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2 Chronicles 16

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Asa Relies on Syria Against Israel 1–6

1
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ​
2
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ​
3
There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ​
4
And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali.
5
And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building Ramah, and let his work cease.
6
Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. ​

Hanani the Seer Condemns Asa 7–10

7
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on Jehovah thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. ​
8
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? yet, because thou didst rely on Jehovah, he delivered them into thy hand. ​
9
For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars. ​
10
Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in the prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. ​

Asa's Final Years and Death 11–14

11
And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12
And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to Jehovah, but to the physicians. ​
13
And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
14
And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers’ art: and they made a very great burning for him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 16

Verse 1

built Ramah — Ramah lay in Benjamin (Josh 18:25), and Baasha fortified it 'that he might let none go out or come in', the purpose also given in 1 Kings 15:17. The peace Asa had enjoyed ran 'unto the five and thirtieth year' (15:19), and this verse opens with the year after, the six and thirtieth.

Verse 2

silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD — The payment is drawn from the temple and the palace together, as in 1 Kings 15:18. Later kings of Judah did the same: Ahaz (2 Kings 16:8) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:15) also sent the silver and gold of 'the house of the LORD' to a foreign king.

Verse 3

break thy league with Baasha — 'League' is berit, the ordinary word for covenant, and 'break' is parar, to annul. Berit is also the 'covenant of salt' of 13:5 and the covenant Judah made 'to seek the LORD' in 15:12. Asa now relies on a covenant 'between my father and thy father', as in 1 Kings 15:19.

Verse 6

Geba and Mizpah — Asa takes the stones and timber of Ramah and uses them for two towns of Benjamin (Josh 18:24, 26). 1 Kings 15:22 adds that his proclamation went 'throughout all Judah; none was exempted'. Mizpah is the place where Samuel had gathered all Israel to pray (1 Sam 7:5).

Verse 7

Hanani the seer — He is the father of Jehu, who spoke against Baasha (1 Kings 16:1) and met Jehoshaphat (19:2). 'Relied' is sha'an, to lean upon, the verb of Asa's own prayer, 'we rest on thee' (14:11). Because he leaned on Syria, its army 'escaped' (malat) out of his hand.

Verse 8

the Ethiopians and the Lubims — Hanani's summary of Zerah's army names the Lubims beside the Ethiopians, as Shishak's army did in 12:3, and gives it 'chariots and horsemen', where 14:9 mentions chariots. 'Rely' is again sha'an, and the result is the one stated in 13:16: God 'delivered them into their hand.'

Verse 9

the eyes of the LORD run to and fro — The words recur in Zech 4:10, 'they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth'. 'Perfect' is shalem, whole or undivided, as in David's charge to serve 'with a perfect heart' (1 Chr 28:9). 'Done foolishly' is sakal, Samuel's word to Saul (1 Sam 13:13).

Verse 10

put him in a prison house — The Hebrew is the 'house of the stocks' (mahpeketh), a word found elsewhere only in Jeremiah, where Pashur 'put him in the stocks' (Jer 20:2). Asa was 'in a rage' (za'aph) with the seer, and he also 'oppressed' (ratsats, crushed) some of the people at the same time.

Verse 12

he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians — Darash, the verb that runs through Asa's reign ('we have sought the LORD', 14:7), now has the physicians for its object. The verse's complaint is that the LORD was not sought in the disease. It began in the thirty and ninth year, and he died in the one and fortieth (v.13).

Verse 14

a very great burning — Serephah, a burning made at the burial of a king. Jer 34:5 speaks of 'the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings', and 21:19 records that for Jehoram 'his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers'. Asa lay in a sepulchre he had made for himself in the city of David.