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2 Chronicles 13:17

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Chronicles 13:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
2 Chronicles 13:17 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Chronicles 13

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
14And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried unto Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
15Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand.
17And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
18Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
19And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns thereof.
20Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died.
← 2 Chronicles 13:162 Chronicles 13:18 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter, etc.] As they fled, pursuing them: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men; such a slaughter as is not to be met with in any history, as Josephus f44 observes; though Abarbinel wonders he should say so, and affirms that he had read of larger numbers slain at once; but he is the only man that ever pretended to it; Jerom f45 makes the number but 50,000, and some copies of the Vulgate Latin f46, and Josephus Ben Gorion, as Abarbinel f47 relates; but the true Josephus, the Targum, and all the ancient versions, agree with the Hebrew text; more than half Jeroboam’s army was cut off, and 100,000 more than Abijah…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Slain - The word means strictly “pierced,” and will include both the killed and the wounded. It is translated “wounded” in Lamentations 2:12. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“five hundred: Ch2 13:3, Ch2 13:12, Ch2 28:6; Isa 10:16-19, Isa 37:36; Nah 1:5; Co1 10:22 2 Chronicles 13:18”
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Related study paths

Read 2 Chronicles 13 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification