17Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. 18And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The [1]thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. 19Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten Edom; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou [2]meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? 20But Amaziah would not hear; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom. 21So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth
Judean history. The relative weakness of Judah compared with Israel is still less apparent in Chron. than in Kings. For a discussion of the evidence see Cook in Ency. Brit., s. v. Jews, p. 379.
17. took advice] Took counsel, presumably (according to the Chronicler's narrative) with a view to demanding satisfaction from Joash for the ravages of the Israelite mercenaries (ver. 13). The sequel suggests that Joash refused to give satisfaction.
let us look one another in the face] The proposal may be either to fight or (better) to discuss Amaziah's claims, the two kings meeting as equals. The latter is probably the right alternative, for the answer of Joash draws a scoffing parallel between Amaziah's proposition and a thorn's proposal of alliance with a cedar. Had Amaziah's words been a challenge to fight, Joash's answer might rather have taken the form of the parable in Judg. ix. 15, "The thorn said, Fire shall come out of the thorn and devour the cedars of Lebanon," etc.
18. the thistle] mg., thorn; cp. Prov. xxvi. 9 (same Heb. word).
19. Thou sayest] i.e. to thyself.
meddle to thy hurt] mg., provoke calamity, i.e. by making claims which he could not enforce.
20. for it was of God] Not in Kings. This turn is characteristic of the Chronicler; cp. x. 15, xxii. 7.
21. he and Amaziah . . . looked one another in the face] The historian by a kind of irony takes up Amaziah's phrase (ver. 17) and gives it a fresh application. Cp. the double application (by a similar irony) of the phrase, "lift up the head" in Gen. xl. 13, 19.
at Beth-shemesh] Cp. 1 Chr. vi. 59 [44, Heb.] (note).
