2 Chronicles 14:9
in 2 Chronicles 14Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah.
KJV
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Zerah the Ethiopian is probably Usarken (Osorkon) II, the third king of Egypt after Shishak, according to the Egyptian monuments. Osorkon II may have been by birth an Ethiopian, for he was the son-in-law, not the son, of the preceding monarch, and reigned in right of his wife. The object of the expedition would be to bring Judaea once more under the Egyptian yoke. An host of a thousand thousand - This is the largest collected army of which we hear in Scripture; but it does not exceed the known numbers of other Oriental armies in ancient times.
This site's exposition
Zerah the Ethiopian with an host
on 2 Chronicles 14:9-10
Zerah comes with a thousand thousand, the largest army named anywhere in the Old Testament, and three hundred chariots, advancing to Mareshah in Judah's own lowland. Wesley notes the Hebrew Cush often names an Arabian people rather than African Ethiopia, since Arabia sat far nearer Asa's border, and Barnes identifies Zerah with Osorkon the Second of Egypt's line, an identification offered as the historian's reading rather than a settled fact. Asa meets him at the valley of Zephathah rather than waiting for the advance to reach Jerusalem, choosing ground that favored the smaller army.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Ethiopian - Or, the Arabian, as the Hebrew word Cush is commonly used: these being much nearer to Asa than the Ethiopians.
5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the L ORD had given him rest.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v5-6
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with an host of thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots,....
Though still they sought God, yet this fear came upon them, that their faith in God might be tried, and that God might have an opportunity of doing great things for them. It was a vast number that the Ethiopians brought against him: 1,000,000 men; and now he found the benefit of having an army ready raised against such a time of need.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
As Zerah was the aggressor, he had time to choose when he would summon these men and attack the enemy. Every one of these Cushite shepherds, carrying with them their own provisions of flour and water, as is their invariable custom, might have fought with Asa without eating a loaf of Zerah's bread or drinking a pint of his water" [BRUCE, Travels].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Zerah the Ethiopian - Probably of that Ethiopia which lay on the south of Egypt, near to Libya, and therefore the Libyans are joined with them, 2Ch 16:8. A thousand thousand - If this people had come from any great distance, they could not have had forage for such an immense army.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵ֨א | vaiyetze' | and he came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם | ʾaleihem | against them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זֶ֣רַח | zerach | Zerah | H2226 → | |
| הַכּוּשִׁ֗י | hakushi | the Cushite | H3569 → | 26 times |
| בְּחַ֙יִל֙ | bechayil | with an army | H2428 → | 246 times |
| אֶ֣לֶף | ʾelef | a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אֲלָפִ֔ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| וּמַרְכָּב֖וֹת | umarkavot | and chariots | H4818 → | 44 times |
| שְׁלֹ֣שׁ | shelosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| מֵא֑וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מָרֵשָֽׁה׃ | mareshah | Mareshah | H4762 → | 7 times |
וַיֵּצֵ֨אand he came out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֜םagainst them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
זֶ֣רַחZerah
zerachH2226 →
הַכּוּשִׁ֗יthe Cushite
hakushiH3569 →26 times
בְּחַ֙יִל֙with an army
bechayilH2428 →246 times
אֶ֣לֶףa thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אֲלָפִ֔יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
וּמַרְכָּב֖וֹתand chariots
umarkavotH4818 →44 times
שְׁלֹ֣שׁthree
sheloshH7969 →432 times
מֵא֑וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מָרֵשָֽׁה׃Mareshah
mareshahH4762 →7 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 16:8Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 12:3
with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.
- 2 Chronicles 16:7
At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of…
- 2 Chronicles 14:9–12
Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.
- 2 Chronicles 13:16
So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
- 2 Chronicles 13:18
Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 12:3
Through
2 Kings 19:9Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 23:27
Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
- 1 Samuel 23:27
Through
Joshua 15:44Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages.
it leads to
- Micah 1:14–15
Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.
- 1 Samuel 23:1–14
Now it was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and looting the threshing floors.”
- Micah 1:14–15
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.