Bible Strands
2 Kings 15:33
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records regnal data for King Jotham of Judah during the chronological overlap of Pekah’s rule over Israel and the conclusion of Uzziah’s reign. The passage operates as a historical anchor within the Kings author’s sequential accounting of the divided monarchy.
The words — עֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (‘esrim ve-chamish ‘esreh shanah) literally renders “twenty and five years,” specifying the monarch’s age at accession. בְּמַלְכוּתוֹ (be-malkuto) translates “in his reign,” anchoring the subsequent sixteen-year duration to his sovereign tenure.
The thread — The identical regnal formula appears in 2 Chronicles 27:1, where the Chronicler preserves the same age and reign length for Jotham. Both accounts explicitly place his coronation in the second year of Pekah’s rule over Israel.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition of Judah’s political reality during a period of dynastic transition and foreign pressure. It requires the reader to track how precise chronological markers structure the biblical historical narrative rather than offering theological commentary.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.