2 Chronicleschapter 20
37 verses · Ezra, by tradition · 450 to 400 BC · History
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
Introduction
Ezra, by tradition, History, 2 Chronicles Overview.
This chapter was kept for a people with no army of their own, who lived by fasting, prayer and the temple singers. It comes from the strong years of a good king of Judah. Its centre is a king praying aloud before the whole nation, with their wives and children standing beside them. A Levite singer answers with a word from God. Listen for how the prayer argues from what God has done before, and for who is sent out in front of the army. The last verses bring the king's old weakness back into view.
Context
- Who
- A people who fasted and assembled when they had no other weapon
- What
- An invasion from the east, a national fast and prayer, a prophetic answer through a Levite, and a victory won without a battle.
- Where
- The temple court in Jerusalem, the wilderness of Tekoa, and the Valley of Beracah above the Dead Sea.
- When
- About 853 BC in the reign of Jehoshaphat, with the close of his reign following.
- Why
- To show a people without military strength that the LORD fights for those who seek Him and trust His word.
Historical context
The chapter belongs to Jehoshaphat in the years of his strength and to Jahaziel, a Levite singer, and the site's dossier for this book anchors the deliverance at about 853 BC.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
The places are the new court of the temple in Jerusalem, the shore road by the Dead Sea, and the wilderness of Tekoa above it.
The occasion is an invasion already close, come around the southern end of the Dead Sea and up the shore to En-gedi, then up the Ascent of Ziz onto the Judean ridge. That hard road brought them out about a day's march from Jerusalem, past every fortress in the south.
A first hearer knew what a proclaimed fast was. It was the recognised public act of a community in emergency, and people came in from all the cities of Judah to stand with their wives and children while the king prayed aloud.
A first hearer also knew who carried the answer. Jahaziel is a Levite of the sons of Asaph, one of the temple singers speaking as a prophet, which is the ministry the earlier chapters described.
A first hearer knew, last, that three allied armies moving through confined hill country on unfamiliar ground are open to panic and to each other. The phrase about ships going to Tarshish in the closing verses names a class of large seagoing vessel rather than a destination.
Significance
This was the first hearers' own playbook. Ezra proclaimed a fast at the river Ahava because he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to guard the road home.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Fast, assemble, pray in the temple court, hear the word through a Levite, and put the singers in front. A community with no army had one strategy, and this chapter is its clearest example.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
Chronicles stands among the Writings in the Hebrew canon, and the annual cycle of Torah portions and their Haftarot draws on other books. A Jewish reader meets this chapter in study rather than in a reading appointed for a Sabbath or a feast, and the site's own reading data records the same for every chapter.
The chapter does reach the synagogue through the liturgy. Rashi quotes a liturgical poem of Eleazar ha-Kallir written for the section of Zachor, the reading kept on the Sabbath before Purim. He says the poet set this battle down in it (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:1:1). The poem recalls "the tyrant who hid among the Ammonites" and the breaching of the vineyards of Ein-gedi (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:1:1). A worshipper who hears that poem is hearing this chapter inside the Purim season.
How it is read
Rashi reads the invading coalition as Amalek in disguise. He holds that the Ammonites named at the first verse are Amalekites "who changed their tongue and their dress" and mingled with Ammon to come against Israel (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:1:1). He argues it from the chapter itself, where the ambush at the twenty-second verse falls on Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, and from the nearness of Ein-gedi to Amalekite country.
The prayer of Jehoshaphat is read as a legal argument about a gift. Rashi has the king pressing one point. A man who gives a present to his friend exerts himself to keep it in his friend's hand. The word for an everlasting gift then closes off any answer that the land was lent for a time (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:7:1). At the fifteenth verse Rashi ties the prophet's answer back to the king's own words about having no strength, so that the oracle answers the prayer point for point (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:15:1).
The deliverance itself is read as a turning of the armies against each other. Rashi takes the liers-in-wait of the twenty-second verse as the work of God, who "turned them one against another" (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:22:1). Moab and Ammon rose together against Seir and then fell on each other (Rashi on II Chronicles 20:23:1). He notes the same pattern in the ambush turned against Jeroboam in the thirteenth chapter.
Metzudat David comments at 20:3:1, 20:14:1, 20:18:1, 20:19:1, 20:21:1 and 20:24:1, and Radak at 20:5:1. The corpus holds no English text for either, so both stand cited and unquoted.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty locators on this chapter and holds the locator alone for each, so they are cited here and not quoted. The Mekhilta carries it at DeRabbi Yishmael Tractate Shirah 1:9 and 10:10, Tractate Vayehi Beshalach 7:27 and Tractate Amalek 3:10. Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai carries it at 14:29 and 15:1. The Talmud carries it at Megillah 10b:25, Horayot 5b:14, Pesachim 92a:16, Yevamot 7b:7 and Zevachim 32b:6. Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) carries it at Horayot 1:2, Megillah 1:11 and Sanhedrin 4:25, and the plain edition at Megillah 1:17. The Rabbah collections carry it at Bereshit Rabbah 41:3 and 42:7, Eikhah Rabbah 1:33, 1:38, 4:15 and Petichta 30, and Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:14:3. They carry it further at Kohelet Rabbah 10:4:1, Bamidbar Rabbah 19:16 and Shemot Rabbah 30:24. Midrash Tehillim carries it at 18:8, 62:2 and 79:1, and the Tanchuma at Chukat 14:1 and Midrash Tanchuma Buber at Chukat 37:1. Midrash Lekach Tov carries it at Exodus 15:1:4 and 20:23:5, and Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy at 18:15:3. The rest are Aggadat Bereshit 9:3, Avot DeRabbi Natan 9:4, Seder Olam Rabbah 20:2 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 70:1, 240:2 and 764:7. Last is Introductions to Tanaitic Literature, Introductions to Tractates of the Mishnah, Kelim 470. The weight of that list sits with the Mekhilta on the Song at the Sea, where the tradition files a victory won without a battle.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on II Chronicles, the Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg (Sefaria, CC-BY); Metzudat David, Metzudat David on II Chronicles 20, cited by ref from the Sefaria corpus, which holds no English version of it; Radak, Radak on II Chronicles 20, cited by ref from the Sefaria corpus, which holds no English version of it; The Sefaria corpus on disk, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/2-chronicles/20.json, fetched 2026-09-19; The reading data of this site, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed in this lane: 2-chronicles parashot 0, haftarah uses 0, hasSynagogueReading true for 0 of 36 chapters.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A great multitude comes, and all Judah stands and looks to God
2 Chronicles 20:1-2
the Moabites and Ammonites: The coalition is family: Moab and Ammon are Lot's sons, and mount Seir joins from Esau, kindred nations Israel was forbidden to dispossess. They come by the Dead Sea's western shore and are already at En-gedi when the report lands, a day's march from Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 20:1
“The present Hebrew (and English) text mentions the Ammonites twice over. Hence, some adopt a different reading and translate “the children of Ammon, and with them certain of the Maonites,” etc. Compare 2Ch 20:10, note; Jdg 10:12, note; 1Ch 4:41, note.”
The report names Edom as the army's origin. Clarke and Barnes explain that some copies read Aram here, since the Hebrew letters for Edom and Aram differ by one stroke. Gill points to Genesis 14:7, where Hazazon-tamar first appears as the place the kings of the east struck the Amorites.
2 Chronicles 20:2
“On this side Syria - Instead of מארם mearam, from Syria, I would read with one of Kennicott’s MSS. (89) מאדם meedom, from Edom, which alteration brings it to truth and does not require the change of half a letter, as it consists in the almost imperceptible difference between ר resh and ד daleth. We do not read of any Syrians in this invasion, but we know there were Edomites, or inhabitants of Mount Seir. Hazazon-tamar - “In the wood of palm trees, that is, in Engedi.” - Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:3-4
proclaimed a fast: Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and “set his face to seek the LORD”, the verb Chronicles measures every king by, and “he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah”. The people gathered “from all the cities of Judah to seek Him”. The crisis becomes an assembly before it becomes a campaign.
2 Chronicles 20:3
“General fasts had been previously observed by the Israelites (e. g. Jdg 20:26; 1Sa 7:6); but we do not hear of any fast having been “proclaimed” by authority before this.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:3
“Fasting from bodily refreshments, upon such extraordinary occasions, is a token of self-judging for the sins we have committed (we own ourselves unworthy of the bread we eat, and that God might justly withhold it from us), and of self-denial for the future; fasting for sin implies a resolution to fast from it, though it has been to us as a sweet morsel.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him: Gill notes that the people met in Jerusalem at the temple. Matthew Henry connects the place with God's answer to Solomon at 7:15. Spurgeon notes the invaders had heard of the temple's wealth, so the house they came to plunder became the place where Judah asked for help.
2 Chronicles 20:4
“The place they met in was the house of the Lord, before the new court, which was perhaps lately added to the former courts (that, as some think, which was called the court of the women ); thus they came within reach of that gracious promise which God had made, in answer to Solomon's prayer, ch. vii. My ears shall be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Chronicles 20:5-9
in front of the new courtyard: Jehoshaphat prays in the temple court and quotes Solomon's dedication back to God. Verse 9 restates Solomon's petition at 6:28-30: if disaster comes, the people will stand before the temple, and God will hear and save. He calls Abraham “Your friend”, a title Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23 repeat.
2 Chronicles 20:5
The new court - In Solomon’s Temple there were two courts. One of these had probably been renovated by Jehoshaphat or by his father, Asa 2Ch 15:8, and was known as “the new court.”
Power and might are in Your hand: The prayer begins with who God is: God in heaven, who rules “all the kingdoms of the nations”, with “Power and might” in His hand. The words echo David's blessing at 1 Chronicles 29:12. The king who proclaimed the fast leads the prayer himself, as Clarke observes.
2 Chronicles 20:6
“Jehoshaphat stood - What an instructive sight was this! The king who proclaimed the fast was foremost to observe it, and was on this occasion the priest of the people; offering in the congregation, without form or any premeditation, one of the most sensible, pious, correct, and as to its composition one of the most elegant prayers ever offered under the Old Testament dispensation.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
give it forever to the descendants of Abraham: The second plea rests on history: God drove out the land's former inhabitants and gave it to Abraham's descendants forever. Matthew Henry reads this as Judah's title to the land, a title God himself had granted. Wesley adds that God bound himself by covenant to be the friend of Abraham.
2 Chronicles 20:7
“Abraham - To whom thou hast engaged thyself by covenant to be his friend, and the friend of his seed forever. The sword - Or rather, the sword of judgement or of vengeance, that is, war, whereby thou punisheth thy people for their sins.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name: The third plea is the temple, built in the land for God's Name. Matthew Henry notes that the gift came from God's own hand, and so the house gave a ground to expect an answer. Clarke records that the Targum renders the phrase as for the name of your Word.
2 Chronicles 20:8
“And they dwelt therein,.... From ages past, hitherto, since it was first given them, and they were put into the possession of it: and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name; a temple for his worship, honour, and glory, and for him to dwell in; and is a reason why it might be hoped he would protect them, especially when they prayed to him: saying; and he promised to hear and help them, as follows.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:8
“Therein for thy name - “For the name of thy Word.” - Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:8
“Here thy name is; here we are. Lord, help us, for the glory of thy name." (5.) He pleads the ingratitude and injustice of his enemies: "We are such as it will be thy glory to appear for; they are such as it will be thy glory to appear against; for, [1.] They ill requite our ancient kindnesses.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The four evils named, sword, judgment, plague and famine, match the four judgments of Ezekiel 14:21. Gill suggests that judgment may stand for the wild beasts of that list. Henry sums up the plea as two facts set side by side: God's Name is here, and his people are here.
2 Chronicles 20:9
“For thy name is in this house - “Thy Majesty is in this house.” Several of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., with the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, add נקרא nikra, “is invoked;” Thy name is invoked in this house - here thou dwellest, and here thou art worshipped.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:10-12
You did not let Israel invade: These are the nations God did not let Israel invade, as Deuteronomy 2 records, and now they come to drive Judah out of its inheritance. Judah confesses it is “powerless before this vast army”. The prayer ends, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You”.
2 Chronicles 20:10
“And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt,.... Charging them not to meddle with them, nor take any of their lands from them, Deu 2:5, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; in obedience to the divine command, when it was in their power to have done it.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:10
“The Maonites of 2Ch 20:1 are here, and in 2Ch 20:22-23, called the “children” or inhabitants “of mount Seir.” Hence, we may gather that they were a tribe of Edomites, the inhabitants, probably of a city Maon (now Ma’an) on the eastern side of the Wady el-Arabah.”
See how they are repaying us: Clarke records that several Hebrew manuscripts and the Targum add the word evil, so the line says they repay Judah with evil. Gill dwells on the possession that You gave us: the land remained God's property and Israel held it from him, as Leviticus 25:23 says.
2 Chronicles 20:11
“They reward us - Six of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. add רעה evil: “Behold, they reward us Evil.” This is also the reading of the Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
will You not judge them?: The prayer closes by asking God to judge. Wesley reads the request as a plea for sentence and its execution, since God's justice is the refuge of the wronged. Henry describes the eyes turned to God as the eye of submission, faith, desire and hope, the posture of Psalm 123:2.
2 Chronicles 20:12
“Wilt thou not judge - Wilt thou not give sentence against them, and execute it upon them? The justice of God is the refuge of those that are wronged. No might - Though he had great armies, yet he seems to have been surprized by these men, before his forces were in readiness to oppose them.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
children and little ones: All the men of Judah, “with their wives and children and little ones”, stand in the LORD's presence. The whole nation waits for God's answer as households, while the king prays. The children are present for the prayer and for the promise that answers it in verses 14 to 17.
2 Chronicles 20:13
“Little ones - Whom they used to present before the Lord in times of great distress, to stir up themselves to more fervent prayers, their eyes being upon their harmless and tender children, and to move God to compassion, because God hath declared, that he will be prevailed with, by such methods as these.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Jahaziel: the battle is not yours, but God's
2 Chronicles 20:14-17
a Levite from Asaph’s descendants: The answer comes through a singer: Jahaziel is “a Levite from Asaph’s descendants”, of the choir David organized in 1 Chronicles 25. Its charge, “stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD”, repeats Moses at the sea in Exodus 14. Judah must still march out the next day.
2 Chronicles 20:14
“Mattaniah” is thought to be a corrupt reading for “Nethaniah,” who is mentioned among the sons of Asaph in 1Ch 25:2, 1Ch 25:12.
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:14
“He was of the sons of Asaph, and therefore one of the singers; on that office God would put an honour. Whether he was a prophet before this or no is uncertain, most probably he was, which would make him the more regarded. There needed no sign, the thing itself was to be performed the very next day, and that would be confirmation enough to his prophecy.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Do not be afraid or discouraged is the charge given to Joshua at Joshua 1:9. Barnes notes that the prophet chose words tied to earlier deliverances. Matthew Henry observes that fear had done its work in bringing Judah to God and was now to give way to trust.
2 Chronicles 20:15
“The prophet uses words familiar to the people, and connected with several great deliverances (see the marginal references). 2Ch 20:16 By the “cliff (or, rather - as in the margin - ascent) of Ziz,” we must understand the mountain path which leads up from Engedi across the elevated tract still known as El-Husasah, in the direction of Tekoa 2Ch 20:20. At the end of the brook - Rather, “at the end of the gulley,” or dry torrent-course. No name like Jeruel has been as yet found in this district.”
the Ascent of Ziz: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, following Robinson, identify the Ascent of Ziz with the pass that climbs north from En-gedi toward Tekoa. Matthew Henry notes that the God who orders the deliverance also sets its time and place. Verse 20 has the army march out to the Wilderness of Tekoa.
2 Chronicles 20:16
“It is fit that he who commands the deliverance should command those for whom the deliverance is to be wrought, and give the necessary orders, both for time and place.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The promise at the close is the word Azariah gave Asa at 15:2, where the LORD is with those who are with him. Matthew Henry reasons that since the battle is God's, the victory will be his too, and he is able to do his work himself.
2 Chronicles 20:17
“For the Lord will be with you - “The Word of the Lord shall be your Helper.” - Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:18-19
Jehoshaphat bowed facedown: Worship answers the oracle before any rescue is seen. The king bows facedown, all Judah falls before the LORD, and the Levites stand to praise. Korah died in his rebellion in Numbers 16, but his sons survived, and his line became a house of singers whose psalms the Psalter keeps.
2 Chronicles 20:18
“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground,.... Not only in reverence of God, and his prophet, but as a token of his belief of what was said, and his thankfulness for it: and all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the Lord, worshipping him; adoring his goodness to them, in imitation of their king.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:18
“Jehoshaphat bowed his head . . . and all Judah, &c.--This attitude was expressive of reverence to God and His Word, of confidence in His promise, and thankfulness for so extraordinary a favor.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
shouting in a very loud voice: The Levites praise before any enemy is seen. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown suggest that they stood at the king's command and sang with such joy that they counted the victory as already won. Gill takes the loud voice as high notes and suggests these singers were the course on duty.
2 Chronicles 20:19
“And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites,.... Who were of the posterity of Kohath, in the line of Korah: stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high; in high notes; they being the course in turn at this time for this service.”
Singers march in front, and three days are spent gathering spoil
believe in His prophets: Jehoshaphat gives one charge: “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed”. The Hebrew of the first clause plays on one root, as Isaiah 7:9 does, where believing and being upheld share it.
2 Chronicles 20:20
“Believe in the Lord your God - “Believe in the Word of the Lord your God, and believe in his law, and believe in his prophets; and ye shall prosper.” Here the Word and the revelation are most pointedly distinguished; the Word being used personally.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:20
“That is true courage which faith inspires a man with; nor will any thing contribute more to the establishing of the heart in shaking times than a firm belief of the power, and mercy, and promise of God. The heart is fixed that thus trusteth in the Lord, and is kept in perfect peace. In our spiritual conflicts, this is the victory, this is the prosperity, even our faith.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
they went out before the army: The order of march puts the singers first and the army behind. They “praise the splendor of His holiness”, the phrase of 1 Chronicles 16:29. Their song is the refrain David set at 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever”.
2 Chronicles 20:21
“Praise the beauty of holiness - Some render, “in the beauty of holiness” - i. e. in rich apparel and ornaments suitable to a holy occasion. Compare Psa 29:2.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:21
“By this strange advance towards the field of battle, Jehoshaphat intended to express his firm reliance upon the word of God (which enabled him to triumph before the battle), to animate his own soldiers, to confound the enemy, and to engage God on their side; for praise pleases God better than all burnt offering and sacrifice.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Chronicles 20:22-23
they began their shouts and praises: The timing is exact: “The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes”. The text does not say who the ambushers were, whether angels or the invaders' own allies, and the commentators divide on it. The subject of the sentence is the LORD either way.
2 Chronicles 20:22
“The Lord set ambushments - “The Word of the Lord placed snares among the children of Ammon and Moab; and the inhabitants of the mountain of Gibla, who came to fight with Judah; and they were broken to pieces:” so the Targum.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:22
“The consequence was, that as the mutual strife commenced when the Hebrew procession set out from Jerusalem, the work of destruction was completed before Jehoshaphat and his people arrived at the battlefield.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
they helped to destroy one another: Ammon and Moab first destroyed the men of Mount Seir, then turned on each other. Gill suggests that they suspected the Edomites of betraying them, and that in the confusion each took the other for an enemy. Matthew Henry notes that Judah's army was left with nothing to do.
2 Chronicles 20:23
“For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir,.... Supposing that they had acted a treacherous part by them, and took on the side of their enemies: utterly to slay and destroy them; as they did: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir; so that there were none left of them: everyone helped to destroy one another; in their confusion mistook one another, either for Edomites or Jews, like the Midianites in the times of Gideon.”
2 Chronicles 20:24-25
a place overlooking the wilderness: From “a place overlooking the wilderness” Judah sees “only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped”. The battle was over before the army arrived, as the oracle said. The plunder takes three days to gather and is “more than they could carry away”.
2 Chronicles 20:24
“When Judah came towards the watch tower in the wilderness,.... Which might stand upon the hill or cliff of Ziz, for the sake of the direction of travellers, and the preservation of them from thieves and robbers: they looked unto the multitude; which they could take a view of from the top of the hill: and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped; all to a man slain, there was not one to be seen standing on his feet.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:24
“The march of Judah from Jerusalem would take five or six hours. By the time they reached the watch-towers in the wilderness of Jeruel all was over.”
Clarke and Barnes record that several Hebrew manuscripts read garments where most read bodies, so the spoil may include clothing as well as valuables. Henry sees God's purpose in the whole invasion: to humble and test Judah and then do it good, the pattern Moses named at Deuteronomy 8:16.
2 Chronicles 20:25
“Both riches with the dead bodies - For פגרים peparim, dead bodies, בגדים begadim, garments, is the reading of eight MSS. in the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi, and in several ancient editions. None of the versions have dead bodies except the Chaldee. The words might be easily mistaken for each other, as the פ pe, if a little faint in the under dot might easily pass for a ב beth; and we know that the ר resh and ד daleth, are frequently interchanged and mistaken for each other, both in Hebrew and Syriac.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:25
“Now it appeared what was God's end in bringing this great army against Judah; it was to humble them and prove them, that he might do them good in their latter end. It seemed at first a disturbance to their reformation, but it proved a recompence of it. Never was victory celebrated with more solemn and enlarged thanksgivings.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the Valley of Beracah: On the fourth day they gather to bless the LORD, and the place is named “the Valley of Beracah”, meaning blessing, “to this day”. The valley near Tekoa is named for the thanksgiving that followed the victory.
2 Chronicles 20:26
“On the fourth they set out on their return to Jerusalem in the same order and joyful mood as they came. The place where they mustered previous to departure was, from their public thanksgiving service, called, "The Valley of Berachah" ("benediction"), now Wady Bereikut.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Chronicles 20:27-30
with Jehoshaphat at their head: The army returns in procession “with harps, lyres, and trumpets” to the house of the LORD. The campaign ends where it began, in the sanctuary. Then “the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands” when they heard that the LORD had fought against Israel's enemies.
2 Chronicles 20:27
“Then they returned, every man of Judah and of Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy,.... There to praise the Lord in the temple, as they had done in the valley: for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies; by giving them a complete victory, and making them masters of so much wealth and riches.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:27
“Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them - He was their leader in all these spiritual, holy, fatiguing, and self-denying exercises. What a noble and persuasive pattern!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:27
“Praising God must not be the work of a day only; but our praises, when we have received mercy, must be often repeated, as our prayers were when we were in the pursuit of it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
with harps, lyres, and trumpets: The instruments that accompanied the ark into Jerusalem at 1 Chronicles 15:28 now lead the army home. Gill names them as the three chief instruments used in the praises of God. Wesley notes that praise after mercy must be repeated as often as the prayers that sought it.
2 Chronicles 20:28
“And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets,.... The three principal instruments of music used in singing the praises of God; these they played upon as they came to the city, and entered it, and passed through it: unto the house of the Lord; the temple, there to offer praise and thanksgiving again.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:28
“To the house - To renew their praises in the court of the temple, the proper and usual place for it. Praising God must not be the work of a day only, but our praises when we have received mercy, must be often repeated, as our prayers were, when we where in pursuit of it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms: The same dread fell on the surrounding kingdoms at 17:10, and the victory renews it. Gill notes its effect: the nations feared to invade, and Edom stayed subject while Jehoshaphat lived. Clarke records the Targum's rendering, that the Word of the LORD made war against the enemies of Israel.
2 Chronicles 20:29
“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of these countries,.... Whose armies were slain, and all other neighbouring ones; for the word these is supplied: when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel; and they were afraid to invade their land, or make war with them; nor did the Edomites dare to revolt in the times of Jehoshaphat.”
his God had given him rest on every side: Rest on every side is the reward Chronicles gives to kings who seek the LORD. Gill describes the peace as inward and outward. Henry adds that those who had resented the removal of the images now had to own that the God who delivered alone deserved worship.
2 Chronicles 20:30
“So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet,.... Both within and without; they were at peace among themselves, and none from abroad dared to molest them: for his God gave him rest round about; from all his enemies; the Targum has it, the Word of his God; and so, in the preceding verse, the Word of the Lord fought; and in 2Ch 20:28 the Word of the Lord made them rejoice.”
A good reign, high places left, and ships broken at Ezion-geber
2 Chronicles 20:31-34
Azubah daughter of Shilhi: The summary gives a reign of twenty-five years. Verse 33 adds, “The high places, however, were not removed”, though 17:6 says he removed them. Verse 33 gives its own reason: “the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers”.
2 Chronicles 20:31
“5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the L ORD , before the new court, 6 And said, O L ORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:31
“And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah,.... Of these two verses; see Gill on 1Ki 22:42. 1Ki 22:43.”
walked in the way of his father Asa: The verdict ties Jehoshaphat to his father Asa, whose reign Chronicles also judged right in the eyes of the LORD at 14:2. Matthew Henry gives the same summary of the reign: Jehoshaphat held to the worship of God himself and worked to hold his people to it.
the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown and Matthew Henry distinguish two kinds of high place. Jehoshaphat destroyed those used for idols at 17:6 and left standing those where the people still worshipped the LORD away from the temple. Henry judges that the king was unwilling to offend the people over them.
2 Chronicles 20:33
“Those that were erected to the honour of strange gods were taken away ( ch. xvii. 6 ); but those where the true God was worshipped, being less culpable, were thought allowable, and Jehoshaphat was loth to disoblige the people so far as to take them away, for as yet they had not prepared their hearts to serve the God of their fathers.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
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2 Chronicles 20:33
“The latter clause of this verse helps to reconcile the first clause with the statement that Jehoshaphat “took away the high places” (see 2Ch 15:17 note).”
the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani: The source is the work of Jehu son of Hanani, the prophet who rebuked Jehoshaphat. Gill identifies him with the Jehu who spoke against Baasha at 1 Kings 16:1. Barnes explains that Jehu's record was taken into the Book of the Kings, and that Israel here stands loosely for Judah.
2 Chronicles 20:34
“In the book of Jehu - This is totally lost, though it is evident that it was in being when the books of Chronicles were written.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Chronicles 20:35-37
made an alliance with Ahaziah: The chapter ends with another alliance with Ahab's house, a fleet built with Ahaziah, “who acted wickedly”. Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah gives the verdict: “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works”. The ships are wrecked at Ezion-geber and never sail to Tarshish.
2 Chronicles 20:35
“And yet God reproves and punisheth him for it, ver. 37, to shew his great dislike of all familiar conversation of his servants and people with professed enemies of God and of religion, as Ahaziah was. Very wickedly - Or who did industriously, and maliciously, and constantly work wickedness, as the Hebrew phrase implies, giving himself up to idolatry and all wickedness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Chronicles 20:35
“After this - Jehoshaphat’s history had been formally completed 2Ch 20:34. Consequently we can lay no stress on the note of time contained in the words “after this,” which are detached from the context to which they originally referred. On the history 2Ch 20:35-37, see marginal references and notes.”
2 Chronicles 20:35
“There is an emphasis laid upon the time-- after this, after God had done such great things for him, without any such scandalous and pernicious confederacies, given him not only victory, but wealth, yet after this to go and join himself with a wicked king was very ungrateful.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
these were built in Ezion-geber: Ezion-geber was the port where Solomon built his fleet at 1 Kings 9:26. Matthew Henry stresses the timing, after this: the alliance followed a deliverance won with no such partner. Gill harmonizes 1 Kings 22:49, where Jehoshaphat refuses Ahaziah's servants, by placing that refusal after the reproof and the wreck.
2 Chronicles 20:36
“And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish,.... Of which; see Gill on 1Ki 22:48, and though it is there said, 1Ki 22:49, that Jehoshaphat refused letting the servants of Ahaziah go with his, that was after he had been reproved for joining with him, and after the ships were broken: and they made the ships in Eziongeber; of which see Gill on 1Ki 9:26.”
Matthew Henry reads the wreck as a warning that Jehoshaphat heeded, since at 1 Kings 22:49 he refuses Ahaziah's later request to sail together. Clarke records that the Targum places Tarshish in the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, while Jamieson, Fausset and Brown name Tartessus as the fleet's goal.
2 Chronicles 20:37
“The Lord hath broken, etc. - “The Word of the Lord hath broken.” - Targum. Concerning Tarshish, Ezion-geber, and Ophir, and the voyage thither, see the notes on 1Ki 10:22, and at 1Ki 10:29 (note), and on 2Ch 9:26-28 (note). The Tarshish here is called by the Chaldee Torsos in the great sea, some place in the Mediterranean. On this subject the reader has, no doubt, already seen a great variety of opinions.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: Historical narrative built around a national fast, a king's prayer and a Spirit-given oracle of salvation, as Keil and Delitzsch classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| To seek the LORD | The verb the book measures every reign by stands three times in two verses, at the king's face set to seek and at the people gathering to seek. Matthew Henry reads the fear of verse 3 as recorded without embarrassment, with what the king does about it as the chapter. W. H. Bennett notes the crisis becomes a congregation before it becomes a campaign.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 2 Chronicles 20:3. | 2 Chronicles 20:3, 2 Chronicles 20:4 |
| Our eyes are upon You | The prayer of verses 6 to 12 is spoken to God throughout and argues from precedent before it asks for anything. Keil and Delitzsch show it quoting Solomon's dedication back to God, since the formula of verse 9 is the petition of 6:28 to 30 used as a filed document. It ends on the sentence the whole book keeps as its model of prayer.Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Books of the Chronicles, on 2 Chronicles 20:5. | 2 Chronicles 20:6, 2 Chronicles 20:9, 2 Chronicles 20:12 |
| Do not be afraid or discouraged | The oracle through Jahaziel opens with the words at verse 15 and closes with them at verse 17, with the instruction to take position and stand firm held between. Keil and Delitzsch set the instruction beside Moses at the sea in Exodus 14:13. The army still marches out the next morning, so standing still is a posture and not an absence.Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Books of the Chronicles, on 2 Chronicles 20:14. | 2 Chronicles 20:15, 2 Chronicles 20:17 |
| Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir | The three nations are named at verse 1 and again in the prayer at verse 10, as the peoples Israel was told to spare. They are named a third time at verse 22, when the ambush falls on them. John Gill follows the same three through verse 23, where two of them destroy the third and then each other. The list is the chapter's spine.John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 2 Chronicles 20:22. | 2 Chronicles 20:1, 2 Chronicles 20:10, 2 Chronicles 20:22, 2 Chronicles 20:23 |
| The valley called Blessing | On the fourth day the army gathers to bless the LORD, and the place takes the name Beracah, which is the Hebrew word for blessing. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the valley is named for the thanksgiving rather than for the victory. The text says the name stood to the writer's own day.Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on 2 Chronicles 20:26. | 2 Chronicles 20:26 |
The debated concept
9 more paragraphs on the patterns
The first question is what the ambushes of verse 22 were. John Wesley and Keil and Delitzsch both note that the text names the LORD as the one who set them and says nothing about the means. Readers have proposed angelic agents and panicking allies, and the commentators divide without settling it, since the subject of the sentence is the same either way.
The second is the high places at verse 33. The verse says they were left standing, while 17:6 says Jehoshaphat took them away. Keil and Delitzsch hold both readings together, with the royal reform removing them and popular use raising them again. The verse gives its own explanation, that the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
The third is how the book can hold this deliverance and the wrecked fleet in one chapter. The guide's ledger gives Jehoshaphat the verdict mixed, and the dossier's theology section states the Chronicler's practice of closing the account inside each reign. W. H. Bennett reads the closing verses as the same flaw returning a second time.
Where the chapter reaches
The prayer's own authority is Solomon's dedication. Verse 9 states the formula of 6:28 to 30 back to God, that if sword or judgment or plague or famine come and Judah stands before this house and cries out, God will hear. Keil and Delitzsch read the prayer as citing precedent before it states need.
Abraham is called God's friend at verse 7. The Berean text carries the same title at Isaiah 41:8, and James 2:23 says he was called a friend of God. The chapter uses the title as the ground of the land claim, and the later texts use it of the man himself.
The instruction at verse 17 stands close to Moses at the Red Sea. Keil and Delitzsch draw the correspondence with Exodus 14:13, where Israel is told to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD.
The singers' one line at verse 21 is the refrain David planted at 1 Chronicles 16:34, which the Berean renders as giving thanks to the LORD because His loving devotion endures forever. Matthew Henry reads the order of march as the chapter's theology made visible.
The confession at verse 12 is the sentence the rest of the book keeps returning to. Judah has no might and no plan, and its eyes are on God.
Keep studying
Words12
Trails1
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 form and classifications
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Books of the Chronicles, on 2 Chronicles 20:5; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 2 Chronicles 20:17; the dossier's theology section for this book, `src/components/book/dossier-content/2-chronicles.ts`, the theology section on the Levites and the guide's ledger for this book, `src/components/book/guides/2-chronicles/Book2ChroniclesGuide.tsx`, the kings ledger, Jehoshaphat at 17:1 to 20:37.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2923: “The Singing Army” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. H. Bennett, The Books of Chronicles (Expositor's Bible).