2 Chronicles 12:4
in 2 Chronicles 12He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem.
KJV
And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah,.... Which Rehoboam had lately built, and placed his sons in them, 2Ch 11:5, these he took without any opposition: and came to Jerusalem; there being no army to oppose him; and so Sesostris took many countries without fighting, and among the rest Phoenicia, as Manetho (o) relates, in which Judea may be included. (o) Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 15.
This site's exposition
In the fifth year of Rehoboam
on 2 Chronicles 12:2-4
Shishak attacks in Rehoboam's fifth year, and Chronicles states the cause, “because they had been unfaithful to the LORD”. With “1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen” come “Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites,” troops Kings never names. The fortified cities Rehoboam built in chapter 11 fall, and Shishak reaches Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
captured the fortified cities of Judah
These were the cities Rehoboam fortified and filled with his sons. Gill says Shishak took them without opposition and reached Jerusalem with no army to meet him. He compares the conquests of Sesostris, whom Manetho describes taking countries without a battle.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), but when they repented the posture of their affairs altered, and things went well. Note, If things do not go so well as we could wish, yet we have reason to take notice of it with thankfulness if they go better than was to have been expected, better than formerly, and better than we deserved.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
While Shishak and his army was before Jerusalem, the prophet Shemaiah addressed Rehoboam and the princes, tracing this calamity to the national apostasy and threatening them with utter destruction in consequence of having forsaken God (2Ch 12:6).
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּלְכֹּ֛ד | vaiyilkod | and he captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרֵ֥י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַמְּצֻר֖וֹת | hametzurot | <the> fortifications | H4694 → | 8 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לִֽיהוּדָ֑ה | lihudah | [belonged] to Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ ס | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
וַיִּלְכֹּ֛דand he captured
vaiyilkodH3920 →121 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עָרֵ֥י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
הַמְּצֻר֖וֹת<the> fortifications
hametzurotH4694 →8 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לִֽיהוּדָ֑ה[belonged] to Judah
lihudahH3063 →819 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 8:8It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 30:28
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Isaiah 7:14
Through
Isaiah 36:1In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:1
After all these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, intending to conquer them for himself.
- 2 Kings 18:13
In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.
- 2 Kings 18:17
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by…
- 2 Chronicles 32:1
Through
Jeremiah 5:10Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:27
For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction.
- Jeremiah 4:27
Through
Isaiah 10:11and as I have done to Samaria and its idols, will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?”
it leads to
- Isaiah 37:10–13
“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of…
- Isaiah 37:10–13
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.