2 Kings 11:5

And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;

Jehoiada set a third of the men coming on duty on the Sabbath to stand guard over the king's house in order to protect the hidden child Joash, the rightful heir of Ahaziah, when he was seven years old and about to be brought out, proclaimed king, and crowned while Athaliah the usurper who had seized the throne and sought to destroy the royal seed was overthrown and slain, after which Joash reigned under Jehoiada's godly influence with the temple repaired and true worship restored. The guard was specially organized and rearranged for the Sabbath day so that the crowning could be carried out more successfully then, with the outgoing course held over instead of returning to quarters to surround and defend the young king in the temple. The organizing and changing of the temple guard on the Sabbath shows the weekly Sabbath recognized and observed in the temple service, and this incidental order belongs among the Old Testament references to the weekly Sabbath as distinct from festival and land sabbaths. It stands as the first mention of the Sabbath in 2 Kings, coming several centuries after Moses, and the long gap without mention does not mean the Sabbath was unknown since its institution and teaching had already been recorded. Those entering on the Sabbath served in a rotation from Sabbath to Sabbath in the temple, and the entering is the Bible's way of denoting a week by the phrase after seven days, meaning on the seventh day or after a week's interval rather than after seven full days.

Historical Setting and Guard

2 Kings 11:5 belongs to the preservation and crowning of Joash. Joash was the grandson of Jehoram and Athaliah and the son of Ahaziah. After Ahaziah died Athaliah seized the throne and tried to put all her son's children to death to get them out of her way. The infant Joash and his nurse were hidden in the temple by his aunt, the wife of Jehoiada the high priest. By the time Joash was seven Athaliah's reign had become so corrupt that the people revolted, Joash was brought out from hiding and proclaimed king, and Athaliah was slain.

While Jehoiada lived the young king stayed under his influence, the house of the Lord was repaired, and the worship of the true God was established once more. The verse stands in the account of Athaliah's usurpation of Judah's throne and her attempt to kill the royal children, Joash's concealment until he could be proclaimed, and Athaliah's death. It is part of the account of officials arranging protection for the hidden infant Joash and helping place him on the throne. It belongs also to the account of Athaliah's overthrow and the beginning of Joash's reign in Judah under the godly priest Jehoiada.

The verse describes Jehoiada's arrangement in which a third part of those entering in on the Sabbath to come on duty was assigned to keep the watch of the king's house. One third of the soldiers coming on duty were assigned to watch over the king's house, and one division of those entering duty was assigned to guard the king's house at Joash's coronation. The temple guards were organized and changed on the Sabbath, showing Sabbath observance recognized in the temple service. The guard was specially organized that day to protect Joash as the rightful king who was about to be proclaimed.

The guards were being rearranged that day because the plan to proclaim the king could be carried out more successfully then. The old guard, instead of returning to their quarters, was assigned to protect Joash in the temple. Joash is called king because he was the rightful king and was about to be proclaimed.

Sabbath Witness and Phrasing

This verse stands among the Old Testament references to the weekly Sabbath, set apart from festival sabbaths and land sabbaths. The temple guards were organized and changed on the Sabbath, with a third of those coming on duty assigned to keep the watch of the king's house, showing that Sabbath observance was recognized in the temple service. That incidental assignment of guard duty in connection with the Sabbath places Sabbath observance in the history of Judah around 778 B.C. at Jehoash's accession. The same Sabbath instruction at Joash's coronation is dated to 889 B.C. and reckoned as the first mention of the Sabbath after Moses, about 677 years later. It is the first mention of the Sabbath in 2 Kings and a Sabbath reference several centuries after Moses, yet the long gap in mentions does not mean the Sabbath was unknown, since its earlier institution and teaching had already been recorded.

The entering in on the Sabbath is set beside the expression after seven days as the Bible's way of denoting a week. It exemplifies wording rendered after seven days that can mean on the seventh day rather than after seven full days have elapsed. The phrase after seven days is used for the return of those who ministered in the temple from Sabbath to Sabbath, meaning a week's interval, and this use is contrasted with after eight days to argue that the latter does not simply mean one week.

Those entering on the Sabbath belonged to those who came from Sabbath to Sabbath to minister in God's temple, and the verse supplies the Holy Spirit's chosen term after seven days for just one week of that rotation. That fixed use proves that after eight days most naturally implies the ninth or tenth day. Even allowing the eighth day itself, it fails to prove an appearance exactly one week later on the first day of the week.

❧