Chapter 16 in Sefer Melachim B deals entirely with the reign of Achaz son of Yotam, king of Yehudah. Yotam his father was a righteous king, but Achaz was a wicked king, and this chapter describes his decline: passing his son through fire, the siege of Aram and Yisrael upon Yerushalayim, reliance on the king of Assyria, and finally the alteration of the service in the Beit HaMikdash and the placing of a foreign altar in place of Shlomo's altar. We will proceed according to the order of the pesukim, explain based on the Malbim, Rashi, and the Radak, and conclude with words from Yeshayahu and from Divrei HaYamim.
בִּשְׁנַת שְׁבַע־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לְפֶקַח בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ מָלַךְ אָחָז בֶּן־יוֹתָם מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה׃ בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָחָז בְּמׇלְכוֹ וְשֵׁשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְלֹא־עָשָׂה הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו כְּדָוִד אָבִיו׃ - In the seventeenth year of Pekach son of Remalyahu, Achaz son of Yotam king of Yehudah became king. Achaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Yerushalayim, and he did not do what was right in the eyes of Hashem his God, like David his father.
Achaz reigned sixteen years in Yerushalayim, and unlike his father Yotam who was righteous, he did not do what was right in the eyes of Hashem like David his father. And not only did he not walk in the ways of his forefathers, but he walked in the way of the kings of Yisrael, and he did not even stop at that.
וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגַם אֶת־בְּנוֹ הֶעֱבִיר בָּאֵשׁ כְּתֹעֲבוֹת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִישׁ יְהֹוָה אֹתָם מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And he walked in the way of the kings of Yisrael, and he also passed his son through fire, like the abominations of the nations that Hashem had driven out from before Bnei Yisrael.
There is a variation in wording between the verses here: here it says "and he also passed his son through fire," while in Divrei HaYamim it says "and he burned his sons in the fire" - in the plural. Chazal explain that Chizkiyahu the king, who was the son of Achaz and was destined to be a righteous king, was saved from the fire because "his mother smeared him with salamander." The salamander is a kind of lizard that would form inside a furnace of fire that had been kept burning continuously for seven years, and that lizard is immune to fire. The Rambam even writes in his time that this lizard was known. Whoever would smear his body with its blood would also become immune to fire, and would not be burned or scorched.
And what is "passing through fire"? They would make two bonfires and run the child between them, and at that moment they would beat drums to drown out his cries, so that his screams would not be heard. Usually the child would die there along the way. With Chizkiyahu, after his mother smeared him with salamander, they were unable to kill him when they passed him to the Molech, and thus he survived. Therefore in Divrei HaYamim it says "his sons" - since he truly passed both of his sons, while here it says "his son" in the singular, for in fact only one of them died, and the second son was not fully "passed" through, because he was saved.
וַיְזַבֵּחַ וַיְקַטֵּר בַּבָּמוֹת וְעַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת וְתַחַת כׇּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן׃ - And he slaughtered and burned incense on the high places, and on the hills, and under every leafy tree.
אָז יַעֲלֶה רְצִין מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם וּפֶקַח בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיָּצֻרוּ עַל־אָחָז וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִלָּחֵם׃ - Then Retzin king of Aram and Pekach son of Remalyahu king of Yisrael went up to Yerushalayim for war, and they besieged Achaz but were unable to fight.
Retzin king of Aram and Pekach son of Remalyahu, who reigned over the ten tribes, form an alliance and go up together to war against Yerushalayim. "And they besieged Achaz but were unable to fight" - the people of Yerushalayim strengthened themselves against the siege and did not allow the besiegers to breach the wall.
בָּעֵת הַהִיא הֵשִׁיב רְצִין מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם אֶת־אֵילַת לַאֲרָם וַיְנַשֵּׁל אֶת־הַיְּהוּדִים מֵאֵילוֹת וַאֲדֹמִים בָּאוּ אֵילַת וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - At that time Retzin king of Aram restored Eilat to Aram, and drove the Jews out of Eilot, and Edomites came to Eilat and dwelt there to this day.
We saw earlier that Uziyahu restored Eilat to Israel. Now, when Retzin king of Aram comes to attack Achaz, he takes back for himself what had been taken from him, and drives the Jews out of Eilot. The written form is "Arameans" and the read form is "Edomites," and some say that he settled there people of Edom, and they dwelt there to this day.
וַיִּשְׁלַח אָחָז מַלְאָכִים אֶל־תִּגְלַת פְּלֶסֶר מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר לֵאמֹר עַבְדְּךָ וּבִנְךָ אָנִי עֲלֵה וְהוֹשִׁעֵנִי מִכַּף מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם וּמִכַּף מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל הַקּוֹמִים עָלָי׃ - And Achaz sent messengers to Tiglat Peleser king of Ashur, saying: I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising against me.
As was the way of the kings of Israel and Judah in those generations, they are always looking for someone to lean on. Once they tried to lean on Egypt, a broken reed of a staff, and now they try to lean on the king of Ashur. They give him a sum of money and ask for protection: "I am your servant and your son; come up and save me."
וַיִּקַּח אָחָז אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף וְאֶת־הַזָּהָב הַנִּמְצָא בֵּית יְהֹוָה וּבְאֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלַח לְמֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר שֹׁחַד׃ - And Achaz took the silver and the gold that was found in the House of Hashem and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it to the king of Ashur as a bribe.
He sends him money in order to bribe him. And what is a "bribe" (shochad)? Our Sages say: shochad, for it is chad, from the word "one" (in Aramaic "chad"). That is, when I want to turn your opinion into one opinion with mine, money answers everything. A sum of money, and suddenly the opinions become one: you become my defender, and every deed I do you view in a positive light. And all of it because of what? Financial interests. That is a bribe.
וַיִּשְׁמַע אֵלָיו מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר וַיַּעַל מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר אֶל־דַּמֶּשֶׂק וַיִּתְפְּשֶׂהָ וַיַּגְלֶהָ קִירָה וְאֶת־רְצִין הֵמִית׃ - And the king of Ashur listened to him, and the king of Ashur went up against Damascus and captured it, and exiled it to Kir, and put Retzin to death.
The king of Ashur delivers the goods. Damascus is the seat of the king of Aram, and while Retzin leaves Damascus and comes to fight against Judah, the king of Ashur strikes Aram in its city, so that Retzin will be forced to withdraw from Judah and return to defend his own land. "And exiled it to Kir" refers to the city of Kir, which is in Ashur, and instead of saying "to Kir" it says "Kirah" with a hei at the end, like "Mitzrayimah" (to Egypt).
The way of the king of Ashur, as we will see further on, was to carry out population exile: he conquers a place and exiles all its people to another place, and brings the people of the other place here. In this way he ensures that they will not try to rebel against him, for people who are in a place that is not their natural environment are first of all occupied with the question of how they will organize themselves and what they will eat today, and they have no leisure for thoughts of rebellion. Thus he brought the Kutim here, and took Israel to Kuta, to Avva, to Sefarvayim and to the other places from which he exiled the peoples he conquered. And this is what our Sages said: Sancheriv came and confused the nations. In that population exile a situation was created in which we no longer know who is an Edomite and who is an Ishmaelite, who is an Amalekite, who is an Ammonite and who is a Moabite, and consequently we do not have the halachot that were stated regarding them, for we have no certainty about any nation.
The Malbim raises a difficulty: in Divrei HaYamim it is written that the king of Ashur distressed him and did not strengthen him, whereas here it seems to imply that he did strengthen him, since he went and struck Aram in Damascus. The Malbim resolves that there is no contradiction: he removed only the king of Aram from upon him, but besides Aram there was also Pekach ben Remalyahu, king of Yisrael, against him. Let us define it this way: he did not give full value for the fee. Achaz paid him good coin so that he would rescue him completely, and he did remove Damascus and the king of Aram from upon him, but he did not remove all the rest, so it turns out that he did not truly guard him and protect him.
וַיֵּלֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז לִקְרַאת תִּגְלַת פִּלְאֶסֶר מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר דּוּמֶּשֶׂק וַיַּרְא אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר בְּדַמָּשֶׂק וַיִּשְׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז אֶל־אוּרִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־דְּמוּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְאֶת־תַּבְנִיתוֹ לְכׇל־מַעֲשֵׂהוּ׃ - And King Achaz went to meet Tiglat Pileser king of Ashur at Damascus, and he saw the altar that was in Damascus, and King Achaz sent to Uriyah the Kohen the likeness of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.
Achaz goes to meet Tiglat Pileser king of Ashur, who is now in Damascus after having conquered it, apparently to express gratitude and perhaps to bring him a gift. There he sees the altar in Damascus, and its form pleases him. He sends to Uriyah the Kohen the "likeness of the altar and its pattern according to all its workmanship" - an exact description, a sketch, precisely as the altar of the king of Aram appeared.
וַיִּבֶן אוּרִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז מִדַּמֶּשֶׂק כֵּן עָשָׂה אוּרִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן עַד־בּוֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ־אָחָז מִדַּמָּשֶׂק׃ - And Uriyah the Kohen built the altar according to all that King Achaz had sent from Damascus; so did Uriyah the Kohen make it before King Achaz came from Damascus.
Uriyah the Kohen was quick: even before Achaz managed to return from Damascus to the Beit HaMikdash, Uriyah had already managed to build the altar.
וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ מִדַּמֶּשֶׂק וַיַּרְא הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וַיִּקְרַב הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וַיַּעַל עָלָיו׃ וַיַּקְטֵר אֶת־עֹלָתוֹ וְאֶת־מִנְחָתוֹ וַיַּסֵּךְ אֶת־נִסְכּוֹ וַיִּזְרֹק אֶת־דַּם־הַשְּׁלָמִים אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ׃ - And the king came from Damascus, and the king saw the altar, and the king drew near upon the altar and offered upon it. And he burned his olah and his minchah, and poured his libation, and sprinkled the blood of his shelamim upon the altar.
The altar pleases him and he begins to offer upon it olot, menachot, libations, and sprinkles upon it the blood of shelamim. This altar becomes his primary altar. And note the absurdity: this is an altar of idolatry, the altar of Aram, and Aram was struck by Tiglat Pileser king of Ashur. You saw with your own eyes that this altar did not succeed in protecting its worshippers! Why would you go and take for yourself a god that is an underdog? You saw that it failed at its task, and now you take it as your god and bring its altar to yourself? This is impossible to understand.
וְאֵת הַמִּזְבַּח הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיַּקְרֵב מֵאֵת פְּנֵי הַבַּיִת מִבֵּין הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וּמִבֵּין בֵּית יְהֹוָה וַיִּתֵּן אֹתוֹ עַל־יֶרֶךְ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ צָפוֹנָה׃ - And the copper altar that was before Hashem he brought forward from the front of the House, from between the altar and the House of Hashem, and set it on the north side of the altar.
This pasuk is very difficult. According to the plain meaning of the text it says that Achaz moved the copper altar from its place opposite the entrance of the Heichal, and set the new altar that was built opposite the entrance of the Heichal. But one must ask: was there a copper altar in the time of Shlomo? The copper altar was only in the Mishkan. After they came here and Shlomo built the House, he made a high altar of stones, and that was the altar. The copper altar was stored away. What remained of the copper is not relevant here, for the inner altar was the golden altar, the incense altar, upon which sacrifices were not offered, whereas the sacrifices were offered upon Shlomo's stone altar. If so, how does the text mention here a "copper altar"?
Many explain that the altar Shlomo built of stone came in place of the copper altar that was in the Mishkan, and therefore it too was called the "copper altar," for it stands in its place and it is the one upon which the sacrifices are offered. This is very fine, but there is a problem: the altar was very large and fixed, built of stones, and it is not possible to move it - it was not on wheels. If so, how can it be said that he moved it and placed another in its place? Furthermore, the text does not say that he demolished the altar, and on the contrary, later it says that he continued from time to time to visit it. Nor can it be said that they destroyed it, for we learned that the fire which descended in the days of Shlomo upon the copper altar - that is, the stone altar - did not depart until Menashe came and removed it. And we are still before Menashe, and even before Chizkiyahu, still in the days of Achaz. It turns out that the altar exists, and if so how can it be understood that he brought another altar and placed it in its place?
Because of this, Rashi explains that the intent is not the altar itself but the lavers and their stands made of copper. The stands were fixtures upon which the lavers were set, and in them the Kohanim washed their hands. They were made of copper and stood on wheels, which is why they were called "mechonot" (stands), for they were movable, and they were placed beside the altar. When it says that he moved the "copper altar," the intent is the lavers and stands made of copper, which he moved in order to set there the altar that he built. And why were they called by the name copper altar? Rashi says: because they serve the needs of the altar and they are made of copper, therefore he called them by this name. And Rashi brings a proof from the pasuk "and they came and stood beside the copper altar," and the Gemara asks regarding the pasuk in Yechezkel: was there a copper altar there? And Chazal say: begin from the place where they sing before Me, meaning the musical instruments that were made of copper, and since they serve the needs of the altar they are called "copper altar." So too the lavers, which serve the needs of the altar, are called copper altar.
The Malbim, by contrast, also agrees that certainly it is not possible to move the permanent altar, but he explains that the "copper altar" is the stone altar of Shlomo, and it is called so because it came in place of the copper altar that existed in the days of Moshe. This altar stood before the entrance of the Heichal, only that it was drawn off to the side. And what Achaz did: the new altar that he built he brought closer to the entrance of the Heichal, that is, he set it nearer to the Heichal, for the Heichal and the Holy of Holies are the most sacred and elevated place, and whatever is nearer is considered, as it were, of greater importance. He brought the new altar closer to the entrance of the Heichal than Shlomo's altar, and therefore the matter is considered as if he removed that altar and brought this one closer. This is one explanation.
And the Malbim brings a further explanation, which admittedly does not fit so well with the punctuation of the pesukim, but has merit. One can read it thus: "and he poured his libation and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings upon the altar, and the copper altar which is before Hashem" - period. For "et" also means "with": he sprinkled the blood of the peace offerings upon his altar together with the copper altar which is before Hashem. In plain words, he sprinkled the blood both on the altar he built and on the copper altar. According to this, the first part of the pasuk repeats the previous pasuk and specifies where he sprinkled the blood, and only afterward does a new subject begin: the altar he built, where did he place it? Opposite the entrance of the Heichal.
וַיְצַוֶּה הַמֶּלֶךְ־אָחָז אֶת־אוּרִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן לֵאמֹר עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ הַגָּדוֹל הַקְטֵר אֶת־עֹלַת־הַבֹּקֶר וְאֶת־מִנְחַת הָעֶרֶב וְאֶת־עֹלַת הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־מִנְחָתוֹ וְאֵת עֹלַת כׇּל־עַם הָאָרֶץ וּמִנְחָתָם וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם וְכׇל־דַּם עֹלָה וְכׇל־דַּם־זֶבַח עָלָיו תִּזְרֹק וּמִזְבַּח הַנְּחֹשֶׁת יִהְיֶה־לִּי לְבַקֵּר׃ - And King Achaz commanded Uriyah the Kohen, saying: Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king's burnt offering and his meal offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their libations; and all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice you shall sprinkle upon it, and the copper altar shall be for me to inspect.
Do you hear what he says to him? All the offerings shall be brought upon the altar that I made, while the copper altar shall remain "for me to inspect" - from time to time, when I come, I will also visit it. This is what is called idolatry in partnership: he does not entirely reject the copper altar, but leaves it aside, so that it should not feel deprived.
וַיַּעַשׂ אוּרִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז׃ - And Uriyah the Kohen did according to all that King Achaz commanded.
וַיְקַצֵּץ הַמֶּלֶךְ אָחָז אֶת־הַמִּסְגְּרוֹת הַמְּכוֹנֹת וַיָּסַר מֵעֲלֵיהֶם אֶת־הַכִּיֹּר וְאֶת־הַיָּם הוֹרִד מֵעַל הַבָּקָר הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר תַּחְתֶּיהָ וַיִּתֵּן אֹתוֹ עַל מַרְצֶפֶת אֲבָנִים׃ - And King Achaz cut off the borders of the stands and removed from upon them the laver, and the Sea he took down from upon the copper oxen that were beneath it, and set it upon a pavement of stones.
The stands were made with borders in which the lavers were set. Achaz cuts off the borders of the stands and removes the laver from upon them. And the "Sea" - that enormous basin that Shlomo made, which stood upon twelve copper oxen, three toward each of the four directions of the heavens - he took down from upon the oxen, and the very heavy Sea he set upon a pavement of stones.
And all this, says the Radak, he did only by way of disgrace and provocation, just as he extinguished the lamps and just as he shut the doors of the House of Hashem. And from here comes his name: Achaz, for he seized (achaz) the doors of the Beit HaMikdash, and seized the doors of the Beit HaMidrash, so that he did not allow occupation with Torah and did not allow anyone to enter and offer sacrifices, as we shall see later. All this he did in his wickedness in order to provoke his Creator: he wanted to make his own altar the primary one, and everything else that was done according to Hashem's word he set aside, he nullified it all, lowered it and disgraced it.
וְאֶת־מוּסַךְ הַשַּׁבָּת אֲשֶׁר־בָּנוּ בַבַּיִת וְאֶת־מְבוֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ הַחִיצוֹנָה הֵסֵב בֵּית יְהֹוָה מִפְּנֵי מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר׃ - And the covered structure of the Shabbat that they had built in the House, and the outer entry of the king, he turned about the House of Hashem because of the king of Assyria.
"מוסך" comes from the word for covering (sechacha). One must know that the courtyard was an exposed place, without a roof and without any covering. There, in the place where they offered all the sacrifices, rain never extinguished the fire of the arrangement upon the altar in the courtyard of the priests. Now on Shabbat the watches would change, and the priests of the departing watch, who had finished their service, would remain there, so they made for them a kind of covering in which they could stay and rest until they went home. This is the "covered structure of the Shabbat that they had built in the House," and it was named after Shabbat because that was when the watches changed.
"And the outer entry of the king he turned about the House of Hashem" - there was a place through which the people would enter, and Achaz saw to it that the people could enter the Temple only through his own way, through the king's palace. In this he wished to ensure two things: first, that the people would not come to serve in the Temple; and second, that the king of Assyria would not be able to reach him, for the king's house was connected to the Temple, and if the king of Assyria had an entrance into the Temple he could through it enter the king's house as well. Once he closed the outer entrance, there was no indirect route from the Temple to the king's house, and thus he could not reach him.
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי אָחָז אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל־סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה׃ וַיִּשְׁכַּב אָחָז עִם־אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּקָּבֵר עִם־אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד וַיִּמְלֹךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו׃ - And the rest of the acts of Achaz that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Yehudah? And Achaz slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Chizkiyahu his son reigned in his place.
We will read several verses from Yeshayahu chapter 7 that serve as a supplement to our chapter. "And it was in the days of Achaz son of Yotam son of Uziyahu king of Yehudah, Retzin king of Aram and Pekach son of Remalyahu king of Israel went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but he could not prevail against it" - this is what we read here. "And it was told to the house of David saying: Aram has settled upon Ephraim" - that is, together with Ephraim, for they had joined together. "And his heart and the heart of his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble before the wind" - all of them are coming against them, and the heart shakes with fear.
"And Hashem said to Yeshayahu: Go out now to meet Achaz, you and Shear-Yashuv your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the launderer's field. And you shall say to him: Take heed and be quiet, do not fear, and let your heart not be faint because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Retzin and Aram and the son of Remalyahu. Because Aram has counseled evil against you, Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, saying: Let us go up against Yehudah and vex it and breach it for ourselves, and let us set a king in its midst, the son of Tavel" - this is their plan: to remove you from your kingship and take the monarchy. "Thus says Hashem Elokim: It shall not stand and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Retzin, and in another sixty-five years" - sixty-five years from the prophecy of Amos who prophesied about the exile - "Ephraim shall be shattered from being a people. And the head of Ephraim is Shomron and the head of Shomron is the son of Remalyahu. If you will not believe, surely you will not be established" - if you will not believe that this will be so, you will not be established, a sign that there is no faithfulness in you.
In Divrei HaYamim it is told: "Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and he did not do what was right in the eyes of Hashem like David his father. And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and he also made molten images for the Baalim. And he burned incense in the valley of Ben Hinom, and he burned his sons in fire, like the abominations of the nations that Hashem had dispossessed before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every leafy tree. And Hashem his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram, and they struck him and took from him a great captivity and brought them to Damascus. And he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him a great blow. And Pekach son of Remalyahu killed in Yehudah one hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men, because they had forsaken Hashem the God of their fathers."
Do we hear what a terrible and dreadful thing this is? Here we are speaking of Jews killing Jews: the king of Israel, Pekach son of Remalyahu, king of the ten tribes in Shomron, strikes down among the people of the king of Yehudah one hundred and twenty thousand men in one day. And the reason is stated explicitly: "because they had forsaken Hashem the God of their fathers."
"And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseyahu the son of the king, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah the second to the king. And the children of Israel took captive from their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons and daughters, and they also plundered much spoil from them, and they brought the spoil to Shomron. And there was there a prophet of Hashem, Oded was his name, and he went out before the army coming to Shomron and said to them: Behold, in the wrath of Hashem the God of your fathers upon Yehudah He gave them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reached up to heaven" - the fury and anger with which you killed one hundred and twenty thousand men. "And now you say to subdue the people of Yehudah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves? Are there not with you, even with you, guilts against Hashem your God?" - you are adding to yourselves sins and guilts by taking another two hundred thousand Jews of your brethren as slaves. "And now hear me and return the captivity that you have taken captive from your brethren, for the fierce anger of Hashem is upon you."
"And certain men of the heads of the children of Ephraim rose up: Azaryahu son of Yehochanan, Berechyahu son of Meshilemot, and Yechizkiyahu son of Shalum, and Amasa son of Chadlai, against those who came from the army. And they said to them: You shall not bring the captivity here, for you say to add to our sins and to our guilt a guilt against Hashem upon us, for our guilt is great and there is fierce anger upon Israel. And the armed men left the captivity and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. And the men who were designated by name rose up and took hold of the captives, and all their naked ones they clothed from the spoil, and they clothed them and shod them and fed them and gave them drink and anointed them, and they led on donkeys all who were feeble, and they brought them to Jericho, the city of palms, beside their brethren, and they returned to Shomron."
We see from here how great Jewish morality is, and how deeply the prophet's words affected their hearts. Two hundred thousand captives, and you understand what an enormous fortune this represents, and all of it, the captives and the money and the spoils, they went and returned it in accordance with the prophet's word.
And it continues there: "At that time King Achaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him. The Edomites came again and struck at Yehudah and carried away captives. And the Philistines raided the cities of the lowland and the Negev of Yehudah, and captured Beit Shemesh, Ayalon, Gederot, Sochoh and its villages, Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages, and settled there. For Hashem humbled Yehudah because of Achaz king of Israel, for he cast off restraint in Yehudah and acted very treacherously against Hashem." "Hifri'a" here does not mean like a disruptive student, but is from the word pera'ot (havoc), that he wrought havoc in Yehudah. See what a wicked king is and how many troubles he caused his kingdom.
"And Tilgat Pilneser king of Assyria came against him" - his name appears with slight variations - "and distressed him and did not strengthen him. For Achaz took a portion out of the House of Hashem and out of the house of the king and the officers and gave it to the king of Assyria, but it was of no help to him" - in the end, as we said, he did not deliver the goods. "And in the time of his distress he acted even more treacherously against Hashem, this King Achaz. And he sacrificed to the gods of Damesek that had struck him, and he said: Since the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. And Achaz gathered up the vessels of the House of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the House of God and shut the doors of the House of Hashem" - and from here he was called Achaz (he shut). "And he made himself altars in every corner of Yerushalayim, and in every single city of Yehudah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and he provoked Hashem the God of his fathers to anger. And the rest of his acts and all his ways, the first and the last, they are written in the book of the kings of Yehudah and Israel. And Achaz slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city, in Yerushalayim, but they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel, and Chizkiyahu his son reigned in his place."
Chapter 16 presents Achaz as a wicked king who walked in the way of the kings of Israel, passed his son through fire (and Chizkiyahu was saved by means of the salamander), sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. During the siege by Aram and Israel he chooses to lean on the king of Assyria and to bribe him with the money of the House of Hashem, but Assyria removes only Aram from him and not the rest of his adversaries. In Damesek he falls in love with an idolatrous altar, an altar that failed to protect its worshippers, and he sets up one like it in the Beit HaMikdash, bringing it close to the Heichal and pushing Shlomo's altar aside to the status of a mere "visit," idolatry in partnership. He cuts down the stands, takes the sea down off the oxen, and alters the entrances of the House, all of it, in the words of the Radak, by way of contempt and provocation. The words of Yeshayahu and of Divrei HaYamim complete the picture: the prophecy of "if you will not believe, you will not be established," one hundred and twenty thousand slain at the hands of their brothers, and against this a single ray of light: the prophecy of Oded and the men of Ephraim who returned two hundred thousand captives, clothed them, fed them, and restored them to their brothers. One wicked king brings disaster upon an entire kingdom, and his son Chizkiyahu, who was saved from the fire, is destined to rebuild the ruins.