In the second year of Joash …: This verse follows the usual format of dating the beginning of the rule of one king by pinpointing the year in terms of the reign of the ruler of the other part of the divided kingdom. As usual, translators will wish to make certain that readers understand that the second year refers to the reign of Jehoash and not to his age.

As indicated earlier (2 Kgs 11.21), it will be better to keep the shorter form of the name Joash for the king of Judah while using the longer form “Jehoash” for the king of Israel (so Good News Translation; compare verse 3 below). Also, the name Joahaz should be spelled “Jehoahaz” to be consistent with what has been done before (so Good News Translation). See Appendix B, “Who’s Who among the Kings.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .