2 Chronicles 14

¹ 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 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: ³ For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: ⁴ And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵ Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. ⁶ And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. ⁷ Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of men that bare targets 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 valour. ⁹ And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. ¹⁰ Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. ¹² So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. ¹⁵ They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

Study Helps

Glossary

Abijah Person v. 1: Father (i. e., “possessor or worshipper”) of Jehovah. (1. ) 1 Chr. 7:8 . (2. ) 1 Chr. 2:24 . (3. ) The second son of Samuel ( 1 Sam. 8:2 ; 1 Chr. 6:28 ).
Asa Person v. 1-2, 8, 10-13: Physician, son of Abijah and grandson of Rehoboam, was the third king of Judah.
City People v. 1: The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
City of David Place v. 1: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: City of David.
David Person v. 1: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
Benjamin Person v. 8: Son of my right hand. (1. ) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel ( Gen. 35:18 ). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place.
Mareshah Place v. 9-10: Possession, a city in the plain of Judah ( John. 15:44 ). Here Asa defeated Zerah the Ethiopian ( 2 Chr. 14:9 , 10). It is identified with the ruin el-Mer’ash, about 1 1/2 mile south of Beit Jibrin. Modern identification: Tel Maresha.
Valley of Zephathah Place v. 10: Biblical special. Modern identification: Wadi Safiyeh.
Gerar Place v. 13-14: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Haror.
Jerusalem Place v. 15: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Jerusalem.