And next to him was Jehohanan the captain ,.... Being of the same rank as to office, but having a lesser number of men under him; and it may respect not any kind of subordination, only nearness of place, as the Targum,"he that encamped next to him" and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand ; which number was but 20,000 less than the former. read more
And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri ,.... He encamped next to him, as the Targum: who willingly offered himself unto the Lord ; to fight the Lord's battles, and without any stipend, as some think; or, as Kimchi, he offered gold and silver to the treasures of the house of the Lord: and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour ; the number was 80,000 less than the former; the whole of Judah amounted to 780,000 men. read more
And of Benjamin, Eliada, a mighty man of valour ,.... Was the chief commander: and with armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand ; which were the armour of the tribe of Benjamin they were best skilled in, 2 Chronicles 14:8 . read more
And next to him, was Jehozabad ,.... According to the Targum he encamped next him: and with him one hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war ; being able bodied men, well disciplined, valiant, and well armed; these numbers of Judah and Benjamin put together amount to 1,160,000 men, whereas Asa only brought into the field 580,000; but it should be considered there had been a long time of peace, many had come off from the ten tribes to Judah, and the promise of multiplying the... read more
The greatness of Jehoshaphat. I. JEHOSHAPHAT 'S NEIGHBOURS . 1 . Afraid of his greatness. As on the cities round Jacob and his sons when they fled from Shecham ( Genesis 35:5 ), the terror of Jehovah was on Jehoshaphat's neighbours. Regarding Jehoshaphat as under the protection of Heaven, they hesitated to try conclusions with him on the field of war. 2 . Solicitous of his favor. This some sought by means of gifts. The Philistines brought presents and silver of tribute,... read more
The captain . So again read, the prince . read more
Amaziah, the son of Zichri . This man is not titled at all. The description of him as one who had willingly offered himself unto the Lord , not elucidated by the context or any effective parallel, will mark something honorable in his history. Possibly he comes from an unexpected quarter, and is a man of approved skill. Nothing further is known of these three men. Meantime it has been suggested (Professor Dr. J. Murphy, of Belfast, ' Handbook to Chronicles ') that the first of the three was... read more
Willing service. When it is said of Amasiah that he "willingly offered himself unto the Lord," we have a thought conveyed to us respecting the character of a Hebrew general's life, and we have a form of words strikingly suggestive of the true nature of all sacred service. We look at both. I. THE CHARACTER OF AMASIAH 'S SERVICE . By the phrase here employed it was probably meant that he entered upon his work as a captain of Jehoshaphat's army in a spirit of religious... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 17:10-19
We have here a further account of Jehoshaphat's great prosperity and the flourishing state of his kingdom. I. He had good interest in the neighbouring princes and nations. Though he was not perhaps so great a soldier as David (which might have made him their terror), nor so great a scholar as Solomon (which might have made him their oracle), yet the fear of the Lord fell so upon them (that is, God so influenced and governed their spirits) that they had all a reverence for him, 2 Chron. 17:10.... read more