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1Ki_15:1-24 (2 Chronicles 13, 14)
9And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. 12And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook [in the valley of] Kidron. 14But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the Lord [Jehovah] all his days. 15And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the Lord [Jehovah], silver, and gold, and vessels. 16And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And 17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord [Jehovah], and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son 19of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with 20Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 22Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. 23The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
1Ki_15:6-8. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, &c. 1Ki_15:6 says the same that was previously said in 1Ki_14:30, only with this difference, that there the concluding words ëָּìÎäַéָּîִéí are changed to ëָּìÎéְîֵé çַéָּéå here, from which it follows, at least, that this verse is not, as Thenius thinks, a mere repetition arising from the carelessness of a copyist. Instead of “Rehoboam,” the Syrian, Arabic, and several manuscripts have “Abijam;” but this would make the conclusion of 1Ki_15:7 a mere repetition of our verse, which is even less tenable than the repetition from 1Ki_14:30. As the words stand they can scarcely be understood in connection with 1Ki_15:7 otherwise than as Schulz, Maurer, and Keil take them; they give their meaning to be this: that the hostile feeling which existed between Rehoboam and Jeroboam during the entire lifetime of the former, also lasted during the lifetime of his son Abijam. This interpretation is certainly rather forced, and it is very possible that the text is no longer the original one; happily, however, the substance of the narrative is in no wise affected by it, but it remains the same, howsoever those words may be read or explained.
1Ki_15:9-11. In the twentieth year of Jeroboam, &c. 1Ki_15:9 sq. If Abijam became king in the eighteenth and Asa in the twentieth year of Jeroboam (1Ki_15:1; 1Ki_15:9), Abijam could not have reigned three full years (1Ki_15:2). The incomplete years are here, as elsewhere (see on 1Ki_15:25), reckoned as if complete, in statements of the length of the reigns. Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom, is named in 1Ki_15:2 as the mother of Abijam, and as the mother of Asa in 1Ki_15:10, but she could not, of course, have been the mother of both father and son at the same time. It has therefore been supposed “that Maachah, Abijam’s mother, was in the position of queen-mother or äַâְּáéøָä , i. e., sultana Walida, under Asa, until Asa deposed her on account of her idolatrous worship (1Ki_15:13), and that she had been such because, perhaps, Asa’s mother had died early” (Keil and Ewald after the Rabbins). àֵí (1Ki_15:10) would then stand for grandmother, which is very questionable for the reason that, often as the name of the mother of a king is given, his grandmother is never meant thereby; besides, the mother alone, and never the grandmother of a king, had the dignity and position of the Gebirah, the name given to Asa’s mother, 1Ki_15:13 and 2Ch_15:16. Other commentators, who are not insensible to these considerations, think that Maachah, the mother of Abijam, was indeed, as is said in 1Ki_15:2, and 2Ch_11:20-21, a daughter of Abishalom, but that Maachah, the mother of Asa, was the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. They think that the Chronicler (2 1Ki_13:2) committed an oversight when he mentioned the latter (whom he names Michaiah) as the mother of Abijam instead of Asa, whilst, inversely, our author names the daughter of Abishalom (1Ki_15:10) instead of the daughter of Uriel, as the mother of Asa (Thenius, Bertheau). This much is certain, that the mother of Asa, as well as the mother of Abijam, was called Maachah.
1Ki_15:12-15. All the idols. 1Ki_15:12. The designation âִּìּåּìִéí for idols, includes, confessedly, the idea of something contemptible, as appears from the many passages in Ezekiel where it occurs. The Rabbins, whom several commentators follow, have derived the word from âָּìָì or âֵּìֶì , i. e., mud drained off, and translated it Dei stercorei, mudgods, which Thenius thinks the most correct interpretation. But in the Pentateuch, where the word first occurs, âָּìָì , mud, is not used, but âì , âìéí , stone-heaps, masses of stone (Gen_31:46; Gen_31:48; Gen_31:51-52), hence Hävernick (Comm. über Ezechiel, s. 75) understands it to mean stone monuments, with the additional notion of what was dead and lifeless (cf. Ezr_5:8; Ezr_6:4); which translation seems better than: lumps (Keil). Cf. also Deu_29:16; Lev_26:30. For âְּáִéøָä see on 1Ki_11:19. îִôְìֶöֶú means horrendum, and no doubt refers to a phallus-image, which was something terrible and detestable to the Hebrews. The Vulgate gives in sacris Priapi for it. The statue of the male and generative power in nature was placed next that of the female power (Astarte). That the former was of wood, like the latter, appears from the “burning in the valley of Kidron;” the ashes were thrown into the brook, which carried them quite away. The áָּîåֹú , 1Ki_15:14, mean here such as were dedicated to Jehovah, as in 1Ki_3:2 therefore, and not as in 1Ki_11:7, and 2Ch_14:2. These, to which the people were accustomed from ancient times, Asa did not destroy, perhaps because doing so might have given offence to many even of the true servants of Jehovah. This was the only unlawful thing he permitted; in everything else he adhered perfectly, as long as he lived, to the worship of Jehovah as enjoined in the law. He even began to fill again the treasure chambers of the Temple, which had been plundered by Shishak; to fill them partly with what his father Abijam had taken (cf. 2Ch_13:19), partly with the plunder he himself had seized (2Ch_14:12; 2Ch_15:18).
1Ki_15:16. And there was war between Asa.… all their days. 1Ki_15:16. The account of Chronicles does not agree with this, if the former be only understood in the sense as given above, 1Ki_14:30. For, according to 2Ch_14:1 (1Ki_13:23) the land had rest ten years under Asa; according to 2Ch_15:19, “there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa,” and in 1Ki_16:1 it says that Baasha did not make war on Judah till the six and thirtieth year. But these numbers cannot possibly be correct, for according to our chapter 1Ki_15:33, Baasha became king of Israel in the third year of Asa, and only reigned four-and-twenty years, therefore he could not have made war against Asa in the six-and-thirtieth year of the latter. The number ten is also too great, and was used probably because the numeral sign å was shortened to é . Judah had rest before Baasha’s accession to the throne of Israel, and also two years afterwards, but then, when he was properly prepared for war, Baasha undertook the invasion; this occurred, therefore, in the fifth or sixth year of Asa’s reign. The numeral sign ì = 30 of the Chronicles may very well have been taken out of the ìְîַìְëåּú . Cf. Thenius and Bertheau on the same passages. The supposition of older commentators and of Keil, that the five-and-thirty, that is, the six-and-thirty years dated from the time of the separation of the two kingdoms, is not admissible, because the text in 2Ch_16:1 says quite positively: “in the six-and-thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.”
1Ki_15:17. Ramah (1Ki_15:17) was not in the mountains of Ephraim (1Sa_10:2) but in the tribe of Benjamin (Jos_18:25; Jdg_19:3), somewhat more than two hours’ distance from Jerusalem: it is the modern Er-Ram. The fortification of Ramah presupposes that Baasha had recovered the towns that belonged to the kingdom of Israel (2Ch_13:19) which had been taken by Abijam. The conjectural reading äֱéåֹú instead of úֵּú (Thenius) is unnecessary; it is literally: “to the end that one should not give (or send) any one coming in or going out, to Asa” (Bertheau) i. e., ut non posset quispiam egredi vel ingredi de parte Asœ (Vulg.). As the principal road from Jerusalem to the north passed through Ramah, Baasha wished to cut off all traffic, and in fact to blockade Jerusalem completely. The äַðּåֹúָøִéí , 1Ki_15:18, does not mean here, in the strict sense of the word, the remainder, for Shishak had taken all (1Ki_14:26); Asa, after his victories and those of his father, filled the treasure chambers again with the plunder he took (1Ki_15:5), and this, when compared with the former treasure, was the remainder. The Sept., therefore, gives ôὸ åὑñåèὲí , i. e., what he then found.
1Ki_15:18-22. Benhadad (1Ki_15:18) means “son of the sun,” for the sun received divine honors from the Syrians, under the name of Adad (Macrob. Saturn. i. 23). Three kings of Damascene-Syria bore this name; the one named here was the first of them, and he who is mentioned in 1Ki_20:1 sq.34 was his son. The name could scarcely have been a general royal title (Keil), for the name Tabrimmon is certainly the name of a person, but it is, in composition, like “good is Rimmon” (2Ki_5:18). Thenius identifies Hezion with the Rezon mentioned in 1Ki_11:23, who was called so originally (?). The phrase “king of Syria” is certainly in opposition with Benhadad. There is a league, &c. (1Ki_15:19), i. e., as between our fathers there was a league, let it continue between us also. Syria must have increased rapidly in power since the days of Solomon; for both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, sought its friendship, although it was the natural foe of both. There is no doubt that Benhadad was induced to break his league with Baasha by the larger sum that Asa offered him. The Syrian army, which came from the north, overran the whole land of Naphtali to the lake of Genesareth; the towns which it laid waste lay in a line from north to south. Ijon was the most northern, and is nowhere else named, except in the parallel passage 2Ch_16:4; according to Robinson (Researches, &c. II. p. 438), it is situated in the well-watered district of Merj Ayun. Dan could not have been far south of it. Abel-beth-maachah (2Ch_16:4; Abel-maim) is the same town as that mentioned in 2Sa_20:14; 2Sa_20:18, and was situated at the mouth of the Merj Ayun; it is the modern Abil el Kamh (see Thenius on the place). Cinneroth, “evidently a district, not a town; it was the basin which stretches from the lake of Merom to the head of the lake of Genesareth” (the same). Although then Benhadad only disturbed the northern parts of the kingdom, Baasha saw himself induced to obey the demand to leave Judah (probably made to him) in order to prevent further losses. He left off building the fortifications of Ramah which he had begun, and returned to his residence Tirzah (1Ki_14:17) without disturbing Asa any more. The latter now had the building materials at Ramah removed, and he fortified Geba of Benjamin and Mizpeh with them; the former was one-half mile [two and a quarter Eng. miles] from Ramah, and the latter about three miles [thirteen and a half Eng.]. These two fortresses overlooked each side of the road that led northwards from Jerusalem.
1Ki_15:23-24. His might and … the cities. âְּáåּøָä , not so much potestas as deeds of might, i. e., brave deeds, as appears from chap, 16, 27; 1Ki_22:46. Besides Geba and Mizpah, Asa erected other fortresses in Judah (2Ch_14:5-6), which were probably designed to protect the southern part of his kingdom. He was on the whole prosperous, “only in his old age” he suffered much, and did not show a right trust in God (2Ch_16:12). It is uncertain if his disease were gout (Thenius). Chron. says that he had caused his tomb to be hewn out in the city of David; probably the place of sepulture hitherto used was not large enough.
2. The long reign of king Asa, which lasted forty-one years, is treated with great brevity by our author; but the Chronicler devotes three whole chapters to it (2 Chronicles 14, 15, 16). The former, however, lays especial emphasis on what is most important to the history of the theocracy, and what the Chronicler also esteems the principal thing, namely, that Asa energetically and sternly put down the idol-worship, which had been suffered to remain side by side with that of Jehovah since Solomon’s time, together with all the abominations the former included, and that he even deprived his idolatrous mother of her dignity as the Gebirah. How it happened that he entered with such decision on an entirely different course, immediately after his accession, is not told in either of the narratives; we can only form suppositions on the subject. After the separation of the ten tribes from Judah, the latter must have plainly perceived the injurious results of the religious liberty, which had been granted from political motives (see above, Histor. and Eth. on chap. 11). This already small kingdom lacked unity, and therefore a firm bond. The more that danger threatened it from Israel under Jeroboam, through the continual wars that went on, the more people must have become convinced of the necessity of making an end of the schism which had arisen from the various forms of idolatry, of restoring the lost unity, and of thus giving full sway to the theocratic fundamental law through which Judah had become great and strong, and so making the kingdom firm, both in its internal and external relations. Besides this, the number of those who, from true affection to the divine law, emigrated from all the other tribes to Judah, increased (2Ch_15:9), and all these abhorred the idol-worship which still existed in juxtaposition with that of Jehovah. Besides, some powerful and influential prophets were not wanting, who exhorted the king and the people to be faithful to Jehovah, and not to forsake the God of Israel, who had always helped His people (2Ch_15:1 sq.; 1Ki_16:7 sq.). These circumstances may have convinced Asa that nothing could secure stability and permanence for his kingdom but the return to the fundamental law and firm adherence to the same; and the great victory which the Lord had given him over Zerah the Ethiopian must have tended not a little to strengthen him in that conviction (2Ch_14:7 sq.). From Asa’s subsequent conduct, it seems very uncertain whether his strict proceedings against the idol-worship were really the result of genuine conversion to Jehovah and of true piety, as might appear from his prayer (2Ch_14:10); political motives, if not principally, no doubt partially, influenced him. The Chron., which has been accused of giving a too partial and favorable view of Asa’s character, lays especial stress on some facts which do not seem to show a true conversion and godly mind, such as David had. For instance, Asa took away the Temple-treasures that were consecrated to Jehovah, and had been lately gathered anew (this our author also mentions), and sent them to the king of Syria (who was growing continually more dangerous to both kingdoms) in order to induce him to break his league with Baasha. Also that when the prophet Hanani reproved him for doing so he threw the latter into prison, which no king of Judah had yet ventured to do to a prophet; and he even punished others who took the prophet’s part; finally, that he showed no resignation to the will of the Lord or trust in Him during his last sickness (2Ch_16:10; 2Ch_16:12). How completely different was David’s conduct after the report of the prophet Nathan, and a short time before his end (2Sa_12:13; 2Sa_23:1 sq.)! When, notwithstanding all this, both narratives say that Asa’s heart was ùָׁìֵí òִíÎéְäåָֹä , it follows that this often repeated expression only means: he never wavered between God’s service and that of idols or images, but was unreservedly devoted to the lawful worship of Jehovah, which was an exclusive one; and by being so he rendered his people a great service.
1Ki_15:4. The blessing of pious, God-fearing fore-fathers often falls to the advantage of even degenerate children, through the mercy of God.
1Ki_15:5. No human example, however glorious it may be, is perfect, for even the greatest and best are wanting in the sight of God, and miserable sinners. Therefore we are referred to the example of Him who alone is sinless, and out of whose mouth proceeds no guile. He alone can say: He who follows me, walketh not in darkness, but has the light of life (1Pe_2:21; Joh_8:12). The children of this world often quote and excuse their sins by citing the example of good and holy men who have fallen, but never take pattern after their repentance and humiliation, and refuse to know anything of the wrung and smitten heart of a David (Psa_51:19), or of the tears of a Peter (Mat_26:75).
1Ki_15:6-8. The enmity, strife, and war between the sister-kingdoms was the result of their broken covenant with the Lord God. Wheresoever, be it amid a nation, a community, or a family, the fear of the living God, and the bond of union with Him is destroyed, there will ever be strife and discord; peace is only to be found where the God of peace reigns in the heart (Col_3:15). To go out of the world at enmity is not a blessed death.
1Ki_15:9-24. The reign of Asa the king, (a) in its religious aspect (1Ki_15:9-15); (b) in its political aspect (1Ki_15:16-24).
1Ki_15:11. It is to be regarded as a merciful providence of God, when a son who has grown up with evil surroundings, and the bad example of a father and mother, yet holds steadily to His word and commandments, and resists firmly all ungodly influences.
1Ki_15:12-13. Against sins of licentiousness no authority can be powerful enough, for where this evil has crept in, there comes a moral corruption which works destructively upon all relations of life. Authority being ordained of God, as the Apostle says, its duty and task is to oppose with severity all godless conduct, without fear or favor of man, and to vindicate the eternal divine laws. Therefore it is that we have the church prayer for those in authority.
1Ki_15:13. Calw. B.: Thus it is: A man must first cleanse his own house if he would be an example to others. Therefore says the Apostle, “if a man know not how to rule his own house he cannot take care of the church of God” (1Ti_3:5). Where the honor of God or the salvation of the soul comes in question, there even a mother must not prevail. I am come, says our Lord (Mat_10:35 sq.), to set at variance, &c.
1Ki_15:14. To remove deep-rooted and long-standing evils suddenly and completely is impossible, even for a well-intentioned and powerful ruler; for in that case he would bring about resistance to the good rather than further it.
1Ki_15:15. Hence noble and pious princes should bethink themselves of using their gold and silver not only for worldly objects, but to enrich churches and schools, necessary to the accomplishment of godly designs.
1Ki_15:16 sq. The enemies who rise up against us, and bring us into straits, must often serve, in the hand of God, to try and prove whether our faith is rooted in the deepest soil of the heart, and our zeal in religious things no fleshly one, but a high and holy one.
1Ki_15:17-18. What is bestowed in faith must be regarded as sacred, and under no pretext must it be diverted to worldly purposes. Nothing but a rude power, knowing neither fear nor awe of God, could commit such a robbery, and no blessing can ever rest upon it. He who gives with one hand and takes back with the other, has his just recompense therein.
1Ki_15:19. This is the curse resting upon the strife of brethren—each forms a league with the common enemy rather than resolve upon peace with each other. The least reliable friend and companion in need is he who can be bought with gold, and is always at the disposal of the highest bidder. He who persuades another to break faith must be prepared to find that he will not maintain the word given to him. In every strait, seek first the support and aid of thy God, without whom no man can help thee. Asa was indeed right believing, but he was not right believing.
1Ki_15:20 sq. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein, and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him (Pro_26:27). Baasha wished to become possessed of an additional city, and thus lost a series of his own cities; with the same stones with which he purposed to strengthen Ramah, Asa built two strong cities.
1Ki_15:24. Sickness in old age, previous to death, is a divine chastisement and trial, to wean men from the world and ripen them for eternity. How many men would die unconverted if God did not visit them before death with sickness! Well is it for all who through such visitations turn unto the Lord, as did Asa in 2Ch_16:12.
Footnotes:
1Ki_15:1.—[Many MSS. and Ed. read throughout this narrative àֲáִéָּä instead of àֲáִéָּí as in 2Ch_11:22; 2Ch_13:1, &c. (Cf. 2Ch_13:20 àֲáִéּäåּ ) and so the Sept. Áâéïý , and the Syr.
1Ki_15:2.—[The Alex. Sept. makes his reign sixteen years.
1Ki_15:4.—[In the author’s translation the name Rehoboam is inserted in brackets as explanitory of the pronoun him. The natural reference to Abijam may, however, as well be preserved.
1Ki_15:5.—[The Vat. Sept. omits the mention of this exception, and also omits the following verse.
1Ki_15:6.—[For Rehoboam eight MSS., followed by the Syr. and Arab., substitute Abijah. The Alex. Sept. puts the last pronoun of 1Ki_15:6 in the plural—a variation in the opposite direction.
1Ki_15:8.—[The Vat. Sept. adds, “in the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam,” and in 1Ki_15:9 changes the number to correspond—a manifest error.
1Ki_15:10.—[The Vat. Sept. escapes the difficulty connected with the queen-mother’s name, here and in 1Ki_15:13, by substituting Ana for Maachah. The Arab. omits the name here, but gives Maachah in 1Ki_15:13.
1Ki_15:13.—[ îִôְìֶöֶú ìַàֲùֵׁøָä . The meaning of these words has been much discussed and is variously given in the VV.—The most probable sense seems to be “an idol of Asherah.” See Exeg. Com.
1Ki_15:15.—For å÷ãùå must be read with 2Ch_15:18 åְ÷ָãָùָׁéå . [The k’ri is ÷ãùé , which Kiel says “is a bad emendation for the above correct ÷ãùå , which is to be read ÷ָãְùׁåֹ , or more correctly perhaps ÷ָãְùָׁå .]
1Ki_15:18.—[The Sept. in translating by ôὀ åὑñåèÝí give the sense as expressed in the Exeg. Com. All the other VV., like the A.V. translate literally.
1Ki_15:22.—[The adverbial use of àֵéï ðָ÷ִé = nemine immuni i. e., excepto is peculiar to this passage. Keil refers for its source to such passages as Deu_24:5; Num_32:22. The Sept., not understanding the phrase, has rendered it as a proper name, åἰò ’ Åíáêßì (Alex. ’ Áííáêåßì .)
1Ki_15:22.—[The Sept. has undertaken to translate the names Geba and Mizpah as common nouns, ðᾶí âïõíὸí Âåíéáìὶí êáὶ ôὴí óêïðéÜí .—F. G.]