2 Chronicles 20:16

(16) Against them.—Or, unto them.

They come up by the cliff of Ziz.—They are about ascending by the ascent of Hazziz. Vulg., “ascensuri enim sunt per clivum,” &c.

The brook.—The wâdy, ravine, or water-course.

The wilderness of Jeruel.—The name is unknown, but comparing 2Ch_20:2; 2Ch_20:16; 2Ch_20:20, it appears that the great stretch of waste, now called el Husâsah, from a wady on the north side of it, is intended. The “ascent of Hazziz” would be a pass or mountain path, leading up from Engedi to this desert table-land. (With the name Hazziz, comp. Hakkoz. Perhaps Husâsah preserves a trace of it. The LXX. has Ασαεῖς Syriac and Arabic, “the ascent of dawn,” omitting “Jeruel.”)

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

2Ch 20:16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

Ver 16. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz] Which is said to be between the wilderness of Tekoah and the wilderness of Jeruel. Ziz signifieth a flower; it signifieth also, saith the Gloss, a caldron or pot; because in this place the enemies were cut in pieces, and made as meat for the pot.

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.

they come up by the cliff of Ziz--This seems to have been nothing else than the present pass which leads northwards, by an ascent from En-gedi to Jerusalem, issuing a little below Tekoa. The wilderness of Jeruel was probably the large flat district adjoining the desert of Tekoa, called El-Husasah, from a wady on its northern side [ROBINSON].

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

16. the cliff of Ziz] R.V. the ascent of Ziz. The exact positions of this and of the “brook” and of the “wilderness” mentioned in this ver. are unknown, but probably the invaders followed not the direct road from En-gedi to Beth-lehem, but one a little to the left of this.

the brook] R.V. the valley (Heb. naḥal) strictly “ravine” or “water-course.”

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.

Tomorrow go ye down against them,.... This was the fast day, and so not proper to march out in, but on the morrow they might go out with great confidence and intrepidity; and as Jerusalem was situated on an eminence, they are directed to go down:

behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; a steep hill, so called from the flowers upon it:

and ye shall find them at the end of the brook; on the bank of Kidron, according to Beckius, which seems not likely to be meant, since they went as far as the wilderness of Tekoa, Ch2 20:20,

before the wilderness of Jeruel; the same with that of Tekoa, or near it.

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

Six. Some translate "flowry ascent." C. --- Prot. "the cliff of Ziz." H. --- If it had been Zin, we might understand the desert of stony Arabia, where Ptolemy places the town of Ziza. C. --- But we may recollect that the army was already advanced as far as Engaddi; (v. 2,) so that it seems to have lain nearer Jerusalem. H. --- Jeruel, "the fear of God," which name was given to the place, in consequence of the panic with which God struck the enemy. S. Jerom) M.

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).

Go ye down from Jerusalem, where he and his army now were; which stood upon high ground.

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

16. They come up by the cliff of Ziz — Better, the ascent, or pass, of Hazziz. This was the rocky mountain pass above Ain Jidy, that leads from the shore of the Dead Sea at that point up into the hill country of Judah. The name still lingers in the tract of table land called el Husassah. just northwest of the pass towards Tekoa. So these enemies of Judah came “by the very same route,” says Robinson, “which is taken by the Arabs in their marauding expeditions at the present day, along the shore as far as to Ain Jidy, and then up the pass and so northwards below Tekoa.”

The brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel — This brook, or valley, was one of the wadies running from the vicinity of Tekoa to the Dead Sea — perhaps the Wady Jehar, whose name may be the representative of the ancient Jeruel, and the desert of Jeruel must have corresponded nearly with the modern tract el-Husassah.

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

The cliff of Ziz. Read with Revised Version, the ascent of Ziz (or probably Hazziz), a place named only here. The Hebrew word here rendered "cliff" is the familiar hle) meaning "an ascent," or "a rising ground." It is replaced in the Septuagint by both ajnabasiv and prosbasiv. Stanley, in an interesting note on the word ("Sinai and Palestine," p. 500, edit. 1866), says it is applied to several localities in Palestine, viz.:

(1) The "Ascent of Akrabbim," i.e. scorpions (Num_34:4; Jud 1:36; Jos_15:3) on the south border of Judah and probably the same as the Pass of Safeh.

(2) "The going up to (or of) Adummim," i.e. the "ascent of the Red," near Gilgal, on border of Judah and Benjamin, (Jos_15:7 Jos_18:17) probably the same with the "Pass of Jericho.

(3) The" going up to Gut". (2Ki_9:27)

(4) Our present text.

(5) The "mounting up of Luhith" in Moab (Isa_15:5; Jer_48:5) The word is also applied to the steep pass from Gibeon to Beth-; (Jos_10:10 RAPC 1Ma 3:16) to the road up the Mount of Olives; (2Sa_15:30) and to the approach to the city in which Samuel anointed Saul, (1Sa_9:11) i.e. "the hill up to the city." The passage, Jud_1:8:13, Authorized Version "before the sun was up," Revised Version "from the ascent of Heres," possibly designates a rising ground, named. "the Ascent of the Sun," or, "of Heres." The following extract from Keil, with its quotations from Robinson, is interesting. "The wilderness Jezreel was without doubt the name of a part of the great stretch of fiat country bounded on the south by the Waddy El Ghar, and extending from the Dead Sea to the neighbourhood of Tekoa, which is now called El Hassasah, after a waddy on its northern side. The whole country on the west side of the Dead Sea," where it does not consist of mountain ridges or deep valleys, is high table-land sloping gradually towards the east, wholly waste, merely covered here and there by a few bushes and without the slightest trace of having ever been cultivated" (Robinson"s "Palest.," sub voce). Our present ascent of Ziz, or Hazziz, has perhaps remained in the Waddy El Hassasah Robinson takes it to be the pass, which at present leads from Ain-jiddy to the table-land. Yet it is described by him as a "fearful pass," and it can hardly be thought of here even if the enemy like the Bedouins, now when on their forays, may be supposed to have marched along the shore of the sea, and ascended to the tableland only at Engedi; for the Israelites did not meet the enemy in this ascent, but above upon the table-land." Josephus translates xyXih by eJxochv, but with no legitimate justification. The end of the brook; i.e. rather the end of the brook-way, or course of the brook when there was water to make one.

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

Go down - From Jerusalem, where he and his army now were; which stood upon high ground.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

go down against ... Go out against

This is an idiom that means to go and meet the enemy army for battle. AT: "march against ... March out against" or "Go to battle against ... Go to battle against" (See: Idiom)

See

"Pay attention, because what I am about to say is both true and important"

pass of Ziz

This is a narrow valley between two mountains southeast of Jerusalem. (See: How to Translate Names)

the rescue of Yahweh with you

The word "rescue" can be expressed as a verb. AT: "Yahweh rescue you" (See: Abstract Nouns)

Judah and Jerusalem

Here these places represent the people from them. AT: "people of Judah and Jerusalem" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

desert

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

on the ascent to Haziz the name of a place.

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.