Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 22:12
And Joash remained hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the ongoing concealment of the infant Joash in the temple precincts during the usurpation of Athaliah. This statement follows Jehoshabeath’s initial rescue and places Joash’s survival in direct opposition to the reigning queen’s political control.
The words — מִתְחַבֵּא (mitcha'be') denotes a state of remaining hidden, and שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים (shesh shanim) specifies the exact duration of this concealment. The text uses these terms to mark a prolonged period of political and religious limbo.
The thread — The motif of divine concealment during persecution appears in Psalm 27:5, where God hides the faithful in His shelter during trouble. The tension between hidden righteousness and open wickedness is raised in Jeremiah 12:1, while Psalm 12:8 observes the temporary exaltation of the wicked.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that political authority does not determine historical outcomes. It requires the reader to acknowledge that preservation occurs outside visible power structures until divine timing intervenes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
- Psalms 12:8 The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men.
- Psalms 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Psalms 73:14 For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
- Psalms 73:18 Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Habakkuk 1:12 Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction.