Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Chronicles 14:9

"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)

Against them. —Against the army described in the previous verse. Literally, to them (Genesis 4:8; Judges 12:3).

Zerah the Ethiopian. —Hebrew, ha-Kûshî. (See Note on 1 Chronicles 1:8 [Cush].) Zerah is identified with Osorchon II (hieroglyphic Uasarken), who succeeded Shishak as king of Egypt. The name of this king is curiously like that of Sargon, the great Assyrian conqueror of the eighth century. (See Note on 2 Chronicles 12:2.) The object of the expedition appears to have been to bring Judah under the yoke of Egypt again. Shishak had made Rehoboam tributary (2 Chronicles 12:8), after reducing his fortresses and plundering Jerusalem. But now Asa had restored his country’s defenses and apparently reorganized its fighting forces—steps indicating a desire for national independence.

A thousand thousand. —This very large and symmetrical number would probably be best represented in English by an indefinite expression, like “myriads.” It is otherwise out of all proportion to the three hundred chariots; this latter number seems to be a correct figure. The Syriac and Arabic versions state “20,000 chariots.”

Mareshah. —One of Rehoboam’s fortresses (2 Chronicles 11:8). It was located in the lowland of Judah, about twenty-six miles southwest of Jerusalem.