Also upon Judah came the hand of God, to give them one heart, to do... The phrase בְּ הָיְתָה יהוה יַד has usually a punitive signification (cf. Exo 9:3; Deu 2:15, etc.), but here it is the helping hand of God. God wrought powerfully upon Judah to make them of one mind. יהוה בִּדְבַר as in 2Ch 29:15.