Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Chronicles 14
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 14
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Chronicles 14
"So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years." — 2 Chronicles 14:1 (ASV)
Asa his son reigned. If Rehoboam was not more than 21 years old at his accession (1 Kings 12:8 note), Asa, when he mounted the throne, must have been a mere boy, not more than 10 or 11 years of age.
The land was quiet ten years. The great blow struck by Abijah (2 Chronicles 13:15–19), his alliance with Syria (1 Kings 15:19), and the rapid succession of sovereigns in Israel during the earlier part of Asa’s reign (1 Kings 15:25–33) would naturally prevent disturbance on the part of the northern kingdom. The tender age of Asa himself would be a bar to warlike enterprises on the part of Judah.
"Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him." — 2 Chronicles 14:5 (ASV)
Images - See the marginal note on sun-images and the note on Leviticus 26:30.
"For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered." — 2 Chronicles 14:7 (ASV)
The land is still before us—that is, it is "unoccupied by an enemy" and "open for us to go wherever we please." Compare Genesis 13:9. The fortification of the strongholds would be an act of rebellion against Egypt, and it might be expected that the Egyptians would endeavor to put a stop to it.
"And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor." — 2 Chronicles 14:8 (ASV)
The men of Judah served as heavy-armed troops, while the Benjamites were light-armed. Their numbers accord well with those in 2 Chronicles 13:3. As the boundaries of Judah had been enlarged (2 Chronicles 13:19), and as there had been no war for at least ten years (2 Chronicles 14:1), the effective military force had naturally increased. It was 400,000; it is now 580,000.
"And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah." — 2 Chronicles 14:9 (ASV)
Zerah the Ethiopian is probably Usarken (Osorkon) II, the third king of Egypt after Shishak, according to Egyptian monuments. Osorkon II may have been an Ethiopian by birth, as he was the son-in-law—not the son—of the preceding monarch and reigned by right of his wife. The purpose of the expedition was to bring Judea once more under the Egyptian yoke.
An host of a thousand thousand - This is the largest assembled army mentioned in Scripture, but it does not exceed the known numbers of other ancient Eastern armies. Darius Codomannus brought a force of 1,040,000 to the field at Arbela; Xerxes crossed into Greece with certainly more than a million combatants.
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