Introduction: From the Pinnacle to the Downfall
In this section of Chapter 24, we reach the turning point in the life of King Yoash. Until now, we saw a king who did what was right in the eyes of Hashem, who restored the House of Hashem and collected funds to reinforce it - all "all the days of Yehoyada the Kohen." From this point on, after Yehoyada's death, the narrative cascades down a steep slope: the seduction of the princes, idolatry, the murder of Zechariah the son of Yehoyada in the courtyard of the House of Hashem, and finally the invasion of the Aramean army and the bizarre death of Yoash at the hands of his servants. An entire chapter of ingratitude, and of measure for measure.
"Then the King Listened to Them" - The Seduction of the Princes
וְאַחֲרֵי מוֹת יְהוֹיָדָע בָּאוּ שָׂרֵי יְהוּדָה וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַמֶּלֶךְ אָז שָׁמַע הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲלֵיהֶם׃ - And after the death of Yehoyada, the princes of Judah came and prostrated themselves to the king; then the king listened to them.
Radak explains: They bowed down to him and seduced him with their words. And what did they say to him? That they would obey all his commands, and in return, he too should listen to them to worship the asherim - to be like all the nations. These were the seductive words.
And the Midrash adds, as cited by Radak, what "he listened to them" actually entailed: they made him into a god. They told him: After all, it is written, "and the non-kohen who draws near shall be put to death," and anyone who enters the Holy of Holies without being worthy immediately dies. Yet you, my lord the king, were in the Holy Temple for six years and survived! This implies that you are a god.
Here we must understand this correctly. When the text speaks of "making him into a god," it does not mean they claimed he created and formed the world. We find the same with Nevuchadnezzar, who treated Daniel as a deity and wished to offer soothing aromas to him - yet this does not mean Daniel was considered the creator of the world. Rather, when people perceived supernatural powers in a person, they designated him as a "god": there is something divine within him, he possesses divine powers. From this, one can also understand how Christianity arrived at its distortion: since they believed in powers possessed by that man - whose name is acronymed as yimach shemo vezichro (may his name and memory be blotted out) - they made him into a deity, a "son of God" endowed with divine powers. This is always the meaning of "making someone a god": we have found supernatural powers within you. Look, who can survive in the Holy Temple? Yet you survived in the Holy of Holies for six years.
The Malbim adds: Even during Yehoyada's lifetime, there were temptations, but the king did not listen to them - his rebbe was still alive, Yehoyada was still here, and he felt embarrassed. Only afterward, "then the king listened to them."
Asherim and Atzabim - And What Is "In This Guilt of Theirs"
וַיַּעַזְבוּ אֶת־בֵּית יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִים וְאֶת־הָעֲצַבִּים וַיְהִי־קֶצֶף עַל־יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלַיִם בְּאַשְׁמָתָם זֹאת׃ - And they abandoned the House of Hashem, God of their fathers, and worshiped the asherim and the idols; and there was wrath upon Judah and Jerusalem because of this guilt of theirs.
"Asherim" are trees upon which people would perform various rites to draw down supernal spiritual forces. Typically, they would plant the asherot adjacent to the altar, as it is written, "You shall not plant for yourself an asherah, any tree, beside the altar of Hashem your God." This was intended, as it were, to receive the spiritual forces that descended upon the asherah, and through them to intercept the blood and libations poured upon the altar.
"Atzabim" (idols) are forms of idolatry, so named because they cause grief (ma'atzivim) to their worshipers. As it is written, "Their idols (atzabeihem) are silver and gold" - and what causes a person grief and anxiety? Silver and gold. If one stops chasing after silver and gold, he will see how calm he becomes. It is this relentless pursuit, more and more money, that makes a person anxious and troubled.
The Malbim innovates a striking insight here: the idols mentioned here were not some other foreign deity, but rather they fashioned an image of Yoash himself - for it was him they were worshipping, and he was the symbol. One might have thought this was less severe, and therefore Scripture states, "in this their guilt" - not at all; there was tremendous guilt here, for this was actual idolatry. What difference does it make whether one worships celestial bodies - sun images, the sun, moon, and stars - or worships a human being turned into a god?
"And They Testified Against Them, but They Would Not Listen"
וַיִּשְׁלַח בָּהֶם נְבִאִים לַהֲשִׁיבָם אֶל־יְהֹוָה וַיָּעִידוּ בָם וְלֹא הֶאֱזִינוּ׃ - And He sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord, and they testified against them, but they would not listen.
He sent prophets among them to warn them and bring them back to Hashem. And what does "and they testified against them" mean? The Metzudat David explains: by way of formal forewarning (hatra'ah), forewarning them before witnesses, so that no one could later deny it and say, "No one told me." Even so - "and they would not listen," they did not incline an ear to hear.
Zechariah Son of Yehoyada - Not Zechariah the Prophet
וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים לָבְשָׁה אֶת־זְכַרְיָה בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן וַיַּעֲמֹד מֵעַל לָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כֹּה אָמַר הָאֱלֹהִים לָמָה אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים אֶת־מִצְוֹת יְהֹוָה וְלֹא תַצְלִיחוּ כִּי־עֲזַבְתֶּם אֶת־יְהֹוָה וַיַּעֲזֹב אֶתְכֶם׃ - Then the spirit of God enclothed Zechariah son of Yehoyada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them: "So said God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you."
Pay close attention. During the Three Weeks (Bein HaMetzarim), it is customary to learn the passages in Gittin 57b and on, where we read how the blood of Zechariah was boiling, and how Nebuzaradan came and slaughtered countless people over it to appease his blood - yet it would not rest. Many confuse this and think it refers to Zechariah the prophet from Trei Asar (the Twelve Minor Prophets), but that is an error: it refers to Zechariah son of Yehoyada, who appears right here in our text. The story there is the very story we are reading now.
"The spirit of God" - the spirit of prophecy. And what is meant by "he stood above the people"? Eichah Rabbah expounds that he relied on himself because he was an exalted leader above all the people. He was a prophet, he was a priest, it was Yom Kippur, and he was also the king's son-in-law - a detail not explicitly stated in the verses, but brought down in the Midrash, that he was Yoash's son-in-law. Thus he did not fear to deliver his prophecy. Regarding this it was said, "Should priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" And as he died, he said, "May the Lord see and avenge" - meaning: they only killed me because I delivered the mission of the Omnipresent, and since I was killed for the honor of the Omnipresent, it is just and proper that He seek reckoning for my blood. And so it was: immediately, within the turn of the year, his blood was reckoned, as we will soon see the price they paid; and not only that, but for generations his blood bubbled, until it was avenged in the time of Nebuzaradan.
The Malbim: Four Aggravating Factors in the Killing of Zechariah
The Malbim provides an introduction here to demonstrate the sheer magnitude of the sin in killing Zechariah. First - Zechariah was clothed in the spirit of God and in prophecy, an emissary of Hashem. One who kills the king's emissary directly strikes at the king himself. "I came to you on behalf of Hashem, and you strike me" - as if to say: if I could strike Hashem, I would strike Him; and since I cannot, I strike His emissary. There is nothing more severe than this.
Second - "he stood above the people," on a superior plane, for he was the Kohen Gadol. This is an enormous aggravation: "Should priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" - how utterly unthinkable this was. Third - he did not prophesy evil against them. He did not tell them that the king of Babylon would come, nor did he threaten troubles upon them and their wives, etc. What did he say to them? Purely ethical rebuke: Why are you transgressing, to what purpose? Do you think you will achieve success through this? You will have no success; Hashem will only forsake you. He spoke words that could be heeded, not words as harsh as sinews.
"And They Conspired Against Him and Stoned Him with Stones"
וַיִּקְשְׁרוּ עָלָיו וַיִּרְגְּמֻהוּ אֶבֶן בְּמִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּחֲצַר בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the king's command in the courtyard of the House of Hashem.
What is the meaning of "And they conspired against him"? The Malbim explains: they did not execute him through the legal process of the elders, but through a conspiracy - several people banding together in a plot against someone. Here, too, they conspired together to go and murder Zechariah. Furthermore, a king has authority to execute only by the sword, yet here they killed him with stones, which is not among the forms of execution permitted to a king. And there was yet another grave sin: "in the courtyard of the House of Hashem" - in a holy place. Killing an ordinary person in the sanctuary of Hashem is grave, and how much more so a Kohen and a prophet, as we have seen.
Ingratitude and Invoking Divine Judgment
וְלֹא־זָכַר יוֹאָשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ הַחֶסֶד אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוֹיָדָע אָבִיו עִמּוֹ וַיַּהֲרֹג אֶת־בְּנוֹ וּכְמוֹתוֹ אָמַר יֵרֶא יְהֹוָה וְיִדְרֹשׁ׃ - And King Yoash did not remember the kindness that Yehoyada his father had done for him, and killed his son; and as he died, he said: 'May Hashem see and demand reckoning.'
This is the most terrible thing of all. After all, you would have been dead! Had it not been for Yehoyada hiding you for six years in the Holy of Holies, and had he not brought you out afterward and led a revolt against Atalyah to crown you king, you would be nothing today. And this is the favor you repay him with? Murdering his son? How can one comprehend such a thing? He did not remember the kindness, repaying evil for good - particularly since Zechariah was his son-in-law.
"And as he died" - that is, at the time of his death, he said, "May Hashem see and demand reckoning," which is an invocation of Divine judgment. Now, it is written that a person is forbidden to invoke Divine judgment against another; one must not say: Master of the Universe, see what he did to me, You exact retribution from him! This is a very grave matter, for one who invokes Divine judgment draws judgment upon himself: in Heaven they say, "Why does he consider himself so righteous? Let us examine his own record!"
And realize that the most terrifying thing for a person is having his ledger examined. It is written that if the Holy One, blessed be He, were to enter into strict judgment with Avraham, he would not be able to stand. We do not need strict judgment at all; even if He deals with us in mercy, if our ledgers are merely scrutinized, we are in serious trouble. Ask a businessman: his greatest fear is being selected for a tax audit. "What are you worried about? Isn't everything in order?" "No, sir, not everything is in order; they will always find something." And if that is true with the tax authorities, how much more so regarding the service of the Holy One, blessed be He, which spans day and night. If a person is audited, woe to him!
However, Chazal teach that one is forbidden to invoke Divine judgment unless there is no earthly court of justice. When there is no earthly justice, it is permitted. We find this with King David, who invoked Divine judgment - and why? Who could judge Shaul? What court could put King Shaul on trial? "Master of the Universe, I have a grievance against one whom no one on earth can judge; only You can judge!" - and that is permissible. So too here: since there was no one to judge King Yoash, who was above everyone, to what court could Zechariah take him? Where could he summon him? Especially since he had nowhere left to go to seek justice, as he himself was dying. These were his final words.
"At the Turn of the Year" - Immediate Retribution
וַיְהִי לִתְקוּפַת הַשָּׁנָה עָלָה עָלָיו חֵיל אֲרָם וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלַיִם וַיַּשְׁחִיתוּ אֶת־כׇּל־שָׂרֵי הָעָם מֵעָם וְכׇל־שְׁלָלָם שִׁלְּחוּ לְמֶלֶךְ דַּרְמָשֶׂק׃ - And it was at the turn of the year that the army of Aram marched against him; they came to Yehudah and Yerushalayim, destroyed all the officers of the nation from among the people, and sent all their plunder to the king of Damascus.
The Malbim notes: their punishment was not delayed; immediately at the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against him. The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that the sin of the people of Yehudah was greater than that of the other tribes, as it says, "And they abandoned the House of Hashem, the God of their fathers." As for the other tribes, we have already seen that their corruption dated from ancient times, rebelling against Hashem ever since the days of Yarovam. In contrast, the kingdom of Yehudah had many periods of righteous kings, and therefore their sin was far graver - for when someone still knows better and possesses a connection, the claim against him is far greater than against one who does not know at all and has no connection. That is why the Divine reckoning here focused primarily on Yehudah.
"And destroyed all the officers of the nation from among the people" - according to the commentary attributed to Rashi: they destroyed all the leaders of the people so that they ceased being a people. The Radak explains: "all the officers of the people" - and furthermore, they also destroyed from among the common people, as two distinct matters. And why specifically the officers of the people? The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: consider what happened after Yehoyada died - "the officers of Yehudah came and bowed down to the king." Who initiated this entire downfall? The officers of Yehudah. They were the ones who bowed to Yoash, telling him that he was divine and should be worshipped. The corruption began with them - and therefore they were the first to pay the price, and only afterward, "and sent all their plunder to the king of Damascus."
The Malbim adds: in Melachim (Kings), it is written that earlier, Hazael king of Aram wanted to march against Yoash, and Yoash went and gave him all his treasures so that he would turn away from him. Zechariah rebuked him for this: you went and gave all your treasures, Hashem has abandoned you, you will have no success. And now Ezra comes and recounts that at the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched up - they came on their own, without the king, and destroyed all the princes of the people.
"With a Small Number of Men" - A Victory Entirely of Divine Providence
כִּי בְמִצְעַר אֲנָשִׁים בָּאוּ חֵיל אֲרָם וַיהֹוָה נָתַן בְּיָדָם חַיִל לָרֹב מְאֹד כִּי עָזְבוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וְאֶת־יוֹאָשׁ עָשׂוּ שְׁפָטִים׃ - For the army of Aram came with a small number of men, yet Hashem delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken Hashem, the God of their fathers; and they executed judgments against Yoash.
See how providential and supernatural this was: they came "with a small number of men" - a tiny force that had no natural chance of subduing Yehudah. How then did they succeed? "Yet Hashem delivered a very great army into their hand" - He gave immense strength into their hands. And why? "Because they had forsaken Hashem." This is just as it is written: "Were it not that their Rock had sold them, and Hashem had delivered them up" - the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered them into their hands.
"And they executed judgments against Yoash" - severe tortures. Our Sages say that they tortured him, for the word "shefatim" (judgments) relates to the fact that he made himself into a god; therefore, retribution had to be exacted from him to demonstrate: is this a god? He cannot even protect himself! Here they are torturing him and afflicting him - and this is a god?
And this is also one of the reasons that that man (the founder of Christianity) underwent severe torture. If he is a god, why could he not save himself, as Radak says? If he is a god, let him save himself! Does a god fall into the hands of others and cannot defend himself? Woe to us from such a god. This proves that he has no power to defend himself, and he is certainly not a god.
Thus we see throughout history that when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to demonstrate the futility of idols - "and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments" - the judgments that Hashem executes upon idols prove their absolute nothingness. That is why the Egyptians set out to pursue Bnei Yisrael: there at Pi Hachirot, one idol remained, an object of idolatry was left. And why did Hashem leave it? To mislead them: behold, all the idols melted, collapsed, and crumbled, yet here is one that remained - evidently it is still capable. It was bait to draw them into battle: "You see they are trapped before Pi Hachirot; it is a sign that this god still possesses power!" So too here, there was a purpose in afflicting and torturing Yoash: to reveal the complete falsehood of his divinity.
The Death of Yoash - Measure for Measure
וּבְלֶכְתָּם מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי־עָזְבוּ אֹתוֹ בְּמַחֲלֻיִים רַבִּים הִתְקַשְּׁרוּ עָלָיו עֲבָדָיו בִּדְמֵי בְּנֵי יְהוֹיָדָע הַכֹּהֵן וַיַּהַרְגֻהוּ עַל־מִטָּתוֹ וַיָּמֹת וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ בְּעִיר דָּוִיד וְלֹא קְבָרֻהוּ בְּקִבְרוֹת הַמְּלָכִים׃ - And when they departed from him - for they left him with many illnesses - his servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Yehoyada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
"And when they departed from him - for they left him with many illnesses" - they left him already severely stricken, suffering from many ailments. Yet even that was not enough, and someone came to deliver the final blow: "his servants conspired against him" - his own servants formed a conspiracy against him. And why? The prophet reveals: "for the blood of the sons of Yehoyada the priest" - because he had shed the blood of the sons of Yehoyada. Because of this, they killed him on his bed and he died, and they buried him - note this - in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
"For the blood of the sons of Yehoyada" - for the blood of Zechariah, who was the son of Yehoyada, because Yoash did not remember the goodness and kindness that Yehoyada had done for him, and went and murdered his son. The commentary attributed to Rashi adds that there was a measure-for-measure retribution here: you killed Zechariah when he was quiet, peaceful, and confident. He had no fear that anyone would harm him - and why would anyone harm him? He was the Kohen Gadol, he was the son of Yehoyada who had saved the king, he was the king's son-in-law; the most tranquil and secure of men, whom no one would touch. Yet despite all this, you went and murdered him. Therefore, Yoash too was killed by his servants while lying on his bed, feeling secure in his tranquility and expecting to recover - and they came and killed him in that very serenity, corresponding to how he had killed Zechariah while Zechariah was in peace and quiet.
"The Sons of Yehoyada" in the Plural
Here the commentators pause: What is meant by "for the blood of the sons of Yehoyada"? Previously we saw "Zechariah the son of Yehoyada", yet now it uses the plural. The Radak suggests: It is possible that when they executed Zechariah, they also killed the other sons of Yehoyada. Such was the practice in those times - when a king executed someone, he would eliminate the entire family. And why? Because otherwise, one of them might arise as a blood avenger to take retribution against the king, incite a rebellion, or act against him in some way. Even today, totalitarian regimes operate like this: when they purge a troublemaker, they eliminate him, his children, and everyone else - burying them deep underground. They leave behind no one who might kindle the embers of rebellion.
Another possibility is that he had only one son, so why is it phrased in the plural? This is like the verse, "And the sons of Dan: Chushim" - where Dan had only a single son, yet Scripture says "And the sons of Dan", meaning all his sons consisted of this one. So too here: all of his sons amounted to only one, namely Zechariah alone.
The Malbim notes that the Book of Melachim records that they struck him down at Beis Millo. He resolves this: there he was lying bedridden in illness, and there they assassinated him. This detail is not mentioned in our text, but there is no contradiction here, as Ezra came to supplement details that were omitted there.
The Conspirators - Descendants of Ammon and Moav
וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּתְקַשְּׁרִים עָלָיו זָבָד בֶּן־שִׁמְעָת הָעַמּוֹנִית וִיהוֹזָבָד בֶּן־שִׁמְרִית הַמּוֹאָבִית׃ - And these are those who conspired against him: Zavad the son of Shimat the Ammonitess, and Yehozavad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.
These are the ones who rose up against him, forming a conspiracy to assassinate him. Pseudo-Rashi cites the words of Chazal: Why should it matter to me who they were or where they descended from, whether from Bnei Yisrael or from Moav? What is the reason for emphasizing that they were Ammonites and Moabites? Rather, let ungrateful people - who denied the kindness Avraham Avinu showed to their ancestor Lot, for Avraham saved his nephew Lot, and Ammon and Moav descended from him, existing only in Avraham's merit; yet how could they turn around and attack his descendants, Bnei Yisrael? They even hired Bil'am to curse his children. Let them come and execute retribution against Yoash, who denied the kindness of Yehoyada and killed his son Zechariah. This is explicitly stated in the Mechilta.
"Zavad" - the Metzudas Tzion comments: in Melachim II it is written "Yozavad", and he went by both names. And here it is written "Shimrith" while there it is "Shomer", and as we have explained numerous times, and as the Radak notes, the same name is often mentioned with slight variations, as people were called by several forms of a name.
Conclusion of the Chapter: "In the Midrash of the Book of Kings"
וּבָנָיו (ורב) [יִרֶב] הַמַּשָּׂא עָלָיו וִיסוֹד בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים עַל־מִדְרַשׁ סֵפֶר הַמְּלָכִים וַיִּמְלֹךְ אֲמַצְיָהוּ בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ - And concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burden laid upon him, and the rebuilding of the House of God, behold, they are written in the Midrash of the Book of Kings; and Amatzyahu his son reigned in his stead.
"And his sons" - the account of the story of his sons, as the Metzudas David explains. "The greatness of the burden laid upon him" - the increase of burdens upon him, "burden" referring to the prophecies that the prophets prophesied against him. "And the rebuilding of the House of God" - how he reinforced and restored the House of God. And all these are written "in the Midrash of the Book of Kings" - that is, the chronicle of the kings was called a midrash because they would delve into and expound the accounts and affairs of the kings and everything that occurred to them.
The Malbim distinguishes between the written text (ketiv) and the spoken tradition (keri). According to the written text, "and the abundance of the burden upon him": his sons, and the abundance of burdens proclaimed against him - meaning the prophecy of the prophets; "and the rebuilding of the House of God" - how he initially renovated the House of God; all this is written in the book of the Midrash of Kings. But according to the spoken tradition, read as "Yirev HaMasa Alav", notice: "And his sons" - here their names begin! One son's name was "Yirev HaMasa Alav", and the other was named "Yesod Beis HaElohim", and the story of his sons is recorded in the Midrash of Kings. That is, according to this interpretation, the names of two of his sons are mentioned here. And with this, we conclude chapter 24 of Divrei HaYamim B.
In summary:
The chapter opens with a king who renovated the House of Hashem and closes with a king murdered in his bed, denied burial in the tombs of the kings. It all began with the enticement of the ministers who deified him; it continued with the worship of the Asherim and the idols - modeled after his own likeness - and it culminated in the murder of Zechariah the son of Yehoyada, a prophet, Kohen Gadol, and the king's son-in-law, right in the courtyard of the House of Hashem on Yom Kippur. The Malbim enumerates four severe dimensions to this sin, and above all of them, vile ingratitude: repaying evil for the benevolence of the man who had saved his life and crowned him king. And Zechariah's final cry - "May Hashem see and demand," an appeal to Heavenly judgment that was permitted here because there was no earthly court to judge the king - was answered immediately, at the turn of the year, through a tiny Aramean force that vanquished a vast host, and through the "judgments" they inflicted upon Yoash to demonstrate the utter falsehood of his alleged divinity. In the end, the ultimate ingrates, the descendants of Ammon and Moab, came to exact retribution from this ungrateful king - measure for measure, slain in his security upon his bed, just as Zechariah had been struck down in serenity.