Bible Strands
2 Kings 11:4
Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards, and had them brought into the house of the LORD. There he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king’s son
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — In the seventh year of Athaliah’s rule, Jehoiada the priest summons the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the royal guards into the house of the LORD. He convenes them to forge a binding agreement before revealing the hidden heir, Joash.
The words — The phrase וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִית (u-va-shanah ha-shevi'it) literally means "and in the seventh year," anchoring the narrative to a specific chronological turning point. The verb שָׁלַח (sha.lach) translates as "he sent," denoting Jehoiada’s deliberate initiation of the rescue operation.
The thread — The assembly of these military leaders and the temple covenant reappear in 2 Kings 11:9, 11:17, and 11:19 as the structural basis for Jehoiada’s subsequent commands and the public coronation. These references trace the progression from clandestine preparation to open royal restoration.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe that institutional authority shifts through deliberate, covenant-bound action rather than spontaneous intervention. It demands that those in command acknowledge their sworn obligation to preserve the Davidic succession.
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 the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and shewed them the king’s son.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 11:9 So the commanders of hundreds did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest.
- 2 Kings 11:19 He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and entered the royal palace by way of the Gate of the Guards. Then Joash took his seat on the royal throne,
- 2 Kings 11:17 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.
- Genesis 50:25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
- Joshua 24:25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.
- 1 Samuel 18:3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
- 1 Samuel 23:18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
- 1 Kings 18:10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
- 2 Kings 23:3 So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.