Глава 29

1–36. The accession of Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah, the godly nature of his reign; the opening of the church, its cleansing, the beginning of the correct performance of worship and the first sacrifices. 2 Chronicles 29:1 . Hezekiah reigned twenty-five years, and reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years; His mother's name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. 2 Chronicles 29:2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his father David had done. Wed. (2 Kings 18:2-3). Zechariah, the father of Hezekiah's mother, was identified by some rabbis with the prophet and high priest Zechariah, who was killed under Joash (2 Chronicles 24:20–22) - an assumption that is completely arbitrary and clearly untenable in view of the chronological inconsistency allowed here: the time interval between the compared persons is no less than a hundred years. The comparison of Hezekiah (v. 2), as after Josiah (2 Chron. 34:2), with David, as applied to these two kings, is particularly accurate, since of all the kings of Judah, only Hezekiah and Josiah were most similar to David in terms of piety (Sir. 49:5). It was the reforms in the field of worship carried out by Hezekiah and after Josiah that ensured their good reputation. 2 Chronicles 29:3 . In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and renewed them, The restoration of the cult by Hezekiah begins with the opening of the church of Jehovah, closed by Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:24). 2 Chronicles 29:4 . and he commanded the priests and the Levites to come, and assembled them in the eastern square, 2 Chronicles 29:5. and he said to them: Listen to me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and throw away the uncleanness from the sanctuary. 2 Chronicles 29:6. For our fathers did wrong, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they forsook Him, and they turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs, 2 Chronicles 29:7. And they shut the doors of the porch, and extinguished the lamps, and did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:8. And the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and upon Jerusalem, and He gave them over to shame, to desolation, and to ridicule, as you see with your eyes. 2 Chronicles 29:9. And behold, our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity [in a land that is not theirs] to this day. 2 Chronicles 29:10. Now it is on my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that He may turn away the flames of His wrath from us. 2 Chronicles 29:11. My children! do not be careless, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before His face, to serve Him and to be His servants and incense burners. The purification of the cult could only occur through the mediation of priests and Levites; Hezekiah addresses them with the corresponding speech (verses 5–11) “in the eastern market place” (verse 4), i.e. from the entrance to the church - in the courtyard of the church or in front of it. At the same time, the servants of the altar had to (v. 5) first cleanse themselves, and then begin to cleanse the church, which had been brought into deep neglect (vv. 5–7) during the previous reign. In Art. 8–9 - an indication of the disasters of the Jews under Ahaz from the Syrians, Israelites, Edomites, and Philistines (cf. 2 Chronicles 28:5–19; 2 Kings 16:5–7; Is. 7:1). End of Art. 9 and 10, according to the LXX translation, are read somewhat differently in different copies, and the duality that exists here is reflected by the corresponding difference in the Slavic and Russian translations of this passage. The accepted text of the LXX reads: δ καὶ νῦν ἐστιν. Ἐπι τούτοις νῦν ἐδτιν ἐπὶ καρδίας διαθέκην μοῦ, διαθήκην Κυρίου Θεοῦ Ἰσραήλ. This transmission quite accurately corresponds to the Jewish Masoretic text, and it corresponds to the reading of the Russian synodal translation: “sons, daughters and wives are in captivity to this day. Now it is on my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel.” In other Greek codes (for example, 74, 106, 120, 121, 134 in Golmes, cf. Origenis Hexaplorum Quae Supersunt) it reads: καὶ νῦν είσι ἐπὶ τούτοις. Νῦν ούν θεσθε ἐπὶ καρδίας ῦμῶν , τοῦ διαθέσθαι διαθήκην μετὰ Κυρίου Θεοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Close to the last reading is the Slavic translation “as it is now.” Now put it on your hearts to make a covenant.” Thus, according to one reading (Hebrew, Vulgata, accepted LXX and Russian), in Art. 10 we are talking about Hezekiah’s own intention to enter into a covenant with Jehovah; according to another (some codices LXX, Slavic text) reading, Hezekiah addresses the priests and Levites with this proposal or exhortation. The first reading, as more attested textually and closer to the context of the speech (the address to the priests and Levites “my children” is only in the next, 11th verse) deserves preference; the initiative to renew the theocratic covenant comes from the king. 2 Chronicles 29:12. And the Levites stood up: Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of Kohath; and of the sons of Merari: Kish the son of Obadiah, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; and from the tribe of Gershon: Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 2 Chronicles 29:13. and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Matthaniah; 2 Chronicles 29:14. and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. 2 Chronicles 29:15. They gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, and went, by order of the king, to cleanse the house of the Lord according to the words of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:16. And the priests entered into the house of the Lord to cleanse, and they carried out all the unclean things that they found in the church of the Lord into the courtyard of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took them to carry them out to the brook Kidron. 2 Chronicles 29:17. And they began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they entered the porch of the Lord; and they dedicated the house of the Lord eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 2 Chronicles 29:18. And they came to the house of king Hezekiah and said, We have cleansed the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of the showbread, and all the vessels thereof; 2 Chronicles 29:19. and all the vessels that King Ahaz threw away during his reign in his iniquity, we prepared and sanctified, and here they are before the altar of the Lord. In fulfillment of the royal command, the priests and Levites hastily cleansed the church from all the impurities of idolatry introduced there during the previous reign. In strict agreement with the Pentateuch (Gen.46:11; Exod.6:16; Num.3:27) and others, the Levites are grouped (v. 12) according to three ancestors, the sons of Levi: Kohath, Merari, Gerson. The well-known surnames of singers and compilers of psalms are also mentioned: Asaph (1 Chronicles 6:39,15:17,16:5,25:1; Ps.49) and others, Hemana (1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 6:33; Ps.88:1) and others, as well as the famous surname of the Levite Elizaphan ( Numbers 3:30; Exodus 6:22; Lev.10:4), etc. The cleansing and consecration of the church was carried out hastily: after eight days of cleansing the porch, the church itself was cleansed within eight days, and all the work of cleansing the sanctuary was completed on the sixteenth day of the month. The date “sixteenth day” follows naturally from what was said about the time of the cleansing of the main parts of the church and therefore has a clear advantage over the date adopted in the Greek textus recertus: τῆ ἡμέρα τῆ τρῖς και δεκάτη - on the 13th day. However, the date “16th day” appears in many Greek codes, for example. XI, 60, 74, 106, 134, 158, 243, 19, 55, 64, 71, 93, 108, 119 in Golmes, in the Aldinsky, Complutensian Bible, in St. Cyril of Alexandria, Origenis Hexaplorum Quae Supersunt. 2 Chronicles 29:20. And king Hezekiah arose early in the morning, and assembled the rulers of the city, and went to the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:21. And they brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven goats, as a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah; and he commanded the sons of Aaron the priests to offer the burnt offering upon the altar of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:22. And they killed the bulls, and the priests took the blood, and sprinkled them on the altar, and killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar; and they killed the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 2 Chronicles 29:23. And they brought the goats for sin before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands on them. 2 Chronicles 29:24. And the priests slaughtered them, and cleansed the altar with their blood to atone for the sins of all Israel, for the king ordered a burnt offering and a sin offering for all Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:25. And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, psalters and harps, according to the statute of David and Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet, since this statute was from the Lord through His prophets. 2 Chronicles 29:26. And the Levites stood with the musical instruments of David, and the priests with trumpets. 2 Chronicles 29:27. And Hezekiah ordered the burnt offering to be offered on the altar. And as the burnt offering began, singing to the Lord began, with the sound of the trumpets and the weapons of David king of Israel. 2 Chronicles 29:28. And the whole congregation prayed, and the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded, until the burnt offering was finished. 2 Chronicles 29:29. At the end of the burnt offering, the king and all those who were with him bowed down and worshiped. 2 Chronicles 29:30. And King Hezekiah and the princes said to the Levites that they should glorify the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer, and they glorified with joy, and bowed down and worshiped. 2 Chronicles 29:31. And Hezekiah continued and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; Come now and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the house of the Lord. And the whole congregation offered sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and everyone who was willing in heart offered burnt offerings. 2 Chronicles 29:32. And the number of the burnt offerings that those gathered brought was: seventy oxen, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs - all this for a burnt offering to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 29:33. The other sacred sacrifices were: six hundred of the cattle and three thousand of the small livestock. 2 Chronicles 29:34. But there were few priests, and they could not skin all the burnt offerings, and their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests were sanctified, for the Levites were more careful in sanctifying themselves than the priests. 2 Chronicles 29:35. Moreover, there were many burnt offerings with the fat of peace offerings and with drink offerings for the burnt offering. Thus the ministry in the house of the Lord was restored. 2 Chronicles 29:36. And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had disposed the people in this way, for it happened unexpectedly. The next step was the restoration of regular church services. The latter was revealed by the great sacrifice of sin (verses 21–24) precisely for all of Israel (verse 24), and not just for the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah, since by the time of Hezekiah the fall of the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was only a matter of time and soon actually came to fruition (cf. 2 Kings 17:3–6, 18:9–12), so Hezekiah could consider the inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel as members of the united Israel (from here he then calls them to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, (2 Chronicles 30:5-11)). The very rite of sacrifice for sin in this case was distinguished by a special, extreme solemnity, exceeding the norm specified in the law in the number of victims (cf. (Lev. 4), "Explanatory Bible", vol. I, pp. 418–421). The laying of the hands of the king and the congregation on the goats of the sin offering (v. 23), constituting a common feature of the sacrificial ritual (Ex. 29:10; Lev. 4:4), most closely resembles the laying of the hands of the high priest on the scapegoat on the day of atonement ((Lev. 16:21); The Interpretive Bible, vol. I, pp. 463–465) The performance of the most important of the sacrifices, the burnt offering, was even more solemn (vv. 24–29). In addition to the usual ritual determined by the Law of Moses for this sacrifice ((Lev.1); “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, pp. 409–413), its performance in this case was accompanied by an orchestra of church music and singing - according to the charter of David and the prophets Nathan and Gad ((v. 25); see (1 Chronicles 23:5), etc.). The statute of David and the two prophets close to him is here placed as an equivalent, divinely inspired addition to the provisions of the Law of Moses on worship and sacrifices (the Law of Moses does not provide mandatory regulations on the use of instrumental music and singing during worship and sacrifices: the regulations on blowing trumpets (Lev.25:9; Num.10:10) refer to exceptional cases); after the Babylonian captivity, music became a permanent part of daily worship and sacrifice (Sir.50:18,20). Regarding what was said in Art. 25 about David, blessed Theodoret notes: “this exposes the foolishness (τὴν ἀφροσύνην) of the Jews, who do not allow themselves to call the great David a prophet, for here the Scripture, having mentioned three, added: for by the command of the Lord this statute was made through His prophets” (Quaestiones in II Paralipomenon. Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series T. LXXX. The musical instruments named here (vv. 25–28) belong to the three main classes of musical instruments of biblical antiquity, which knew stringed, wind and percussion instruments. Of the two types of the latter: tympanum (Hebrew tof) and cymbal (Hebrew metziltaim, Greek κυμβαλον, κύμβαλα, Latin Cymbala, called here (v. 25) cymbal), which, unlike the tympanum, had only liturgical (and not secular, like that) use; consisted of two metal jugs (“large flat copper plates” according to Josephus), which the player held in both hands and hit each other. Stringed instruments: psalter (Hebrew nevel, Greek ψαλτήρ, Latin psalterium) and zither or harp (Hebrew kinnor, Greek κίνυρα, κιθαρα, Latin cithara) according to I. Flavius (“Antiquities of the Jews,” VII, 12, 3) had the following structure: “the kithara had ten strings, which were struck with a stick, the nabla was equipped with twelve strings, and it was played directly with a stick.” The number of strings, however, was not always the same. Both instruments were distinguished, as is believed on the basis of church patristic evidence, by the unequal position of the resonating box: for the psalter - at the top, for the zither - at the bottom (cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, p. 312). The psalter, like the cymbal, had only liturgical use, but the zither was widely used in secular music. Of the wind musical instruments (such as the pipe, Heb. Ugab, flute Khalil), trumpets are named here (Heb. Hatzotserot, LXX: σάλπιγγες, Lat. tubae). Josephus Flavius ​​(“Jewish Antiquities”, III, 12, 6) depicts the shape of musical trumpets, invented by Moses, as follows: “the length of the trumpet is a little less than a cubit; and its tube is narrow, only slightly lower than that of a flute; its tip is voluminous enough to absorb the mass of air that the player blows into it; it ends in a wide opening, like a hunting horn.” The description of this instrument given by Josephus Josephus is complemented by images of a musical trumpet on the triumphal arch of Titus in Rome and on Jewish coins. The description of the end of the sacrifice (v. 29) completely coincides with the news of this by Sirach (Sir. 50:19). “The words of David and Asaph,” with which, according to Hezekiah’s instructions, the Levites were to praise Jehovah (Heb. gallel Jehovah), can only be the psalms of both inspired creators of psalms: Asaph belongs in the Psalter, judging by the inscriptions, 12 psalms (49; 72–82, Heb.: 50, 73–83). Of the psalms of David, the so-called “hallelujah” or “songs of ascension” (99–125), etc. could be preferably used here. Hezekiah addresses (v. 31) first to the priests: “You have filled your hands...” - a technical expression about the functions of the priests at the altar (Ex. 28:41; Lev. 9:17), especially when offering the sacrifice of consecration (2 Chron. 13:9). Then (ibid.) he invites those present to make sacrifices to Jehovah; zebachim - sacrifices in general, but here (as well as, for example, (Lev. 17:8)) - actual peace offerings (the offering of sin sacrifices and burnt offerings was discussed above), a characteristic feature of which was the organization of sacrificial feasts after them: hence the abundance of sacrificial animals (vv. 32-33). The peace offering, its types, character, meaning and ritual are discussed in chapters (Lev.3) and (Lev.7:12–21,28–36) (“Explanatory Bible,” vol. I, pp. 416–417, 428–430). According to the laws of the sacrificial ritual, skinning the sacrificial animal was the work of the priest ((Lev.1:6); “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, p. 411). Only regarding the peace offering - a sacrifice of somewhat less holiness than the burnt offering and the sin offering - could the participation of the Levites in this matter be allowed - for the sake of the huge number of victims and the lack of performers of the sacrifices - the priests, who did not have time, due to lack of time (2 Chron. 30: 3) or due to negligence, to cleanse themselves and approach the altar in sufficient numbers. Regarding this news of 2 Chronicles, Blessed Theodoret gives the following historical analogy: “This, as we observe, is happening now. Indeed, in the absence of a presbyter and in extreme need, it is necessary and the deacon is obliged to administer baptism to the one who requires it.” (Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca. T. LXXX. Col 851–852). You might be interested in: