2 Chronicles 17:9
in 2 Chronicles 17They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the LORD. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they taught in Judah, having the book of the law of Jehovah with them; and they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.
KJV
And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
There is no reasonable doubt that this “book of the law” was the Pentateuch - nearly, if not quite, in the shape in which we now have it. Copies of the whole Law were, no doubt, scarce; and therefore Jehoshaphat’s commission took care to carry a copy with them.
This site's exposition
to teach in the cities of Judah
on 2 Chronicles 17:7-9
In the third year Jehoshaphat sends five princes, nine Levites and two priests through all the cities of Judah, and they carry the book of the law of the Lord with them as they go. Nothing in Samuel or Kings parallels this mission; it is Chronicles' own material, an itinerant teaching program built on the written word a century before Josiah's workmen find a forgotten copy of that same law in the temple. Barnes takes the book carried to be the Pentateuch essentially as it stands, brought along because full copies of the law were scarce, and Gill reads the teaching itself as the people's duty toward God and man, taught from the text and confirmed by its own authority.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, Ministers, when they go to teach the people, should have their Bibles with them. How happy he was in the favour of his God, who signally owned and blessed him: The Lord was with him (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they taught in Judah,.... The people their duty to God and man: and had the book of the law of the Lord with them; as the rule of their instruction, and the people's obedience; out of this they taught them, and by it confirmed what they taught, and enforced it with the divine authority: and went about throughout all the cities of Judah; not only their own cities, the Levitical ones, but all others: and taught the people; the law of the Lord, the fear and worship of God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Time and unbroken opportunities were afforded for carrying out fully this excellent plan of home education, for the kingdom enjoyed internal tranquillity as well as freedom for foreign wars. It is conformable to the pious style of the sacred historian to trace this profound peace to the "fear of the Lord having fallen on all kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah."
Had the book of the law of the Lord with them - This was their text book: it was the book of God; they taught it as such, and as such the people received it. Its laws were God’s laws, and the people felt their obligation, and their consciences were bound. Thus they were obedient to the laws of the land, on the principle of religion. In this they were encouraged and confirmed by the example of all, both in Church and state. The princes were not only pious, but were teachers of piety; the Levites showed them the worth and excellence of their ritual institutions; and the priests showed them the moral use they were to make of the whole: and thus the people became obedient to God as well as to the king, and kept all the civil ordinances, not merely for the sake of a good king, but for the sake of a good and gracious God. By these means the nation enjoyed peace and prosperity; and all insurrections, seditions, and popular commotions, were prevented. The surrounding nations, perceiving this, saw that there was no hope of subduing such a people, so they made no war with Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 17:10. And they took care not to provoke such a people to fall on them; therefore, it is said, The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms and lands that were round about Judah. Such an itinerant ministry established in these kingdoms for upwards of fourscore years, teaching the pure, unadulterated doctrines of the Gospel, with the propriety and necessity of obedience to the laws, has been the principal means, in the hand of God, of preserving these lands from those convulsions and revolutions that have ruined and nearly dissolved the European continent. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the fear of the Lord was upon all the kingdoms of the lands in the merit of having studied Torah.
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. 6 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְלַמְּדוּ֙ | vaylamedu | and they taught | H3925 → | 85 times |
| בִּֽיהוּדָ֔ה | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְעִ֨מָּהֶ֔ם | veimahem | and [was] with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| סֵ֖פֶר | sefer | [the] book of | H5612 → | 186 times |
| תּוֹרַ֣ת | torat | [the] law of | H8451 → | 219 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיָּסֹ֙בּוּ֙ | vaiyasobu | and they went round | H5437 → | 161 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַֽיְלַמְּד֖וּ | vaylamedu | and they taught | H3925 → | 85 times |
| בָּעָֽם׃ | baam | among the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַֽיְלַמְּדוּ֙and they taught
vaylameduH3925 →85 times
בִּֽיהוּדָ֔הin Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
וְעִ֨מָּהֶ֔םand [was] with them
veimahemH5973 →1050 times
סֵ֖פֶר[the] book of
seferH5612 →186 times
תּוֹרַ֣ת[the] law of
toratH8451 →219 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיָּסֹ֙בּוּ֙and they went round
vaiyasobuH5437 →161 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַֽיְלַמְּד֖וּand they taught
vaylameduH3925 →85 times
בָּעָֽם׃among the people
baamH5971 →1873 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
John 5:46If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 18:15
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
- Deuteronomy 18:18–19
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
- John 1:45
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- Numbers 24:17–18
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Deuteronomy 18:15
Through
John 5:39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
it leads to
- Luke 24:27
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 24:44
Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,…
- 2 Peter 1:19–21
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day…
- Acts 26:22–23
But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- Luke 24:27
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, 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.