Read 2 Kings 12 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
12:1-5 {p} Joash reigned 40 years in Jerusalem/ commanded the priests to repair the temple
12:6-16 {p} In his 23rd year, he inquired as to the repairs/ the workmen made repairs to the temple
12:17-21 {p} He paid Hazael king of Syria to go away from him/ his acts + death + son Ama-ziah
2 Kin 12:1-21 Chiastic structure:
In 2 Kings 12:8, the Hebrew strictly reads that the priests agreed “to not take money from the people and to not repair the breaches of the temple.” At first glance, this seems to suggest the priests refused both to collect funds, and to fix the temple, which is puzzling since the context shows the repairs later succeed. Appropriate translation from the Hebrew often relies on context, which in this case reveals that the priests are not defiantly refusing to make repairs, but rather agreeing to step out of the process entirely due to their earlier failure to use collected funds effectively.
The ambiguity arises because the text doesn’t explicitly say the priests are handing over responsibility. However, the broader context (2 Kin 12:4-16) shows the king reforming the system so that the money bypasses the priests and goes directly to workers for temple repairs. Thus, a clearer rendering would be: “The priests agreed to stop collecting money from the people and to no longer be responsible for repairing the temple’s breaches.” This reflects their consent to Jehoash’s new plan, resolving the apparent contradiction and aligning with the successful repairs that follow.
In every place skeptics have charged the biblical text to be either corrupted or contradictory, the issue is satisfactorily resolved by a proper translation from the original language.
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