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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.
Bible Chapter Studies
1A0II CHRONICLES CHAPTER 13
II Chronicles 12 gave us Rehoboam turning away from Father, transgressing against Him, and his leading the House of Judah into apostasy. Because of this, Father, as He always is, was very direct with him, and sent one of His Prophets—Shemaiah—to tell him He was going to send a heathen Egyptian king named Shishak to come up against him and Jerusalem. Upon this beginning to come to pass—i.e., Shishak and his army sacking all the perimeter cities, and carrying away all the gold and silver that David and Solomon had acquired for the kingdom—Rehoboam and all his princes got together, humbled themselves and repented of their evil ways. When Father saw that they humbled themselves, He again told Shemaiah to go to Rehoboam and his princes in order to tell them that He would only grant Rehoboam “some deliverance.” In other words, Father was going to have Shishak back off only a little. Why only a little? Because, He was putting Rehoboam and the princes on probation to see if they were sincere in their hearts in their turning from their false gods and back to Him; or, if they were only saying so, in order to stay the hand of Shishak. He was going to remove His hand; but, only slightly. In other words, Shishak still came against Judah; however, they only removed some of the wealth of Judah, they did not completely rape, pillage and plunder it.
Rehoboam lived another 12 years and then returned Home to Father, at which point his son Abijam, also known in The Books of the Chronicles as Abijah, became the next king of Judah, and that is where we begin this Chapter.
With that introduction being said, let’s go to Father and ask Him for His Blessings on our Study of His Word: “ Father, I come to You right now and ask that You Oh LORD Lead me and Guide me as I try and teach Your Word, don’t allow me to mis-teach or mis-lead Your Children. We, Father, also come to You as a group who desire to Learn Your Word, to thank You for inviting us to Your table in order that we might be able to partake of and receive Your Spiritual Meat, and Father, as we prepare to dine on the sustenance which sustains our inner man, we ask that You Oh LORD open our ears and eyes, that we might be able to hear and see your Truths, open our hearts and minds and prepare us in order that we may receive Your Truth. We Pray for Your Understanding of Your Word, we seek Your Knowledge in Your Word, and most importantly Father, we Pray for and desire Your Wisdom from Your Word, in Jesus’ Precious name we Pray, thank You Father, Amen.”
I Chronicles 10:1-II Chronicles 36:21
HISTORY (UP TO THE CAPTIVITY.)
(Division.)
11:1-II Chronicles 36:21 THE HOUSE
of DAVID. ESTABLISHED.
(Division.)
13:1-14:1 ABIJAH. (Introversion.)
13:1 Introduction.
1A1
II Chronicles 13:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam ([the] people will contend; and, whose people are many) (yaw-rob-awmי) began Abijah (Father (that is worshipper) of YAH); or, my Father is YHVH) (ab-ee-yawי-hoo) to reign over Judah (celebrated; and, praised, celebrated) (yeh-hoo-dawי). —> Jeroboam reigned over the House of Israel for 22 years, and during the 18th year of his reign, Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, begin to reign over the House of Judah. Abijah was not Rehoboam’s eldest son—though, he was the eldest son of his favorite wife, Maachah, and he was Rehoboam’s favorite son—and he had to bribe his three eldest sons—Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham—who were older than Abijah, by offering them positions as Heads of State over some of Judah’s territories, wives, and wealth, in order for them to not raise a ruckus over his promoting Abijah over and above them—see II Chronicles 11:21-23 and also II Chronicles 12:5.
Not to worry, as Abijah will not rule for long, and his elder brothers will have their chance.
Jeroboam=For a detailed description of Jeroboam, including his history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
Abijah=For a detailed description of Abijah, see the other name by which he is called: Abijam, where you can read of his history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information.
Judah=For a detailed description of Judah, including the Tribes history, the etymology of the name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of the name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
13:2 Introduction.
1A2
II Chronicles 13:2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem (founded peaceful; or, the habitation of peace) (Yer-oo-shaw-lahי-im). His mother’s name also was Michaiah (who is like YAH; and, who is like YAH) (me-kaw-yawי-hoo) the daughter of Uriel (flame of YAH; and, YAH is my light) (oo-ree-aleי) of Gibeah (hillock; and, a hill or hill-town) (ghib-awי). And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. —> Abijah only reigned for a total of 3 years: 863-860B.C.; however, they were not three complete years, as he died during the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign.
Abijah’s mother Michaiah—who is also called Maachah in I Kings 15:2, II Chronicles 11:20 and II Chronicles 11:21—was the daughter of Tamar and Uriel of Gibeah—David’s son Absalom’s daughter and her husband—thus making her—Michaiah—David’s great granddaughter, see II Chronicles 11:21 for a somewhat further clarification of her lineage of and to David. She is called Maachah (oppression) whenever she is mentioned concerning her idolatry as in II Chronicles 15:16, and Michaiah (who is like YHVH) whenever she is mentioned as queen mother.
There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam=This war was started when Jeroboam and the House of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their load just a little. Rehoboam first sought the counsel of his elder counselors, whose counsel he declined in favor of the counsel of his peers, which was to tell Jeroboam that not only will he not lighten their load; but, he’ll increase it and chastise them—should they slacken off—with a scorpion, in other words, with a cat-o-nine-tails with barbs on the end, which rips and tears the skin of the victim.
The daughter of Uriel of Gibeah=During our Studies of Father’s Word, we’ve covered a lot of history concerning Gibeah. Let’s review some of it: When our forefathers first moved into the Promised Land, the territory of Gibeah was allocated to and belonged to the Tribe of Benjamin as can be read in Joshua 15:57. Then, many years later, it was in Gibeah where the Levite, his concubine and his servant stopped for the night in Judges 19-21 and the “perverse queer men of belial” there, wanted to “know” the Levite. It was only when an old man who was returning home from his day’s work, saw the three, and immediately knew and understood the danger which they had no idea was about to confront them, so took them into his home. The perverse queers called for the old man to send the Levite out, which he refused; but instead, convinced the Levite to send out his concubine, whom the perverse queers abused all night to the point that by the next morning she lay dead on the old man’s doorstep. The Levite picked her dead carcass up, carried it to his home where he cut it into 12 pieces and sent one piece to each of the 12 Tribes Israel in order to call for war against the perverse queer men of Gibeah. All the Tribes joined in, except for the Tribe of Benjamin, whose land these perverse queers inhabited. War ensued, and because the Israelites did not first seek Father as to whether they should war against their brother Benjamin, Benjamin for the first two days got the upper hand and slew 40,000 men of Israel their brother. That night, the men of Israel sought Father’s counsel and guidance and the next day the men of Israel lost 30 men before they turned the tide to their favor and then slew of the tribe of Benjamin 25,000 fighting men, in addition to the other men, women, children and beasts of the in the town. By the time the men of Israel were through, there were only 600 men of the Tribe of Benjamin left, and the men of Israel had to devise a scheme in order to re-populate the tribe so that it would not be lost forever; We next read of Gibeah when we were introduced to Israel’s first man-king: Saul, the man who “couldn’t find his own ass,” yes, Saul was a Benjamite and hailed from the land of Gibeah. Saul and his son Jonathan were fighting the Philistines: Saul in Michmash, while Jonathan was in Gibeah. In The Books of Samuel, David continually fled from Saul and Gibeah is frequently mentioned. We don’t hear of Gibeah again mentioned until The Books of the Chronicles.
Michaiah=For a detailed description of Michaiah, see the other name by which she is called: Maachah, where you can read of her history, the etymology of her name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of her name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information.
Uriel=Uriel was the husband of Absalom’s daughter Tamar. He hailed from Gibeah which means that he was either a Benjamite or lived among the Benjamites. Father’s Word only mentions him in II Chronicles 13:2 as the father of Michaiah—who is also called Maachah in I Kings 15:2, II Chronicles 11:20 and II Chronicles 11:21—so this is all we know of Uriel. † For the etymology of the name Uriel, we read the following from Abarim Publications: “The name Uriel consists of two (or rather: three) elements, the final one being אל (El), The common abbreviation of ELOHIM—from Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible Appendices: ELOHIM—the genus God. EL is essentially the Almighty, though the word is never so rendered. EL is ELOHIM in all His strength and power. It is rendered “God” as ELOHIM is, but EL is God the Omnipotent. ELOHIM is God the Creator putting His omnipotence into operation. The first part of our name comes from the common verb אור ss(יor), meaning to be or give light: The letter י (yod) that ties the two primary elements together creates a possessive form out of the אור-part, meaning either “my light” or “light of”. For a meaning of the name Uriel, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List appears to ignore the central yod and reads God Is Light. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Light Of God. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary demonstrates both explanations of the central yod and has Flame Of El or My Light Is El.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H222, - אוּרִיאֵל, - 'ûrı̂y'êl, pronounced - oo-ree-aleי, and means: From H217 and H410; flame of YAH, the name of two Israelites. Total KJV occurrences: 4.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “YAH is my light. The father of Michaiah, one of Rehoboam’s wives, and mother of Abijah (II Chronicles 13:2).”.
Gibeah
Gibeah=There is a long storied history with this city which was given to the Tribe of Benjamin as an inheritance when our forefathers moved into the Promised Land. It was in Gibeah where the Levite, his concubine and his servant stopped for the night in Judges 19-21 and the “perverse queer men of belial” there, wanted to “know”—read that, have sexual relations with—the Levite. It was only when an old man who was returning home from his day’s work, saw the three, and immediately knew and understood the danger which they had no idea was about to confront them, so took them into his home. The perverse queers called for the old man to send the Levite out, which he refused; but instead, convinced the Levite to send out his concubine, whom the perverse queers abused all night to the point that by the next morning she lay dead on the old man’s doorstep. The Levite picked her dead carcass up, carried it to his home where he cut it into 12 pieces and sent one piece to each of the 12 Tribes Israel in order to call for war against the perverse queer men of Gibeah. All the Tribes joined in, except for the Tribe of Benjamin, whose land these perverse queers inhabited. War ensued, and because the Israelites did not first seek Father as to whether they should war against their brother Benjamin, Benjamin for the first two days got the upper hand and slew 40,000 men of Israel their brother. That night, the men of Israel sought Father’s counsel and guidance and the next day the men of Israel lost 30 men before they turned the tide to their favor and then slew of the tribe of Benjamin 25,000 fighting men, in addition to the other men, women, children and beasts of the in the town. By the time the men of Israel were through, there were only 600 men of the Tribe of Benjamin left, and the men of Israel had to devise a scheme in order to re-populate the tribe so that it would not be lost forever; We next read of Gibeah when we were introduced to Israel’s first man-king: Saul—the man who “couldn’t find his own ass”—yes, Saul was a Benjamite and hailed from the land of Gibeah. Saul and his son Jonathan were fighting the Philistines: Saul in Michmash, while Jonathan was in Gibeah. In The Books of Samuel, David continually fled from Saul, and Gibeah is frequently mentioned. We don’t hear of Gibeah again, until mentioned in The Books of the Chronicles where it is mentioned twice, then once in Isaiah 10:29, and three times in the Minor Prophet Hosea: Hosea 5:8, 9:9 and 10:9. † For the etymology of the name Gibeah, we read the following in Abarim Publications: “The names Geba, Gibeah, and Gibeath come from the noun גבעה (gibיa), meaning hill, which in turn comes from the root גבע, meaning to be convex, projecting or high: There are no two ways about it: the names Geba, Gibeah and Gibeath mean Hill, but it’s clear that in the Hebrew experience of reality, hills didn’t only occur in the landscape (collections of earth) but also in the human populations that peopled it. The “hill of Benjamin” may have been an actual hill but it also represented the culture that formed within Benjamin. The “hill of Saul” may also have been an actual hill but also referred to the national mood and atmosphere that he generated. To the Hebrews, a hill country resembled a humanity that consisted of separate and rivaling tribes, clans and families, while a plain resembled a humanity at peace.” † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1390, - גִּבְעָה, - gib‛âh, pronounced - ghib-awי, and means: The same as H1389; hillock; Gibah; the name of three places in Palestine: - Gibeah, the hill. Total KJV occurrences: 45.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “hill or hill-town, “of Benjamin” (I Samuel 13:15), better known as “Gibeah of Saul” (I Samuel 11:4; Isaiah 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite’s concubine which led to the almost utter extirpation of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19; 20), only six hundred men surviving after a succession of disastrous battles. This was the birthplace of Saul, and continued to be his residence after he became king (I Samuel 10:26; 11:4; 15:34). It was reckoned among the ancient sanctuaries of Palestine (10:26; 15:34; 23:19; 26:1; II Samuel 21:6–10), and hence it is called “Gibeah of God” (I Samuel 10:5, R.V. marg.). It has been identified with the modern Tell el-Ful (i.e., “hill of the bean”), about 3 miles north of Jerusalem.”.
13:3 War declared.
1A3
II Chronicles 13:3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour. —> …four hundred thousand…eight hundred thousand…=A little lopsided in number in favor of Jeroboam. Of course, this is to be expected, as the House of Israel is made-up of ten tribes; whereas, the House of Judah comprises only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Even still, considering that the Tribe of Benjamin had been completely decimated down to only 600 men total only a hundred and fifty or so years ago, for the House of Judah comprising only the two tribes to now have four hundred thousand doesn’t quite sound right. Judah wasn’t the largest tribe, as that title belonged to the Tribe of Manasseh. So, how then did the House of Judah muster-up such a large army? The answer lies in what has been taking place in the House of Israel, notice I said House of Israel, not House of Judah. See, when Jeroboam built those two altars and golden calves for the people to worship at, the people, wanting to remain faithful and loyal to Father, started fleeing with the Levites when Jeroboam and his sons kicked them out of the territories of the ten northern tribes. So, what we now see, is an increase in the number of fighting men in the House of Judah, while at the same time, the numbers of men of the army of Israel has been steadily decreasing. Thus, during Abiah’s father Rehoboam’s reign, he was scarcely able to assemble 180,000 men. Now eighteen years later, his son Abijah’s army can muster 400,000 fighting men. In another six years, Asa will be able to assemble 580,000 men to arms, and then some thirty two years in the future, Jehoshaphat’s army will number 1,160,000 fighting men.
On the other hand, consider what has been happening to the number of fighting men of the House of Israel under Jeroboam. As stated here, the House of Israel’s number under Jeroboam was 800,000 men; however, in the not too distant future—i.e., 6 or so kings from now—Ahab’s army will only be able to muster 7,232 in I Kings 20:15, which made a mighty stand against Ben-hadad and the Syrian army. Of course, their strength really came from Father, not themselves.
13:4-12 Address to Jeroboam.
13:4-12 ADDRESS TO JEROBOAM. (Extended Alternation.)
13:4 Kingdom given.
1A4
II Chronicles 13:4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim (double fleece; or, double fleece of wool) (tsem-aw-rahי-yim), which is in mount Ephraim (double fruit; and, double fruitfulness) (ef-rahי-yim), and said, “Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel (he will rule as YAH; or, the prince that prevails with YAH) (Yis-raw-aleי) (secondary map); —> Mount Zemaraim=Two things to note concerning this Mount Zemaraim: (1) mount means hill, or hill country; and (2) this in the only place in all Father’s Word that this Mount Zemaraim is mentioned as an actual mount; there is however, in Joshua 18:22, a city named Zemaraim and it is located in the territory of the Tribe of Benjamin. In any case, this Zemaraim is part of Mount Ephraim and Zemaraim is east of Beth-el.
So what transpired was, Abijah came near the camp of Jeroboam in the Mount, and pretty much acted like an old-time “town crier,” shouting out his warning to Jeroboam and the House of Israel, that he and his army were coming.
Zemaraim
Mount Zemaraim=There are only two places in all of Father’s Word where Zemaraim or Mount Zemaraim are mentioned. The first is in Joshua 18:22 where we read that Zemaraim was a city allotted to the Tribe of Benjamin; and the other is in II Chronicles 13:4 where we read the the House of Israel was now two separate Nations: the House of Israel which consisted of ten Tribes—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim and Manasseh—and occupied the Northern territories; and the House of Judah which comprises two Tribes—Judah and Benjamin—and occupied the southern territory of Israel, and the two Nations were about to engage in civil war. King Abijah of the House of Judah—the smaller of the two Nations mustered 400,000 war-fighters—stood on mount Zemaraim in mount Ephraim and appealed to king Jeroboam and the House of Israel who was mustering an army of 800,000 war-fighters. This appeal was notifying Jeroboam and the war-fighters of the House of Israel that, though you are the larger Nation, Father YHVH was not on their side, as Jeroboam had forsaken Father YHVH for false gods and idols; had expelled the Levitical Priesthood in order to consecrate himself as a priest and also allowed anybody else who desired to be a priest, to become such; and had replaced Father’s Holy Feast of Passover with his own holy day in the 8th month. Therefore, should they desire to stand with Jeroboam and engage in this civil war against their brothers, Father YHVH was the Captain of the House of Judah, and as such, would give the smaller Nation the victory over the larger rebellious Nation. Jeroboam and the war-fighters of the House of Israel did not heed Abijah’s appeal; but, instead ambushed the war-fighters of the House of Judah, and when the surprised war-fighters realized what was taking place, they called upon Father YHVH Who delivered Jeroboam and the House of Israel into Abijah and the House of Judah’s hand; the House of Israel lost 500,000 war-fighters that day. † For the etymology of the name Zemaraim, we read the following in Abarim Publications: “The name Zemaraim is a plural form (or rather: a dual form) of a word צמר which origin is debated. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) believes that our name’s core noun צמר (smr) is really זמר (zmr), meaning to trim or cut off (see the name Zimran), and translates Zemaraim with Two Cuttings Off. Why Jones feels the need to change our name’s first letter isn’t clear. The Hebrew of the Bible contains a verb צמר, which would serve neatly as our name’s core: The name Zemaraim literally means Two Woolen Things. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List appears to also derive the meaning of our name from this verb and reads Double Mount Forest. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary doesn’t interpret our name, but notes that the town Zemaraim might presently be known as Es-samra, which is a village north of Jericho.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H6787, - צְמָרַיִם, - tsemârayim, pronounced - tsem-aw-rahי-yim, and means: Dual of H6785; double fleece; Tsemarajim, a place in Palestine: - Zemaraim. Total KJV occurrences: 2.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “double fleece of wool. A town in the allotment of Benjamin Joshua 18:22, perhaps identical with Mount Zemaraim, mentioned in II Chronicles 13:4 only, which was “in Mount Ephraim,” that is to say, within the general district of the highlands of that great tribe II Chronicles 13:4.”.
Mount Ephraim
Mount Ephraim= Mount Ephraim can be better described as, the mountains, hill-country, or woods of Ephraim. The land was comprised of the following towns: Beth-El, Mount Zemaraim, Pirathon, Ramah, Ramathaim-zophim, Shamir, Shechem and her suburbs, and Timnathserah. The first mention of Mount Ephraim in Father’s Word is when our forefathers are moving into the Promised Land. The Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were allotted this portion of land which was inhabited by the Canaanites; however, our forefathers did not have enough faith or trust in Father that He would be with them when He told them to utterly destroy the Canaanites. It’s funny though, they knew and understood that they had the power and strength to put the Canaanites to tribute. Sadly, when the Tribe of Dan sought to increase their inheritance of lands, they came to Mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, where they saw his idolatry and found that his heathen worship practices pleased them, so they stole his idols and images for themselves. Shechem, which lay in Mount Ephraim later became a sanctuary city. † For the etymology of the name Mount Ephraim, we read the following in Abarim Publications: “The meaning of the name Ephraim is somewhat debated: Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List go after Genesis 41:52, “...For [...] God has made me fruitful..”. and take the name from the Hebrew verb פרה (para), meaning to bear fruit or be fruitful: Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and Harris Archer Waltke (HAW) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, on the other hand, state that the name Ephraim may be narratively connected with פרה (Genesis 41:52), but list it under the Hebrew root אפר ss(יpr): Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Two-fold Increase. NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Doubly Fruitful. Taking the aleph from the Qual imperfect first person singular would yield a meaning of I Am Twice Fruitful.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H669, - אֶפְרַיִם, - 'ephrayim, pronounced - ef-rahי-yim, and means: Dual of a masculine form of H672; double fruit; Ephrajim, a son of Joseph; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory: - Ephraim Ephraimites. Total KJV occurrences: 180.. † Now from the Easton’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “double fruitfulness. The central mountainous district of Palestine occupied by the tribe of Ephraim (Joshua 17:15; 19:50; 20:7), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua’s time (Joshua 17:18) these hills were densely wooded. They were intersected by well-watered, fertile valleys, referred to in Jeremiah 50:19. Joshua was buried at Timnath-heres among the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash (Judges 2:9). This region is also called the “mountains of Israel” (Joshua 11:21) and the “mountains of Samaria” (Jeremiah 31:5,6; Amos 3:9).”.
Israel=For a detailed description of Israel, including his birth, his and the Nation’s history, the etymology of the name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of the name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
13:5 Kingdom given.
1A5
II Chronicles 13:5 Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David (loving; and, well-beloved) (Daw-veedי) for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? —> Abijah stood on an elevated place near the camp of Jeroboam and the war-fighters of Israel and motions with his hand for silence; once silence has fallen over the gathered crowd, Abijah began. What does he say? He tells Jeroboam and Israel that it was Father YHVH ELOHIM Who chose David and his seedline to rule over the House of Israel forever, and that when He did so, He solemnized His selection with a Covenant of Salt. This seedline of David’s sitting upon the throne exists even to this day, as today Queen Elizabeth II now sits on that throne, and her sons and grandsons will continue to inherit the kingdom. Father foretold us through His Prophet Ezekiel—see Ezekiel 21:26-32—how this throne would be overturned, overturned and overturned again to a place to where it would never again be over turned until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sure, Abijah is correct in what he said; but, he Left out the fact that, because of his grandfather Solomon and his sin of serving and worshipping his foreign wives’ false gods and idols; his building altars to them right there on Father’s Holy Mount, Father split the Nation into two separate Nations and thus gave the ten northern Tribes to Jeroboam, and now first his father Rehoboam and now Abijah only has two Tribes and his reign of his would only be over the Nation of the House of Judah at this time.
Covenant of salt=Covenant in the Strong’s Concordance, is Hebrew word number: H1285, - בְּרִית, - berı̂yth, pronounced - ber-eethי, and means: From H1262; (in the sense of cutting [like H1254]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): - confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league. Total KJV occurrences: 284.. berı̂yth comes from the Hebrew word bârâ'h, meaning to cut; hence, to eat. As salt was scarce and precious, and used with all eating, so it was put for eating, just as the breaking of bread was. A “covenant of salt” was therefore a covenant made by sacrifice, which was first cut into two pieces, and then eaten. Salt was, and is, the great antiseptic, preventing fermentation. As leaven and honey were forbidden in sacrifices, so salt was prescribed, because, when partaken of by the two parties, it made the covenant inviolable. Salt denoted an indissoluble alliance. During this time, salt was a commodity, as it was scarce and precious, it was also used as a means for payment of wages due a worker. Since salt is food, when it as a wage was paid and eaten, it was then considered as solemnizing the inviolable covenant. This is the origin from which we today have our saying that someone is “worth their salt.”
David=For a detailed description of David, including his birth, history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
13:6 Rebellion against Rehoboam.
1A6
II Chronicles 13:6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat (regard; and, aspect) (neb-awtי), the servant of Solomon (peaceful; and, peaceful) (shel-o-moי) the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. —> Abijah continues by telling all within earshot that it was Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant—and notice Abijah is pointing out the fact of Jeroboam having been a servant of Solomon, to everyone’s attention—who defied Father YHVH by rebelling and turning the House of Israel against Father YHVH’S wishes, and his against father Rehoboam. Of course, Abijah is leaving out several important facts: (1) that his grandfather Solomon, and his father Rehoboam, put the entire House under such a heavy tax burden, that the people—the ten northern Tribes—had no choice but to rebel against his heavy hand; and (2) that is was Father YHVH Who divided the Nation into two separate Houses because of Solomon’s, and then his son Rehoboam’s honoring, serving, and worshipping of false gods and idols; and that Father decided that it would be Jeroboam who would be the first man-king over the House of Israel after the split, while David’s seedline would remain over the House of Judah.
Nebat=For a detailed description of Nebat, including his birth, history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
Solomon=For a detailed description of Solomon, including his birth, history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
13:7 Dependence of Jeroboam on man.
1A7
II Chronicles 13:7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam (a people has enlarged; and, enlarger of the people) (rekh-ab-awmי) the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. —> Abijah is forgetting some of the facts of the matter, this is not to say that Jeroboam hasn’t taken to him some vain—Strong’s hebrew word number: H7386, - רקss or ריק, - rêyq or rêq, pronounced - rake or rake, and means: From H7324; empty; figuratively worthless: - emptied (-ty), vain (fellow, man)—men and children of belial—Strong’s hebrew word number: H1100, - בּליּעל, - belı̂ya‛al, pronounced - bel-e-yahי-al, and means: From H1097 and H3276; without profit, worthlessness; by extension destruction, wickedness (often in connection with H376, H802, H1121, etc.): - Belial; evil, naughty, ungodly (men), wicked. again, this means worthless, or wicked—but, as we know, the reason Jeroboam strengthened himself and the House of Israel against the House of David was because, Rehoboam—who was not as young a man as Abijah is portraying him to have been, as if you’ll recall, Rehoboam took over the throne when he was 41 years old, so what he should have been saying, is that his father was foolish and inexperienced; or, you could even say foolish from growing up with that golden spoon in his mouth—would not consent to the request of the House of Israel to lessen their burden.
Rehoboam=For a detailed description of Rehoboam, including his birth, history, the etymology of his name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of his name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
13:8 Kingdom withstood.
13:8-11 Rebellion against YHVH.
1A8
II Chronicles 13:8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. —> Abijah is thinking that Father YHVH is on his side in this matter and that He is going to restore the kingdoms back to one Nation; however, Abijah hasn’t repented for his own sins of honoring, serving and worshipping false gods and idols; therefore, he shouldn’t be throwing any stones in Jeroboam’s direction while he himself is standing in a glass house. Yes, everything he is saying concerning Jeroboam’s honoring, serving and leading the House of Israel to worship false gods and idols is true; but, it still was Father Who split the Nation into two separate Nations because of Solomon’s, and then Rehoboam’s godlessness.
Let’s go back and review I Kings 15:3-4, which reads: I Kings 15:3 And he (Abijah) walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. —> Abijah was quick to point out to Jeroboam and the war-fighters of Israel, Jeroboam’s sin of honoring, serving and worshipping false gods and idols; but, he left out the fact that he too was doing the same. Father is going to keep the House of Judah together for two reasons: (1) because of how David honored, loved, served, and worshipped Him; and (2) because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though Jesus will not come through this king line, this kingship is the protector of David’s son Nathan’s lineage, through which Jesus would come. [15:4] Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: —> …lamp…=We read about this “lamp;” or “light” back in I Kings 11:36, so let’s go back and re-review it: I Kings 11:36 And unto his son (Rehoboam) will I give one tribe, that David My servant may have a light alway before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen Me to put My name there. —> …that David My servant may have a light alway before Me…=This points back to both II Samuel 21:17 and Genesis 15:17; so let’s now go and review both of those: II Samuel 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, “Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.” —> After David’s nephew Abishai saved his uncle’s life by stepping between he—David—and the giant and slaying the giant, all the other warriors then came together to tell David, that this was his last battle, he can no longer join in, he must now stay behind and allow his Army to take care of business. In the phrase …quench not the light of Israel=This is a beautiful saying of David, as it will be through his loins that, “The Light of the World:” The Messiah, Jesus Christ will be born. As we’ll see, this also refers back to Genesis 15:17 when Abram was being told by Father what would become of his offspring, of which he had none yet: Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. —> …a burning lamp…=Though spoken and prophesied by Father over 500 years earlier then David had become “The Light,” which was symbolic of Israel’s Deliverance, Genesis 15:17 points directly to II Samuel 21:17, I Kings 11:36, in I Kings 15:4; and also in Isaiah 62:1, which reads: Isaiah 62:1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. —> We can also look to the New Testament in John 8:12, which reads: John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” —> …He that followeth Me…shall have the light of life=This is The Divine Purpose: That every one of Father’s Children have eternal, everlasting life with our Father; sadly, however, we know that this isn’t going to happen as, if none else, satan’s role of anti-christ and the 7,000 fallen angels go into the Lake of Fire on the first day of the Millennium, and then on the last day of the Millennium, during the Great White Throne Judgment, satan himself and all those who follow him, will also be cast into the Lake of Fire. What a sad thing for Father, to know that He’ll have to destroy some of His Children; He’ll have to live with that memory forever; but, we who have eternal life with Him, will not have to have that memory forever.
Let’s return now to II Chronicles 13:8.
…Kingdom of the LORD=Here, Abiah is referring back to when David addressed the Nation as he was passing on the throne to his son Solomon in I Chronicles 28:4-8, which reads: I Chronicles 28:4 Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He liked me to make me king over all Israel: [28:5] And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) He hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. [28:6] And He said unto me, ‘Solomon thy son, he shall build My house and My courts: for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. [28:7] Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.’ [28:8] Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. —> The only problem was, was that Solomon and then Rehoboam—and now even Abijah—forgot that one little caveat: “if he be constant to do My commandments and My judgments, and keep and seek all the commandments of the LORD your God.”
…Made you for gods=Abijah is pointing out to Jeroboam—like he needed this pointed out to, or for him—that he forsook Father YHVH, and instead, made those two altars and golden calves as can be read in I Kings 12:28. But, Abijah is also pointing out to Jeroboam, that he can worship those golden calves all he wants, as they’ll be of no help to him as he tries to defeat Father YHVH and His army.
1A9
II Chronicles 13:9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. —> The answer is yes—back in II Chronicles 11:14—Jeroboam had indeed cast out the Levitical Priests; of course, this was because they refused to worship, and even counseled Jeroboam against his honoring, serving, and worshipping his false, man-made golden calves. Yes also, Jeroboam has allowed anybody who wished or desired to serve as a priest—including himself—to serve as such; though, obviously, they are not worshipping Father YHVH, only Jeroboam’ false gods, idols and images. The Levitical Priests have long ago returned to Jerusalem and the House of Judah, though, what is not stated here, is that they kept their nethinim servants, and took them to Jerusalem with them.
…seven rams…=According to Father and the instructions He gave to Moses and Aaron back in Exodus 29:1 and Leviticus 8:2, only two rams were required; however, man being the foolish creature that he—no gender involved—is, cannot help but to bring his religion, his traditions, his rituals, and his things of the flesh into the equation; and therefore, always adds-on outward—fleshly—things which diminish the spiritual things of Father. Every True Priest of Father YHVH was supposed to be consecrated, and there was a process by which this was to be done—see Leviticus 8:2-36—but, suffice it to say, that one step in this process included putting the blood of the ram on the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the large toe of the right foot: Leviticus 8:22 And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. [8:23] And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. [8:24] And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. —> This was all symbolic, or representative of, their “hearing the Word of the LORD;” their “doing the Work of the LORD;” and their, “walking in the ways of the LORD.” In this, we also see that, though it was Father Who told Jeroboam that he would receive his desire in ruling over the ten northern Tribes, he has completely forsaken Father, and Jeroboam is now standing in Father’s place as God—playing the role that satan has always wanted to play, thus making Jeroboam a type for satan—as he is now designating how many rams it takes to consecrate a priest.
1A10
II Chronicles 13:10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: —> Abijah now makes a comparison between his and Judah’s serving Father YHVH, and Jeroboam and Israel’s serving Jeroboam’s golden calves. This is all well and dandy, but in reality, it was the Levitical Priests who fled from Jeroboam to come back to Jerusalem, in order to honor, serve, and worship Father YHVH, and who are leading Judah to actually serve Father; and sadly, we’ll see in a moment, that Abijah was no better than his father Rehoboam before him.
The Levitical Priests are presently doing good; however, it won’t be long before they too turn away from Father in favor of idolatry.
1A11
II Chronicles 13:11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken Him. —> Abijah tells the men of the House of Israel, that since the Levitical Priests have returned to the Temple in Jerusalem, they have been obeying and complying with Father’s Laws of the Sacrifice as delineated in Leviticus 1:1-7:38; wherein, every morning and every evening they “burn”—Strong’s Concordance, Hebrew word number: H6999, - קטר, - qâṭar, pronounced - kaw-tarי, and means: A primitive root. To smoke, that is, turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship): - burn (incense, sacrifice) (upon), (altar for) incense, kindle, offer (incense, a sacrifice). In other words, to burn or turn into vapor when worshipping Father YHVH. From Dr. Bullinger’s appendices, Appendix 43, II. 2.: “It is used of the incense, which = Kethoreth, but also of the יOlah (Appendix 43, II. 2.) and parts of the Minchah (Appendix 43, II. 3.) and the Zebach (Appendix 43, II. 12.) because these ascended to Father YHVH.”—the daily sacrifices—Strong’s Hebrew word number: H4503, - מנחה, - minchâh, pronounced - min-khawי, and means: From an unused root meaning to apportion. Specifically a sacrificial offering usually bloodless and voluntary): - gift, oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice. From Dr. Bullinger’s Appendices: “The Meal offering = a present, as such. Hence a gift-offering, not necessarily to secure admittance, but to secure favor. It might be sacrificed by blood, or more generally and later, without blood. It is used of the offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3,4,5); of Jacob’s present to Esau (Genesis 32:13-21). In Exodus and Leviticus it acquires a special limitation, and is the only word rendered “meat,” or better (with R.V.), “meal offering” (though it has a wider signification that literal “meal”).”—they also offer upon the altar, all the other required sacrifices and oblations in order to be pleasing to Father.
Unlike Jeroboam and his false priests, who (1) have completely forsaken Father YHVH, and therefore do not serve Him; (2) since they have forsaken Him, they also do not follow or meet His Laws of sacrifice of Leviticus 1:1-7:38, as they are instead, serving Jeroboam’s man-made golden calves; and likewise also (3) they no longer observe Father’s Feasts, but now instead, as can be read in I Kings 12, observe Jeroboam’s ordained feasts, specifically, one he designated in the eighth month: I Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. (So did he in Beth-el,) sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
—> …in the eighth month…=Notice brethren, the month of Ethanim has just passed, meaning that, the “Sabbath of the Memorial of the Blowing of the Trumpets;” the “Day of Atonement;” and the “Feast of Tabernacles” had all just been celebrated, or at least, should have been celebrated, and Jeroboam is starting a new feast day, in other words, a “new religion.” Father designed when His Feasts are to be held, and we can read them when we read Leviticus 23, where He specifically details each one. Brethren, as is stated here: Jeroboam ordained this feast—not Father—in the eighth month, we are not to partake of man-made things of Father YHVH, this includes doctrines, holidays—ones where, like we’re reading of here in this verse, changes from Father to man—traditions, and worship practices: things of “man’s own heart,” as we’re about to read in the next verse. With that being said, let’s talk about this just a minute: Does this mean, or did I say, that we should not allow ourselves or our children to participate in Christmas celebrations, Valentine’s day, or that “spring” celebration? No, as if we strictly forbade our children to participate, we would surely lose them when they see their fellow children or friends participate; however, we should teach them the significance of what those celebrations are and why they celebrate them and the difference between the two. Educate your children brethren, let them know the proper way to serve Father, and what is not acceptable to Him. Yes, we can give gifts during Christmas—that is when He was Conceived, not born—and we can give cards and candies during Valentine’s Day, and even do the egg hunts and candies during the spring festival, just don’t celebrate it as Father’s resurrection, or in place of His Passover! [12:33] So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. —> Jeroboam was so corrupt, that he not only allowed “just anybody” to be priests; but, he decided that he also would serve as such. This truly shows how far he fell from Father. Father had told him in I Kings 11:37-38, just as He told Solomon and David before him: I Kings 11:37 And I will take thee (Jeroboam), and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. [11:38] And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in My ways, and do that is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. —> Father would have built Jeroboam a long unbroken line of descendants, had he been a hearer, and more importantly, a doer of Father’s Commandments, Judgments, Laws, Ordinances and Statutes; the same conditions He places on every one of us, His Children. Sadly, Jeroboam, like Solomon, did not live up to, or keep the condition.
13:12 Dependence of Abijah on God.
1A12
II Chronicles 13:12 And, behold, God Himself is with us for our captain, and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.” —> Captain=Check this word out in your Strong’s Concordance brethren, as, it is Hebrew word number: H7218, - ראשׁ, - rô'sh, pronounced - roshe, and means: From an unused root apparently meaning to shake; the head (as most easily shaken), whether literally or figuratively (in many applications, of place, time, rank, etc.): - band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief (-est place, man, things), company, end, X every [man], excellent, first, forefront, ([be-]) head, height, (on) high (-est part, [priest]), X lead, X poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.. So in other words, Abijah is telling the men of the House of Israel that Father YHVH is our Chief Ruler, or as Paul tells us in the Ephesians 2: Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. [2:19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; [2:20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; —> The foundation was and is the Truth in Father’s Word; first taught to, and then laid by Moses, Aaron, the Levitical Priesthood, and the prophets in the Old Testament; and then picked up again when Jesus came and taught to, and laid down by His disciples and apostles in the New Testament. Of course, in reality, since as John told us in the very first verse in the Book named for him, “In the Beginning was the Word,” Jesus Christ is therefore, both our Foundation and our Chief Corner Stone, The Rock on which if we stand, we shall never be ashamed, fail, or fall. [2:21] In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord: —> …Fitly framed together…=Brethren, this is why we should not concern ourselves with denominationalism; because, when we chose one denomination over any other, or worse yet, when we chose a denomination over the WORD OF GOD, we then place our denomination over Father, but also, we are no longer fitly joined in Jesus Christ. We too become divided, much the same way that the House of Israel and the House of Judah currently find themselves in here in II Chronicles 13. There is only one way to stop denominationalism, and that is by sticking with the Entire Word of Father, reading and Studying It, Verse–by–Verse, Chapter–by–Chapter, and Book–by–Book. [2:22] In Whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. —> There is only One Creator, Father ELOHIM, He created us all, and He gave us His Word to Study on in order that we while in the flesh can have remembrance of what transpired in the First Earth Age, why we are in this Age, and what our forefather have gone through, in order to be prepared for what is to come at the end of this Age just prior to our Lord’s Return.
Let’s return now to II Chronicles 13:12.
…His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you…=Check this out brethren, as here, Abijah is calling the House of Israel’s attention to the fact that Father’s Priests are sounding the alarm to Him with the trumpets He said to sound the alarm with, when they went to war with an enemy who was oppressing them, and when they did so, He would come to their rescue, and they would be saved from their enemy. If Jeroboam and the House of Israel aren’t quaking in their boots, they should be!
13:13-21 War made.
13:13-20 WAR MADE. (Alternation.)
13:13 Jeroboam. Assault.
1A13
II Chronicles 13:13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. —> Quaking? No, Jeroboam was too busy having planned for this, and he thought that he’d be clever and surround the House of Judah in order to over-run it and defeat it. In all his planning—like was and is the case in those who forsake our Father: past, present, and future, they completely leave Him out of the equation, and it always comes back to bite them in the keister—he never gave a second’s thought about what our Father thought, or what He would do.
13:14 Abijah. Cry to YHVH.
1A14
II Chronicles 13:14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. —> Again, Jeroboam thinks he has the upper-hand, that his trap has sprung closed on his prey, and that he has them exactly where and how he wants them; however, small minded people make big mistakes, and his big mistake, was that he left Father out of his plan.
For their part, at present, the men of the House of Judah, seeing the ambushment both in front and behind them, are pretty scared. They know the Priests have sounded the alarm with those silver trumpets; however, they haven’t yet seen their Saviour come to their rescue. They needn’t have worried, as Father always keeps His Promises.
13:15 Abijah. Cry to YHVH.
1A15
II Chronicles 13:15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. —> Remember, Jeroboam had 800,000 fighting men compared with Abijah only having half that number, and though it isn’t written, for Father to come to the rescue of His Priests sounding the silver trumpets, they had to have been being oppressed, and it really isn’t hard to imagine that with double their number fighting men encompassing them, they were indeed being oppressed.
Anyway, as Jeroboam and his men tightened the noose—so to speak—on Abijah and the House of Judah, the men of Judah gave an ear-splitting cry out to Father, Who in turn responded with vigor and smote—as we’re about to find out, about 500,000 men—over half the fighting force of Jeroboam.
Now, with this being written and said, let’s look at something for a moment, because as we know, though this says that Father through Abijah smote Jeroboam, in reality Jeroboam outlived Abijah. So, is Father’s Word confused, or mixed-up? No! never believe that, not even for a minute. The problem lies—as it always does—with man. We need to go back and re-read I Chronicles 2:55, wherein, Father correctly identifies the problem for us: I Chronicles 2:55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab. —> The kenite scribes version is totally different from what actually transpired and also from Father’s True Prophet’s writing. How and why do I say this? Because, we know that Jeroboam outlived Abijah by three years, Abijah died in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign. So, consider the source here, for this writing—II Chronicles 13—was recorded some four hundred years later, not by a Levite scribe; but, by “a stranger given to service,” i.e., a nethinim whom Joshua and the elders allowed into Israel beginning back in Joshua 9.
13:16-18 Jeroboam. Defeat.
1A16
II Chronicles 13:16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. —> Times sure have changed brethren, as it wasn’t too long ago we were reading of how Father was against Rehoboam and the House of Judah because of their unrighteousness, and He therefore had brought up Shishak king of Egypt against Judah; now, Father is fighting for Judah and is against the house of Israel.
What is the lesson in all this? If we do things Father’s way, He will Bless us; however, if we do things our way—i.e., without Him or His way—then His Blessings stop and He will work against us. Is that always meant as a punishment? No! It is more as a correcting; or, more better stated, a getting your attention tool.
1A17
II Chronicles 13:17 And Abijah and his People slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. —> Even from our perspective some 3,000 years in the future to this time, it’s hard to look back on this and—at least from my perspective—be joyous of this number of men slain. On the one hand you have the side of righteousness defeating the ungodly, and that should please; however, on the other hand, this was a civil war which pitted brother against brother, and over 500,000 plus men of The House of Jacob lost their lives and returned Home to Father—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though I’m sure their loved ones sure did miss them—that’s 500,000 of our forefathers who didn’t return home after this civil war ended—very similar to our losing 600,000 men during the United States Civil war—that’s nothing to be overjoyed about. Brethren, Father doesn’t like civil war; however, He dislikes unrighteousness even more, and when those who do evil rise up against those who are—at least trying—doing righteously, being moral or pious; then, He will always come to their assistance when they cry out to Him.
Two side notes to consider in this: (1) In this civil war—and not just the civil war; but, in the splitting of the Nation Israel—we see that it pitted Israel against Judah, in other words, it pitted the two crucial lines—i.e., Priest and king—now comprised in the House of Judah, against the remaining Tribes, less Benjamin which was also in Judah; and (2) also interesting, is the fact that, in those remaining Tribes—i.e., the ten northern Tribes—were the two Tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim—which make up the Abrahamic Covenant Blessing from Genesis 48.
1A18
II Chronicles 13:18 Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. —> After witnessing over 500,000 of their brethren being slaughtered, the rest of the war-fighters of the House of Israel fled the battlefield in hopes of saving their own lives. The men of the House of Judah gave chase and triumphed, why? Because they hearkened unto Father; see, at this point, Abijah is still doing righteously; however, it won’t be long before he too turns his back on Father in favor of idols.
Relied=Let’s check out this word “relied” in the Strong’s Concordance brethren, when we do, we find that it is Hebrew word number: H8172, - שׁען, - shâ‛an, pronounced - shaw-anי, and means: A primitive root; to support one’s self: - lean, lie, rely, rest (on, self), stay.. So in other words, it means to put your rest or confidence in the LORD; of course, in the New Testament we learn, that we get our rest or Sabbath—as it’s translated most times in our English Bibles—only from our Lord Jesus Christ, not from any man-made things.
13:19 Abijah. Victory through YHVH.
1A19
II Chronicles 13:19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el (house of YAH; and, house of YAH) (bayth-aleי) with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah (old; and, old) (yesh-aw-nawי) with the towns thereof, and Ephrain (fawn like; and, hamlet) (ef-roneי) with the towns thereof. —> Abijah and Judah chased Jeroboam and Israel all the way back to the territories of the ten northern tribes, and while they were there, they took for themselves, the towns of Beth-el—one of the two cities where Jeroboam built an altar in order to put a golden calf for the House of Israel to worship—Jeshanah—most scholars are agreed that the same name should be read instead of ha-shen, in I Samuel 7:12, it is probably identical with the Isanas, of Josephus (Ant., XIV, xv, 12). It is represented by the modern `Ain Sinia, 3 1/4 miles North of Bethel, with a spring and interesting ancient remains—and Ephrain—there is no such place as Ephrain; so therefore, this is probably Ephron, and Ephron was named for the man whom Abraham bought the cave of Mechpelah, in which Jacob—whom Father renamed Israel—Sarah—Abraham’s wife—Rachel—Jacob’s favorite wife—Abraham, and Leah—Jacob’s other wife, older sister to Rachel—were buried—to be now included as Judean territories. Ephrain is also identified as Ephraim in John 11:54.
Beth-el= For a detailed description of Beth-el, including the city’s history, the etymology of the name, the Strong’s Concordance definition of the name, and the Smith’s Bible Dictionary information, click here.
Jeshanah=Jeshanah is only mentioned one time in all of Father’s Word; that time is when Abijah and the House of Judah was warring against Jeroboam and the House of Israel, and Abijah had captured the city of Jeshanah—along with Beth-el and Ephron—as can be read in II Chronicles 13:19. † For the etymology of the name Jeshanah, we read the following in Abarim Publications “The name Jeshanah occurs only once in the Bible. It’s the name of one of the villages that were captured by king Abijah of Judah from king Jeroboam of Israel, in an attempt by Abijah to reunite the tribes (II Chronicles 13:19). The battle ended in favor of Judah, but the tribes were never reunited. The name Jeshanah appears to be a feminine form of the masculine noun ישן (yashen), which means old: For a meaning of the name Jeshanah, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Old and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Old, Ancient. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary does not offer an interpretation of the name Jeshanah.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3466, - יְשָׁנָה, - yeshânâh, pronounced - yesh-aw-nawי, and means: Feminine of H3465; old; Jeshanah, a place in Palestine: - Jeshanah. Total KJV occurrences: 1.. † Now from the Smith’s Bibe Dictionary, where we read: “A town which, with its dependent villages, was one of the three taken from Jeroboam by Abijah II Chronicles 13:19.”.
Ephrain=Though spelled Ephrain in II Chronicles 13:19—the only place in all of Father’s Word it is mentioned—when we look up the word\name Ephrain in the Strong’s Concordance, we find that it is Hebrew word number H6085, and translates to Ephron, which tells us that the kenites have been hard at work in trying to confuse us. How and why do I say this? Because the word\name Ephron is only mentioned as a location in Father’s Word in Joshua 15:9, where we find is mentioned as “Mount Ephron,” and then in II Chronicles 13:19 where it is mentioned as “Ephrain;” in all other mentions of the word\name—Genesis 23:8,10,13,14,16,17; 25:9; 49:29,30; and 50:13— it is associated with a Hittite who was named Ephron. Yes, the very same “Ephron the Hittite” from whom Abraham bought the cave of Mechpelah, in which Jacob—whom Father renamed Israel—Sarah—Abraham’s wife—Rachel—Jacob’s favorite wife—Abraham, and Leah—Jacob’s other wife, older sister to Rachel—were buried. The city of “Ephron” was given to the Tribe of Benjamin as part of their inheritance as our forefathers were moving into the Promised Land. The city lay south of Ophrah, north of Beth-aven, and to the east of Beth-el. † For the etymology of the name Ephrain, we read the following in Abarim Publications “There is a village named Ephron, which was located near Bethel, about 40 kilometer from Hebron. This village is mentioned in II Chronicles 13:19 only, but since all that area was Hittite, it’s not unthinkable that Ephron the village was named after Ephron the man. Some texts state that this name ought to be spelled עפרין. The name Ephron comes from either of the two roots עפר: The waw-nun extension of our name usually works to localize or personify a root. The name Ephron would thus mean Dust-Man or Malleable, or something to that extent. For a meaning of the name Ephron, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List appears to take the waw-nun extension quite liberally as a kind of adjective-maker and reads Fawn-like. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names sees in our waw-nun form an intensitive and proposes A Great And Choice Fawn. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary doesn’t translate our name but does list it under root עפר.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H6085, - עֶפְרוֹן, - ‛ephrôn, pronounced - ef-roneי, and means: From the same as H6081; fawn-like; Ephron, the name of a Canaanite and of two places in Palestine: - Ephron, Ephrain [from the margin]. Total KJV occurrences: 14.. † Now from the Smith’s Bibe Dictionary, where we read: “Hamlet. A city of Israel which Judah captured from Jeroboam II Chronicles 13:19. It has been conjectured that this Ephrain or Ephron is identical with the Ephraim by which Absalom’s sheep-farm of Baal-hazor was situated; with the city called Ephraim near the wilderness in which our Lord lived for some time; and with Ophrah, a city of Benjamin, apparently not far from Bethel. But nothing more than conjecture can be arrived at on these points.”.
13:20 Abijah. Victory through YHVH.
1A20
II Chronicles 13:20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died. —> Jeroboam didn’t die during the battle against his foe Abijah; but, he did come down some sort of languishing disease—see below—from which he never recovered his strength. Abijah will die within the next year or so, and then, Jeroboam will live for another three years after his death; though, his son Nadab will reign in his stead during the last two years of his life, and both Jeroboam and his son Nadab will die the same year.
The LORD Struck him=The word “Struck” in the Strong’s Concordance, is Hebrew word number: H5062, - נגף, - nâgaph, pronounced - naw-gafי, and means: A primitive root; to push, gore, defeat, stub (the toe), inflict (a disease): - beat, dash, hurt, plague, slay, smite (down), strike, stumble, X surely, put to the worse.. So what we see in this, is that, though Jeroboam didn’t die on the battlefield, Father—because of Jeroboam’s leading the House of Israel to sin by forcing them to worship his golden calves—did not let him go unpunished; He caused the languishing disease which ultimately brought about his death.
13:21-14:1 Conclusion.
1A21
II Chronicles 13:21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. —> Father’s Word doesn’t say how old Abiah was when he took over the throne from his father Rehoboam, it only says that he reigned for three years. What we do know, is that Rehoboam was 41 when he began to reign, and he reigned for 17 years. That would then say, that his son Abijah—who had three older brothers—may have been maybe 20 years old when his father began to reign after Solomon, so then, maybe if he—Abijah—started fathering children at about 18, which would mean he had to have been about 38 years old or older, when he began to reign; so therefore, suffice it to say, that he had quite a large family for only reigning three years: 14 wives, 22 sons and 16 daughters.
1A22
II Chronicles 13:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo (appointed, or timely; and, timely, or lovely) (yed-eeי or id-doי). —> The rest of the acts=We read in I Kings 15:7, that—Abijam, as he is called there—walked in all the sins of his father Rehoboam; of course, all those sins included bringing in sodomites, the worship of asherah in the groves, and other false gods and idols. We’ll see when we read in II Chronicles 14, that one of the first things Abijah’s son Asa does, is take away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and he’ll also brake down the images, and cut down the groves that his father—Abijah—grandfather—Rehobom—and great grandfather—Solomon—had built.
…story…=This word “story” in the Strong’s Concordance, is Hebrew word number: H4097, - מדרשׁ, - midrâsh, pronounced - mid-rawshי, and means: From H1875; properly an investigation, that is, (by implication) a treatise or elaborate compilation: - story.. In other words, it was a historical chronicalization and commentary, having in view the moral instruction rather than the historical facts. This word—H4097, - מדרשׁ, - midrâsh, mid-rawshי—is used in only one other place in all Father’s Word and that is in II Chronicles 24:27 when discussing the life, and the assassination of Joash—by the sons of an Ammonitess and a Moabitess—the boy who was saved from slaughter by his very own grandmother Athaliah, and then became king at the age of seven. The reason the executed him was for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the Priest, the very man who saved him from Athaliah.
Iddo=Researching the name\word Iddo in Father’s Word presented some interesting results. There are three different words translated “Iddo” in Father’s Word, and they are as follows: (1) H3035, - ידּו, - yiddô, pronounced - yid-doי, and means: From H3034; praised; Jiddo, an Israelite: - Iddo.. Used in I Chronicles 27:21 and Ezra 10:43; (2) H3260, - יעדּי, - ye‛dı̂y, pronounced - yed-eeי, and means: From H3259; appointed; Jedi, an Israelite: - Iddo [from the margin] See H3035.. Used in II Chronicles 9:29; and (3) as is used here in II Chronicles 13:22, H5714, - עדּיאss or עדּואss or עדּו, - ‛iddô or ‛iddô' or ‛iddı̂y', pronounced - id-doי, id-doי or id-deeי, and means: From H5710; timely; Iddo (or Iddi), the name of five Israelites: - Iddo. Compare H3035, H3260.. Used in I Kings 4:14; I Chronicles 6:21; II Chronicles 12:15; II Chronicles 13:22; Ezra 5:1; Ezra 6:14; Nehemiah 12:4; Nehemiah 12:16; Zechariah 1:1; and Zechariah 1:7. There is nothing is written in Father’s Word concerning Father’s Prophet Iddo. We do know that he was a Prophet of Father’s though, because of what is written in II Chronicles 9:29, concerning what he wrote about the acts of Solomon against Jeroboam. † For the etymology of the name Iddo, we read the following in Abarim Publications: “The name יעדי belongs to a famous Biblical prophet, who wrote his own book, which never made it into the canon and was lost forever (II Chronicles 9:29). But apparently, the Book of Iddo contained acts of king Solomon, visions concerning king Jeroboam, the acts of king Rehoboam and the acts and words of king Abijah. The name Iddo should actually be pronounced as Yiddo or Yiddi (and in English Jiddo, with a J like Joseph and Jacob; names that also start with the letter י, (yod), but this prophet is named such only once, in II Chronicles 9:29. In II Chronicles 12:15 and 13:22 he is called עדו (Iddo). The version of the name Iddo possibly come from the verb עדד ss(יadad), which probably has to do with time: The letter י (yod) upon which Iddo ends, may either create an adjective (such-and-such-like, a possessive form (my such and such), whereas the letter ו (waw) upon which Iddo ends may be due to a third person possessive pronoun: his. For a meaning of the name Iddo, Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Timely, and Time Of Him. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary agrees with Jones on the etymology, lists his name under the obscure root עדד, but offers no interpretation.”. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H5714, - עִדּוֹאss or עִדּוֹאss or עִדִּיא, - ‛iddô, ‛iddô' or ‛iddı̂y', pronounced - id-doי, id-doי or id-deeי, and means: From H5710; timely; Iddo (or Iddi), the name of five Israelites: - Iddo. Compare H3035, H3260. Total KJV occurrences: 10.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “timely or lovely. A seer whose “visions” against Jeroboam incidentally contained some of the acts of Solomon (II Chronicles 9:29). He appears to have written a chronicle or story relating to the life and reign of Abijah (II Chronicles 13:22).”.
Oct 2014 † updated: May 2021
This Bible Study was written by Scott Reis and is provided in order to be used as a private Bible Study Tool. Therefore, it may be copied in whole or in part and shared for private Bible Study; however, it may not be reproduced and published as an original work.
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