2 Chronicles 18:31
in 2 Chronicles 18When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “This is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned about to fight against him: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
KJV
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the Lord helped him ... - There is nothing correspondent to this passage in Kings. It is a pious reflection on the part of the author, who traces all deliverance to its real divine source.
This site's exposition
went up to Ramoth–gilead
on 2 Chronicles 18:28-31
Ahab disguises himself for the battle and asks Jehoshaphat to wear the royal robes, a plan that shifts the danger the oracle named for Ahab onto his ally instead, and Syria's captains, ordered to fight only the king of Israel, close on Jehoshaphat's robes and nearly kill him. Verse 31 carries a line with no parallel in Kings at all, Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God moved them to depart from him, a sentence Barnes calls a pious reflection tracing the deliverance to its real source, the kind of addition the Chronicler makes throughout the book. The same cry and the same help are the pattern Jehoshaphat leans on again at 20:12, eyes lifted to God with no other resource named.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God has all men's hearts in his hand, and turns them as he pleases, contrary to their own first intentions, to serve his purposes. Many are moved unaccountably both to themselves and others, but an invisible power moves them.
Cried out - He cried out, either to his friends to help, or to his enemies, to let them know, he was not the king of Israel: or to God, and not in vain; for he moved the captains to depart from him. Many are moved in a manner unaccountable both to themselves and others; but an invisible power moves them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
But Jehoshaphat cried out - “Jehoshaphat cried, and the Word of the Lord brought him assistance.” - Targum.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֡י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּרְאוֹת֩ | kirot | when saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| שָׂרֵ֨י | sarei | [the] commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הָרֶ֜כֶב | harekhev | the chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֗ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| וְהֵ֤מָּה | vehemah | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| אָֽמְרוּ֙ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [is] [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַיָּסֹ֥בּוּ | vaiyasobu | and they surrounded | H5437 → | 161 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | <on> him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֑ם | lehilachem | to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| וַיִּזְעַ֤ק | vaiyizak | and he cried out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| יְהֽוֹשָׁפָט֙ | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| וַֽיהוָ֣ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֲזָר֔וֹ | azaro | he helped him | H5826 → | 81 times |
| וַיְסִיתֵ֥ם | vaysitem | and he lured them | H5496 → | 18 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ | mimenu | away from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
וַיְהִ֡יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּרְאוֹת֩when saw
kirotH7200 →1300 times
שָׂרֵ֨י[the] commanders of
sareiH8269 →421 times
הָרֶ֜כֶבthe chariotry
harekhevH7393 →119 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֗טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
וְהֵ֤מָּהand they
vehemahH1992 →553 times
אָֽמְרוּ֙they said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[is] [the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֣לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
ה֔וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַיָּסֹ֥בּוּand they surrounded
vaiyasobuH5437 →161 times
עָלָ֖יו<on> him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֑םto fight
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
וַיִּזְעַ֤קand he cried out
vaiyizakH2199 →73 times
יְהֽוֹשָׁפָט֙Jehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
וַֽיהוָ֣הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֲזָר֔וֹhe helped him
azaroH5826 →81 times
וַיְסִיתֵ֥םand he lured them
vaysitemH5496 →18 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃away from him
mimenuH4480 →1188 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
Nehemiah 1:11O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:6
let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins that…
- Nehemiah 2:8
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the…
- Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.
- Nehemiah 2:1
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad…
- Hebrews 13:18
Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
- Nehemiah 1:6
Through
Psalms 118:13I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
it leads to
- Psalms 140:4
Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
- Psalms 86:17
Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
- Psalms 140:4
Through
Psalms 46:11The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
- Deuteronomy 33:27
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.