The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 152

EXPOSITION. xv. 84; 2 Sam. ni. 6). Josephus (' ltelL CHAPTER XIII. Jud.,' v. 2. § 1) states what helps t.o the The career of .A.bijah begins and ends identifying of the pl!Mle as the modern Tuleil- with this chapter, the twenty-one verses of el.-fvl, a.bout thirty stadia from Jerusalem (see which are pare.lleled by only eight in 1 also Isa. x. 28-32). The Gibeah of 1 Sam. xxii 6; x:xiii. 19; xxvi. 1, is this Gibee.h Kings xv. 1-8. The difference is caUBed of Saul. 6. Gibee.h in the field (Judg. xx. by the fact the.t the writer of Kings only 81). Lastly, our Authorized Version gives mentions that there was we.r between us seven other Gibee.hs, only translating Abijah and Jeroboam, while the writer of this word, e.g. " The hill of the foreskins " Chronicles, besides giving particulars of the (Josh. v. 8); "The hill of Phinehe.s" (Josh. xxiv. 38); "The hill of Moreb" (Judg. war, rehearses the splendid, dre.me.tic, rheto- vii. 1); "The hill of God" (1 Sam. x. 5); rice.l address and appeal of Abije.h on Mount " The hill of Haohile.h" (1 Sam. :uili. 19 ; Zeme.rai.m to the people of the ten tribes. xxvi. 1); "The hill of Am.mah" (2 Sam. ii. 24); "The hill Gareb" (Jer. xx:xi. 89). Ver. 1.-In the eighteenth yea.r. Ree.ding Ver. 3.-It is not within the province of this !itere.lly, it will appear that Rehoboe.m e.n expositor to e.ssert dogmatice.lly that bad completed a full seventeen years. numbers like these in this verse should Ver. 2.-llfiohaie.h the daughter of lJriel be deprived of one cipher, and that the ,c,f Gibee.h. As before noted (eh. xi 20), and slaughter of ver. 17 must be, consequently, -as in the pare.lie! (l Kings xv. 2), this name similarly discounted. It would be, however, a lis one with "Mae.chah, daughter of Absa- great relief to faith to be able t.o git1e proof :lom" (po.re.lie!, .A.bishalom). The different that this treatment would be true to fact. nlph.e.betic characters me.y be attributed to At present the numbers can be shown to be error, e.nd that error the error of transcrip- consistent with other numbers, such as those tion merely. As in our note (eh. xi 20), of the entire man-population (1 Ohron. :xxi. 1he word "daughter,'' e.s in me.ny si.mila.r 5 ; eh. xi. 13-17); and this seems the best .cases, stands for gmndde.nghter. Thns the that can be so.id in support of them. It does \.rather of Meacbe.h was Urie! of Gibea.h, not, however, suffice to bring comfortable and her mother Te.me.r, daughter of Ab- conviction. It is remarkable, among the ·salom. Josephus (' Ant.,' viii 10. § 1) difficulties that the question entails, that we proffers us this connecting link o~ explaru:,- do not get any satisfactory explanation as to .tion. On the other he.nd, Rabbi Josephs how such vast numbers of ale.in bodies were 'To.rgnm on Chronicles says that Urie! disposed of in o. compass of ground com- means Abselom, bot we.s e. name used to paratively so small. avoid the use of Absalom. We have no Ver. 4.-l'llount Zemara.i.m. This mount clue e.s to which out of many Gibeahs is is not mentioned elsewhere. Presumably it here intended. The Hebrew word (rW=!l) was a mountain or hill above the place called l!ignifies a hill with round top, and hence Zemaraim, mentioned iu Josh. xviii. 22 as would easily give no.me t.o many places. in Benjamin's allotment, and mentioned The following are the chief places of the between the places called Beth he.-Arabah name (as classified by Dr. S~th's '. Bible (i.e. the Jordan valley) and Bethel. Ac- Dictionary.' i. 689~91): I. G1beah ID the cordingly, it may be that itself lay between mountain cli,;trict of Judah (Josh. xv. 57; these two, or near enough to them one or l Chron. ii. 49). 2. Gibee.th among the both. 'fhis will quite suit our connection towns of Benjamin (Josh. xviii 28). 3. The as pla.cing the hill near the borders of Gibeah (1 Sam. vii. 1; 2 Sam. vi 3, 4). 4. Benjamin and Ephraim. It is said to be Gibeah of Benjamin (Judg. xix., xx.), be- in IIount Ephraim, i.e. in the range of tween Bethlehem and Jerusalem. This Mount Ephraim, which was one of con- llhould strictly be quoted either as "Gibeo.h siderable length, running through the midst belonging to Benjamin," or " Geba (l'?~) of of what was afterwards called Samaria, from Benjamin " (see also I Sam. xiii., :xiv. ; 2 the Plain of Esdre.elon to J ude.h. Zeme.re.i.m bam. =iii 29 ; 1 Chron. xi 31 ; Hos. v. 8; ix. may be so named from the Zeme.rite tribe, Iii; L 9). 5. Gibeah of Saul (1 Sam. x. 26; who were Ho.mites, and related to the 011. xtn. 1-22.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 1513