Whether with many - The same sentiment as that uttered by Jonathan, 1 Samuel 14:6 , when he attacked the garrison of the Philistines. O Lord our God - we rest on thee - "Help us, O Lord our God; because we depend on thy Word, and in the name of thy Word we come against this great host." - Targum. read more
There was - much spoil in them - These cities being on the rear of this vast army, they had laid up much forage in them; and to get this the Jews overthrew the whole. read more
Quiet in the land. I. A GREAT BLESSING . 1 . Its character. No war ( 2 Chronicles 14:6 ). Few, reflecting on the untold calamities of war, the expenditure of blood and treasure, the sorrow and desolation sent into many homes, the interruption of the arts of peace, the bad passions kindled by it in the breasts even of the victors, will doubt that peace is one of the foremost blessings a nation can enjoy. This was the condition of Judah during the first ten years of Asa's... read more
The quiet often years. The former half of this chapter may be said to turn upon the welcome subject of the "quiet" (spoken of twice), the "no war" (spoken of once), and the "rest" (spoken of three times), which were now for ten years the portion of Judah. The tender youth and the pious promise of King Asa combined, no doubt, in the providence of God, with external circumstances, to secure that interval of quiet and repose from war from which many blessings were able to flow. We may... read more
The "ten years' quiet" ( 2 Chronicles 14:1 ) begins to see its end. Targets ( 2 Chronicles 9:15 ); spears ( 2 Chronicles 11:12 ); for both, see 1 Chronicles 12:24 . Out of Benjamin … shields and … bows . The minuter coincidences of the history are very observable and very interesting; for see 1 Chronicles 8:40 ; 1 Chronicles 12:2 ; and much earlier, Genesis 49:27 ; 20:16 , 20:17 . read more
The secret and the spirit of true defence. We may learn from this narrative of unprovoked attack and triumphant defence— I. THAT OUR UPMOST PREPARATION WILL NOT SECURE US FROM ATTACK . Asa endeavoured to make his little kingdom impregnable to assault by Nevertheless, the Ethiopians came up against him with an army far stronger than his. The military and naval preparations of one country usually incite to greater preparations in another, and instead of war becoming... read more
Zerah the Ethiopian ; Hebrew, זֶרַח הַכּוּשִׁי , the "Ethiopian," Greek and Septuagint rendering for "Cushite." In its vaguest dimensions Ethiopia, or Cush, designated Africa south of Egypt, but more concisely it meant the lands we now call Nubia, Sennaar, Kordefan, and part of Abyssinia. And these, roughly speaking, were bounded north, south, east, and west respectively by Egypt and Syene, Abyssinia, Red Sea, and Libyan Desert. When, however, Ethiopia proper is spoken of, the name... read more
The remaining seven verses of this chapter are occupied with the account of the invasion of Zerah the Ethiopian, and the successful defence and reprisals of Asa. read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Chronicles 14:9
Zerah the Ethiopian - Probably of that Ethiopia which lay on the south of Egypt, near to Libya, and therefore the Libyans are joined with them, 2 Chronicles 16:8 . A thousand thousand - If this people had come from any great distance, they could not have had forage for such an immense army. read more