2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 19
1Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked, and love those who hate Yahweh? Because of this, wrath is on you from before Yahweh. 3Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
4Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 5He set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you don’t judge for man, but for Yahweh; and he is with you in the judgment. 7Now therefore let the fear of Yahweh be on you. Take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.”
8Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed Levites and priests, and of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of Yahweh, and for controversies. They returned to Jerusalem. 9He commanded them, saying, “You shall do this in the fear of Yahweh, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. 10Whenever any controversy comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you must warn them, that they not be guilty toward Yahweh, and so wrath come on you and on your brothers. Do this, and you will not be guilty. 11Behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of Yahweh; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and may Yahweh be with the good.”
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4 commentators · 23 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
Here is, I. The great favour God showed to Jehoshaphat, 1. In bringing him back in safety from his dangerous expedition with Ahab, which had like to have cost him dearly (Ch2 19:1): He returned to his house in peace. Notice is taken of this to intimate, (1.)…
Jehoshaphat, having done what he could to make his people good, is here providing, if possible, to keep them so by the influence of a settled magistracy. He had sent preachers among them, to instruct them (Ch2 17:7-9), and that provision did well; but now he…
John Gill11
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned,.... From Ramothgilead, after Ahab was slain: to his house in peace in Jerusalem; to his palace there in safety, having narrowly escaped losing his life in the battle.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer,.... The son of him that reproved Asa, for which he put him in prison, 2 Chronicles 17:7, but that did not deter this his son from reproving Jehoshaphat: went out to meet him; as he was returning: and said to King…
Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee,.... Principles of grace, righteousness, and holiness, faith, love, zeal, and other graces, true and genuine, from whence sprung many good works done by him: in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the…
Adam Clarke7
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
Returned to his house in peace - That is, in safety, notwithstanding he had been exposed to a danger so imminent, from which only the especial mercy of God could have saved him.
Jehu the son of Hanani - We have met with this prophet before; see the note on Kg1 16:7. Therefore is wrath upon thee - That is, Thou deservest to be punished. And who can doubt this, who knows that he did help the ungodly, and did love them that hated…
From Beer-sheba to Mount Ephraim - Before the separation of the ten tribes, in speaking of the extent of the land it was said, From Dan to Beer-sheba; but since that event, the kingdom of Judah was bounded on the south by Beer-sheba, and on the north by the…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown3
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
he went out again through the people--This means his reappointing the commissioners of public instruction (Ch2 17:7-9), perhaps with new powers and a larger staff of assistants to overtake every part of the land. The complement of teachers required for that…
HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JUDGES. (Ch2 19:5-7) he set judges in the land--There had been judicial courts established at an early period. But Jehoshaphat was the first king who modified these institutions according to the circumstances of the now fragmentary…
TO THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (Ch2 19:8-11) set of the Levites . . . priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel--A certain number of these three classes constituted a supreme court, which sat in Jerusalem to review appellate cases from the inferior…
World English Bible — Public domain