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Jotham, 11th king of Judah 1–2. The time of Jotham's reign; the duration and godly nature of the reign. 3–4. Buildings in the Temple, Jerusalem and other areas of Judea. A successful war with the Ammonites. 7–9. Concluding remarks on the reign of Jotham and his death. 2 Chronicles 27:1 . Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years; His mother's name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. 2 Chronicles 27:2. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, exactly as his father Uzziah had done, only he did not enter the church of the Lord, and the people continued to sin. Wed. (2 Kings 15:32–34), The Expository Bible, vol. II, p. 528. In the description of Jotham’s piety in (2 Chronicles 27:2) there is a remark: “only he did not enter the church of the Lord,” i.e. did not imitate his father Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16-20) in his criminal attempt to perform sacred rites in the church. Some rabbis (Kimchi and others) completely misunderstood this expression to mean that Jotham, frightened by the terrible punishment that befell his father in the church, did not dare to enter the church at all and made sacrifices on the heights; Meanwhile, in the text of Art. 2 The sin of serving on high is attributed only to the people, not to the king. 2 Chronicles 27:3. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord, and built many things on the wall of Ophel; 2 Chronicles 27:4. and he built cities on the mountain of Judah, and built palaces and towers in the forests. Jotham's construction activity first touched Jerusalem and, first of all, the church: he built (v. 3) the so-called “upper” (Heb. elion, LXX: τὴν ὑψηλὴν, Vulgata: excelsam, slav.: “high”) gates of the house of the Lord, which, according to the prevailing scientific view, lay on the northern side and are identical with the gates of Benjamin (Jer. 20:2), see prof. Olesnitsky, “The Old Testament Church”, p. 669 8. In addition, Jotham built Ophel (verse 3), cf. (2 Chronicles 33:14; Neh. 3:26,11:21; Is. 32:14). The name Ophel (actually: “hill”; see (2 Kings 5:24; Micah 4:8)), as researchers of biblical antiquities believe, was the name of the eastern or southeastern part of the wall surrounding the church and the tower that stood next to it. This name could come from the outskirts of Jerusalem, located on the eastern slope of Mount Moriah (see A.S. Norov, “Journey to Holy Places,” ed. 3, 1854, part III, p. 310; Prof. Gulyaeva, “Historical Books,” p. 561; Prof. Olesnitsky, “Old Testament Church,” pp. 572,642 and etc.; cf. Josephus, “The Jewish War”, VI, 6, 2). In addition to Jerusalem, Jotham, like Jashaphat (2 Chronicles 17:12), strengthened the former and erected new cities throughout the country (v. 4). 2 Chronicles 27:5. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and defeated them, and the Ammonites gave him that year one hundred talents of silver and ten thousand cows of wheat and ten thousand barley. The Ammonites gave him this the next year and the third. 2 Chronicles 27:6. Jotham was so strong because he established his ways before the Lord his God. Like Joasaphat (2 Chronicles 20:1-25), Jotham had a war with the Ammonites that was favorable for Judah, who even now, as under Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:8), were forced to pay the king of Judah. The size of the tribute is approximate: about 150,000 rubles and about 14,000 quarters of wheat and barley (Gulyaev, “Historical Books,” p. 561). However, this influx of rich tribute into the country had a disastrous effect on the morality of the inhabitants, as can be seen from the prophetic speeches of Isaiah (Is. 1–3) and others dating back to this time. 2 Chronicles 27:7. The rest of the deeds of Jotham and all his wars and behavior are described in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: 2 Chronicles 27:8. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years. 2 Chronicles 27:9. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. 2 Chronicles does not speak directly about the war of Jotham with the kings of Syria and Israel, mentioned in (2 Kings 15:37), reporting only about the war with the Ammonites (v. 5), unknown from 2 Kings: obviously, both books in this case, as in many others, complement each other. That, however, the sacred writer of 2 Chronicles knew about the wars of Jotham and, in addition to the Ammonite, can be seen from the expression (v. 7): “all his wars ... are described in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.” Although both sources mentioned here after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, during the captivity or shortly after it, could have united and formed, as it were, one historical document, mention of the activities and wars of Jotham, king of Judah, in the annals of the kings of Israel was possible only in the case when Jotham waged war with the king of Israel; therefore, the knowledge of the holy writer of 2 Chronicles of the Syro-Israelite war with the Jews is beyond doubt. In the second Jerusalem temple there was an “upper” gate on the western wall in the courtyard of the women (Mishna, Sukkah V, 5), Josephus called these gates Corinthian (i.e. made of Corinthian copper - an alloy of gold, silver and copper, “Jewish War”, V, 5, 3, see Prof. A.A. 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