2 Chronicles 25:6

2Ch 25:6 He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

Ver. 6. For a hundred talents of silver.] This was no great hire, but the hope of spoil put them on; as it did likewise those thirteen thousand soldiers of Germany, almost all Lutherans, led by George Fransperg - a general in the imperial army under conduct of Charles Burbon, that sacked Rome in the time of Pope Clement VII - with no other pay but of one crown apiece of his own goods, and promise to lead them to Rome, where they should meet with good booty. {a}

{a} Hist. of Counc. of Trent, 43.

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 25:6. He hired a hundred thousand men out of Israel — Out of the kingdom of the ten tribes. If he had advised with any of his prophets before he did this, or had but considered how little any of his ancestors had got by their alliances with Israel, he would not have thus done what he had soon to undo again. But rashness makes work for repentance.

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

25:6 Amaziah’s force of 300,000 was smaller than Asa’s (580,000) or Jehoshaphat’s (1,160,000) had been; this might explain Amaziah’s desire to hire additional troops from Israel (the northern kingdom).

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

That is, out of the ten tribes, which had separated themselves before, both from God and their true king.

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

He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour . . . for an hundred talents of silver--This sum was paid into the treasury of Jehoahaz--not given as bounty to the mercenaries who were obliged to serve at the sovereign's call; their remuneration consisting only in the booty they might obtain. It was about £50,000 sterling, being 10s. per man, including officers--a very paltry pay, compared with the bounty given for a soldier in this country. But it must be remembered that in ancient times campaigns were short and the hazards of the service comparatively small.

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

(6) He hired also . . . out of Israel—i.e., from the northern kingdom. The number has probably suffered in transmission. Thenius pronounces the fact historical, although not recorded in Kings.

An hundred talents of silver.—Worth about £40,000 of our money, reckoning £400 to the talent. What such a sum would represent in the days of Amaziah cannot be determined with certainty.

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

But there came a man of God to him,.... Who the Jews say (f) was the brother of the king, Amos, the father of Isaiah, but without foundation:

saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; to war against Edom; meaning the 100,000 men he had hired, and suggesting that to have them with him would not be to his advantage, but his detriment, for the following reason:

for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit:

with all the children of Ephraim; they being idolaters, worshippers of the calves; and as they had forsaken the Lord, he had forsaken them; therefore no help could be expected from them; the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord is not their help.''

(f) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 11. 2.

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

Thousand. Yet "they were so greatly reduced, but a few years before, that there were....only fifty horsemen," &c. 4 K. xiii. 7. Kennicott --- That might be true, at one time, when the people fled from the king’s banners, through fear. But they were still in the country, and God gave Israel a saviour, 4 K. xiii. 5. See C. xiii. 3., and xvii. 19. H. --- Silver. This sum was very small, for so great a multitude. Salien suspects talents of gold are meant, though the soldiers were paid in silver. But the sum was only the hire for a short time; (M.) and was not distributed among the soldiers, who were to live on plunder, but went into the king’s coffers, (C.) or belonged to the officers alone. Mariana) D. --- The talent of silver was worth 342l. 3s. 9d. Arbuthnot)

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).

Out of Israel; out of the kingdom of the ten tribes.

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

Out of Israel. The next verse tells us that "all the children of Ephraim" (which was strictly the northern Israel"s chief tribe) are hereby designated. It is not quite clear that this Israel is exactly conterminous with the Israel of 2Ch_13:3, the identity of which, however, with Joab"s Israel (2Sa_24:9) is very probable. The boundaries of the strict tribe of Ephraim, whose ancestor was Joseph"s younger son, are described in Jos_16:5. The tribe were located as nearly as possible in the centre of the land. Ephraim, however, is here, as in many other places, as the name of the royal tribe, so named upon the whole of the northern kingdom Isa_9:8 Isa_17:3 Isa_28:3; several times in almost every chapter of Hosea, and for a typical instance, cf. (Hos_14:8)

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