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2 Chronicles 25:12

in 2 Chronicles 25

and the army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And other ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they were all broken in pieces.

KJV

And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

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This verse in 2 Chronicles 25

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
The top of the rock - Rather, “the height of Selah” (or, Petra), near which the battle was probably fought. On the cruel features of the Edomite wars, see 1Ki 11:15; Eze 25:12; Oba 1:14.

This site's exposition

went to the valley of salt

on 2 Chronicles 25:11-12

Kings records the ten thousand slain in the valley of salt and the taking of Selah in a single clause; Chronicles adds a second ten thousand, taken alive and thrown from the top of the rock. The added detail belongs to Chronicles alone, and the commentators do not soften it, reading it as retaliation or as calculated terror against a people already broken. A victory this costly to the losers sets up the irony of verse 14 more sharply than the Kings account by itself would.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He left dead upon the spot, in the field of battle, 10,000 men; 10,000 more he took prisoners, and barbarously killed them all by throwing them down some steep and craggy precipice. What provocation he had to exercise this cruelty towards them we are not told; but it was certainly very severe.
And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive,.... The rest of the army of the Edomites, which amounted to the same number, fell into their hands, and they took them, and carried them off: and brought them unto the top of the rock; very probably the same on which the city Petra, the metropolis of Edom, was built, called also Selah, 2Ki 14:7 both which names signify a rock.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

and they were all split open, etc..after [Amaziah] had come, etc. In Lam. Rabbah it says about him, “whether he is angry or he laughs” (Prov.:9).
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Chronicles 25:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon after they returned to their place, as above, “they were very angry with Judah and returned to their place.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Chronicles 25:13:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

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

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַעֲשֶׂ֨רֶתand ten

    vaaseretH6235 →176 times

  • אֲלָפִ֜יםthousand<s>

    ʾalafimH505 →505 times

  • חַיִּ֗יםalive

    chaiyimH2416 →498 times

  • שָׁבוּ֙they took captive

    shavuH7617 →47 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יְהוּדָ֔הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וַיְבִיא֖וּםand they brought them

    vayviumH935 →2568 times

  • לְרֹ֣אשׁto [the] top of

    leroshH7218 →599 times

  • הַסָּ֑לַעthe cliff

    hasala'H5553 →

  • וַיַּשְׁלִיכ֛וּםand they threw them

    vaiyashlikhumH7993 →125 times

  • מֵֽרֹאשׁ־from [the] top of

    merosh-H7218 →599 times

  • הַסֶּ֖לַע<the> cliff

    hasela'H5553 →

  • וְכֻלָּ֥םand all of them

    vekhulamH3605 →5413 times

  • נִבְקָֽעוּ׃ סthey were split open

    nivkauH1234 →51 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Chronicles 20:10And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.3 worksPsalms 141:6When their rulers are thrown down from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.3 works2 Chronicles 21:8–10In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.2 works2 Samuel 12:31David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.2 works1 Chronicles 20:3David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.2 worksLuke 4:29They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff.2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
Obadiah 1:3The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Chronicles 20:10

    And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 2:4–5

      and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.

    • Deuteronomy 2:19

      But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the…

    • Deuteronomy 2:9

      Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants…

    • Numbers 20:17–21

      Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to…

    • 2 Chronicles 20:1

      After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 12:31

    David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all…

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 20:3

      David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his…

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 20:3

    David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 21:8–9

      Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 19:2–5

      And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console Hanun concerning his father. But when David’s servants arrived…

About 2 Chronicles

Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 2 Chronicles 25 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Chronicles 25 →