מלכים ב, פרק י״ב, פסוק כ״א

The final days of King Jehoash end in betrayal, as his closest servants organize a rebellion to execute him [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This event serves as a historical reckoning, taking place during a time of military defeat and severe physical sickness. The conspiracy is not a random act of violence, but a calculated plot to avenge the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the Priest [מלבי״ם].

The assassins strike at a moment of extreme vulnerability. After the Aramean army defeated the king in battle, they left him suffering from multiple severe illnesses. His servants take advantage of his weakened state and kill him while he is confined to his sickbed [מלבי״ם, רד״ק]. A related perspective notes that the assassination actually occurs while the king is being carried on his bed during the journey back to Israel [רד״ק].

The specific setting of the assassination is identified as Beit Millo, located on the road going down toward Silla. The primary approach among commentators is that both Millo and Silla refer to geographic locations [רש״י, רד״ק]. However, an alternative view suggests that the event takes place in the private home of a man named Millo [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The added detail about the descent toward Silla pinpoints the exact spot along the road [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This precise geographic marker places the event near Jerusalem, deliberately distinguishing it from another well-known location called Beit Millo situated in the area of Shechem [מלבי״ם, רד״ק].