XXX.
HEZEKIAH’S PASSOVER — THE ROYAL SUMMONS TO ALL ISRAEL FROM DAN TO BEER-SHEBA (2 Chronicles 30:1-12).
(1) Sent to. — ‘al, i.e., ’el. (Jeremiah 26:15; Nehemiah 6:3.)
Letters. — ‘Iggĕrôth. Apparently a word of Persian origin. (Comp. ‘engâre, “something written;” ‘engârîden, “to paint” or “write;” from which comes the Greek ᾰγγαρος, a royal messenger; Esther 9:26; comp. Matthew 5:41.) Only used in late Hebrew.
To Ephraim and Manasseh. — That is, the northern kingdom. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 30:10.)
To keep (make) the passover unto the Lord. — Exodus 12:48 (same phrase); LXX., ποιῆσαι τὸ φασεκ (Pascha). The first year of Hezekiah was the third of Hoshea, the last king of Samaria, who is described as a better king than his predecessors. Doubtless, therefore, Hoshea did not actively oppose Hezekiah’s wish for a really national Passover. (See 2 Kings 18:1; 2 Kings 17:2.)