chosen men. 18Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD, the God of their fathers. 19And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and [1]Ephron with the towns thereof. 20Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD smote him, and he died. 21But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. 22And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
hundred and twenty thousand in one day" (xxviii. 6), and from the absence of the words "in one day," it has been argued that the present passage refers to the losses of the whole campaign. Even so the figure, 500,000, is an immense exaggeration.
18. because they relied] Cp. note on xii. 2.
19. Beth-el] Beth-el was apparently subsequently recovered by the Northern Kingdom; cp. 2 Kin. x. 29. But, as it is very doubtful whether this section has any historical basis (see the head-note, xiii. 3), Beth-el may never have come under the rule of Abijah as is here stated. Nothing is said, be it noted, of the capture of the golden calf.
Jeshanah] Nothing is certainly known of this place, which is mentioned here only. It has been identified with Ain Sīnia, a little to the north of Beth-el.
Ephron] so the Kethīb, whereas the A.V. following the Ḳerī has Ephrain. Ephrain is a later form of the name Ephron, as Shamrain (Ezra iv. 10, 17) is of Shomron (Samaria). The place has been identified with eṭ-Ṭaiyebeh, a place S.E. of Ain Sīnia and N.E. of Beitin (Beth-el). It was probably the city called Ephraim, to which our Lord retired after the raising of Lazarus (Joh. xi. 54).
20. the LORD smote him, and he died] The same phrase is used of the death of Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 38); it implies suddenness or some other unusual circumstance (cp. Acts xii. 23, the death of Herod Agrippa). 1 Kin. xiv. 20 says simply Jeroboam . . . slept with his fathers.
21, 22. The Epilogue of Abijah's Reign.
21. fourteen wives] The many wives are mentioned here as a symbol of the wealth and state of Abijah.
22. his ways] The Chronicler takes a much more favourable view of Abijah than Kings, where it is said of him that "he walked in all the
- ↑ Another reading is, Ephrain.
