“Now you intend to withstand the kingdom of Yahweh in the hand of the sons of David. You are a great multitude, and the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods are with you. Haven’t you driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves according to the ways of the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of those who are no gods.
“But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests serving Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work; and they burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table; and the lamp stand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening; for we keep the instruction of Yahweh our God, but you have forsaken him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 He showeth the nature of idolaters which take no…
He showeth the nature of idolaters which take no trial of the vocation, life and doctrine of their ministers, but think the most vilest and greatest beasts sufficient to serve their turn.
Hebrew, fill his hand.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–11 2Ch 13:8 And now ye think to withstand the…
2Ch 13:8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye [be] a great multitude, and [there are] with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
Ver. 8. To withstand the kingdom of the Lord.] And so, giant-like, to fight against God. Is that ever like to do well? "Do ye provoke the Lord to anger? are ye stronger than he?"
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And there are with you golden calves.] In the camp perhaps, as 1Ch 14:12.
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 On vv8–11 The kingdom of the Lord in the land of…
The kingdom of the Lord in the land of the sons of David; that kingdom which was not set up by vain men in pursuance of their own ambition and discontent, as yours was, but ordained and established by God himself in the house of David.
And ye be a great multitude, or because (that Hebrew particle being oft so used) ye be, &c. This he mentions partly as the ground of their confidence, that they had more tribes and a greater host; and partly as a presage of their downfall, which trusting to the arm of flesh is.
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And there are with you golden calves, or, but there are, &c. There is that among you which may damp your courage and confidence: you worship those images which God abhors and severely forbids.
For gods, or for God, as that plural word is most commonly used, i.e. instead of God, to give them the name of God, as Exo 32:4, and that worship which is peculiar to him.
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 On vv8–11 Have ye not cast out the priests of the…
Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron, and the Levites,.... Because they would not sacrifice to his idols, and that they might not instruct the people in the pure worship of God, and that he and his people might be free from the payment of tithes, firstfruits, &c. and their cities fall into his hands:
and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? after the manner of the Gentiles, without any regard to any particular tribe, which God had appointed those to be taken from:
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so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams; which were five more than what were required by the law of Moses for the consecration of a priest, Exo 29:1, the same
may be a priest of them that are no gods; by nature, only nominal and fictitious deities, as the calves were, which had no divinity in them, see Kg1 13:31.
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 On vv8–11 Golden calves - There is that among you which…
Golden calves - There is that among you which may damp your confidence: you worship those images which God abhors.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Verse 9. A young bullock and seven rams] He…
Verse 9. A young bullock and seven rams] He who could provide these for his own consecration was received into the order of this spurious and wicked priesthood. Some think he who could give to Jeroboam a young bullock and seven rams, was thereby received into the priesthood; this being the price for which the priesthood was conferred. The former is most likely.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8–11 2Ch 13:8. Ye think to withstand the kingdom of…
2Ch 13:8. Ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord — That kingdom which was not set up by vain men, in pursuance of their own ambition and discontent, as yours was, but ordained and established by God himself in the house of David. And ye be — Or, because ye be, a great multitude — This he mentions, as being both the ground of their confidence, namely, that they had more tribes, and a greater host; and also a presage of their downfall, which their trusting to the arm of flesh was. And there are with you golden calves — Or, But there are, &c. There is that among you which may damp your courage and confidence: you worship those images which God abhors. Which Jeroboam made you for gods — Or, for God, as that plural word is most commonly used: that is, instead of God, to give them the name of God, and that worship which is peculiar to him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v9 Seven rams - “A bullock and two rams” was…
Seven rams - “A bullock and two rams” was the offering which God had required at the original consecration of the sons of Aaron Exo 29:1; Lev 8:2. Jeroboam, for reasons of his own, enlarged the sacrifice, and required it at the consecration of every priest.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11 And golden. These idols will enervate and render your…
And golden. These idols will enervate and render your great numbers useless. (Haydock) --- We have a just cause and religion is on our side. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. cast out] R.V. driven out; cp. note on…
9. cast out] R.V. driven out; cp. note on 2Ch_11:14.
to consecrate himself] Lit. to fill his hand. Moses is directed (Exo_29:1 ff.) to ordain Aaron and his sons priests by three ceremonies: (1) by anointing them, (2) by filling their hands, i.e. by presenting them with victims upon which they laid their hands, (3) by hallowing them, i.e. by sprinkling some of the blood of the victim upon them.
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a young bullock and seven rams] Aaronic priests were consecrated with a young bullock and two rams (Exo_29:1).
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 On vv8–11 (8) And now ye think.—Literally, say, i.e., in your…
(8) And now ye think.—Literally, say, i.e., in your hearts (2Ch_2:1).
To withstand the kingdom.—Literally, to show yourselves strong before the kingdom, as in last verse.
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In (through) the hand of the sons of David.—The meaning is, the kingdom which Jehovah holds by the instrumentality of the house of David, as His earthly representatives. (Comp. Vulg., “regno Domini quod possidet per filios David.” (See 1Ch_29:23).
And there are with you golden calves.—And therefore you believe yourselves assured of Divine aid, in addition to the strength of numbers. But your trust is delusive, for Jeroboam made the objects of your fond idolatry (see Isa_44:9-17); and you have superseded the only lawful worship of Jehovah (2Ch_13:9).
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 On vv8, 10 Vers. 8, 9. The five succeeding thrusts of these…
Vers. 8, 9. The five succeeding thrusts of these two verses, prefaced by the somewhat self-conscious but, nevertheless, validly pleaded orthodoxy of his own position, are well delivered by Abijah. Jeroboam is scathed
(1) for his confidence in a great multitude;
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(2) for his golden calves for gods;
(3) for what amounted necessarily to the excommunication and repudiation of the priests of the Lord, time- and nation-honoured;
(4) for the mere manufacture of a new-fangled priesthood, and that after the modal of nations foreign and heathen;
(5) for the fact that, when these were made, they that made them, and the gods for whom they were made, were all three "like to" one another no true people, no true priests, and no gods at all! A young bullock and seven rams The consecration sacrifice for the whole line of priests was "one young bullock and two rams without blemish" (Exo_29:1, Exo_29:15; Lev_8:2) Of course, Jeroboam felt his own position in the matter so weak, that each false, illegitimate candidate for the priestly service must bring his sacrifice, and that a larger one by five rams than the divinely ordered one of Moses.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v11 (See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
shewbread
(See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10 the kingdom of Yahweh
the kingdom of Yahweh
This is a reference to a united Israel as it existed in the time of David and Solomon. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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that is held within the hand of the descendants of David
Here the word "hand" represents authority and possession. Abijah is claiming that only the descendants of David have the rightful authority to rule Yahweh's kingdom. This can be stated in active form. AT: "that the descendants of David hold within their hand" or "which only the descendants of David have the authority to rule" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
the golden calves that Jeroboam made
It might be best to translate so that the reader understands that Jeroboam had others make the golden calves. AT: "the golden calves that Jeroboam had his craftsmen make" (See: Metonymy)
But did you not drive out ... as the people of other lands do?
Abijah asks this rhetorical question to rebuke the people and to emphasize the positive answer that it anticipates. The question can be translated as a statement. AT: "But you drive out ... as the people of other lands do." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Whoever comes to serve as a priest
"Anyone who comes to serve as a priest"
a priest of what are not gods
The phrase "what are not gods" refers to the golden calves that Jeroboam had his craftsmen make. Although the priests served them as if they were gods, they were not really gods. AT: "a priest of idols that are not really gods" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
might
Yahweh
hand
descend
David
gold
false god
priest
Aaron
Levi
consecrate
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10 13:8-9 Abijah’s speech made two key points about the…
13:8-9 Abijah’s speech made two key points about the rebellion of the north: The north rejected the only legitimate king, and they rejected the only legitimate place of worship. The revolt of the northerners, who chased away the proper priestly order, is sharply contrasted with “us” (13:10). Most objectionable was the worship of the calves and the role of the unauthorized priests.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.