and correspondingly, "and in the evening do not withhold your hand" (Kohelet 11:6).
וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי־כֵן הָיָה עִם־לֵב יוֹאָשׁ לְחַדֵּשׁ אֶת־בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - And it came to pass after this, that it was in Yoash's heart to renew the House of Hashem.
This story is also mentioned in the Book of Kings, and the commentators have already noted the difficulties and apparent contradictions between the two accounts. The Malbim chooses a unique approach to resolve this: these are two entirely different episodes. Therefore, there is no need to harmonize them through forced parallels; rather, there is a simple reason why the descriptions differ - because there were indeed two distinct events. In Kings, it is described how the Kohanim would collect vows and voluntary donations, and their duty was to maintain the Temple repairs (bedek habayit) routinely from those funds, which they failed to do. Here, an entirely different matter is recounted: at a certain point, Yoash wanted to renew the House of Hashem - an overall renovation of the Beis HaMikdash, rather than routine maintenance repairs. For such an endeavor, the regular vows and donations were not sufficient.
וַיִּקְבֹּץ אֶת־הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם צְאוּ לְעָרֵי יְהוּדָה וְקִבְצוּ מִכׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל כֶּסֶף לְחַזֵּק אֶת־בֵּית אֱלֹהֵיכֶם מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְּשָׁנָה וְאַתֶּם תְּמַהֲרוּ לַדָּבָר וְלֹא מִהֲרוּ הַלְוִיִּם׃ - And he gathered the Kohanim and the Levites and said to them: "Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to strengthen the House of your God year by year, and you must hasten the matter." But the Levites did not hasten.
He sent the Kohanim and the Levites to the cities of Yehudah to collect money from all of Israel for the general renovation, commanding them to do so year by year. However, the Levites were not in a hurry to carry out his command.
וַיִּקְרָא הַמֶּלֶךְ לִיהוֹיָדָע הָרֹאשׁ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַדּוּעַ לֹא־דָרַשְׁתָּ עַל־הַלְוִיִּם לְהָבִיא מִיהוּדָה וּמִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם אֶת־מַשְׂאַת מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד־יְהֹוָה וְהַקָּהָל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְאֹהֶל הָעֵדוּת׃ - And the king called for Yehoyada the chief, and said to him: "Why have you not required of the Levites to bring in from Yehudah and from Yerushalayim the levy of Moshe, the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of Israel, for the Tent of Testimony?"
"Yehoyada the chief" - he was the Kohen Gadol, who served as guardian over the king, the one who kept Yoash hidden in the Holy of Holies for seven years and saved him. The king summoned him and asked: Why have you not demanded of the Levites to bring the levy of Moshe? According to the Radak, this refers to the half-shekel that every Jew gave once a year, termed "the levy (mas'as) of Moshe" after the verse "Ki sisa es rosh Bnei Yisrael" ("When you take the sum of the children of Israel"). And "the congregation of Israel, for the Tent of Testimony" - Moshe, the servant of Hashem, commanded the congregation, the people of Israel, to bring this year by year to the Tent of Testimony, and so it should be brought every year to the Beis HaMikdash. Let us note from the outset: according to the Malbim, this does not refer to the annual half-shekel, but rather to "shekalim of old" (tiklin atikin) - what had gone uncollected in past years. But let us first explain according to the Radak.
The Radak enumerates three types of funds mentioned there: First, "current money" (kesef over), which is the half-shekel, as it is stated, "Everyone who crosses over among those who are counted." Second, "the money of each person's valuation" (ish kesef nafshos erko), namely one who pledges his valuation according to the fixed valuations in the Torah, as we saw in Parashas Bechukosai. And third, "any money that enters a person's heart to bring," which is a freewill offering that a person pledges and brings to the Beis HaMikdash as his heart moves him.
כִּי עֲתַלְיָהוּ הַמִּרְשַׁעַת בָּנֶיהָ פָרְצוּ אֶת־בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים וְגַם כׇּל־קׇדְשֵׁי בֵית־יְהֹוָה עָשׂוּ לַבְּעָלִים׃ - For Atalyahu the wicked woman, her sons had broken up the House of God, and also all the consecrated things of the House of the Lord did they bestow upon the Ba'alim.
The Radak explains: she and her sons breached the House of God, which is why it now required reinforcement and repair. And who were "her sons"? Sons she had from another man and not from the king, for she had killed all the king's sons - she eliminated all the potential heirs to the throne, except for Yoash, who was the son of Tzivyah, and was the sole survivor. Those sons acted wickedly and made breaches in the House of God.
"And also all the consecrated things of the House of the Lord did they bestow upon the Ba'alim" - had they not taken the sanctified treasures of the House of the Lord for the Ba'al deities, those dedications would have sufficed to repair the Temple's damage (bedek habayis). But the tragedy was that the collected funds were used for idolatry; consequently, they now had to begin afresh collecting money from all of Israel.
The Radak emphasizes: Atalyahu and her sons did not take all the consecrated things of the Temple, but rather most of them. The word "all" (kol) here means the majority, as in the phrase "and all the goods of his master were in his hand" - did he really arrive with all his master's property? Rather, it means most of it. True, Chazal explain there that he came with a deed of gift stating that all the wealth belonged to Yitzchak, and according to that one can understand "all the goods of his master were in his hand" literally, since he held a document entitling him to everything. But in the plain understanding, it does not mean literally all the goods, but rather from all the best goods; and likewise here, "all the consecrated things of the House of the Lord" means from all the consecrated things.
And what compels this interpretation? The Radak brings proof: in Sefer Melachim it is related that when Chazael marched against Yerushalayim, Yehoash king of Yehudah took all the consecrated items dedicated by Yehoshaphat, Yehoram, and the others, and handed them over to Chazael as a payoff. This shows that funds still remained in the Beis HaMikdash, and Atalyahu and her sons did not take everything. We learn, therefore, that in the days of Yoash money still remained from the time of Atalyahu - and this was the money he intended to pay, and did pay, to Chazael. And because Yehoash did not want to expend the remaining reserves on the repairs of the Temple, so that the treasury would not be left completely empty, he sent out to collect funds from the people.
The Radak further highlights a fundamental point: Why was there a need for renovation at all? After all, from the day the Beis HaMikdash was built until Yoash carried out its repairs, only fifty-five years had passed, and the structure was exceptionally sturdy - this was not a construction of cinder blocks and plaster, but massive stones like the Kotel, capable of lasting for hundreds and thousands of years. Rather, this is the emphasis: "For Atalyahu the wicked woman, her sons had broken up the House of God" - when someone deliberately causes damage, there is no choice but to step in and repair the breaches.
Malbim explains the king's demand of Yehoyada: he was demanding that they bring the Machatzit HaShekel from previous years, since throughout all the years of Atalyah, they had not collected the half-shekel for the Beit HaMikdash. They had desecrated the Beit HaMikdash - would she collect money for it? And the money that had already existed was taken for the Ba'alim; consequently, the people were now obligated to give money to replace it, and therefore the king sent to collect donations.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֲרוֹן אֶחָד וַיִּתְּנֻהוּ בְּשַׁעַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה חוּצָה׃ - And the king commanded, and they made a chest, and placed it at the gate of the House of Hashem outside.
In Sefer Melachim, it is related that they made a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and placed it beside the altar - so there would be a hole through which money could only be inserted and not taken out. There, it speaks of a chest set up for new vows and freewill offerings, namely the Machatzit HaShekel collected year by year. Since the kohanim had not repaired the breaches of the House, he commanded them to place it in the chest and buy burnt-offerings (olot) with it, while the remainder would go to Bedek HaBayit - for surplus money from burnt-offerings, as we learned in Masechet Shekalim, is used for Bedek HaBayit.
Here in Divrei HaYamim, it refers to tiklin atikin (the old shekels), the shekels of previous years, which do not go toward burnt-offerings at all, but exclusively to Bedek HaBayit. And notice Malbim's keen observation: this chest was not placed inside, but outside - "at the gate of the House of Hashem outside." This resolves the contradiction: these were two distinct chests designated for different purposes. The chest inside was for tiklin chadatin (the new shekels), and the chest outside was for tiklin atikin, which had not been brought in previous years.
וַיִּתְּנוּ־קוֹל בִּיהוּדָה וּבִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם לְהָבִיא לַיהֹוָה מַשְׂאַת מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד־הָאֱלֹהִים עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר׃ - And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem, to bring to Hashem the tax that Moses the servant of God imposed upon Israel in the wilderness.
"And they issued a proclamation" [literally, and they gave a voice] - they announced publicly to bring those funds that were spoken of back when they were in the wilderness, which are the funds mentioned above.
וַיִּשְׂמְחוּ כׇל־הַשָּׂרִים וְכׇל־הָעָם וַיָּבִיאוּ וַיַּשְׁלִיכוּ לָאָרוֹן עַד־לְכַלֵּה׃ - And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until it was finished.
The verse emphasizes that the people rejoiced - so that one should not think they brought the money under duress or compulsion, as though forced upon them; rather, they did so with joy. And "until it was finished" (ad lechaleh) means until everyone had brought their share, not a single person missing.
וַיְהִי בְּעֵת יָבִיא אֶת־הָאָרוֹן אֶל־פְּקֻדַּת הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּיַד הַלְוִיִּם וְכִרְאוֹתָם כִּי־רַב הַכֶּסֶף וּבָא סוֹפֵר הַמֶּלֶךְ וּפְקִיד כֹּהֵן הָרֹאשׁ וִיעָרוּ אֶת־הָאָרוֹן וְיִשָּׂאֻהוּ וִישִׁיבֻהוּ אֶל־מְקֹמוֹ כֹּה עָשׂוּ לְיוֹם בְּיוֹם וַיַּאַסְפוּ־כֶסֶף לָרֹב׃ - And it was, whenever the chest was brought to the king's oversight by the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief kohen's officer came and emptied the chest, and carried it, and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.
Whenever they would bring the chest into the chamber by the king's command, as he had instructed the Levites, and they saw that the money was plentiful and very heavy, the king's scribe and the chief kohen's officer would come to count and examine how much money was there. As is well known, financial matters are never handled by a single person; there must always be at least two overseers - two appointed over charity and the like. Here too, an official overseer was needed so that when the money was emptied, it would be clearly seen exactly what amount was there. "Vaye'aru et ha'aron" (and they emptied the chest) - they poured the money out of it, just as in the verse "and she emptied (vate'ar) her pitcher." Afterward they returned it to its place, and they did this day by day, since the king's command was to bring everything collected into the chamber each night. Because they saw that the money was so abundant, they emptied the chest every day, and a new contribution was brought in each time.
The Malbim emphasizes that on this point as well, the account here differs from what is stated in Melachim. There, it refers to shekalim chadashim (new shekels), the half-shekel collected each year, and when they saw that the silver in the chest was plentiful, they counted it and delivered it into the hands of those performing the work. As is well known, the Terumat HaLishkah (appropriation from the chamber) from the shekalim chadashim was performed only three times a year; terumah comes from the language of harama (lifting up), for they would withdraw funds from the chamber where the silver was collected three times a year. In our passage, by contrast, it refers to shekalim atikim (past-due shekels), what people had failed to bring in previous years, which was designated entirely for bedek habayit (Temple repairs). Therefore, here they did not withdraw funds three times a year for communal offerings; rather, whatever was brought in was emptied day by day, since everything was designated for bedek habayit, and funds were needed each and every day for the work.
וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ וִיהוֹיָדָע אֶל־עוֹשֵׂה מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדַת בֵּית־יְהֹוָה וַיִּהְיוּ שֹׂכְרִים חֹצְבִים וְחָרָשִׁים לְחַדֵּשׁ בֵּית יְהֹוָה וְגַם לְחָרָשֵׁי בַרְזֶל וּנְחֹשֶׁת לְחַזֵּק אֶת־בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - And the king and Yehoyada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the House of Hashem, and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the House of Hashem, and also ironworkers and coppersmiths to repair the House of Hashem.
The king and Yehoyada gave the silver to the master craftsmen in charge of the work of the House of Hashem, and under their direction were the laborers who worked according to their instructions. In Chazal, these supervisors are called adrikhalin or ardikhalin, akin to the modern Hebrew term adrikhal (architect or master builder). They hired the stonecutters, carpenters, ironworkers, and coppersmiths - all of them skilled artisans who knew how to carry out the repairs and renovation of the House.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה וַתַּעַל אֲרוּכָה לַמְּלָאכָה בְּיָדָם וַיַּעֲמִידוּ אֶת־בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים עַל־מַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ וַיְאַמְּצֻהוּ׃ - So the workmen labored, and the repair of the work advanced through their hands; and they restored the House of God to its proper state and strengthened it.
Arukah means healing, and at first glance it seems puzzling how physical construction work could be described in terms of healing. The Radak explains: Do not wonder at this, for it is spoken metaphorically, as in (Nechemyah 4:1) "that the walls of Yerushalayim were being restored [literally: healing arose]" - the wall of Yerushalayim was healed; and similarly (Yirmeyahu 8:22), "the healing of the daughter of my people has advanced" - meaning the Jewish people were healed from their affliction. Thus, the expression arukah applies to physical structures as well, and likewise (I Melachim 18:30), "and he repaired [literally: healed] the broken altar of Hashem" - healing applied to stones, to an altar.
The Malbim adds: In Sefer Melachim it mentions that they gave the silver to strengthen the bedek habayit, whereas here it is written that they gave it to renew the House of Hashem. As explained earlier, there the need was for specific, localized repairs, whereas here it was a matter of renewal - not merely patching holes, but a comprehensive renovation. Therefore it says that they restored the House of God to its proper state, meaning they renewed it in its full beauty and splendor, a true thorough overhaul; and this is the account here, as distinct from the account in Sefer Melachim.
וּכְכַלּוֹתָם הֵבִיאוּ לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וִיהוֹיָדָע אֶת־שְׁאָר הַכֶּסֶף וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ כֵלִים לְבֵית־יְהֹוָה כְּלֵי שָׁרֵת וְהַעֲלוֹת וְכַפּוֹת וּכְלֵי זָהָב וָכָסֶף וַיִּהְיוּ מַעֲלִים עֹלוֹת בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה תָּמִיד כֹּל יְמֵי יְהוֹיָדָע׃ - And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the silver before the king and Yehoyada, and made of it vessels for the House of Hashem, vessels for the service and for offering, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the House of Hashem continually, all the days of Yehoyada.
Here all the commentators address a difficulty: here it states that they used the silver to make vessels for the House of Hashem, whereas in Melachim it states explicitly (II Melachim 12:14), "However, there were not made for the House of Hashem silver bowls, snuffers..." etc. - meaning that they did not use this silver for vessels. The Radak cites that Chazal already noted this apparent contradiction between the passages and resolved it: here it refers to a situation where they collected and had a surplus remaining, whereas there they collected and had no surplus remaining. That is, when they collected and surplus silver remained, they used it to make vessels; but when they collected and no surplus remained, they did not use it for silver bowls and the like. And here, where it is written that they restored the House of God to its proper state and strengthened it, "and when they had finished" - meaning they completed everything and did all that was possible - then from whatever remained, they fashioned vessels.
Radak cites commentators who explain ha'alot as derived from eli, which is a pestle, as in: "Though you crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle among the groats, his foolishness will not depart from him" (Mishlei 27:22). Why must it say "among the groats"? Because when the fool is crushed in the mortar together with the crushed grain, he tells himself: "They do not mean me, they mean the groats" - and therefore his folly does not leave him. Had they crushed him alone, perhaps the penny would have dropped and he would have realized they wanted something from him; but because it is among the groats with a pestle, he is certain they mean the groats and not him. And to our point: with that same pestle (eli), they would pound the spices for the incense.
Radak himself, however, explains differently: olot is a small vessel used to draw wine from the hin for the libations - since a hin is a large measure, they drew the wine with a dedicated vessel for the libations. Proof of this comes from Chazal: the maidservant of Rebbe's household, when speaking in refined language, would say: "The olat strikes against the jug" - the small vessel used to draw wine from the jug is called an olat, and she meant that the ladle was striking the bottom of the jug, meaning the jug was empty and nothing remained in it. Normally the vessel meets wine, but when wine is gone, one scrapes the bottom and knocking sounds are heard - an expression that the wine has run out. Furthermore, Chazal said: "A pearl sold for thirteen ilita of dinars," meaning thirteen baskets full of dinars; thus an alat is a receptacle. It turns out this is not a pestle, but a receptacle with which they would draw wine for the libations.
Malbim adds that according to his approach, which we explained, there is no contradiction here at all, and the difficulty never arose in the first place. There in Sefer Melachim, it speaks of the terumat halishkah, the new shekels arriving each year from the half-shekel, from which vessels are not purchased, only communal offerings (though surpluses can be used, in the normal course of affairs it is earmarked for offerings); therefore, it states there that they did not purchase vessels with it under any circumstances. Here, by contrast, it refers to the funds from old shekels (tiklin atikin), money from past years, which was designated from the outset for the Temple upkeep (bedek habayit) and not for offerings - and if surplus funds remained from it, vessels could be made from it.
וַיִּזְקַן יְהוֹיָדָע וַיִּשְׂבַּע יָמִים וַיָּמֹת בֶּן־מֵאָה וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בְּמוֹתוֹ׃ - And Yehoyada grew old and full of days, and he died; he was a hundred and thirty years old at his death.
Yehoyada lived an exceptionally long life, being one hundred and thirty years old when he died.
וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ בְעִיר־דָּוִיד עִם־הַמְּלָכִים כִּי־עָשָׂה טוֹבָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְעִם הָאֱלֹהִים וּבֵיתוֹ׃ - And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and His House.
They buried him in the City of David among the kings, even though he was not a king but the Kohen Gadol, because he had done them immense good. First, "good in Israel": he established a king for them from the Davidic line. Second, he did good toward God: he brought the people of Israel close to the service of Hashem, for until then Atalyah had alienated them, and by crowning Yoash he drew everyone close to Hashem's service. Third, he acted kindly "and toward His House" - referring to the House of God, where he was appointed; and some commentators explain that this refers to his having restored the Beit HaMikdash to its proper standing, and that was the kindness he performed for the House of the Holy One, blessed be He.