2 Tawarikh 13:1--14:15
Konteks13:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 13:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. 2
There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 13:3 Abijah launched the attack with 400,000 well-trained warriors, 3 while Jeroboam deployed against him 800,000 well-trained warriors. 4
13:4 Abijah ascended Mount Zemaraim, in the Ephraimite hill country, and said: “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! 13:5 Don’t you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal agreement? 5 13:6 Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 13:7 Lawless good-for-nothing men 6 gathered around him and conspired 7 against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was an inexperienced young man 8 and could not resist them. 13:8 Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty. 9 You have a huge army, 10 and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. 13:9 But you banished 11 the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods! 12 13:10 But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests and the Levites assist them with the work. 13 13:11 They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly 14 we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him. 13:12 Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. 15 You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, 16 for you will not win!”
13:13 Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind. 17 The main army was in front of the Judahite army; 18 the ambushers were behind it. 13:14 The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear. 19 So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets, 13:15 and the men of Judah gave 20 the battle cry. As the men of Judah gave the battle cry, the Lord struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 13:16 The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, 21 and God handed them over to the men of Judah. 22 13:17 Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them; 23 500,000 well-trained Israelite men fell dead. 24 13:18 That day 25 the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.
13:19 Abijah chased Jeroboam; he seized from him these cities: Bethel 26 and its surrounding towns, Jeshanah and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns. 13:20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the reign of Abijah. 27 The Lord struck him down and he died. 13:21 Abijah’s power grew; he had 28 fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
13:22 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including his deeds and sayings, 29 are recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.
14:1 (13:23) 30 Abijah passed away 31 and was buried in the City of David. 32 His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign 33 the land had rest for ten years.
14:2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved. 34 14:3 He removed the pagan altars 35 and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. 36 14:4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors 37 and to observe his law and commands. 38 14:5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule. 39
14:6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. 14:7 He said to the people of Judah: 40 “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. 41 The land remains ours because we have followed 42 the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” 43 So they built the cities 44 and prospered.
14:8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors. 14:9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 45 men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, 14:10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
14:11 Asa prayed 46 to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. 47 Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. 48 O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” 49 14:12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 14:13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; 50 they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah 51 carried off a huge amount of plunder. 14:14 They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. 52 The men of Judah 53 looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods. 54 14:15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. 55 They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem. 56
2 Tawarikh 20:1-37
Konteks20:1 Later the Moabites and Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites, 57 attacked Jehoshaphat. 20:2 Messengers 58 arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea, 59 from the direction of Edom. 60 Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar (that is, En Gedi).” 20:3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to seek the Lord’s advice. 61 He decreed that all Judah should observe a fast. 20:4 The people of Judah 62 assembled to ask for the Lord’s help; 63 they came from all the cities of Judah to ask for the Lord’s help. 64
20:5 Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem 65 at the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. 20:6 He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, 66 you are the God who lives in heaven 67 and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. 20:7 Our God, you drove out 68 the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession 69 to the descendants of your friend 70 Abraham. 20:8 They settled down in it and built in it a temple 71 to honor you, 72 saying, 20:9 ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, 73 judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple. 74 We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will 75 hear and deliver us.’ 20:10 Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! 76 When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. 77 They bypassed them and did not destroy them. 20:11 Look how they are repaying us! They come to drive us out of our allotted land which you assigned to us! 20:12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” 78
20:13 All the men of Judah 79 were standing before the Lord, along with their infants, wives, and children. 20:14 Then in the midst of the assembly, the Lord’s Spirit came upon Jachaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph. 20:15 He said: “Pay attention, all you people of Judah, 80 residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic 81 because of this huge army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 20:16 Tomorrow march down against them as 82 they come up the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine in front of the Desert of Jeruel. 20:17 You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you, 83 O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! 84 Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!’”
20:18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground, and all the people of Judah 85 and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord and worshiped him. 86 20:19 Then some Levites, from the Kohathites and Korahites, got up and loudly praised the Lord God of Israel. 87
20:20 Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah 88 and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! 89 Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.” 20:21 He met 90 with the people and appointed musicians to play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures.” 91
20:22 When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked 92 the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir 93 who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 20:23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the men from Mount Seir 94 and annihilated them. 95 When they had finished off the men 96 of Seir, they attacked and destroyed one another. 97 20:24 When the men of Judah 98 arrived at the observation post overlooking the desert and looked at 99 the huge army, they saw dead bodies on the ground; there were no survivors! 20:25 Jehoshaphat and his men 100 went to gather the plunder; they found a huge amount of supplies, clothing 101 and valuable items. They carried away everything they could. 102 There was so much plunder, it took them three days to haul it off. 103
20:26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, where 104 they praised the Lord. So that place is called the Valley of Berachah 105 to this very day. 20:27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat leading them; the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies. 20:28 They entered Jerusalem to the sound of stringed instruments and trumpets and proceeded to the temple of the Lord. 20:29 All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God 106 when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies. 20:30 Jehoshaphat’s kingdom enjoyed peace; his God made him secure on every side. 107
20:31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. 108 His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 20:32 He followed in his father Asa’s footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. 109 20:33 However, the high places were not eliminated; the people were still not devoted to the God of their ancestors. 110
20:34 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Annals of Jehu son of Hanani which are included in Scroll of the Kings of Israel. 111
20:35 Later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who 112 did evil. 20:36 They agreed 113 to make large seagoing merchant ships; 114 they built the ships in Ezion Geber. 20:37 Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, “Because 115 you made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and unable to go to sea. 116
2 Tawarikh 25:1-28
Konteks25:1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 117 His mother was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 25:2 He did what the Lord approved, 118 but not with wholehearted devotion. 119
25:3 When he had secured control of the kingdom, 120 he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 121 25:4 However, he did not execute their sons. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, 122 “Fathers must not be executed for what their sons do, 123 and sons must not be executed for what their fathers do. 124 A man must be executed only for his own sin.” 125
25:5 Amaziah assembled the people of Judah 126 and assigned them by families to the commanders of units of a thousand and the commanders of units of a hundred for all Judah and Benjamin. He counted those twenty years old and up and discovered there were 300,000 young men of fighting age 127 equipped with spears and shields. 128 25:6 He hired 100,000 Israelite warriors for a hundred talents 129 of silver.
25:7 But a prophet 130 visited him and said: “O king, the Israelite troops must not go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel or any of the Ephraimites. 131 25:8 Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you 132 before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating.” 133 25:9 Amaziah asked the prophet: 134 “But what should I do about the hundred talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet 135 replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.” 25:10 So Amaziah dismissed the troops that had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. 136 They were very angry at Judah and returned home incensed. 25:11 Amaziah boldly led his army to the Valley of Salt, 137 where he defeated 138 10,000 Edomites. 139 25:12 The men 140 of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over. 141 All the captives 142 fell to their death. 143 25:13 Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle 144 raided 145 the cities of Judah from Samaria 146 to Beth Horon. They killed 147 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.
25:14 When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people 148 of Seir and made them his personal gods. 149 He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices. 25:15 The Lord was angry at Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why are you following 150 these gods 151 that could not deliver their own people from your power?” 152 25:16 While he was speaking, Amaziah 153 said to him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!” 154 So the prophet stopped, but added, “I know that the Lord has decided 155 to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice.”
25:17 After King Amaziah of Judah consulted with his advisers, 156 he sent this message to the king of Israel, Joash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, “Come, face me on the battlefield.” 157 25:18 King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush. 158 25:19 You defeated Edom 159 and it has gone to your head. 160 Gloat over your success, 161 but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” 162
25:20 But Amaziah did not heed the warning, 163 for God wanted to hand them over to Joash because they followed the gods of Edom. 164 25:21 So King Joash of Israel attacked. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other on the battlefield 165 in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 25:22 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 166 25:23 King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, in Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. 167 25:24 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in God’s temple that were in the care of Obed-Edom, the riches in the royal palace, and some hostages. Then he went back to Samaria.
25:25 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Joash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 25:26 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 168 25:27 From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, 169 so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him 170 and they killed him there. 25:28 His body was carried back by horses, 171 and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors 172 in the City of David. 173
[13:2] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[13:2] 2 tn The parallel text in 1 Kgs 15:1 identifies his mother as “Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom” [=Absalom, 2 Chr 11:20). Although most English versions identify the mother’s father as Uriel of Gibeah, a number of English versions substitute the name “Maacah” here for the mother (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).
[13:3] 3 tn Heb “and Abijah bound [i.e., began] the battle with a force of warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men.”
[13:3] 4 tn Heb “and Jeroboam arranged with him [for] battle with eight hundred thousand chosen men, strong warrior[s].”
[13:5] 5 tn Heb “Do you not know that the
[13:5] sn For other references to a “covenant of salt,” see Lev 2:13 and Num 18:19.
[13:7] 6 tn Heb “empty men, sons of wickedness.”
[13:7] 7 tn Heb “strengthened themselves.”
[13:7] 8 tn Heb “a young man and tender of heart.”
[13:8] 9 tn Heb “the kingdom of the
[13:8] 10 tn Or “horde”; or “multitude.”
[13:9] 11 tn In the Hebrew text this is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Did you not banish?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you did,” the force of which is reflected in the translation “But you banished.”
[13:9] 12 tn Heb “whoever comes to fill his hand with a bull of a son of cattle, and seven rams, and he is a priest to no-gods.”
[13:10] 13 tn Heb “and priests serving the
[13:12] 15 tn Heb “and his priests and the trumpets of the war alarm [are ready] to sound out against you.”
[13:12] 16 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 18).
[13:13] 17 tn Heb “and Jeroboam had caused to circle around an ambush to come from behind them.”
[13:14] 19 tn Heb “and Judah turned, and, look, to them [was] the battle in front and behind.”
[13:15] 20 tn Heb “shouted out.”
[13:16] 22 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:17] 23 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
[13:17] 24 tn Heb “and [the] slain from Israel fell, five hundred thousand chosen men.”
[13:18] 25 tn Heb “at that time.”
[13:19] 26 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:20] 27 tn Heb “and the strength of Jeroboam was not retained again in the days of Abijah.”
[13:21] 28 tn Heb “lifted up for himself.”
[13:22] 29 tn Heb “and his ways and his words.”
[14:1] 30 sn Beginning with 14:1, the verse numbers through 14:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 14:1 ET = 13:23 HT, 14:2 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:3 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:15 ET = 14:14 HT. Beginning with 15:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[14:1] 31 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:1] 32 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[14:1] 33 tn Heb “in his days.”
[14:2] 34 tn Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the
[14:3] 35 tn Heb “the altars of the foreigner.”
[14:3] 36 sn Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[14:4] 38 tn Heb “the law and the command.”
[14:5] 39 tn Heb “before him.”
[14:7] 40 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
[14:7] 41 tn Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”
[14:7] 43 tn Heb “and he has given us rest all around.”
[14:7] 44 tn The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[14:9] 45 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
[14:11] 46 tn Heb “called out.”
[14:11] 47 tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
[14:11] 48 tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
[14:11] 49 tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
[14:13] 50 tn Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.”
[14:13] 51 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:14] 52 tn Heb “for the terror of the
[14:14] 53 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:14] 54 tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
[14:15] 55 tn Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.”
[14:15] 56 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[20:1] 57 tc The Hebrew text has “Ammonites,” but they are mentioned just before this. Most translations, following some
[20:2] 58 tn Heb “they”; the implied referent (messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:2] 59 tn Heb “the Sea”; in context (“from the direction of Edom”) this must refer to the Dead Sea, which has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NEB, NLT).
[20:2] 60 tc Most Hebrew
[20:3] 61 tn Heb “and he set his face to seek the
[20:4] 62 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
[20:4] 63 tn Heb “to seek from the
[20:4] 64 tn Heb “to seek the
[20:5] 65 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[20:6] 66 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).
[20:6] 67 tn Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.
[20:7] 68 tn Heb “did you not drive out?” This is another rhetorical question which expects a positive response; see the note on the word “heaven” in the previous verse.
[20:7] 69 tn Heb “permanently.”
[20:7] 70 tn Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.
[20:8] 72 tn Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you
[20:9] 74 tn Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the
[20:9] 75 tn Or “so that you may.”
[20:10] 76 tn Heb “now, look, the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.”
[20:10] 77 tn Heb “whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt.”
[20:12] 78 tn Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”
[20:13] 79 tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
[20:15] 80 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. Unlike the previous instance in v. 13 where infants, wives, and children are mentioned separately, this reference appears to include them all.
[20:15] 81 tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
[20:17] 83 tn Heb “the deliverance of the
[20:17] 84 tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
[20:18] 85 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.
[20:18] 86 tn Heb “to worship the
[20:19] 87 tn Heb “arose to praise the
[20:20] 88 tn Heb “O Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.
[20:20] 89 tn There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form הַאֲמִינוּ (ha’aminu, “trust”) and the Niphal form תֵאָמֵנוּ (te’amenu, “you will be safe”) come from the same verbal root (אָמַן, ’aman).
[20:21] 91 tn Or “is eternal.”
[20:22] 92 tn Heb “set ambushers against.” This is probably idiomatic here for launching a surprise attack.
[20:22] 93 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.”
[20:23] 94 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon and Moab stood against the residents of Mount Seir.”
[20:23] 95 tn Heb “to annihilate and to destroy.”
[20:23] 96 tn Heb “residents.”
[20:23] 97 tn Heb “they helped, each one his fellow, for destruction.” The verb עָזַר (’azar), traditionally understood as the well-attested verb meaning “to help,” is an odd fit in this context. It is possible that it is from a homonymic root, perhaps meaning to “attack.” This root is attested in Ugaritic in a nominal form meaning “young man, warrior, hero.” For a discussion of the proposed root, see HALOT 811 s.v. II עזר.
[20:24] 98 tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
[20:24] 99 tn Heb “turned toward.”
[20:25] 101 tc The MT reads פְגָרִים (fÿgarim, “corpses”), but this seems odd among a list of plunder. A few medieval Hebrew
[20:25] 102 tn Heb “and they snatched away for themselves so that there was no carrying away.”
[20:25] 103 tn Heb “and they were three days looting the plunder for it was great.”
[20:26] 104 tn Heb “for there.”
[20:26] 105 sn The name Berachah, which means “blessing” in Hebrew, is derived from the verbal root “to praise [or “to bless”],” which appears earlier in the verse.
[20:29] 106 tn Heb “and the terror of God [or “a great terror”] was upon all the kingdoms of the lands.” It is uncertain if אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) should be understood as a proper name here (“God”), or taken in an idiomatic superlative sense.
[20:30] 107 tn Heb “and his God gave him rest all around.”
[20:31] 108 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[20:32] 109 tn Heb “he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the
[20:33] 110 tn Heb “and still the people did not set their heart[s] on the God of their fathers.”
[20:34] 111 tn Heb “the rest of the events of Jehoshaphat, the former and the latter, look, they are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the scroll of the kings of Israel.”
[20:35] 112 tn Heb “he.” The pronoun has been translated as a relative pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[20:36] 113 tn Heb “he made an alliance with him.”
[20:36] 114 tn Heb “make ships to go to Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish; a “Tarshish-ship” was essentially a large seagoing merchant ship.
[20:37] 116 tn Heb “to go to Tarshish.”
[25:1] 117 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[25:2] 118 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[25:2] 119 tn Heb “a complete heart.”
[25:3] 120 tn Heb “when the kingdom was secure upon him.”
[25:3] 121 tn Heb “he killed his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”
[25:4] 122 tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the
[25:4] 123 tn Heb “on account of sons.”
[25:4] 124 tn Heb “on account of fathers.”
[25:4] 125 sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.
[25:5] 126 tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy here for the people of Judah.
[25:5] 127 tn Heb “young men going out to war.”
[25:5] 128 tn Heb “holding a spear and a shield.”
[25:6] 129 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
[25:7] 130 tn Heb “man of God.”
[25:7] 131 tn Heb “Israel, all the sons of Ephraim.”
[25:8] 132 tn Heb “cause you to stumble.”
[25:8] 133 tn Heb “to cause to stumble.”
[25:9] 134 tn Heb “said to the man of God.”
[25:9] 135 tn Heb “man of God.”
[25:10] 136 tn Heb “and Amaziah separated them, the troops who came to him from Ephraim, to go to their place.”
[25:11] 137 tn Heb “and Amaziah strengthened himself and led his people and went to the Valley of Salt.”
[25:11] 138 tn Or “struck down.”
[25:11] 139 tn Heb “sons of Seir.”
[25:12] 141 tn Heb “and threw them from the top of the cliff.”
[25:12] 142 tn Heb “all of them.”
[25:12] 143 tn Heb “smashed in pieces.”
[25:13] 144 tn Heb “had sent back from going with him to the battle.”
[25:13] 145 tn Heb “stripped.”
[25:13] 146 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[25:13] 147 tn Heb “struck down.”
[25:14] 149 tn Heb “caused them to stand for him as gods.”
[25:15] 150 tn Heb “seeking,” perhaps in the sense of “consulting [an oracle from].”
[25:15] 151 tn Heb “the gods of the people.”
[25:16] 153 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:16] 154 tn Heb “Stop yourself! Why should they strike you down?”
[25:16] 155 tn The verb יָעַץ (ya’ats, “has decided”) is from the same root as יוֹעֵץ (yo’ets, “counselor”) in v. 16 and עֵצָה (’etsah, “advice”) later in v. 16. The wordplay highlights the appropriate nature of the divine punishment. Amaziah rejected the counsel of God’s prophet; now he would be the victim of God’s “counsel.”
[25:17] 156 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[25:17] 157 tn Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here not to a visit but to meeting in battle. See v. 21.
[25:18] 158 sn The thorn bush in the allegory is Judah. Amaziah’s success had deceived him into thinking he was on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he was not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
[25:19] 159 tn Heb “you say [to yourself], ‘look, you have defeated Edom.’”
[25:19] 160 tn Heb “and your heart is lifted up.”
[25:19] 161 tn Heb “to glorify.”
[25:19] 162 tn Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
[25:20] 163 tn Heb “did not listen.”
[25:20] 164 tn Heb “because it was from God in order to give them into the hand because they sought the gods of Edom.”
[25:21] 165 tn Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.” See the note on the expression “Come on, face me on the battlefield” in v. 17.
[25:22] 166 tn Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
[25:23] 167 tn Heb “400 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the distance would have been about 600 feet (180 m).
[25:26] 168 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, the former and the latter, are they not – behold, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
[25:27] 169 tn Heb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
[25:27] 170 tn Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
[25:28] 171 tn Heb “and they carried him on horses.”
[25:28] 173 tc The Hebrew text has “Judah,” but some medieval
[25:28] sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
