2 Chronicles 28:6
in 2 Chronicles 28For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men; because they had forsaken Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
KJV
For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 28
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor Pekah son of Remaliah,.... Who was at this time king of Israel: slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; a great slaughter to be made at one time, and of valiant men, but not so great as that in 2Ch 13:17, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers; this was not a reason with Pekah for slaying them, he himself being an idolater, but why the Lord suffered them to be slain by him.
This site's exposition
under every green tree
on 2 Chronicles 28:4-6
Chronicles gives a count Kings never gives, 120,000 valiant men killed by Pekah in one day. The narrator states the cause, “because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers”. 2 Kings 16 sums up the war in one clause about a failed siege.
This site's exposition
killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah
Gill sets the loss beside the five hundred thousand of Israel who fell before Abijah at 13:17, when Judah relied on the LORD. So this battle reverses that earlier one. Barnes suggests a complete defeat followed by panic to account for so many dead in one day.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
) and some of the first rank, the king's son for one. He had sacrificed some of this sons to Moloch; justly therefore is this sacrificed to the divine vengeance. Here is another that was next the king, his friend, the prime-minister of state, or perhaps next him in the battle, so that the king himself had a narrow escape,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A hundred and twenty thousand - It is very probable that there is a mistake in this number. It is hardly possible that a hundred and twenty thousand men could have been slain in one day; yet all the versions and MSS. agree in this number. The whole people seem to have been given up into the hands of their enemies.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The slaughter of one hundred twenty thousand in one day was a terrible calamity, which, it is (2Ch 28:6) expressly said, was inflicted as a judgment on Judah, "because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers." Among the slain were some persons of distinction:
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The fearful loss here described may have been due to a complete defeat followed by panic.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּהֲרֹג֩ | vaiyaharog | and he killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| פֶּ֨קַח | pekach | Pekah | H6492 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְמַלְיָ֜הוּ | remalyahu | Remaliah | H7425 → | |
| בִּֽיהוּדָ֗ה | bihudah | among Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| מֵאָ֨ה | meah | one hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אֶ֛לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| בְּי֥וֹם | beyom | in a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| הַכֹּ֣ל | hakol | <the> all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [were] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חָ֑יִל | chayil | strength | H2428 → | 246 times |
| בְּעָזְבָ֕ם | beazevam | because had forsaken they | H5800 → | 215 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבוֹתָֽם׃ | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיַּהֲרֹג֩and he killed
vaiyaharogH2026 →167 times
פֶּ֨קַחPekah
pekachH6492 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
רְמַלְיָ֜הוּRemaliah
remalyahuH7425 →
בִּֽיהוּדָ֗הamong Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
מֵאָ֨הone hundred
meahH3967 →581 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֥יםand twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
אֶ֛לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
בְּי֥וֹםin a day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
הַכֹּ֣ל<the> all
hakolH3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵי־[were] sons of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
חָ֑יִלstrength
chayilH2428 →246 times
בְּעָזְבָ֕םbecause had forsaken they
beazevamH5800 →215 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבוֹתָֽם׃ancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 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
Jeremiah 15:6You have forsaken Me, declares the LORD. You have turned your back. So I will stretch out My hand against you and I will destroy you; I am weary of showing compassion.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 7:24
Through
Jeremiah 2:19Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear…
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Jeremiah 2:17
Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way?
- Psalms 36:1
An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- Jeremiah 4:18
“Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!”
- Isaiah 3:9
Through
Joshua 24:20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:26–27
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Jeremiah 17:13
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of…
- Hebrews 10:26–27
Through
Isaiah 1:28But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.