2 Chronicles 13:4

2Ch 13:4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which [is] in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;

Ver. 4. And Abijah stood upon mount Zemaraim.] As Jotham likewise had done upon mount Gerizim. {Jdg 9:7} It is probable that Abijah had, by his heralds or messengers, desired a parley: else he could not have delivered himself without danger.

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.

2Ch_13:4-12

And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim.

A great speech

its claims concerning Judah. God recognised--

1. In the gift of the kingdom.

2. In the worship and services of the temple.

3. In the warfare of life.

II. In its accusations against Israel.

III. Its passionate appeal to the people.

1. Religion is appealed to.

2. History is appealed to.

3. Humanity is appealed to. (J. Wolfendale.)

Abijahs speech

Abijahs speech is unique. There have been other instances where commanders have tried to make oratory take the place of arms. Sennacheribs envoys. When Octavian was at war with his fellow-triumvir Lepidus he made a daring attempt to run over his enemys army. Riding openly into the hostile camp, he appealed to the soldiers by motives as lofty as those urged by Abijah, and called upon them to save their country from civil war by deserting Lepidus. At the moment his appeal failed, and he only escaped with a wound in his breast; but after a while his enemys soldiers came over to him in detachments, and eventually Lepidus was compelled to surrender to his rival. Another instance of a successful appeal to a hostile force is found in the history of the first Napoleon, when he was marching on Paris after his return from Elba. Near Grenoble he was met by a body of royal troops. He at once advanced to the front, and, exposing his breast, exclaimed to the opposing ranks, Here is your emperor; if any one would kill me let him fire. The detachment, which had been sent to arrest his progress, at once deserted to their old commander. (W. H. Bennett, M.A.)

The lessons of Abijahs speech

These are two.

I. The importance of an official and duly accredited ministry. Every Church has in practice some official ministry, even those Churches that profess to owe their separate existence to the necessity of protesting against an official ministry. Men whose chief occupation is to denounce priestcraft may themselves be saturated with the sacerdotal spirit.

II. The importance of a suitable and authoritative ritual. Every Church, too, has its ritual. The silence of a Friends meeting is as much a rite as the most elaborate genuflexion before a highly ornamented altar. To regard either the absence or presence of rites as essential is equally ritualistic. The man who leaves his wonted place of worship because Amen is sung at the end of a hymn is as bigoted a ritualist as his brother who dare not pass an altar without crossing himself. (W. H. Bennett, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 13:4. Abijah stood upon mount Zemaraim — Some commodious place whence his words might be heard by Jeroboam, and some of his army, who possibly were pitched in the valley. Or, the two armies being pitched near each other, Abijah desired a parley before they fought, to see if they could accommodate matters without shedding blood. Whereupon Jeroboam and some of his commanders and soldiers probably drew near to him, and stood below at the bottom of the hill, from whence they could hear him. And this, it is likely, Jeroboam was the more willing to do, that in the mean time he might cause an ambushment to come behind Abijah and his army, as he did, (2Ch 13:13,) while he was quietly standing before them, and seemed to hearken to any terms of accommodation which were offered.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:4 Mount Zemaraim: The town of that name was on the northern border of Benjamin (see Josh 18:22), about five miles northeast of Bethel. Benjamin was a buffer and a battleground between the northern and southern kingdoms.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which was one of the tops of mount Ephraim.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Abijah stood up upon Mount Zemaraim--He had entered the enemy's territory and was encamped on an eminence near Beth-el (Jos 18:22). Jeroboam's army lay at the foot of the hill, and as a pitched battle was expected, Abijah, according to the singular usage of ancient times, harangued the enemy. The speakers in such circumstances, while always extolling their own merits, poured out torrents of invective and virulent abuse upon the adversary. So did Abijah. He dwelt on the divine right of the house of David to the throne; and sinking all reference to the heaven-condemned offenses of Solomon and the divine appointment of Jeroboam, as well as the divine sanction of the separation, he upbraided Jeroboam as a usurper, and his subjects as rebels, who took advantage of the youth and inexperience of Rehoboam. Then contrasting the religious state of the two kingdoms, he drew a black picture of the impious innovations and gross idolatry introduced by Jeroboam, with his expulsion and impoverishment (Ch2 11:14) of the Levites. He dwelt with reasonable pride on the pure and regular observance of the ancient institutions of Moses in his own dominion [Ch2 13:11] and concluded with this emphatic appeal: "O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Stood up upon Mount Zemaraim] "Which was a mount of the tribe of the house of Ephraim."-Targum. Jarchi thinks that Abijah went to the confines of the tribe of Ephraim to attack Jeroboam. It could not be Shomeron, the mount on which Samaria was built in the days of Omri king of Israel, 1Kg 16:24.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim.—While the two hosts were facing each other, king Abijah addressed his foes from mount Zemaraim. as Jotham addressed the Shechemites from the top of Gerizim in the days of the judges (Jdg_9:7).

Upon.—Literally, from upon to mount Zemaraim; a mark of the chronicler’s hand.

Mount Zemaraim is otherwise unknown A city so called is mentioned (Jos_18:22) as near Bethel, and probably lay a little to the south of it, on the northern frontier of Judah, perhaps upon this mountain.

Mount Ephraim.—The hill country of Ephraim.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. Abijah stood up] it was natural that Abijah should attempt a conference before beginning civil war, both because his was the weaker side numerically and because he had a telling appeal to make to the revolted tribes (2Ch_13:8; 2Ch_13:12). It was equally natural that Jeroboam should break off the conference after using it to cover his stratagem (2Ch_13:13).

Zemaraim] A Zemaraim is mentioned in Jos_18:22 as one of the cities of Benjamin, whereas here Mount Zemaraim is assigned to Ephraim. The natural inference is that the battle took place on the border of the two kingdoms.

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.

Ought you not to know,.... They did know what he afterwards says, but he would have them consider and acknowledge it:

that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever; to him and his seed, particularly to the Messiah, that should spring from him; but whether Abijah had this in view is a question, see Sa2 7:13.

even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? that is, a perpetual one, which was inviolable, and never to be made void; called so, because salt preserves from corruption and putrefaction, and because made use of in sacrifices offered when covenants were made; the Targum is,"as salt waters, which never lose their saltness.''

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Semeron, on which Samaria was afterwards built. Hebrew reads, "Mount Tsemaraim." There was a city of this name in Benjamin. (Calmet) --- But this was a mount. Hebrew, "in Mount Ephraim." (Haydock)

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).

Upon Mount Zemaraim; some commodious place whence his voice might be heard by Jeroboam, and some of his host, who possibly were pitched in the valley. Or the two armies being pitched near to one another, Abijah might desire a parley, before they fight; whereupon Jeroboam, and some of his commanders and soldiers, might draw near to him, and stand below him at the bottom of the hill, where they might hear his speech; which Jeroboam was the more willing to do, that in the mean time he might cause an ambushment to come behind Abijah and his army, as he did, 2Ch 13:13, whilst he was quietly standing before them, and seemed to hearken to any terms of accommodation which might be offered.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Stood up upon mount Zemaraim — A general standing upon an eminence, could, like Jotham on Mount Gerizim, speak so as to be heard by a vast audience below. See note on Jdg_9:7. The locality of Mount Zemaraim is uncertain. Some have thought to connect it with the Benjamite town of the same name mentioned in Jos_18:22. But that was in the Jordan valley, this in Mount Ephraim. It was probably an eminence near the border of the two kingdoms, perhaps not far from Beth-el, near which the great battle was fought.

Hear me, thou Jeroboam — Abijah vainly thinks to make his enemies see the sin and folly of their separating from the kingdom of David. His speech was one sided, for he failed to observe that the permanency and integrity of David’s kingdom were conditioned upon obedience.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mount Zemaraim. This mount is not mentioned elsewhere. Presumably it was a mountain or hill above the place called Zemaraim, mentioned in Jos_18:22 as in Benjamin"s allotment, and mentionedbetween the places called Beth ha-Arabah (i.e. the Jordan valley) and Bethel. Accordingly, it may be that itself lay between these two, or near enough to them one or both. This will quite suit our connection as placing the hill near the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim. It is said to be in Mount Ephraim; i.e. in the range of Mount Ephraim, which was one of considerable length, running through the midst of what was afterwards called Samaria, from the Plain of Esdraelon to Judah. Zemaraim may be so named from the Zemarite tribe, who were Hamites, and related to the Hittites and Amorites (Gen_10:18; 1Ch_1:16) descendants of Canaan; there are some faint traces of their having wandered from their northern settlements into mid and south Palestine. The Septuagint render Zemaraim by the same Greek as Samaria, Somorwn.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mount Zemaraim

(See: How to Translate Names)

Do you not know ... by a formal covenant?

Abijah asks this rhetorical question to emphasize the positive answer that it anticipates. The question can be translated as a statement. AT: "You know very well ... by a formal covenant." (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

Ephraim

kingdom of Israel

Yahweh

God

David

eternity

covenant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And Abijah arose For Abijah went to war against Jeroboam in Jeroboam’s territory on Mount Ephraim.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.