Jotham’s Reign
27

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem.1 His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done.2 (He did not, however, have the audacity to enter the temple.)3 Yet the people were still sinning.

3 He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple and did a lot of work on the wall in the area known as Ophel.4 4 He built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests.

5 He launched a military campaign5 against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites paid him 100 talents6 of silver, 10,000 kors7 of wheat, and 10,000 kors8 of barley. The Ammonites also paid this same amount of annual tribute the next two years.9

6 Jotham grew powerful because he was determined to please the Lord his God.10 7 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including all his military campaigns and his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.11 8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 Jotham passed away12 and was buried in the City of David.13 His son Ahaz replaced him as king.

1map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 2tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Uzziah his father had done.” 3tn Heb “except he did not enter the house of the Lord.” 4tn Heb “wall of Ophel.” See HALOT 861 s.v. II עֹפֶל. 5tn Heb “he fought with.” 6tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg). 7sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters). 8tn Heb “10,000 kors of wheat and 10,000 of barley.” The unit of measure of the barley is omitted in the Hebrew text, but is understood to be “kors,” the same as the measures of wheat. 9tn Heb “This the sons of Ammon brought to him, and in the second year and the third.” 10tn Heb “because he established his ways before the Lord his God.” 11tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and his battles and his ways, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.” 12tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” 13sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.