|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  2 Chronicles Table of Contents  |  Previous Section   |  Next Section   |

2 Chronicles 14

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(LXX versing)
Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah The Beginning of the Reign of Asa, and His Great Victory Over the Ethiopians King Asa Defeats the Ethiopians Peace Under Asa
13:23b-14:5
14:1 Asa Reigns in Judah 14:1-8 14:1-8
14:2-8 14:2-8
14:6
14:7
Invasion by Zerah
14:9-15 14:9-15 14:9-15 14:9-11 14:8-10
14:11-12a
14:12-15 14:12b-15

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:1
  1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

14:1 "slept with his fathers" This is a Hebrew idiom for being buried with the family. It does not suggest "soul sleep." To the OT descendant of Abraham there was a conscious, but muted, afterlife. The theology of life after death is progressively revealed through Scriptures. It is not until the NT that a full understanding is revealed.

SPECIAL TOPIC: WHERE ARE THE DEAD?

SPECIAL TOPIC: RESURRECTION

"the city of David" If the context is about David's lineage or birth, this refers to Bethlehem, but if it is about his reign, then it refers to Jerusalem.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, ZION, JERUSALEM

"The land was undisturbed for ten years" Contextually this could be because of

  1. Abijah's defeat of Israel (cf. 2 Chronicles 13)
  2. Asa's trust in YHWH and his reforms (cf. 2 Chr. 14:3-4)

This is part of the covenant blessings of Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28. The Chronicler is very interested in how these Judean kings related to YHWH. Judah's history is viewed through Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28. The "two ways" of Deut. 30;15,19 and Psalm 1 are paradigms.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:2-8
  2Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, 3for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, 4and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. 5He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. 6He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest. 7For he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. 8Now Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

14:2 "Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord" This is a recurrent theme in Deuteronomy (cf. Deut. 6:18; 12:28; 13:18). This chapter lists several things he did to merit this evaluation (cf. 2 Chr. 15:8-15,16-18).

  1. removed
    1. foreign altars, 2 Chr. 14:3
    2. high places, 2 Chr. 14:3,5 (cf. 2 Chr. 15:17; see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, "High Places," pp. 284-288)
    3. incense altars, 2 Chr. 14:5 (associated with Ba'al worship, cf. Lev. 26:30; 2 Chr. 34:4,7)
  2. destroyed (cf. Deut. 12:2-3)
    1. sacred pillars (i.e., raised stone which was a symbol of the male deity, cf. Exod. 23:24)
    2. Asherim (i.e., a live tree or carved stake which was a symbol of the female deity, cf. Exod. 34:13; 2 Chr. 15:16)
  3. demanded his people
    1. to seek YHWH
    2. to observe His law

The Chronicler expands (i.e., three chapters) the material on the life of Asa. Kings only has a few verses (i.e., 1 Kgs. 15:9-24). Chronicles is using another prophetic written source.

  1. positive ‒ 2 Chr. 14:1-15:19
  2. negative ‒ 2 Chr. 16:1-14

Faithful at the beginning but faithless at the end becomes a terrible pattern.

14:4 "to seek the Lord God of their fathers" This VERB (BDB 205, KB 233, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) is a recurrent theme in Chronicles (cf. 1 Chr. 22:19; 28:9; 2 Chr. 12:14; 14:4,7; 15:2,12,13; 16:12; 26:5; 30:19; 31:12; 34:3). It illustrates the human volitional side of the conditional covenant of YHWH. Deity initiates but humans must respond. This is called "the two ways" in the OT (cf. Deut. 30:15,19; Psalm 1). The title "Lord" is YHWH, the covenant name for Israel's Deity. See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

The title "God" is Eloah, the SINGULAR of Elohim, the title of Deity as creator, provider, and sustainer of all life. See:

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT
  2. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C, D

"to observe the law and the commandment" Obedience is crucial in a performance-based covenant like the Mosaic covenant.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP

SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION

14:5 This seems to be a repeat of 2 Chr. 14:3. It may reveal the use of two written sources combined. The Chronicler used several prophetic sources.

14:6-8 These verses show YHWH's blessings on Asa (i.e., "because the Lord had given him rest," cf. 2 Chr. 14:7).

It is surely possible these fortifications were to prevent another Egyptian attack like Shishak in 2 Chr. 12:1-12. Many commentators link the Cushite invasion of 2 Chr. 14:9-15 with

  1. a Cushite Egyptian general under Shishak's son, Osorkon I
  2. a group of Bedouins left by Shishak as a buffer zone

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF EGYPT

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:9-15
  9Now Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10So Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You." 12So the Lord routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. 14They destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15They also struck down those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

14:9-15 These verses describe one attempted military invasion by a superior force. The invader was completely crushed and despoiled. Shishak of Egypt (cf. 2 Chr. 12:1-12) was successful in his attack on Judah because of Rehoboam's sin but Asa's faithfulness is honored by YHWH.

14:9 "Zerah the Ethiopian" This person seems to be the leader of a bedouin, Arabian group (cf. Hab. 3:7), but not a ruler of the nation of Cush or Ethiopia. His name is known only from this text.

Some commentators see this person as a general of Shishak's successor, who was trying to repeat the Egyptian victory over Rehoboam.

The use of "chariots" (2 Ch. 14:9) supports Egyptian mercenaries but the mentioning of "camels" (14:15) would support bedouin.

"an army of a million men and 300 chariots" This number is simply unrealistic. The high number of men does not correspond to the number of chariots (the Peshitta has "36,000 chariots").

Literally, the MT has "a thousand thousands," so again, what is the intended meaning of eleph?

Josephus, Antiq. 8.11.1., says there were

  1. 900,000 footmen
  2. 100,000 horsemen
  3. 300 chariots

Josephus obviously is following the Chronicler's account; where he got this specific additional information is uncertain. If this number is literal, the invader must be Egypt.

For a defense of the literal numbers, see Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 129-134.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THOUSAND (eleph)

14:10 "valley of Zephathah at Mareshah" These are very specific locations which show the historicity of the account.

Zephathah was possibly one of the southern cities fortified by Rehoboam (cf. 2 Chr. 11:6-10). Its location is uncertain.

The name Mareshah is also a city fortified by Rehoboam (cf. Josh. 15:44; 2 Chr. 11:8). The MacMillan Bible Atlas, map #122, separates Zephathah and Mareshah as about 20 miles north of Gerar. Gerar (cf. Gen. 20:1) is about 25 miles southwest of Beersheba. It may refer to a region and not a city. We know of this military conflict only from 2 Chronicles 14. It is not mentioned in Kings or outside the Bible.

SPECIAL TOPIC: OLD TESTAMENT HISTORIOGRAPHY COMPARED WITH CONTEMPORARY NEAR EASTERN CULTURES

SPECIAL TOPIC: GENRE AND INTERPRETATION: OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE

14:11 This is Asa's prayer and faith affirmation.

  1. there is no one beside You to help
  2. for we (i.e., Judah) trust in You (BDB 1043, KB 1612; see note at 2 Chr. 13:18)
  3. we come against this multitude in Your name
  4. You are our God (i.e., covenant language)
  5. let not man prevail against You (i.e., an attack on Judah was an attack on YHWH)

SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM

SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

14:12 Notice the victory was YHWH's victory (cf. 2 Chr. 13:16).

14:13 These verses describe the defeat and plunder of this large invading army.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Why is the description of Asa's reign so different between 1 Kings 15 and here?
  2. List the reforms of Asa.
  3. Define Asherim.
  4. Why was Asa successful in his early years?
  5. Who is Zerah? How could his army be so large and yet have no other historical references in or outside the Bible?
  6. How does Asa's prayer reflect the theology of the Chronicler?

|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  2 Chronicles Table of Contents  |  Previous Section   |  Next Section  |