2 Chronicles 13:1
2 Chronicles 13:1-2 (1 Kings 15:1-2). Abijah succeeds 1. _Abijah_ Called _Abijam_in the Heb. of 1 Kin. (LXX. Ἀβιού, i.e. Abijahu).... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Chronicles 13:1-2 (1 Kings 15:1-2). Abijah succeeds 1. _Abijah_ Called _Abijam_in the Heb. of 1 Kin. (LXX. Ἀβιού, i.e. Abijahu).... [ Continue Reading ]
_Michaiah_ Read with LXX., MAACAH; cp. note on 2 Chronicles 11:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abijah set the battle in array_ R.V. ABIJAH JOINED BATTLE. _four hundred thousand … eight hundred thousand_ It is to be noted that the Chronicler does _not_expressly say that these two huge armies met on one field of battle. In 2 Samuel 24:9 (David's numbering) the fighting men of Israel are given... [ Continue Reading ]
(no parallel in 1 Kin.). The Battle of Zemaraim The historical probabilities of this account are discussed in the Introduction, § 8.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abijah stood up_ it was natural that Abijah should attempt a conference before beginning civil war, both because his was the weaker side numerically and because he had a telling appeal to make to the revolted tribes (2 Chronicles 13:8; 2 Chronicles 13:12). It was equally natural that Jeroboam shoul... [ Continue Reading ]
_a covenant of salt_ Salt was necessary for the efficacy of a sacrifice (Leviticus 2:13), so that _Covenant of salt_became a phrase for a _sure_covenant (Numbers 18:19). The sacredness of the bond which is acknowledged among the Arabs between two persons who have "eaten salt" together as host and gu... [ Continue Reading ]
_is risen up, and hath rebelled_ R.V. ROSE UP, AND REBELLED.... [ Continue Reading ]
_are gathered_ R.V. WERE GATHERED. _children of Belial_ R.V. SONS OF BELIAL (mg. _sons of worthlessness_). The general sense "worthless persons" is clear, but the precise meaning of _Belial_, and whether the word be a proper name or a common noun, cannot be decided at present. _young_ Lit. _a child... [ Continue Reading ]
_cast out_ R.V. DRIVEN OUT; cp. note on 2 Chronicles 11:14. _to consecrate himself_ Lit. _to fill his hand_. Moses is directed (Exodus 29:1 ff.) to ordain Aaron and his sons priests by three ceremonies: (1) by anointing them, (2) by filling their hands, i.e. by presenting them with victims upon whi... [ Continue Reading ]
_and the priests, which minister unto the Lord_, are _the sons of Aaron_ R.V. AND WE HAVE PRIESTS MINISTERING UNTO THE LORD, THE SONS OF AARON. wait _upon_their _business_ R.V. IN THEIR WORK (sc. _ministering to the Lord_as above). Part of the ideal of the Priestly Code was that the Levites should... [ Continue Reading ]
_every morning and every evening_ Exodus 29:38-42. _sweet incense_ Exodus 30:7. _the_shew _bread also_set they _in order_ Lit. _and an ordering of bread_[they set in order]. The Heb. phrase used here for "shewbread" signifies bread arranged as for an offering. Another term is "bread of the presenc... [ Continue Reading ]
_God_himself is _with us for_our _captain_ R.V. GOD IS WITH US AT OUR HEAD. _with sounding trumpets_ R.V. WITH THE TRUMPETS OF ALARM (Numbers 10:9). Abijah here threatens his opponents with a _jihâd_or holy war.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jeroboam caused an ambushment_ While Abijah was endeavouring to shake the fidelity of the Northern army, the Northern leader was not idle.... [ Continue Reading ]
_gave a shout_ This shout had the character of a religions function; cp. Joshua 6:10; Joshua 6:16, where the same Heb. word is used. _God smote Jeroboam_ Cp. 2 Chronicles 14:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_five hundred thousand_ Contrast this statement with 2 Chronicles 28:6, _a hundred and twenty thousand in one day_. The absence of the phrase _in one day_from the present passage is significant. It seems probable, when we consider the small interest taken by the Chronicler in military matters as suc... [ Continue Reading ]
_because they relied_ Cp. note on 2 Chronicles 12:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Beth-el_ Beth-el was apparently subsequently recovered by the Northern Kingdom; cp. 2 Kings 10:29. Nothing is said, be it noted, of the capture of the golden calf. It may have been removed for safety before the city was taken. _Jeshanah_ Nothing is certainly known of this place, which is mentioned... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Lord struck him, and he died_ The same phrase is used of the death of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:38); it implies suddenness or some other unusual circumstance (cp. Acts 12:13, the death of Herod Agrippa). In 1 Kings 14:20 it is simply _Jeroboam … slept with his fathers_.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Epilogue of Abijah's Reign 21. _married_ R.V. TOOK UNTO HIMSELF. The many wives (fourteen) are mentioned here as a symbol of the wealth and state of Abijah.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the story_ R.V. IN THE COMMENTARY, Heb. _midrash_. See Introduction, § 5. _Iddo_ See note on 2 Chronicles 9:29.... [ Continue Reading ]