Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 2. Forty-two, and so forth Divers Greek Bibles read twenty-two, agreeably to 4 Kennicott. 8:18. ( Challoner.) with the Syr. and Arab. The Rom. ( Calmet.) and Alex. Septuagint have “twenty.” Bible.—Ochozias was the youngest son, and his father died at forty years of age. Calmet. 21:20. Calmet.—Others would date from the birth of Amri, (Broughton) or of Athalia. But is most probable that we should read 22, as 4 Kennicott. Calmet.—The contradiction has so much perplexed the commentators, that Walton (prol. 36) puts it among the quædam απορα; and De Dieu says, “I would rather plainly confess that this difficulty is to us inexplicable.” The error here, “is plainly owing to a mistake of one of the Hebrew numeral letters,” c, being put instead of m, which was formerly more similar than it is now. “In Origen’s Hexapla, one of the Greek copies (probably that found in Caracalla’s time) reads here cb, by rendering the number 22, εικοσι και δυο, all which proofs make the mistake indubitable, and strongly recommend this method of correcting it.” Kennicott.—Mariana, Tirinus. and so forth had already suggested this plan, ( Bible.) which is very plausible. D.—Ochozias might reign twenty years with his father, and only one alone. 4 Kennicott. 8:26. Worthington.