12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.
14 And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand.
15 And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
16 And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
17 And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.
18 And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.
19 These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
12 And Jehoshaphat H3092 waxed H1980 great H1432 exceedingly; H4605 and he built H1129 in Judah H3063 castles, H1003 and cities H5892 of store. H4543
13 And he had much H7227 business H4399 in the cities H5892 of Judah: H3063 and the men H582 of war, H4421 mighty men H1368 of valour, H2428 were in Jerusalem. H3389
14 And these are the numbers H6486 of them according to the house H1004 of their fathers: H1 Of Judah, H3063 the captains H8269 of thousands; H505 Adnah H5734 the chief, H8269 and with him mighty men H1368 of valour H2428 three H7969 hundred H3967 thousand. H505
15 And next H3027 to him was Jehohanan H3076 the captain, H8269 and with him two hundred H3967 and fourscore H8084 thousand. H505
16 And next H3027 him was Amasiah H6007 the son H1121 of Zichri, H2147 who willingly offered H5068 himself unto the LORD; H3068 and with him two hundred H3967 thousand H505 mighty men H1368 of valour. H2428
17 And of Benjamin; H1144 Eliada H450 a mighty man H1368 of valour, H2428 and with him armed men H5401 with bow H7198 and shield H4043 two hundred H3967 thousand. H505
18 And next H3027 him was Jehozabad, H3075 and with him an hundred H3967 and fourscore H8084 thousand H505 ready prepared H2502 for the war. H6635
19 These waited H8334 on the king, H4428 beside those whom the king H4428 put H5414 in the fenced H4013 cities H5892 throughout all Judah. H3063
12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store.
13 And he had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
14 And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand;
15 and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand;
16 and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto Jehovah; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
17 And of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
18 and next to him Jehozabad and with him a hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war.
19 These were they that waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
12 And Jehoshaphat is going on and becoming very great, and he buildeth in Judah palaces and cities of store,
13 and he hath much work in cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty of valour, `are' in Jerusalem.
14 And these `are' their numbers, for the house of their fathers: Of Judah, heads of thousands, Adnah the head, and with him mighty ones of valour, three hundred chiefs.
15 And at his hand `is' Jehohanan the head, and with him two hundred and eighty chiefs.
16 And at his hand `is' Amasiah son of Zichri, who is willingly offering himself to Jehovah, and with him two hundred chiefs, mighty of valour.
17 And of Benjamin: mighty of valour, Eliada, and with him, armed with bow and shield, two hundred chiefs.
18 And at his hand `is' Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty chiefs, armed ones of the host.
19 These `are' those serving the king, apart from those whom the king put in the cities of fortress, in all Judah.
12 And Jehoshaphat waxed exceeding great; and he built in Judah castles and store-cities.
13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah; and men of war, strong and valiant, in Jerusalem.
14 And these are the numbers of them according to their fathers' houses. Of Judah the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valour;
15 and next to him was Johanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand;
16 and next to him, Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Jehovah; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.
17 And of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valour, and with him two hundred thousand, armed with bow and shield;
18 and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready prepared for war.
19 These were they that waited on the king, besides those that the king had put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.
12 Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store.
13 He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.
14 This was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand;
15 and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand;
16 and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Yahweh; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.
17 Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
18 and next to him Jehozabad and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready prepared for war.
19 These were those who waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
12 Jehoshaphat became greater and greater, and made strong towers and store-towns in Judah.
13 He had much property in the towns of Judah; he had forces of armed men, great and strong, in Jerusalem.
14 This is the number of them, listed by their families, the captains of thousands of Judah: Adnah, the captain, and with him three hundred thousand men of war;
15 Second to him Jehohanan, the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand;
16 After him Amasiah, the son of Zichri, who freely gave himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand men of war;
17 And the captains of Benjamin: Eliada, a great man of war, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bows and body-covers;
18 And after him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand trained for war.
19 These were the men who were waiting on the king, in addition to those placed by the king in the walled towns through all Judah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 17
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 17
2Ch 17:1-6. Jehoshaphat Reigns Well and Prospers.
1. Jehoshaphat … strengthened himself against Israel—The temper and proceedings of the kings of Israel rendered it necessary for him to prepare vigorous measures of defense on the northern frontier of his kingdom. These consisted in filling all the fortresses with their full complement of troops and establishing military stations in various parts of the country, as well as in the cities of Mount Ephraim, which belonged to Jehoshaphat (2Ch 15:8).
3-5. he walked in the first ways of his father David—He imitated the piety of his great ancestor in the early part of his reign before he made those unhappy lapses which dishonored his character.
and sought not unto Baalim—a term used for idols generally in contradistinction to the Lord God of his father.
4. and not after the doings of Israel—He observed with scrupulous fidelity, and employed his royal influence to support the divine institutions as enacted by Moses, abhorring that spurious and unlawful calf-worship that now formed the established religion in Israel. Being thus far removed, alike from gross idolatry and Israelitish apostasy, and adhering zealously to the requirements of the divine law, the blessing of God rested on his government. Ruling in the fear of God, and for the good of his subjects, "the Lord established the kingdom in his hand."
5. all Judah brought … presents—This was customary with the people generally at the beginning of a reign (1Sa 10:27), and with the nobles and high functionaries yearly afterwards. They were given in the form of voluntary offerings, to avoid the odious idea of a tax or tribute.
6. his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord—Full of faith and piety, he possessed zeal and courage to undertake the reformation of manners, to suppress all the works and objects of idolatry (see on 2Ch 20:33), and he held out public encouragement to the pure worship of God.
2Ch 17:7-11. He Sends Levites to Teach in Judah.
7-11. Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, … to teach in the cities of Judah—The ordinary work of teaching devolved on the priests. But extraordinary commissioners were appointed, probably to ascertain whether the work had been done or neglected. This deputation of five princes, assisted by two priests and nine Levites, was to make a circuit of the towns in Judah. It is the first practical measure we read of as being adopted by any of the kings for the religious instruction of the people. Time and unbroken opportunities were afforded for carrying out fully this excellent plan of home education, for the kingdom enjoyed internal tranquillity as well as freedom for foreign wars. It is conformable to the pious style of the sacred historian to trace this profound peace to the "fear of the Lord having fallen on all kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah."
9. the book of the law—that is, either the whole Pentateuch or only the book of Deuteronomy, which contains an abridgment of it.
11. Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver—either they had been his tributaries, or they were desirous of securing his valuable friendship, and now made a voluntary offer of tribute. Perhaps they were the Philistines who had submitted to the yoke of David (2Sa 8:1; Ps 60:8).
the Arabians—the nomad tribes on the south of the Dead Sea, who, seeking the protection of Jehoshaphat after his conquest of Edom, paid their tribute in the way most suitable to their pastoral habits—the present of so many head of cattle.
2Ch 17:12-19. His Greatness, Captains, and Armies.
14. these are the numbers—The warriors were arranged in the army according to their fathers houses. The army of Jehoshaphat, commanded by five great generals and consisting of five unequal divisions, comprised one million one hundred and sixty thousand men, without including those who garrisoned the fortresses. No monarch, since the time of Solomon, equalled Jehoshaphat in the extent of his revenue, in the strength of his fortifications, and in the number of his troops.