strengthened himself against Israel. 2And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. 3And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto the Baalim; 4but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. 5Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. 6And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim
2. the cities of Ephraim] Cp. xv. 8.
3. in the first ways of his father David] Omit David (so LXX.), the person referred to being Asa (1 Kin. xxii. 43). Asa's first ways (ch. xiv., xv.) were good, his latter ways (ch. xvi.), according to the Chronicler, were evil.
unto the Baalim] Baal is not a proper name, but a title meaning "Lord," which was given to false gods generally. Israel might not call Jehovah, "My Baal" (Baali), Hos. ii. 16, 17. See the note on 1 Chr. viii. 33.
4. after the doings of Israel] Cp. xiii. 8, 9.
5. brought . . . presents] Probably congratulatory gifts at his accession; cp. 1 Sam. x. 27.
riches and honour] Cp. xviii. 1.
6. furthermore he took away] But in xx. 33 = 1 Kin. xxii. 43 it is said that the high places were not taken away. It is remarkable that the contradiction finds an exact parallel in what is said of Asa (see xiv. 3 and xv. 17 = 1 Kin. xv. 14). How can the presence of these curious contradictions be explained? It is held by some that the Chronicler in both cases has incorporated contradictory traditions, and that "such discrepancies did not trouble the Hebrew historian." To the present writer it seems more probable to suppose that only xiv. 3 and xvii. 6 (the statements that the high places were removed), are from the Chronicler himself; the passages which assert the contrary, viz. xv. 17 (= 1 Kin. xv. 14) and xx. 33 (= 1 Kin. xxii. 43) being later additions. They were added by someone who, troubled by the divergence between Kings and Chron., judged it desirable to supplement or correct the Chronicler's words by adding a more or less exact transcription of the summaries of the reigns of Asa and Jehoshaphat as recorded in Kings. If xv. 17 and xx. 33 are later additions, it is evident that the Chronicler asserts the same reform to have been made in two successive reigns. But this is not a serious difficulty. He may easily have supposed that the removal of the high places (i.e. the
