But Abijah grew mighty, and took for himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.
Parallel Translations
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But Abijah grew mighty, and took for himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.
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But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
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But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begot twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 13:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 8:30-31 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives. His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
- Judges 9:5 He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
- Judges 10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts. They had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
- 2 Samuel 5:12-13 David perceived that Yahweh had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake. David took more concubines and wives for himself out of Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.
- 2 Chronicles 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 13:21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen…
2Ch 13:21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
Ver. 21. And married fourteen wives.] Some of them before he came to the kingdom. Junius well readeth it, He had married fourteen wives. This was against an express law, {Deu 17:17} besides the utter unlawfulness of polygamy, whereof before. But many great men make little of laws; it is plea sufficient for their offence that it is -
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“ facinus maioris abollae. ”
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Not now after this victory, for he died presently…
Not now after this victory, for he died presently after it; but in the whole time of his life, before he was king and afterward.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and…
And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings,.... Not only his warlike actions, and his course of life, but some remarkable sayings of his, he being a man of wisdom and eloquence, as his above speech shows:
are written in the story of the prophet Iddo; who might write the history of his own times; see Kg1 15:7.
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Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 14
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Married - Not after this victory, for he died…
Married - Not after this victory, for he died presently after it, but in the whole time of his life.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. Married fourteen wives] Probably he made alliances…
Verse 21. Married fourteen wives] Probably he made alliances with the neighbouring powers, by taking their daughters to him for wives.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ch 13:21. Abijah married fourteen wives — Not now…
2Ch 13:21. Abijah married fourteen wives — Not now after this victory, for he died soon after it; but in the whole time of his life, before he was king, and afterward.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21, 22. The Epilogue of Abijah’s Reign
21, 22. The Epilogue of Abijah’s Reign
21. married] R.V. took unto himself. The many wives (fourteen) are mentioned here as a symbol of the wealth and state of Abijah.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) But Abijah waxed mighty.—And Abijah strengthened himself, after…
(21) But Abijah waxed mighty.—And Abijah strengthened himself, after his life-and-death struggle with Jeroboam. (See on 2Ch_12:13.)
And married fourteen wives, and begat twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.—Abijah reigned only three years altogether. He must, therefore, have had most of these wives and children before his accession. (2Ch_11:21-23 may be said to imply this; see Note on 2Ch_11:23.) A stop should be placed after the first clause, thus: “And Abijah strengthened himself. And he took him fourteen wives, and begat twenty-two sons,” etc. The two facts are merely placed side by side, though a tacit contrast may be suggested between the number of Abijah’s off-spring, and the speedy extirpation of the house of Jeroboam.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Waxed mighty. For this our Authorized Version reads, "waxed…
Waxed mighty. For this our Authorized Version reads, "waxed fat and wanton" (Hebrew, qZejtyi), and grew too like his father Rehoboam and his grandfather Solomon, forgetting the "Law". (Deu_17:17)
Vers. 21, 22.
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Abijah: the lessons of his life.
These concluding verses, which dispose of the latter end of the life of Abijah, may bring before us the lessons which are to be gathered from his career.
I THE SLIGHTNESS AND VALUELESSNESS OF HUMAN FAME. He was a descendant of David, and a king reigning at Jerusalem, and he gained a somewhat brilliant victory over his rival at Mount Ephraim rest of his acts and his ways and sayings are written in the story of the Prophet Iddo;" but who reads them there, or who can tell us anything of what is there contained? In the Book of the Kings (1Ki_5:7) we are referred to our text for the details of his career. But how scanty we find them to be! How little do we know of this once proud and "mighty" monarch; and how content we are that we know so little! And of what entire valuelessness to him would any fuller knowledge on our part be! We need not be concerned that our name and fame will traverse so small a part of this globe, and travel so short a space of time; that we shall be so soon forgotten. Kings and statesmen, whose chances of fame were far greater than ours, have found how ephemeral and how worthless a thing is fame. To be loved by those whom we have blessed, to be esteemed by the good and true, to be honoured of God to take some part in the promotion of his glorious kingdom, that is the heritage to be coveted and to be gained.
II THE BRITTLENESS OF EARTHLY FORTUNE. When Abijah ascended the throne of Judah, he had, probably, good reason for expecting a long period of honour and enjoyment. But three short years brought his hopes down to the ground. Some disease showed itself in his frame, or some accident befell him, or some treacherous blow struck him, and he went down to the grave with his early hopes unfulfilled. And who shall say that the young man of our acquaintance, of our connection, of our affection, who has such bright prospects before him, will not find, by a sad disillusion, that the term of his happiness and his honour is a very brief one; that a few years, or even months, will bring him to his grave? "Love not the world, neither the things which are in the world The world passeth away but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
III THE DANGER OF GREAT SUCCESS. We read in the preceding verse (ver. 20) that Jeroboam never "recovered strength again" after his humiliating defeat at Mount Ephraim. We might with equal truth say of Abijah that he never recovered from his success. He was apparently elated by it, and, in the perilous mood of complacency, he gave himself up to culpable domestic licence (ver. 21). His latter days were spent in home luxuries and (it is only too likely) in revelries and follies. His success was too much for him; as, indeed, success very often proves to be. Many men can stand misfortune; comparatively few can stand prosperity. It is a "slippery place," where the unguarded human spirit falls, and is badly bruised, if not broken. If the tide of success should set in, whether of wealth, or honour, or power, or affection, let there be unusual watchfulness and multiplied devotion; for the hour of prosperity is that hour when the archers of the enemy will be busy with their arrows.
IV THE VALUE OF WHOLE-HEARTEDNESS IN THE SERVICE OF THE SUPREME. Where shall we look to find the fatal flaw that accounts for this royal failure? We find it here. (1Ki_15:3) Abijah"s heart was "not perfect with the Lord his God;" that is to say, his heart was "divided," and therefore he was "found faulty". (Hos_10:2) He did not seek God "with his whole heart." He was willing enough to try and charm with the Divine Name and the Divine will and Law (see vers. 5-10), but he was not prepared to walk uprightly and faithfully, as "the heart of David his father," before the Lord his God. If our devotion be nothing more than a desire to have God on our side in the day of battle, we shall show small consistency of conduct and little excellence of character. The religious character that will stand the test both of sunshine and shadow is that of the man who realizes the supreme claims of God, his Father and his Saviour, and who solemnly and determinately dedicates himself, heart and life, to "the Lord his God." It is only whole-heartedness in the service of Christ that will ensure us against the perils of adversity and prosperity. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.