2 Chronicles 11:10
in 2 Chronicles 11Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
KJV
And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd Zorah,.... The same with Zoreah, Jos 15:33, and Aijalon; there was a city of the tribe of Dan of this name, in the valley of which the moon stood still in the times of Joshua, Jos 10:12, but whether the same with this, and now belonging to Judah, or another of the same name, is not certain: and Hebron; a city in the mountainous part of Judah, and a city of refuge, about twenty miles from Jerusalem, Jos 15:54, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities; as they were now made by Rehoboam.
This site's exposition
built cities for defence in Judah
on 2 Chronicles 11:5-10
Chronicles alone preserves this roster: fifteen cities across Judah and Benjamin, Bethlehem, Etam and Tekoa among the first three, running south and west toward the Philistine and Egyptian frontier. Kings never lists them; the material is the Chronicler's own, likely drawn from the royal archive he names elsewhere as his source. Bethlehem's presence in a defense list, centuries before the child born there, is passed without comment, one more name doing its ordinary work in its own day.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
built cities for defence in Judah--This is evidently used as the name of the southern kingdom. Rehoboam, having now a bitter enemy in Israel, deemed it prudent to lose no time in fortifying several cities that lay along the frontier of his kingdom.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
leaders chiefs and officers to guard the towns and the large cities.
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. 4 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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צָרְעָה֙ | tzareah | Zorah | H6881 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַיָּל֔וֹן | ʾaiyalon | Aijalon | H357 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֶבְר֔וֹן | chevron | Hebron | H2275 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּיהוּדָ֖ה | bihudah | [were] in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּבְבִנְיָמִ֑ן | uvevinyamin | and in Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| עָרֵ֖י | ʾarei | cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מְצֻרֽוֹת׃ | metzurot | fortifications | H4694 → | 8 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צָרְעָה֙Zorah
tzareahH6881 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אַיָּל֔וֹןAijalon
ʾaiyalonH357 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חֶבְר֔וֹןHebron
chevronH2275 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּיהוּדָ֖ה[were] in Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
וּבְבִנְיָמִ֑ןand in Benjamin
uvevinyaminH1144 →166 times
עָרֵ֖יcities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
מְצֻרֽוֹת׃fortifications
metzurotH4694 →8 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
Genesis 23:2She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
it leads to
- Genesis 23:19
After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
- Genesis 23:19
Through
Joshua 20:7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
it leads to
- Joshua 21:11
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
- Joshua 21:32
And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Luke 1:39
In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
- 1 Chronicles 6:76
And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.
- Joshua 21:11
Through
Numbers 13:22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:12
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
- Psalms 78:12
Through
2 Samuel 2:11And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:11
The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
- 1 Kings 2:11
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 (…
- PlaceJudean hill countryHebronThe city of the patriarchs, where Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah, Caleb took his inheritance, and David reigned seven years…
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) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.