Table of Contents
2 Chronicles 15
2 Chronicles 15
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the Lord the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.
16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 3
<html><b>Now there were many days for Israel without a true God</b> until you came. <b>and without an instructing priest</b> Since no one asks them words of Torah, the priests will not instruct you.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>And they returned to the Lord, the God of Israel, when they were in distress</b> He means to say that now, when they were beset with troubles, they beseeched the Lord, the God of Israel, and they sought Him; therefore, He was found by them, and He saved you (sic) wherever you went.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>And in those times</b> in those numerous days for Israel, [when they were] without a true God <b>there was no peace for anyone going or coming, etc.</b> Concerning Rehoboam it is written (above 12: 2): “Shishak, the king of Egypt, marched against Jerusalem, for they had betrayed the Lord.” Abijah also experienced many turmoils.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>And nation was crushed by nation</b> - Heb. וְכֻתְּתוּ. Another instance of this is (Num. 14:45): “and they struck them and crushed them (וַיַּכְּתוּם).”</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>But you be strong</b> to seek God.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>And they sacrificed to the Lord on that day of the plunder they brought</b> The meaning is: And the plunder that they brought, they sacrificed seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep which they had captured, and from that they brought, as above: (14:14): “And they also smote the tents of the livestock, and they captured many sheep. etc.” Another possible explanation is: “And they sacrificed to the Lord on that day” - when they were victorious and came in peace to Jerusalem. “from the plunder they brought” - from the plunder that they had brought, i.e., seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>And also Maacah, King Asa’s mother he deposed from [being] the queen</b> because she had made a frightful image for an asherah to gratify her lust. [מִפְלֶצֶת means] מַפְלֵא לֵצוּתָא. It carried lasciviousness to an extreme. She made herself a phallus for the image, and would copulate with it.</html>
Verse 17
<html><b>The high places, however, were not removed</b> private high places, upon which they had become accustomed to sacrificing to Heaven from the time that Shiloh was destroyed until the Temple was built. [Those who worshipped there] were punishable by כָּרֵת, premature death.</html>
Verse 19
<html><b>And there was no war, etc.</b> We learned in Seder Olam (ch. 16): “In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s kingdom, Baasha, the king of Israel, advanced.” Is it possible to say so? Had not Baasha already died in the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, as it is written (I Kings 16:8): “In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha reigned”? What then is the meaning of “In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s kingdom”? This corresponds to the thirty-six years from the time that Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter, for so it is written (I Kings 2:39-46): “and two of Shimei’s slaves ran away… And the king commanded Benaiah etc. and he smote (Sic) and fell upon him,” and immediately following this Scripture writes about Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter, i.e., immediately after those three years, and in the fourth year he married her, and he reigned forty years. We find that she was with him thirty-six years, and corresponding to them were the thirty-six years that the decree was issued upon the kings of Aram to be adversaries to Israel and finally to fall into the hand[s] of David’s sons. Therefore, it is stated: “In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s kingdom.” In the sixteenth year of his reign, after Zerah the Cushite fell into his hand[s], that is the thirty-sixth year from Solomon’s death, and in the sixteenth [year] of Asa, the king of Israel and the king of Aram made a treaty to advance and provoke Asa. Asa sinned, as it is stated (16:2f.): “And Asa brought out silver and gold… saying, ‘Make (sic) a treaty between me and you…’ And Ben Hadad heeded.” And the kings of Aram did not cease being adversaries to Israel until Ahaz died, and in the third year of Ahaz, the king of Israel and the king of Aram made a treaty to advance and provoke Ahaz, and Ahaz had no merit that they should fall into his hand[s]; so they both fell into the hand [s] of Tiglath-Pileser, the king of Assyria.</html>