2 Chronicles 20:2
in 2 Chronicles 20Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).
KJV
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon–tamar, which is En–gedi.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseOn this side Syria - Instead of מארם mearam, from Syria, I would read with one of Kennicott’s MSS. (89) מאדם meedom, from Edom, which alteration brings it to truth and does not require the change of half a letter, as it consists in the almost imperceptible difference between ר resh and ד daleth. We do not read of any Syrians in this invasion, but we know there were Edomites, or inhabitants of Mount Seir. Hazazon-tamar - “In the wood of palm trees, that is, in Engedi.” - Targum.
This site's exposition
the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon
on 2 Chronicles 20:1-2
The coalition is family: Moab and Ammon are Lot's sons, and mount Seir joins from Esau, kindred nations Israel was forbidden to dispossess on the way up from Egypt. They come by the Dead Sea's western shore and are already at En-gedi when the report lands, a day's march from Jerusalem. The threat arrives at the door before the king hears of it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat,.... Deserters or spies, or some of the inhabitants of those parts where they had entered, who rode post haste to acquaint him with it: saying, there cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; that is, beyond the Dead or Salt sea, the sea of Sodom; the Targum is,"beyond the west of Syria,''that sea being the western boundary of it: and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi; See Gill on Gen 14:7.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It was customary with the Hebrew kings to proclaim fasts in perilous circumstances, either in a city, a district, or throughout the entire kingdom, according to the greatness of the emergency. On this occasion, it was a universal fast, which extended to infants (2Ch 20:13; see also Joe 2:15, 16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Translate, “from beyond the sea, from Edom.” The “sea” intended is, of course, the Dead Sea. “Syria” (Aram) is probably a mistake of a copyist for “Edom” (compare 2Sa 8:12 note). On Engedi, see 1Sa 23:29 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and with them, some of the Ammonites This is Amalek. Why were they called Ammonites? Because they changed their dress and their language to resemble that of the Ammonites and mingled with them, and came to wage war against Israel.
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֗אוּ | vaiyavou | and people came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיַּגִּ֤ידוּ | vaiyagidu | and they told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לִֽיהוֹשָׁפָט֙ | lihoshafat | to Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | [is] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֶ֜יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָמ֥וֹן | hamon | a multitude | H1995 → | 83 times |
| רָ֛ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מֵעֵ֥בֶר | meever | from [the] other side | H5676 → | |
| לַיָּ֖ם | laiyam | of the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| מֵאֲרָ֑ם | mearam | from Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| וְהִנָּם֙ | vehinam | and there they | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בְּחַֽצְצ֣וֹן | bechatzon | [are] in Hazezon | H2688 → | |
| תָּמָ֔ר | tamar | Tamar | H2688 → | |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עֵ֥ין | ʾein | [is] En | H5872 → | |
| גֶּֽדִי׃ | gedi | Gedi | H5872 → |
וַיָּבֹ֗אוּand people came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
וַיַּגִּ֤ידוּand they told
vaiyagiduH5046 →370 times
לִֽיהוֹשָׁפָט֙to Jehoshaphat
lihoshafatH3092 →84 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בָּ֣א[is] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
עָלֶ֜יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
הָמ֥וֹןa multitude
hamonH1995 →83 times
רָ֛בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
מֵעֵ֥בֶרfrom [the] other side
meeverH5676 →
לַיָּ֖םof the sea
laiyamH3220 →396 times
מֵאֲרָ֑םfrom Aram
mearamH758 →143 times
וְהִנָּם֙and there they
vehinamH2009 →843 times
בְּחַֽצְצ֣וֹן[are] in Hazezon
bechatzonH2688 →
תָּמָ֔רTamar
tamarH2688 →
הִ֖יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
עֵ֥ין[is] En
ʾeinH5872 →
גֶּֽדִי׃Gedi
gediH5872 →
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
1 Samuel 23:29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
it leads to
- Joshua 15:62
Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 15:62
Through
Joshua 3:16the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
it leads to
- Joshua 3:13
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will…
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
- 1 Kings 4:12
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- 1 Kings 7:46
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.
- Joshua 3:13
Through
Genesis 14:3The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 3:17
The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Numbers 34:12
Then the border will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. This will be your land, defined by its borders on all sides.”
- Deuteronomy 3:17
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names 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); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Chronicles.