2 Chronicles 25:12
in 2 Chronicles 25and the army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And other ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they were all broken in pieces.
KJV
And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The top of the rock - Rather, “the height of Selah” (or, Petra), near which the battle was probably fought. On the cruel features of the Edomite wars, see 1Ki 11:15; Eze 25:12; Oba 1:14.
This site's exposition
led his troops to the Valley of Salt
on 2 Chronicles 25:11-12
Kings records the ten thousand struck down in a single clause. Chronicles adds a second ten thousand, taken alive, carried to “the top of a cliff” and thrown down. It sharpens the irony of verse 14, where the victor bows to the gods of the people he defeated.
This site's exposition
captured 10,000 men alive
Barnes reads the cliff top as the height of Selah, the rock city later called Petra. Kings adds at 2 Kings 14:7 that Amaziah took Selah by force and renamed it Joktheel. The feud between Judah and Edom was old and bloody.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He left dead upon the spot, in the field of battle, 10,000 men; 10,000 more he took prisoners, and barbarously killed them all by throwing them down some steep and craggy precipice. What provocation he had to exercise this cruelty towards them we are not told; but it was certainly very severe.
And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive,.... The rest of the army of the Edomites, which amounted to the same number, fell into their hands, and they took them, and carried them off: and brought them unto the top of the rock; very probably the same on which the city Petra, the metropolis of Edom, was built, called also Selah, 2Ki 14:7 both which names signify a rock.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and they were all split open, etc..after [Amaziah] had come, etc. In Lam. Rabbah it says about him, “whether he is angry or he laughs” (Prov.:9).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon after they returned to their place, as above, “they were very angry with Judah and returned to their place.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַעֲשֶׂ֨רֶת | vaaseret | and ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אֲלָפִ֜ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| חַיִּ֗ים | chaiyim | alive | H2416 → | 498 times |
| שָׁבוּ֙ | shavu | they took captive | H7617 → | 47 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיְבִיא֖וּם | vayvium | and they brought them | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְרֹ֣אשׁ | lerosh | to [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַסָּ֑לַע | hasala' | the cliff | H5553 → | |
| וַיַּשְׁלִיכ֛וּם | vaiyashlikhum | and they threw them | H7993 → | 125 times |
| מֵֽרֹאשׁ־ | merosh- | from [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַסֶּ֖לַע | hasela' | <the> cliff | H5553 → | |
| וְכֻלָּ֥ם | vekhulam | and all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נִבְקָֽעוּ׃ ס | nivkau | they were split open | H1234 → | 51 times |
וַעֲשֶׂ֨רֶתand ten
vaaseretH6235 →176 times
אֲלָפִ֜יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
חַיִּ֗יםalive
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
שָׁבוּ֙they took captive
shavuH7617 →47 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַיְבִיא֖וּםand they brought them
vayviumH935 →2568 times
לְרֹ֣אשׁto [the] top of
leroshH7218 →599 times
הַסָּ֑לַעthe cliff
hasala'H5553 →
וַיַּשְׁלִיכ֛וּםand they threw them
vaiyashlikhumH7993 →125 times
מֵֽרֹאשׁ־from [the] top of
merosh-H7218 →599 times
הַסֶּ֖לַע<the> cliff
hasela'H5553 →
וְכֻלָּ֥םand all of them
vekhulamH3605 →5413 times
נִבְקָֽעוּ׃ סthey were split open
nivkauH1234 →51 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
2 Chronicles 20:10And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:4–5
and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.
- Deuteronomy 2:19
But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the…
- Deuteronomy 2:9
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants…
- Numbers 20:17–21
Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to…
- 2 Chronicles 20:1
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
- Deuteronomy 2:4–5
Through
2 Samuel 12:31David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 20:3
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his…
- 1 Chronicles 20:3
Through
1 Chronicles 20:3David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his…
it leads to
- Psalms 21:8–9
Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 19:2–5
And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console Hanun concerning his father. But when David’s servants arrived…
- Psalms 21:8–9
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.