Bible Strands
2 Kings 12:4
Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Joash addresses the priests to initiate a centralized collection of temple funds. He issues this command while the high places remain in use and before the funds are allocated for repairs.
The words — כֶּסֶף (ke.sef) denotes the specific currency being gathered, while קֳדָשִׁים (ko.da.shim) specifies these funds as holy gifts dedicated to the sanctuary.
The thread — This collection procedure echoes the census ransom in Exodus 30:12 and anticipates Josiah’s later temple accounting in 2 Kings 22:4.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that sacred maintenance depends on organized, voluntary, and vow-bound contributions rather than spontaneous giving.
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 Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the Lord,
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
- Exodus 30:12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered.
- Exodus 35:5 Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;
- Exodus 35:29 So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3 Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:
- Exodus 35:22 So all who had willing hearts, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings, rings and necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry. And they all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD.
- Exodus 25:1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Exodus 36:3 They received from Moses all the contributions that the Israelites had brought to carry out the service of constructing the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning,
- Leviticus 5:15 “If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.
- Leviticus 27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,