II Chronicles 13:19
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Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
We have here a much fuller account of the reign of Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, than we had in the Kings. There we found that his character was no better than his father's - he "walked in the sins of his father, and his heart was not right with God," Kg1 15:2, Kg1 15:3. But here we find him more brave and successful in war than his father was. He reigned but three years, and was chiefly famous for a glorious victory he obtained over the forces of Jeroboam. Here we have, I. The armies brought into the field on both sides (Ch2 13:3). The remonstrance which Abijah made before the battle, setting forth the justice of his cause (Ch2 13:4-12). III. The distress which Judah was brought into by the policy of Jeroboam (Ch2 13:13, Ch2 13:14). IV. The victory they obtained notwithstanding, by the power of God (Ch2 13:15-20). V. The conclusion of Abijah's reign (Ch2 13:21, Ch2 13:22).
Open source ↗13:19 The Lord granted the kingdom of Judah a miraculous victory. Abijah took the territories surrounding Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron from Israel (13:19). Together with Zemaraim (13:4), these towns in the hill country on the northern border of Judah formed a geographical unit (see Josh 18:22-23). The subsequent history of this territorial gain is not known; by the time of Amos (about 760 BC), Bethel was a major pagan shrine in Israel.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple.
From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).
And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king.
When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.
But you, do not stop there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.”