2 Chronicles 21

This chapter continues the account of the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah in 2 Chronicles. After the reign of Jehoshaphat, which concludes in 2 Chronicles 20, his son Jehoram ascends the throne. The account is more detailed than the parallel treatment of the same period in 2 Kings 8:16–24.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Jehoshaphat dies and is buried in the city of David, and his firstborn, Jehoram, becomes king. His other sons receive silver, gold, and fortified cities.
• Verses 4–7 Jehoram kills his brothers and some of the princes with the sword. He comes to the throne at thirty-two and reigns eight years, doing evil like the house of Ahab, for his wife is Ahab's daughter. Yet God does not destroy the house of David because of the covenant He made with David.
• Verses 8–10 Edom revolts and sets up its own king. Jehoram strikes by night at the Edomite forces that have surrounded him, but Edom ultimately breaks free, and Libnah also revolts.
• Verses 11–15 Jehoram builds high places and leads the people into idolatry. The prophet Elijah sends him a writing announcing that calamity and a grievous disease of the bowels will come upon him.
• Verses 16–17 The Philistines and the Arabians invade and carry away the treasures of the king's house, along with the king's wives and sons. Only his youngest son, Jehoahaz, is left.
• Verses 18–20 Jehoram is stricken with an incurable disease of the bowels and dies after two years. The people make no burning in his honor, and although he is buried in the city of David, he is not laid in the sepulchres of the kings.

Key Verses

• 2 Chronicles 21:7 "as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever" — The text grounds the dynasty's survival, despite the king's wickedness, in the Davidic covenant.
• 2 Chronicles 21:12 "And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet" — This is the only passage in Chronicles in which Elijah appears.
• 2 Chronicles 21:20 "and departed without being desired" — This is the Chronicler's verdict on Jehoram's life.

People and Places

• Jehoram: King of Judah and firstborn son of Jehoshaphat. A king of the same name reigned in the northern kingdom of Israel during the same period.
• Jehoshaphat: Jehoram's father.
• Ahab: King of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose daughter was Jehoram's wife. Her name is given as Athaliah in 2 Chronicles 22.
• Elijah: A prophet who ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Asa: Jehoshaphat's father, mentioned in Elijah's writing as a king whose example Jehoram should have followed.
• Jehoahaz: The youngest son, who survived. In chapter 22 he is called Ahaziah.
• Edom: A nation southeast of Judah that broke away from Judah at this time.
• Libnah: A town in western Judah that revolted at this time.
• Philistines: A people of the coastal region west of Judah who invaded Judah together with the Arabians.

Points for Reflection

• Elijah's writing does not appear in Kings. Judging from the sequence of events in 2 Kings 2, Elijah seems already to have been taken up into heaven by this time, so interpretations differ as to when the writing was sent. Among the proposed views, some hold that Elijah wrote it in advance during his lifetime, while others hold that it was sent during the period when Jehoram reigned jointly with his father. The text itself does not specify the timing.
• The portrayal of wrongdoing as promptly followed by its consequences is often described as a characteristic perspective of Chronicles.
• In the New Testament, Jehoram appears under the name "Joram" in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:8.