Chapter 27: The Reign of Yotam Son of Uziyahu
Chapter 27 is a short chapter, only nine verses long, describing the reign of Yotam son of Uziyahu. Although the chapter is brief, the figure that emerges from it is one of the most exceptional among all the kings of the House of David. We will go through the verses in order and examine the explanations of the Malbim, the Radak, and the commentary attributed to Rashi.
בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה יוֹתָם בְּמׇלְכוֹ וְשֵׁשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ יְרוּשָׁה בַּת־צָדוֹק׃ - Yotam was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Yerushah daughter of Tzadok.
Yotam was twenty-five years old when he ascended the throne, and after taking the throne, he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Yerushah daughter of Tzadok.
וַיַּעַשׂ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה עֻזִּיָּהוּ אָבִיו רַק לֹא־בָא אֶל־הֵיכַל יְהֹוָה וְעוֹד הָעָם מַשְׁחִיתִים׃ - And he did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that his father Uziyahu had done, only he did not enter the Sanctuary of Hashem; yet the people still acted corruptly.
Scripture testifies concerning him that he did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem, "according to all that his father Uziyahu had done." The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that this refers to all the good deeds his father Uziyahu had done, not to the corrupted aspects of his actions.
Yotam - A King Without Blemish
The commentary attributed to Rashi cites an explanation in the name of Rabbi Elazar bar Moshe, based on the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Tractate Sukkah. Rashbi says: If Avraham Avinu stands with me, we can take upon ourselves all the sins of the generation back to his time, meaning exempt the world from judgment. And if Yotam son of Uziyahu stands with me, I can exempt the entire world from judgment, from the days of Avraham until the end of all generations.
And what was so unique about Yotam? When we examine the kings, we find that in all the kings before him and after him some sin is found, except for Yotam, in whom no sin was found - he was entirely pure. He details: David - "only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite," and the incident of Batsheva. Shlomo - his wives turned his heart away. Rechavam - abandoned the Torah of Hashem. Aviyah - "and he walked in all the sins of his father." Asa - removed silver and gold from the treasuries of the House of Hashem, and placed the prophet in the stocks, meaning sent him to prison. Yehoshaphat - allied with the wicked, and Hashem broke his works. Yehoram - killed his brothers. Achazyahu - his mother advised him to act wickedly. Yoash - killed Zechariah and was made a cult prostitute. Amatzyahu - bowed down to the idols of Seir, which he went and brought to himself. Uziyahu - entered the Sanctuary to burn incense against the will of Hashem, as we saw in the previous chapter. Achaz - shut the doors of the House of Hashem, and walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made molten images for the Baalim. Chizkiyahu - his heart grew haughty and wrath came upon him, and for three things he did the Sages did not concur with him. Menasheh - did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem for many long years. Yoshiyahu - did not heed the words of prophecy from the mouth of God, refusing to permit Pharaoh Necho to pass through his land, unaware that his generation was not genuinely upright. Tzidkiyahu - did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem and did not humble himself before Yirmiyahu, who told him to submit to the kingdom of Babylon because the Holy One, blessed be He, had granted them dominion.
Yet in Yotam no blemish was found. Therefore, if Yotam joins us, Rashbi says, I can exempt the entire world from judgment, from the days of Avraham until the end of the world. Moreover, it is said in his praise that he honored his father even after his death.
"Only He Did Not Enter the Sanctuary of Hashem" - Two Explanations
Radak presents two explanations. The first explanation: he did not enter the Sanctuary to burn incense as his father had done; that is, he did not persist in the corrupted actions of his father, who attempted to enter the Sanctuary.
The second interpretation is that because his father entered the Heichal of Hashem and suffered what happened to him, Jotham no longer wished to enter there to pray and offer sacrifices, and would sacrifice on the bamot (high places). According to this interpretation, the end of the verse is also explained: "and the people still acted corruptly", just as it is explicitly stated in Melachim: "the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places" - and not only the people, but he as well. However, this interpretation does not align smoothly with the commentary attributed to Rashi, which states that Jotham was entirely righteous without blemish, for according to this, he would have been sacrificing on the high places.
The Malbim explains according to Radak's first interpretation, closely noting the precise wording of the verse: it does not say that he did not come to the House of Hashem, but that he did not come to the Heichal of Hashem. He certainly came to the Beis HaMikdash and offered sacrifices like every other Jew - for is a king exempt from the Pesach sacrifice, from vows and freewill offerings, from the festive peace offerings and the pilgrimage appearance offerings? He is obligated in all of these like anyone else. Rather, into the inner Heichal, where the golden incense altar stood and where his father had entered to burn incense, he did not enter. He did not come into the Heichal of Hashem the way his father did, but he certainly went up to the Beis HaMikdash to offer sacrifices like everyone else.
Construction and Fortification
הוּא בָּנָה אֶת־שַׁעַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה הָעֶלְיוֹן וּבְחוֹמַת הָעֹפֶל בָּנָה לָרֹב׃ - He built the Upper Gate of the House of Hashem, and on the wall of the Ophel he built extensively.
Jotham built the Upper Gate of the House of Hashem - the very gate through which people would proceed to the royal palace - and fortified it. He also built upon the wall of the Ophel. "Ophel" denotes an elevated place, as in the phrase ofel uvachan (a stronghold and watchtower), meaning a high wall, and there he built and strengthened extensively.
וְעָרִים בָּנָה בְּהַר־יְהוּדָה וּבֶחֳרָשִׁים בָּנָה בִּירָנִיּוֹת וּמִגְדָּלִים׃ - And he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the wooded areas he built fortresses and towers.
In addition, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses (biraniyot) and towers. Chorashim comes from choresh, meaning woodlands or forest. Biraniyot is an expression that appears frequently in the Targum (rendering "their towers" as biranyatehon), connected to birah, a fortress or palace. That is, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forested regions he built massive fortresses and towers. The Malbim notes: In this he followed his father, who also built fortified cities - he inherited this drive to build from his father. However, whereas his father built in Ashdod and Philistine territory, Jotham built within Judah.
The War with Ammon and the Paid Debt
וְהוּא נִלְחַם עִם־מֶלֶךְ בְּנֵי־עַמּוֹן וַיֶּחֱזַק עֲלֵיהֶם וַיִּתְּנוּ־לוֹ בְנֵי־עַמּוֹן בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא מֵאָה כִּכַּר־כֶּסֶף וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים כֹּרִים חִטִּים וּשְׂעוֹרִים עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים זֹאת הֵשִׁיבוּ לוֹ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית׃ - He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them. That year the Ammonites gave him one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kor of wheat, and ten thousand of barley; this is what the Ammonites paid him, as well as in the second and third years.
The Ammonites had brought tribute to his father Uzziah, as seen earlier, and later rebelled. Jotham had to fight them to reassert his rule over them, and indeed, "he prevailed over them," and that year they gave him one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kor of wheat, and ten thousand kor of barley.
What is the meaning of "this is what the Ammonites paid him, as well as in the second and third years"? The Malbim explains: The first time, they repaid the debt they owed from all the years they had rebelled and failed to pay. It is just like the tax authorities: do not imagine that if you fail to pay for a year or two that is the end of the matter - they will come back later with interest and penalties. So too here: they rebelled and withheld the tribute, so he also imposed a fine on them, requiring them to pay for another two years as punishment for their rebellion. Thus, they had to pay for all the missed years, and on top of that, another two years as a fine.
וַיִּתְחַזֵּק יוֹתָם כִּי הֵכִין דְּרָכָיו לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו׃ - Jotham grew powerful, for he directed his ways before Hashem his God.
This is a unique verse stated concerning Yotam, showing that indeed throughout his entire life he walked in the way of Hashem.
The End of His Days and the Repetition of the Regnal Years
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יוֹתָם וְכׇל־מִלְחֲמֹתָיו וּדְרָכָיו הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר מַלְכֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה׃ - And the rest of the acts of Yotam, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
The rest of Yotam's deeds and all the wars he waged are recorded in their historical chronicles, namely "the book of the kings of Israel and Judah" - the records in which they would chronicle their memoirs and all that befell them.
בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה הָיָה בְמׇלְכוֹ וְשֵׁשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
Why does Scripture repeat the count of his years a second time? The Malbim explains: because the chronicles of the kings of Israel also counted toward his reign the years during which he judged the people in his father's lifetime - for Uzziah was a metzora living in seclusion, and Yotam judged the people during his lifetime. Therefore, Scripture comes here to clarify: we count only the years that he reigned on his own after his father's death. He reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem - an independent reign, without counting the earlier years when he governed during his father's lifetime.
וַיִּשְׁכַּב יוֹתָם עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ בְּעִיר דָּוִיד וַיִּמְלֹךְ אָחָז בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ - And Yotam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
Yotam passed away, and Ahaz his son arose to reign in his place.
In summary: Yotam son of Uzziah reigned for sixteen years, and did what was upright in the eyes of Hashem according to all the good deeds that his father had done - but he was careful not to enter inside the Heichal as his father had done, yet he still ascended to the Beit HaMikdash and offered sacrifices like any ordinary Jew. He fortified the Upper Gate of the House of Hashem and the wall of the Ophel, built cities in the hill country of Judah, and fortresses and towers in the wooded areas; he subjugated the Ammonites and collected their tribute with an added fine. "So Yotam grew strong, because he prepared his ways before Hashem his God" - and in the words of Rashbi, had Yotam been with him, he could have exempted the entire world from divine judgment from the days of Abraham until the end of all generations, for in all other kings some sin was found, but in Yotam no fault was found.