2 Chronicles 20:36
in 2 Chronicles 20They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
KJV
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion–geber.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish,.... Of which; see Gill on 1Ki 22:48, and though it is there said, 1Ki 22:49, that Jehoshaphat refused letting the servants of Ahaziah go with his, that was after he had been reproved for joining with him, and after the ships were broken: and they made the ships in Eziongeber; of which see Gill on 1Ki 9:26.
This site's exposition
join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel
on 2 Chronicles 20:35-37
The chapter that opened with the book's model prayer closes with the king's recurring flaw: another alliance with the house of Ahab, this time a merchant fleet with Ahaziah, who did very wickedly. Eliezer of Mareshah prophesies the verdict, because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works, and the ships are wrecked at Ezion-geber before they sail. Chronicles lets the deliverance and the failure stand in one chapter, which is how it writes every good king it has.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There is an emphasis laid upon the time-- after this, after God had done such great things for him, without any such scandalous and pernicious confederacies, given him not only victory, but wealth, yet after this to go and join himself with a wicked king was very ungrateful.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the L ORD , before the new court, 6 And said, O L ORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v5-6
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
after this did Jehoshaphat . . . join himself with Ahaziah . . . to make ships--A combined fleet was built at Ezion-geber, the destination of which was to voyage to Tartessus, but it was wrecked.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
To go to Tarshish - “In the great sea.” - Targum. By which expression they always meant the Mediterranean Sea.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְחַבְּרֵ֣הוּ | vaychaberehu | and he allied himself | H2266 → | 29 times |
| עִמּ֔וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֳנִיּ֖וֹת | ʾoniyot | ships | H591 → | 31 times |
| לָלֶ֣כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| תַּרְשִׁ֑ישׁ | tarshish | Tarshish | H8659 → | 28 times |
| וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ | vaiyaasu | and they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֳנִיּ֖וֹת | ʾoniyot | ships | H591 → | 31 times |
| בְּעֶצְי֥וֹן | beetzyon | in Ezion | H6100 → | 14 times |
| גָּֽבֶר׃ | gaver | Geber | H6100 → | 14 times |
וַיְחַבְּרֵ֣הוּand he allied himself
vaychaberehuH2266 →29 times
עִמּ֔וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto make
laasotH6213 →2628 times
אֳנִיּ֖וֹתships
ʾoniyotH591 →31 times
לָלֶ֣כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
תַּרְשִׁ֑ישׁTarshish
tarshishH8659 →28 times
וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּand they made
vaiyaasuH6213 →2628 times
אֳנִיּ֖וֹתships
ʾoniyotH591 →31 times
בְּעֶצְי֥וֹןin Ezion
beetzyonH6100 →14 times
גָּֽבֶר׃Geber
gaverH6100 →14 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
1 Kings 10:22For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:48
Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 20:36–37
They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 72:10
May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- Psalms 48:7
With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
- Genesis 10:4
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
- 1 Kings 22:48
Through
1 Kings 9:26King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
it leads to
- Numbers 33:35
They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
- Deuteronomy 2:8
So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of…
- Numbers 33:35
Through
2 Chronicles 9:21For the king had the ships of Tarshish that went with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
it leads to
- Job 39:13
The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.
- Job 39:13
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. H. Bennett, The Books of Chronicles (Expositor's Bible).