2 Chronicles 19:4
in 2 Chronicles 19Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill-country of Ephraim, and brought them back unto Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
KJV
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer–sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 19
Commentary
8 notes on this verseFrom Beer-sheba to Mount Ephraim - Before the separation of the ten tribes, in speaking of the extent of the land it was said, From Dan to Beer-sheba; but since that event, the kingdom of Judah was bounded on the south by Beer-sheba, and on the north by the mountains of Ephraim. This shows that Jehoshaphat had gone through all his territories to examine every thing himself, to see that judgment and justice were properly administered among the people.
This site's exposition
brought them back unto the Lord God
Jehoshaphat goes out among the people himself, from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, the kingdom's own two bounds, and brings them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. The verb is the one Chronicles measures every reign by, to seek, and here the king just rebuked answers by turning the land toward the Lord in person rather than by decree alone. The circuit answers his own earlier reform at 17:7-9, when Levites and priests were sent through the cities to teach, now walked by the king himself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Through - Through the whole kingdom, whereof these were the two bounds. And brought - Such of them as had revolted from God to idols, he reclaimed by his counsel and example, and by the instructions of the Levites and priests, whom he carried with him.
It is good when commendations thus quicken us to our duty, and when the more we are praised for doing well the more vigorous we are in well-doing. (2.) Perhaps he found that his late affinity with the idolatrous house of Ahab and kingdom of Israel had had a bad influence upon his own kingdom.
And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he went out again through the people--This means his reappointing the commissioners of public instruction (2Ch 17:7-9), perhaps with new powers and a larger staff of assistants to overtake every part of the land. The complement of teachers required for that purpose would be easily obtained because the whole tribe of Levites was now concentrated within the kingdom of Judah.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He apprised Jehoshaphat that, on account of that grave offense, "wrath was upon him from before the Lord," a judgment that was inflicted soon after (see on 2Ch 20:1-37).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Jehoshaphat, while declining to renounce the alliance with Israel (compare the 2Ki 3:7 note), was careful to show that he had no sympathy with idolatry, and was determined to keep his people, so far as he possibly could, free from it. He therefore personally set about a second reformation, passing through the whole land, from the extreme south to the extreme north 2Ch 13:19.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And he appointed judges When the seer told him, “good things were found in you, for you abolished the asheroth,” he approached the Sepher Torah [to see] whether he had abolished them properly.
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. 3 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֖ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם ס | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וַיָּ֜שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וַיֵּצֵ֣א | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| בָעָ֗ם | vaam | among the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מִבְּאֵ֥ר | mibeer | from Beer | H884 → | 68 times |
| שֶׁ֙בַע֙ | sheva' | Sheba | H884 → | 68 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַ֣ר | har | [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֶפְרַ֔יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וַיְשִׁיבֵ֕ם | vayshivem | and he turned back them | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾavoteihem | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֖טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם סin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וַיָּ֜שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
וַיֵּצֵ֣אand he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
בָעָ֗םamong the people
vaamH5971 →1873 times
מִבְּאֵ֥רfrom Beer
mibeerH884 →68 times
שֶׁ֙בַע֙Sheba
sheva'H884 →68 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַ֣ר[the] hill country of
harH2022 →546 times
אֶפְרַ֔יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
וַיְשִׁיבֵ֕םand he turned back them
vayshivemH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ancestors their
ʾavoteihemH1 →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
Luke 1:17And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
it leads to
- Malachi 4:5–6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Matthew 11:14
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
- Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
- John 1:21–30
“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
- Matthew 17:11–12
Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.
- Malachi 4:5–6
Through
Malachi 4:6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
it leads to
- Luke 1:16–17
Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.
- Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
- Hebrews 10:26–31
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Luke 1:16–17
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NegevBeershebaThe well of the oath at the south of the land, where Abraham made his covenant with Abimelech and planted a tamarisk, where Isaac…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.