2 Chronicleschapter 19
11 verses · KJV2 Chronicles book hub →
Key verse
Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem.
It stands in Judges appointed: you judge not for man, but for the LORD, verses 4 to 11.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Jehoshaphat comes home in peace and is met by Jehu the son of Hanani: 'Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah?… Nevertheless there are good things found in thee': rebuke and commendation in one breath. The king responds by going out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim to bring them back to Jehovah, and by reforming the courts. Judges are set city by city with a charge: 'Consider what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah; and he is with you in the judgment.' In Jerusalem a higher bench of Levites, priests, and heads of houses is appointed, with the closing exhortation, 'Deal courageously, and Jehovah be with the good.'
Context
History · Ezra · 2 Chronicles overview
The world behind this chapter
2 Chronicles 19The history
The chapter belongs to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, in the year after the campaign at Ramoth-gilead that killed Ahab. The date is about 852 BC on Thiele's reconstruction of the regnal numbers, which is the chronology this site follows.
The places are the country between Beersheba and the hill country of Ephraim, the fortified cities of Judah, and a court seated in Jerusalem.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The occasion is a rebuke at the palace door. Jehu son of Hanani meets the returning king with a question about helping the wicked, and adds that good was still found in him.
The reform that answers it is one of the most detailed pictures of a legal system in the Old Testament. Judges are set in every fortified city, and a higher court of Levites, priests and heads of families is seated in Jerusalem for the cases that come up from them.
A first hearer knew what the two presiding officers meant. Amariah the chief priest held everything concerning the LORD and Zebadiah the ruler of the house of Judah held everything concerning the king, so religious law and royal law were separated at the top.
A bribe was the ordinary way a case was won in that world, and the charge names the LORD as having no injustice, no partiality and no taking of bribes.
What it meant to them
Under Persian rule the province governed its own internal disputes, and the men hearing this chapter were the ones deciding cases about land, debt, marriage and inheritance.
The chapter handed them their charter and their warning in the same breath. Deal courageously, and the LORD will be with the good, and remember whose court you are sitting in.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Chronicles
- Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings
- The 2 Chronicles rows of `scripts/data/historical-context/ch3-chronicles.mjs`
Where the chapter sits
2 Chronicles 19 falls in Kings of Judah: Rehoboam to Ahaz (chapters 10–28). The divided kingdom narrated from Judah's side only; reform kings (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Uzziah, Jotham) and evil kings; prophetic interventions unique to Chronicles (Azariah, Hanani, Zechariah son of Jehoiada).
Before it: Solomon's reign, chapters 1–9. After it: Hezekiah to the exile, chapters 29–36.
The whole shape of 2 Chronicles→The structure of this chapter
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. Shouldest thou help the ungodly? Jehu meets the king
1. (v. 1)
returned to his house in peace: Jehoshaphat comes home from Ramoth-gilead, where he survived the battle that killed Ahab. The alliance itself belongs to chapter 18, already carried in full from the parallel account in 1 Kings 22, and Chronicles adds nothing to that story here. What it adds is what happens the moment the king is home.
2. (vv. 2-3)
2 Chronicles 19:2
“Jehu the son of Hanani - We have met with this prophet before; see the note on 1Ki 16:7. Therefore is wrath upon thee - That is, Thou deservest to be punished. And who can doubt this, who knows that he did help the ungodly, and did love them that hated Jehovah? And is not the wrath of God upon all those alliances which his people form with the ungodly, whether they be social, matrimonial, commercial, or political?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Chronicles 19:2
“Those whom the grace of God has dignified ought not to debase themselves. Let God's people be of God's mind. (2.) That God was displeased with him for doing this: " There is wrath upon thee from before the Lord, and thou must, by repentance, make thy peace with him, or it will be the worse for thee." He did so, and God's anger was turned away.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Chronicles 19:2
“Which he did partly by stirring up the Moabites, and others to invade him, chap. xx, 1, partly by permitting his eldest son Jehoram to kill all his brethren, chap. xxi, 4, and principally by bringing that almost general destruction upon his grand- children by Jehu, 2 Kings ix, 27; x, 13, 14, which was the fruit of his alliance with Ahab.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 Chronicles 19:3
If you see your neighbor committing sin, take care not to dwell exclusively on his sin, but think of the many things he has done and continues to do rightly. Many times, by examining the whole and not taking the part only into account, you will find that he is better than you. God does not examine humans according to the part, for he says, "I come to gather together their works and thoughts."
Basil of Caesarea· written before 379· ON HUMILITYpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:3
“The return of duty which Jehoshaphat made to God for this favour. he took the reproof well, was not wroth with the seer as his father was, but submitted. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Shouldest thou help the ungodly: Jehu son of Hanani meets the king with a question rather than a sentence: shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? He is the son of the prophet Hanani, whom Asa imprisoned a generation earlier for a warning the king did not want to hear, and now his son confronts Asa's son over the same fault, an alliance with a house that hates the Lord. The rebuke does not stand alone; nevertheless there are good things found in thee balances it, naming the groves Jehoshaphat took away and the heart he prepared to seek God.
B. Judges appointed: you judge not for man, but for the LORD
1. (v. 4)
2 Chronicles 19:4
“From Beer-sheba to Mount Ephraim - Before the separation of the ten tribes, in speaking of the extent of the land it was said, From Dan to Beer-sheba; but since that event, the kingdom of Judah was bounded on the south by Beer-sheba, and on the north by the mountains of Ephraim. This shows that Jehoshaphat had gone through all his territories to examine every thing himself, to see that judgment and justice were properly administered among the people.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:4
“Through - Through the whole kingdom, whereof these were the two bounds. And brought - Such of them as had revolted from God to idols, he reclaimed by his counsel and example, and by the instructions of the Levites and priests, whom he carried with him.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 Chronicles 19:4
“It is good when commendations thus quicken us to our duty, and when the more we are praised for doing well the more vigorous we are in well-doing. (2.) Perhaps he found that his late affinity with the idolatrous house of Ahab and kingdom of Israel had had a bad influence upon his own kingdom.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
brought them back unto the Lord God: Jehoshaphat goes out among the people himself, from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, the kingdom's own two bounds, and brings them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. The verb is the one Chronicles measures every reign by, to seek, and here the king just rebuked answers by turning the land toward the Lord in person rather than by decree alone. The circuit answers his own earlier reform at 17:7-9, when Levites and priests were sent through the cities to teach, now walked by the king himself.
2. (vv. 5-7)
2 Chronicles 19:5
“And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,.... Inferior judges in lesser courts of judicature than that at Jerusalem, and that in every city, that judgment and justice might be executed everywhere; such were appointed by David, but had been neglected, and now restored, see 1Ch 26:29.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:5
“What exact change Jehoshaphat made in the judicial system of Judah Deu 16:18; 1Ch 23:4, it is impossible to determine. Probably he found corruption widely spread 2Ch 19:7, and the magistrates in some places tainted with the prevailing idolatry. He therefore made a fresh appointment of judges throughout the whole country; concentrating judicial authority in the hands of a few, or creating superior courts in the chief towns (“fenced cities”), with a right of appeal to such courts from the village judge.”
2 Chronicles 19:6
“The Lord - You represent God's person to whom judgment belongeth, you have your commission from God, and not from man only; and your administration of justice is not only for man's good, but also for God's honour and service.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
throughout all the fenced cities of Judah: The king sets judges in the land, city by city through the fenced cities of Judah, restoring an office David had appointed that had lapsed. His charge to them states the judiciary's charter: ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment, and its ground is stated just as plainly, there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. A court answerable to God rather than to litigants is the reform's whole logic before a single case is heard.
3. (vv. 8-11)
2 Chronicles 19:8
“The Lord - For matters concerning the laws and worship, of God. Controversies - For matters of difference between man and man. When - When Jehoshaphat and his company were returned to Jerusalem, he made this order concerning establishing Judges there.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:8
“And for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem - Who were they that returned to Jerusalem? Some suppose that it means Jehoshaphat and his courtiers, who returned to Jerusalem after the expedition mentioned 2Ch 19:4: but if this were so, or if the text spoke of any person returning to Jerusalem, would not לירושלם lirushalem, To Jerusalem, and not the simple word ירושלם Yerushalem, without the preposition, be used?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 19:8
“This court sat in Jerusalem; for there were set the thrones of judgment: there they would be under the inspection of the king himself. The causes cognizable in this court; and they were of two kinds, as with us:-- (1.) Pleas of the crown, called here the judgment of the Lord, because the law of God was the law of the realm.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Chronicles 19:9
“And he charged them,.... The members of the court at Jerusalem: saying, thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart; judge righteously and impartially, as men fearing God, true to the trust reposed in them, and sincere and upright in heart and actions, having nothing else in view but the glory of God, and the good of men.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:9
"You trespass if you do not keep them from trespassing." (3.) They must act with resolution. "Deal courageously, and fear not the face of man; be bold and daring in the discharge of your duty, and, whoever is against you, God will protect you: The Lord shall be with the good. " Wherever he finds a good man, a good magistrate, he will be found a good God.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Chronicles 19:10
“Between blood and blood - Cases of man-slaughter or accidental murder, or cases of consanguinity, the settlement of inheritance, family claims, etc. Between law and commandment - Whatsoever concerns the moral precepts, rites, and ceremonies, of the law, or whatsoever belongs to civil affairs.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 19:11
“Matters of the Lord - In Spiritual, or ecclesiastical matters. Ruler - The prince, or chief ruler, under the king, of the tribe of Judah. The king's matters - For civil causes, or controversies either between the king and his people; or between subject and subject, which may be called the king's matters, because it was a principal part of his office to see them justly decided.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 19:11
“In religious causes, Amariah, the high priest, was to preside over the court; in civil or criminal causes, Zebadiah was to be president. And to Levites, other than the judges, he assigned the subordinate offices about the court.”
2 Chronicles 19:11
“Thus there are diversities of gifts and operations, but all from the same Spirit, and for the good of the body. Some best understand the matters of the Lord, others the king's matters; neither can say to the other, I have no need of thee, for God's Israel has need of both; and, as every one has received the gift, so let him minister the same.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites: In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat sets a second court of Levites, priests and heads of fathers for cases returned there from the district courts, charging them to act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. Two jurisdictions are named and divided: Amariah the chief priest over all matters of the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, ruler of the house of Judah, over the king's matters, the sacred and civil courts each with its own head under one throne. The charge ends on courage rather than technique, deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good, the same confidence chapter 20 will need within the year.
This page carries no textual note on 2 Chronicles 19. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.