Глава 13

1–22. War of Abijah the king of Judah with Jeroboam I of Israel. 2 Chronicles 13:1. In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign, Abijah reigned over Judah. 2 Chronicles 13:2. He reigned in Jerusalem for three years; His mother's name was Michaiah, daughter of Uriel, from Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Wed. ( 1 Kings 15:1–2 ) (“The Interpretive Bible,” vol. II, pp. 437–438) and ( 2 Chron. 11:20 ) (cf. note to the last place, i.e. “The Interpretive Bible,” vol. III, p. 117). 2 Chronicles 13:3. And Abijah led out to war an army consisting of brave men, four hundred thousand chosen men; and Jeroboam went out against him to war with eight hundred thousand men, also chosen and brave. “Whereas in the book of Kings about Abijah only a general remark is made that he imitated the sins of his father (1 Kings 15:3), the books of Chronicles, in replacement of this general characteristic, convey documentary news about the war between Abijah and Jeroboam, about his conquest of some Israeli cities, and, according to custom, they add evidence regarding the royal pedigree” (Prof. Olesnitsy, “State Chronicle of the Kings Jewish", Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy, 1879, No. 8, p. 424). The historical authenticity of the message of 2 Chronicles about the impressive war between the king of Judah and Israel is beyond doubt, especially since (1 Kings 15:6) briefly mentions this war. Some details of the story of 2 Chronicles about the war arouse bewilderment. Thus, the number of both hostile troops - 400 thousand of Judah and 800 thousand of Israel (verse 3, cf. (2 Chronicles 25: 5-6)) and especially the number of those killed in Israel (v. 17) - 500 thousand (half a million!) seem to be greatly exaggerated and could have arisen by mistake of the scribes - they could, for example, get here from (2 Samuel 24:9) (census under David) or from (2 Chronicles 25:5-6) (war of Amaziah of Judah and Joash of Israel). At least Kennicott's Hebrew Code 180 reads fourteen thousand instead of "four hundred thousand"; Accordingly, other numbers shown in the text could have been smaller. 2 Chronicles 13:4. And Abijah stood on the top of Mount Zemaraim, one of the mountains of Ephraim, and said: Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! 2 Chronicles 13:5. Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom to David over Israel forever, to him and his sons, according to the covenant of salt [everlasting]? 2 Chronicles 13:6. But Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rebelled and rebelled against his master. 2 Chronicles 13:7. And an empty people, a corrupt people, gathered around him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon; Rehoboam was young and weak in heart and could not resist them. 2 Chronicles 13:8. And now you think to stand against the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude, and you have the golden calves, which Jeroboam made you gods. 2 Chronicles 13:9. Did you not drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and set up among yourselves priests like the nations of other lands? Whoever comes for his consecration with a bull and seven rams becomes among you a priest of false gods. 2 Chronicles 13:10. And with us is the Lord our God; We did not forsake Him, and the priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites serve the Lord in their work. 2 Chronicles 13:11. And they burn burnt offerings to the Lord every morning and every evening, and incense, and lay the loaves of bread in rows on a clean table, and light the golden lamp and its lamps to burn every evening, because we keep the ordinance of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. 2 Chronicles 13:12. And behold, we have God at our head, and His priests, and loud trumpets to sound against you. Children of Israel! Do not fight with the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not prosper. Some interpreters note the unequal nature of Abijah’s speech in its first half (vv. 5–8) and in the second (verses 9–12), and in the first Abijah speaks as a king, a descendant of David, and in the second as a strict zealot of the cult of Jehovah and all the ritual specified in the law; the latter is found all the more incomprehensible because, according to testimony (1 Kings 15:3), Abijah was a wicked king, not a stranger to deviations into pagan cults. Finally, they recognize the unnaturalness of the very speech of the Jewish king to the hostile army, which had the appearance of some kind of proclamation, as well as the circumstances of delivering the speech from the top of the mountain. These perplexities, which cannot be denied a certain amount of consistency, are, however, not among the inexplicable: the sacred writer could consider Abijah here as the (political) head of the kingdom of Judah, which, in contrast to the kingdom of Israel, which introduced the illegal cult of the calf, remained faithful to the true service of Jehovah, performed in the Solomon Temple in Jerusalem. Mount Tsemaraim (LXX" Σομόρων Σομαρίμ, slav.: "Somori", Vulgata: Somenon) in the mountains of Ephraim (v. 4), probably lay near the city of this name in the inheritance of Benjamin ((Josh. 18:22), cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. II, p. 110) the mention of this mountain in the series of mountains of Ephraim and the path along which Abijah pursued Jeroboam shows that it was on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin (now Sumra, Onomasticon, 861), and the Israeli army was located to the east of it (see Prof. Gulyaev, “Historical Books”, p. 524). The Testament of Salt (LXX: διαθήκη ἀλός, Vulgata: pactum salis), i.e. eternal (as Slav.-Russian) is found in the Bible twice: here and in (Num. 18:19) (cf. (Lev. 2:13)), where the eternal covenant of Jehovah with the priesthood of the people of God is discussed (cf. “Explanatory Bible”, vol. I, p. 549). In both cases, the meaning of the figurative expression can be explained from the property of salt, which protects vital supplies from spoilage. The Arabs even now, when concluding treaties among themselves, confirm them by eating bread and salt (see Prof. Gulyaev, cit.). Thus, “salt” served as a suitable symbol of Jehovah’s covenant with the people of Israel, and the general expression of this covenant was found in sacrifice, hence the obligatory use of salt with every sacrifice (Lev. 2:13). In particular, this covenant was expressed in the divinely established priesthood (Num. 18:19) and in theocratic kingship (2 Chron. 13:5). Rehoboam is called (v. 7) “young and weak at heart” not because of his actual short age (when he assumed the kingdom he was already 41 years old), (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Chronicles 12:13), but because of his inexperience in government (see The Explanatory Bible, vol. II, p. 424). On the expulsion of Jehovah's priests (v. 9) from the kingdom of Israel, see (2 Chronicles 11:14–15) (cf. (1 Kings 12:31)). Regarding the ordination of new priests, Abijah reproaches the Israelites not for the illegality of the method of ordaining priests, the method of ordination indicated here does not differ from that indicated in (Exodus 29:1-9) and (Lev.8:1-13) the ordination of priests of the clan of Aaron, but for the fact that in the ten-tribe kingdom the consecration was not made in the name of Jehovah and persons who did not belong to the chosen clan of Aaron were ordained and not at all from the tribe of Levi ((1 Kings 12:31); cf. further verse 10). In contrast to Israel's apostasy from Jehovah, the kingdom of Judah remains faithful to him in its entire pure cult and in all its details: the divinely established priesthood, correctly performing its duties, the normal and continuous performance of worship according to the statute of Moses, according to the law of Jehovah (cf. verses 11-12 5 with ( Ex. 27:21; Lev. 8: 35, 24: 4, 6 ; Numbers 10:9,14:41; Deut.20:4)). 2 Chronicles 13:13. Meanwhile, Jeroboam sent a detachment into ambush from their rear, so that he himself was in front of the Jews, and the ambush was behind them. 2 Chronicles 13:14. And the Jews looked around, and behold, they had a battle before and behind them; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew their trumpets. 2 Chronicles 13:15. And the Jews exclaimed. And when the Jews cried out, God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 2 Chronicles 13:16. And the children of Israel fled from Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. 2 Chronicles 13:17. And Abijah and his people caused a great slaughter among them; and five hundred thousand chosen men fell slain among Israel. 2 Chronicles 13:18. And then the children of Israel humbled themselves, and the children of Judah were strong, because they trusted in the Lord God of their fathers. The favorable outcome of the war for the Jews was entirely a consequence of their devotion to Jehovah and their unshakable hope in Him. In the picture of victory, according to prof. Olesnitsky (“Old Testament Church”, p. 424), “there is something reminiscent of the ancient chronicle of the book of Joshua (v. 15): indeed, the trumpet sound of the priests ((verse 14); cf. (Num. 10:9)) and the victorious cries of the Jewish army closely resemble the situation of the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:3–20).” 2 Chronicles 13:19. And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took the cities from him: Bethel and its towns, and Jeshanah and its towns, and Ephron and its towns. About the position of Bethel ((Gen. 28:19), etc.), see “Explanatory Bible,” vol. I, p. 166, etc. II, p. 45 and 427. The capture by the Jews of Bethel, the center of Jeroboam's cult of the calves (1 Kings 12:29), was clear evidence for both warring sides of the opposition to God of this cult. Yeshana (cf. 1 Samuel 7:12) - the city of the tribe of Judah; now, according to the assumption of K. Hanno, Ain-Sinya, 5 versts north of Beitin, ancient Bethel. Ephron or Ephraim ((John 11:54); Onomasticon, 459 and 183) - a city of the tribe of Benjamin northeast of Bethel (according to Eusebius, 5 miles from Bethel and 20 from Jerusalem); now Et-Tainbe. Along with the cities, the suburbs (from the Hebrew “daughters”) of each were occupied (cf. Joshua 15:45). 2 Chronicles 13:22. Other deeds of Abiya and his actions and words are described in the legend of the prophet Adda. Abijah reigned for less than three years (“Explanatory Bible,” vol. II, pp. 437–438). On the chronological dates of peace and war between King Asa and Baasha (2 Chronicles 15:19, 16:1), see note. j (1 Kings 15:16–22). Tolkov. Bible vol. II. The events of Asa's reign, told in the third book. Kings (1 Kings 15:9–24) in several verses, 2 Chronicles covers three whole chapters (XIV-XVI), due to additions of an actually documentary nature. “Based on (2 Chronicles 13:11), which speaks of the lighting of one lamp, one cannot draw the conclusion that only one of the ten lamps was in liturgical use; the mention of one lamp here is made in relation to the law of Moses, which, for the period of the tabernacle, prescribed the use of one lamp, without however prohibiting the multiplication of lamps with the further development of the solemnity of worship" (Prof. A.A. Olesnitsky, "Old Testament Church", p. 318). You might be interested in: