2 Chronicles 14:9

ASA AND JUDAH OVERCOME ZERAH'S MIGHTY FORCE

"And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto his God, and said, Jehovah, there is none beside thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength; help us, O Jehovah our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude, O Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of Jehovah came upon them: and they despoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem."

"They set the battle in array ... at Mareshah" (2 Chronicles 14:9-10). "This place was in the valley that marks the entrance into the hills, half way between Gaza and Jerusalem. This was one of the cities that Rehoboam had fortified in anticipation of just such an attack."[10]

Some scholars have tried to make it out that this was an invasion of Arabians, but Payne is doubtless correct. He identified Zerah as, "Osorkon I, the second Pharaoh of the Twenty-second Dynasty in Egypt, who attempted to duplicate the invasion and pillage of his predecessor Sheshonk (Shishak)."[11] The truth of this identification is corroborated by the historical truth that, "It was Egypt (not Arabia) that never recovered from this blow for more than three centuries; not until 609 B.C., did Egypt again venture into Palestine with hostile intentions."[12]

Also when Judah defeated the enemy, they fled to Gerar, "A town to the south of Gaza,"[13] which was in the direction of Egypt, not Arabia.

"They smote also the tents of the cattle" (2 Chronicles 14:15). "These were the tents associated with cattle, wherein the owners of the cattle lived."[14] The RSV makes it more understandable, "They smote the tents of those who had cattle."