The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 132

larger armies, whe?688 now Rehoboe.m wa.s of the road to Hebron. Ete.m. A plaoe taken by surprise. nee.r Bethlehem (1 Chron. iv. 3, 4, not 32; Ver. 2.--Shemai.a.h the ma.11 of God. This Septuagint of Josh. xv. 60); possibly the re- is the first historical mention (1 Kings xii. sort of Samson after his revenge on the Philis- 22) of She!IlR,ie.b. The seoond is found in tines (Judg. xv. 8, 11). It was not theEtam oh. xii. 5, 7, on ooce.sion of the invMion of mentioned as belonging to Simeon (1 Chron. Jnde.h e.nd Jerusalem by Shishak King of iv. 32). Tekoa. According to Jerome, e.s elso Egypt; and the third, in the ee.me ohe.pter, Eusebius, six Roman miles from Bethlehem, ver. 15, that be wrote e. book respecting the and nine from Jerusalem, or else, possibly aots of Rehoboe.m. The expression, " me.n by another roe.d, twelve (Jerome's •Pro- of God," owns to a somewhat unexple,ined mmium in Amos,' and bis • Onomasticon '). history. It is first found in the added part It is absent from the Hebrew cateJ.ogne of of Deuteronomy (x.xxiii. 1), where it is Judah towns (Josh. xv. 49), but is in the Sep- applied to Moses. It occurs once iu Joshua. tuagint Version of it. It we.a the place of (xiv. 6) ; twice in Judges (xiii. 6, 8); four the "wise woman" of 2 Se.m. xiv. 2. times in Samuel (1 S1tm. ii 27 ; ix. 6--8) ; Ver. 7.-Beth-zur, About five miles north tu•enty-nine times in Kings; six times in of Hebron (see Josh. xv. 58; 1 Chron. ii. Chronicles; once each in Ezra. Nehemiah, 45; Neh. iii.16). Shoco; properly, Socoh, in and Jeremiah. the Shefelah (Josh. xv. 35). According to Ver. 3.-To all Israel in Judah and Ben- Jerome and Eusebius, it was abont nine jamin. There is difference of opinion as to miles from Eleutberopolis, on the roe.d to who a.re intended in the expression, "all Jerusalem (see also 1 8am. xvii. 1). Adnl- Israel," already confessedly ambiguous in lam.. In the Shefelah (Josh. xv. 35). It two other pe.SBRges. When we consider the was an ancient place (Gen. xxxviii. 1, 12, 20; mention of Rehoboe.m personally in the Josh. xii. 15; Neh. xi. 30). See also the former ole.use of the verse, it. would seem fe.milia.r passages (1 Sam. xxii. 1 ; 2 Sam. most probable that the meaning is all the xxiii. 13; 1 Chron. xi. 15). people of the nation, resident in the Jude.b Ver. 8.-0e.th. Site still unknown. Some and Benjamin allotments, i.e. the nation think it may be the Gath-rimmon of Dan CAiled collecti-rely Israel This will include (Josh. xix. 45). Otherwise it is Goth of the "the remnant" spoken of in the pe.ra.llel Philistines (Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. I 7), (1 Kings xii. 23, compared with 17). and of Goliath (1 Sam. xvii. 4, 23). L L. P., Ver. 4.-This thing is from me; i.e. the in Dr. Smith's 'Bible Dictionary,' i. 656, pnnisliing disruption; not the precedent wishes to find it on a hill now called Tel-es- CAuses '\tith the entirety of historical e,·ents; Safieh, on one side of the Plain of Philistia, this punishing and witnessing disruption is about ten miles east of Asbdod and south- not to be "lightly healed." The me.n who ee.st of Ekron. See also "Topographical did what CAused it, the men who did whe.t Index,'' p. 411, in Conder's 'Handbook to co.used it, cannot thus each undo whe.t they the Bible,' 2nd edit. Other interesting re- have done-least of all undo it by the ferences are 1 So.m. xvii. 1, 52 ; xxi. 10 ; appeal of war. They and theirs will have, 1 Chron. xviii. 1 ; eh. xxvi. 6; 1 Kings ii. long e.s life lasts, as lives last, to go through 39 ; 2 Kings xii. 17 ; Amos vi. 2. Mareshah, the baptism of bitter smfering, and leave a In the Shefelah (Josh. xv. 44), now Marash, heritRge of the ea.me for others. a short distance south of Eleutheropolis. Vers. 5-12.-These eight verses tell how Zerah the Cnshite ea.me here when he was Rehoboam, relieved of the responsibility of invading Judrea. (eh. xiv. 9. See also eh. attempting to reconquer the revolted, wisely XL 37; Micah i 15). It we.a taken by John betakes himself to strengthening and defend- Hyrcanus, B.O. 110, and wes demolished by ing whet We.B left to him. He builds fifteen the Parthio.ns, B.o. 39. Ziph. Probably the .. fenced cities," or " cities for defence," present Tel-Li,/, a little eouth-eest of Hebron twelve of them south and west of Jerusalem, (Josh. xv. 55; see also 21:. See also 1 Se.m. for fear of Egypt; he fortifies certain strong- xxili. 11:-24 ; x.xvi. 2). holds, officering them, provisioning them, Ver. 9.-Adoraim. This name is not found and supplying to them and " every several anywhere else. The meaning of the word is city•• the necessary weapons of W8J'Ull'e and " two heaps," and very probably describes shields. the physical features of the site. It is prob- Ver. 6.-Betblehem. This we.a a ce.se not ably the modem Dura. Its site is other- of e.ctnal new building of a city, but of re- wise unknown. La.chish (see Josh. xv. 39; e.lso storing and strengthening it. Bethlehem, x. 3; xii. 11); probably the modern Um originally Ephre.th (Gen. mv. 16 ; xlviii. 7), Lakia, that lies on the road to Ge.za. Other WBB one of the very oldest towns existent in interesting references are 2 Kings xiv. 19; Jacobs time. It we.s not called Bethlehem xviii. 14-17; xix. 8: Neh. xi. 30; Micah till long after the settlement of the tribes. i. 13. Asekh& (see Josh. xv. 35; also x. H was 'li.x miles from J el"Ulalem, oii the e.ast 10); it w11,11 in the Shefelah (see also l S11.10. on. xt. 1-23.] TlIE SECOND BOOK OF THE CttRONICLES. 133