דברי הימים ב, פרק כ״ד, פסוק כ״ו

King Joash meets his end at the hands of his own courtiers. The men who plan and carry out his assassination, Zabad and Jehozabad, are ministers and high-ranking officials within the royal court [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. While their names and the names of their mothers appear slightly differently in a parallel account, this is simply because these individuals are known by two different names, both of which are recorded [מצודת ציון].

The specific origins of the assassins' mothers are carefully noted, pointing out that one is an Ammonite and the other a Moabite. This detail is not accidental. Rather, it highlights a profound principle of measure for measure. The nations of Ammon and Moab carry a legacy of deep ingratitude. Generations earlier, Abraham saved their ancestor, Lot, during a major war. Instead of returning this kindness, their descendants later hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. Because of this history of ungratefulness, it is entirely fitting that the descendants of Ammon and Moab are the ones to strike down King Joash. The king himself acts with terrible ingratitude when he completely forgets the kindness shown to him by Jehoiada and murders Jehoiada's son, Zechariah [רש״י].