2 Crônicas 13
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Crônicas 13
Wiersbe - The Northern Kingdom of Israel had nine dynasties in about 250 years (SEE LIST BELOW) while the Southern Kingdom faithfully maintained the Davidic dynasty for 350 years, and that was the dynasty from which the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, would come (Matt. 1:1). With all of its faults, the kingdom of Judah was identified with the true and living God, practiced authorized worship in the temple, and had kings who came from David's family. Two of these kings are named in these chapters—Abijah and Asa. (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament ) List of the 9 Dynasties of Israel and only one dynasty (Jehu’s) lasted for five generations. Dates are approximations. Jeroboam’s Dynasty (930–909 BC) Kings: Jeroboam I, Nadab Ended when Baasha assassinated Nadab. Baasha’s Dynasty (909–885 BC) Kings: Baasha, Elah Ended when Zimri assassinated Elah. Zimri’s Short Reign (7 Days in 885 BC) King: Zimri Ended when Zimri set his palace on fire and died. Omri’s Dynasty (885–841 BC) Kings: Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram (Jehoram) Ended when Jehu, backed by God’s command, killed Joram. Jehu’s Dynasty (841–753 BC) Kings: Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash (Joash), Jeroboam II, Zechariah Ended when Shallum assassinated Zechariah. Shallum’s Short Reign (1 Month in 752 BC) King: Shallum Ended when Menahem killed him. Menahem’s Dynasty (752–740 BC) Kings: Menahem, Pekahiah Ended when Pekah assassinated Pekahiah. Pekah’s Rule (740–732 BC) King: Pekah Ended when Hoshea assassinated him. Hoshea’s Rule (Last King, 732–722 BC) King: Hoshea Ended when the Assyrians conquered Israel, destroying the kingdom. QUESTION -Who was King Abijah in the Bible? ANSWER - King Abijah, also called King Abiah or King Abijam, was the son of King Rehoboam and father of King Asa. Abijah reigned for only three years (913–911 BC) in Judah before he died. Abijah was a wicked king: “He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been” (1 Kings 15:3). King Abijah attempted to reclaim the northern ten tribes of Israel as part of his kingdom, and so there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime (verse 6). King Abijah had some victories over Israel to the north. 2 Chronicles 13 describes a battle in which Abijah and his 400,000 men triumphed over Jeroboam with his 800,000 men. King Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim and spoke out to Jeroboam and Israel about God’s covenant with David, Jeroboam’s rebellion against Rehoboam, and Jeroboam’s ridding Israel of the Levites and allowing anyone to become a priest of false gods. Abijah concluded, “God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed” (2 Chronicles 13:12). The troops of Israel had come behind those of Judah to ambush them, intending to attack them from both front and rear. But the men from Judah cried out to God, the priests blew their trumpets, and “at the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah” (2 Chronicles 13:15). Abijah also took the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, Ephron, and their surrounding villages from Jeroboam. From that time, King Jeroboam’s strength lessened: “Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died. But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters” (2 Chronicles 13:20–21). Abijah’s mother was Maakah, and she apparently held a position of authority as queen mother throughout Abijah’s reign and into the reign of her grandson Asa. After Abijah’s death, there was peace between Israel and Judah for ten years (2 Chronicles 14:1), and Abijah’s son, King Asa, instituted wide reforms throughout Judah. One of Asa’s reforms was to depose his grandmother Maakah because of her promotion of Asherah worship (1 Kings 15:13). Second Chronicles 14:2 says, “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” Abijah’s short reign was unfortunately marked by doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. Even though God had granted him victory over Israel, Abijah continued the same error as his father, Rehoboam—not being fully devoted to God (2 Chronicles 12:14; 1 Kings 15:3).GotQuestions.org John Kitto - Daily Bible Illustrations - Abijah—II Chronicles 13:1–20; I Kings 15:1–9 It is observable, that although Rehoboam had fewer wives than his father—only eighteen wives and sixty concubines, he had a far more numerous progeny—no less than twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters,—a somewhat singular disproportion of sexes. Even this comparatively modern harem was adverse to the judgment and habits of his subjects; for the historian remarks that he “desired many wives,”—implying that so far he contravened the restriction imposed by the law against a king “multiplying wives unto himself.” Of all Rehoboam’s wives, the one who had most influence with him was Maachah, who appears to have been a grand-daughter of Absalom by his daughter Tamar, who married one Uriel of the house of Saul. This special attachment to the mother induced Rehoboam to determine that her son Abijah (otherwise called Abijam) should be his successor; and the solicitude he is described as evincing in this matter, and the means he took to secure this object, seem to show that Abijah was not his eldest son. To obviate the competition of his brothers, and to prevent them from forming an interest in rivalry to his at the seat of power, Rehoboam took much the same course as Abraham took to secure the undisputed heritage to Isaac. He provided for them, and gave them employment during his life-time, by making them governors of cities—thus dispersing them through his dominions for their own advantage, while preventing them from any combined operations to the detriment of the heir. This is an early scriptural example of the same kind of policy which has only within the present age been adopted in the courts of Persia and Turkey, where the princes were shut up in the harem till the death of their father, and then either imprisoned, killed, or incapacitated for public life (in Persia by blinding), when their brother mounted the throne. Now, at least in Persia, they are sent into the provinces, where they administer the civil and military local government for the king—collect the crown dues, and remit them to court after deducting their own expenses and the local charges. These princes, in their lesser spheres, reflect the royal dignity, maintaining courts on the royal model, but on a smaller scale; administering justice like the king, and appearing, when required, with the military force to be raised within their districts. Doubtless the sons of Rehoboam performed the same functions in their respective districts; but the smallness of the territory over which so many princes were distributed, must have given a proportionately diminished scale to their establishments; and if they, as princes of the blood, affected, as is likely, more magnificence than ordinary governors, this must have rendered the task of supporting the courts of so many royal governors rather burdensome to the people. The crown also probably found it unprofitable in the end, a large proportion of the public imposts being in such cases absorbed, before they reached the royal treasury, in the expenses of local government,—and the king being obliged to allow expenses for his sons, and to admit excuses on their behalf, which would not be endured in an ordinary functionary. The precautions of the king were, however, successful; and at his death the son he had designated succeeded to the throne without opposition. This young man, of the same name with Jeroboam’s lost son, took up the cause of the house of David with the ardor natural to a lofty-minded youth just come to the throne. He purposed to himself to reestablish the dominion of his house over the ten tribes; and no priest or prophet interfered this time to discourage the undertaking. This was not now necessary, seeing that the kingdom of Israel was now fully equal to its own defence against Judah; and now, moreover, Jeroboam had forfeited all claim to the Lord’s interference, and his house had indeed been sentenced to deprivation. Abijah took the initiative, and marched into the territory of Jeroboam, at the head of a general military levy of his kingdom. Jeroboam was, however, too able and experienced a commander to be taken unprepared, and he met the king of Judah with a force that greatly outnumbered his own. The circumstances of this first great action between the two kingdoms are very interesting, and well deserve careful consideration, from the light they cast upon the state of feeling with which the house of David at this time regarded the rival kingdom. This we are able to collect from the harangue which king Abijah addressed to the enemy opposed to him, before they came to blows, according to a custom which strikes us as somewhat strange, but of which there are numerous ancient examples. The staple of such harangues always has consisted, and always does consist in the East, of self-praise on the part of the orator, and dispraise and abuse of the enemy. Of this we find enough in the speech of Abijah, the tone of which seems to us not in all respects so gratifying as it has appeared to many. The oration consists properly of five parts—political, and religious or theocratic. The political part is based entirely on the divine-right principle, which was certainly not sanctioned by the Hebrew constitution. Wholly overlooking the offence of Solomon, the judgment of Heaven, the Divine appointment of Jeroboam, the constitutional conduct of the people, the aggravating folly of Rehoboam, and the Lord’s recognition of the separation,—Abijah talks loftily of the rights of the house of David, and treats the tribes as unreasonable and causeless rebels,—servants who had turned against their master when they found the opportunity in the accession of the “young and tender-hearted” Rehoboam, and whom it behooved now, at his son’s call, to return to their allegiance. The egregious foolishness of all this seems to have been scarcely exceeded by that which Rehoboam himself had manifested, and must have been heard with calm disdain by the veterans of Israel. The purely dynastic and party view of the great question, was such as a not and not over-wise young prince of the house of David was likely to take, and is in itself perfectly intelligible. But we know that there was another side of the question which found no expression; and the reader may do well to supply for himself the answer which Jeroboam could have given if he had liked. The remainder of Abijah’s harangue was, however, in substance unanswerable, although one is not over-satisfied at the self-righteousness of its tone, its inordinate appreciation of ritual observances, and the absence of more spiritual grounds of confidence than it indicates. He animadverted on the measures, the corruptions, and arbitrary changes by which Jeroboam had endeavored to secure his kingdom; and, with not unbecoming pride, contrasted this disorder and profanity with the beautiful order in which, according to the law, and the regulations of David and Solomon, the worship of the Lord was conducted by the Levitical priesthood, in “the holy and beautiful house which the Divine King honored with the visible symbol of his inhabitance.” “We keep the charge of Jehovah,” he declared, “but ye have forsaken him. 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 not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper.” By the time he had finished, Abijah found himself, to his great amazement, surrounded by the enemy; and that he hath purchased the satisfaction of making a speech at the cost of allowing a large body of the enemy to move quietly round the hill, so as to take his force in the rear, while the main body still confronted him. This difficult and bold maneuver had well nigh decided the action; for the Judahites raised a cry of dismay, and a serious panic would probably have followed, had not the priests at that moment sounded their silver trumpets, at which old and inspiriting signal, the more stouthearted men raised a cry to the Lord for help, and rushed upon the enemy, inspiring by their example the more timid and wavering. The embattled host of Israel could not withstand the force of this terrible shock. Their ranks were broken, they fled, and the slaughter inflicted upon them was most awful, and can only be explained by reference to the peculiar animosity and bloodiness of wars of kindred. Besides, the conquerors were in the enemy’s country, and in numbers much the weaker party—too weak for mercy.540 Notwithstanding this decisive success, Abijah was too well advised, to pursue his original design of reducing the ten tribes, and was content to re-establish his authority over certain border towns and districts, which had originally belonged to Judah or Benjamin, but which Jeroboam had found means to include in his portion of the divided kingdom. This was but a poor result from the shedding of so much blood, and for the increased alienation which must have ensued between the subjects of the two kingdoms, which still formed but one nation. All that can be said is, that as much blood has often been shed with as little real advantage to the conquerors. Abijah In Rabbinical Literature: Although Abijah took up God's cause against Jeroboam, the idolatrous king of Israel, he was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his victory over the latter for any considerable time, dying as he did shortly after his campaign (Josephus, "Ant." viii. 11, § 3). The rabbis recount many transgressions committed by Abijah against his fellow men, which resulted in drawing God's vengeance upon him more speedily than upon Jeroboam's idolatries. Thus it is stated that he mutilated the corpses of Jeroboam's soldiers, and even would not permit them to be interred until they had arrived at a state of putrefaction. Nor did Abijah show himself zealous in God's cause after all; for when, by the conquest of Bethel (2 Chron. 13.19), the golden calves came into his possession, he did not destroy them as the law (Deut. 7.25) enjoined. The rabbis also point out that it was improper for Abijah to accuse the whole of Israel of idolatry and to proclaim the appointment of Jeroboam as king to have been the work of "vain men, the children of Belial" (2 Chron. 13.7), since in point of fact it was the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, who made him king (1 Kings, 9.37). For these reasons Abijah's reign was a short one. 2 Chronicles 13:2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Michaiah: 2Ch 11:20, Maachah the daughter of Absalom, 1Ki 15:2, Abishalom Gibeah: Jos 18:28, Gibeath, Judges 19:14,16 1Sa 10:26, A.M. 3047, B.C. 957 And there was: 1Ki 15:6,7 INTERTRIBAL WAR ENSUES He reigned three years in Jerusalem (913-910 BC); and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. - Most consider Micaiah to be a variation of the name Maacah and consider the the same person. Andrew Hill ties these confusing names together writing "The most likely reconstruction, then, identifies Maacah as the granddaughter of Absalom (Abishalom in 1 Kings 15:2) by his daughter Tamar and her husband Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chron. 13:2; cf. 2 Sam. 14:27). This means that Maacah is King Asa’s grandmother. (See 1 and 2 Chronicles - Page 10) Reformation Study Bible - Maacah was apparently the granddaughter of Absalom through his daughter Tamar and her husband Uriel of Gibeah. ISBE on MAACAH (Micaiah) - The daughter of Absalom, the favorite wife of Rehoboam, and mother of Abijah (1 Ki 15:2; 2 Ch 11:20, etc.). Evidently "daughter" must here be understood as "granddaughter," according to a common oriental usage. Tamar was the only daughter of Absalom. If Tamar married Uriel of Gibeah (2 Ch 13:2), then Maacah was her daughter. In that case the name Micaiah in this passage would be either a copyist's error or a variant of Maacah. She must have been a woman of strong personality. Unfortunately, her influence was cast upon the side of idolatry. She maintained her position in the palace, however, till the reign of her grandson Asa. Possibly she acted as regent during his minority. Ultimately, she was degraded by him for an act of peculiar infamy (1 Ki 15:13; 2 Ch 15:16). Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam - In a parallel passage in Kings we read "There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam." (1 Ki 15:6-7) 2 Chronicles 13:3 Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men who were valiant warriors. Abijah began the battle 1Sa 17:1-3 four hundred: 2Ch 11:1 14:8 17:14-18 26:12,13 1Ch 21:5 eight hundred: 2Ch 14:9 Related Passages: 2 Chronicles 20:15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. STANDOFF BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men who were valiant warriors - Some think these numbers were exaggerated. (For more on numbers in Kings see The mysterious numbers of the Hebrew kings). In any case there is a 2 to 1 advantage of the North (Jeroboam) over the South (Abijah). The numbers do not seem unreasonable in light of the fact that in David's census in 1Ch 21:5 in "all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword." McConville makes an interesting point that "It is hard to avoid the thought that, in biblical theology, weakness is a positive advantage, because it is a prerequisite of reliance (cf. 2 Cor. 12:10). (BORROW I & II Chronicles) Iain Duguid: The account of the battle itself highlights God’s provision: He is present and leading, as it is His battle (also in 2Ch 20:15). Victory depended not on a greater army (in numbers or resources) but on his action. This was important for the post-exilic community in their apparent weakness in relation to the Persian Empire. (See ESV Expository Commentary: 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles) Andrew Hill: There is no direct indication as to which party has declared war, although according to Selman Jeroboam is likely the aggressor in an attempt to reunite the twelve tribes under a single monarch. He bases his conjecture on the defensive posture of Abijah’s speech (esp. 2 Chron. 13:8) and Jeroboam’s military strategy relying on the surprise attack of an ambush (2Ch 13:13–14). The Chronicler’s report of the size of the two opposing armies proves troublesome for some commentators. Various interpretive approaches have been suggested: - taking the numbers at face value since the writer seems to intend them as literal, - understanding the numbers as somehow symbolic or a form of hyperbole, or - assigning a more technical meaning to the word “thousand” (ʾelep; e.g., “chieftain” or a military “cohort” of an unspecified number of soldiers). However one chooses to understand the numbers, the basic meaning of the tallies is clear—the troops of Israel outnumber the troops of Judah two to one. (See 1 and 2 Chronicles - Page 10) 2 Chronicles 13:4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: Listen to me: 2Ch 15:2 Judges 9:7 ABIJAH'S SERMON TO JEROBOAM & ISRAEL Then - This is a time phrase marking progress in the narrative. In this case, the time is crucial because the battle between north and south is imminent. Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel (northern kingdom): Zemaraim was a mountain in the hill country of Ephraim near the border of Benjamin, but not much more is known. Joshua 18:22 would support that Zemaraim is near Bethel, which is soon captured by Abijah (2Ch 13:19). Norman Geisler - 2 CHRONICLES 13:4–22—Was Abijah a wicked or a righteous king? PROBLEM: According to 1 Kings 15:3, Abijah was a wicked king who “walked in all the sins of his father.” However, here in 2 Chronicles he is represented as giving a speech against idolatry and in defense of God’s appointed priests and temple in Jerusalem. SOLUTION: Abijah is not the first, nor will he be the last, politician on record who could give an occasional pious speech when it served his purposes. The fact is, his deeds did not match his words. That is, in general, whatever occasional exceptions there may have been, he was an evil king, just as 1 Kings 15:3 declares. (When Critics Ask) 2 Chronicles 13:5 “Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? Do you not know Ne 5:9 Pr 1:29 2Pe 3:5 the LORD God of Israel: Judges 11:21-24 Jer 27:5-7 Da 4:25-32 5:18 to David: 1Sa 16:1,12 2Sa 7:12-16 1Ki 8:20 1Ch 17:11,14 28:4,5 Ps 89:19-37 Jer 33:21,22,26 Lu 1:31-33 a covenant of salt: Lev 2:13 Nu 18:19 Eze 43:24 Mk 9:49-50 Related Passages: Leviticus 2:13+ ‘Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. Numbers 18:19+ “All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you.” Ezekiel 43:24 ( ‘You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD. ABIJAH BEGINS BY APPEALING TO THE DAVIDIC COVENANT Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? - He assumes Jeroboam and all Israel know the essential tenets of the Davidic Covenant and that Jehovah gave David and his descendants the kingship over Israel forever. In 1 and 2 Chronicles, the emphasis is repeatedly on the legitimacy of the Davidic dynasty (1Ch. 17:14; 1Ch 28:5; 1Ch 29:11, 23; 2Ch 9:8). Ancient Middle Eastern customs used salt to seal agreements. A Covenant of Salt means an eternal, sacred, and unbreakable agreement. MacArthur on covenant of salt - Salt is associated elsewhere with the Mosaic Covenant sacrifices (Lv 2:13), the Priestly Covenant (Nu 18:19), and the New Covenant symbolic sacrifices in the millennial kingdom (Eze 43:24). The preservative quality of salt represents the fidelity or loyalty intended in keeping the covenant. Here it would refer to God's irrevocable pledge and intended loyalty in fulfilling the Davidic Covenant and God's desire for the loyalty of David's lineage to Him if the people are to enjoy the blessings of the covenant. (See MacArthur Study Bible) Raymond Dillard: The context implies that a “covenant of salt” is an eternal and efficacious covenant, though the precise social or religious character of such a covenant is not known. The “salt of the covenant” was necessary for a sacrifice to be efficacious (Lev 2:13); W. Robertson Smith (Lectures on the Religion of the Semites, 2d ed. [1894] 270) related the reference to the sacredness of the bond acknowledged among Arabs between persons who have “eaten salt” together. The covenant made with David was as permanent as the covenant made with Israel in the wilderness (Num 18:19; Coggins, 195). (BORROW 2 Chronicles) David
2 Crônicas 13
Wiersbe - “Sudden deliverance in the midst of battle is a repeated theme in 2 Chronicles (2Ch 13:14–18; 2Ch 14:11–12; 18:31; 20:1ff; 32:20–22). (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament ) 2 Chronicles 13:16 When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand. God gave them: Ge 14:20 De 2:36 3:3 Jos 10:12 21:44 Judges 1:4 11:21 1Sa 23:7 When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand - The Lord in some way gave the army of Israel into the hands of the smaller army of Judah. 2 Chronicles 13:17 Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. five hundred: 2Ch 13:3,12 28:6 Isa 10:16-19 37:36 Na 1:5 1Co 10:22 JEROBOAM'S DEVASTATING LOSS Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain Warren Wiersbe - Over half of Jeroboam's army was slain by the army of Judah, and Abijah's soldiers moved north to capture the city of Bethel, ten miles from Jerusalem. From Bethel they moved five miles north and took Jeshanah and four miles northeast to take Ephrain (Ephron) (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament ) J.A. Thompson: Abijah and his men inflicted heavy losses on Israel. The outcome of the battle was defeat and humiliation for Jeroboam and victory for Abijah and the men of Judah because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 13:18 Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers. Trusted: 2Ch 16:8,9 20:20 2Ki 18:5 1Ch 5:20 Ps 22:4,5 146:5 Da 3:28 Na 1:7 Eph 1:12 KEY TO VICTORY LEANING ON THE LORD Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted (sha'an - relied on) in the LORD, the God of their fathers - This passage teaches a powerful unchanging principle that in all our spiritual battles we need to remember to rely on the strong arm of the Lord, not on our imagined strength. It was for the glory of His own Name that the Lord acted as He did. -- Warren Wiersbe J.A. Thompson: The verb translated “relied on” (sa’an) appears also at 2Ch 14:11 and 2Ch 16:7-8. It is used of leaning upon something (cf. 2 Sam 1:6; 2 Kgs 5:18; 7:2, 17; Ezek 29:7; figuratively in Prov 3:5). By contrast, when Judah turned aside to wickedness, they might well have lost a battle (cf. 2Ch 28:19). Trusted in (relied on, leaned on) (08172) sha'an primarily means to lean on something (Saul on his sword = 2Sa 1:6) or someone (2Ki 5:16, 7:2, 17), to rest on, to support oneself (Jdg 16:26), figuratively to trust (2Chr 13:18, Job 8:15, other versions render with rely), to rest (Ge 18:4). Rely on (2Chr 16:7 - twice). SHA'AN - 22/20V - lean(3), leaned(2), leaning(2), leans(2), relied(4), rely(4), rest yourselves(1), supported(1), trust(1), trusted(1), trusts(1). Gen. 18:4; Num. 21:15; Jdg. 16:26; 2 Sam. 1:6; 2 Ki. 5:18; 2 Ki. 7:2; 2 Ki. 7:17; 2 Chr. 13:18; 2 Chr. 14:11; 2 Chr. 16:7; 2 Chr. 16:8; Job 8:15; Job 24:23; Prov. 3:5; Isa. 10:20; Isa. 30:12; Isa. 31:1; Isa. 50:10; Ezek. 29:7; Mic. 3:11 Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean (sha'an) on your own understanding. 2 Chronicles 13:19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages. captured from him several cities: Jos 10:19,39 11:12 1Sa 31:7 Ephron 2Ch 15:8 Jos 15:9, Joh 11:54 EVEN HOUSE OF THE CALF CAPTURED Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages - Of course there is divine irony in the capture of Bethel, the house of the golden calf. So much for the power of the idols to give victory to Jeroboam, much less defend their own sanctuary! G Campbell