So Benhadad hearkened unto King Asa, and sent the captains of
the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel
He broke off his alliance with the king of Israel; and as he had a standing army, with proper officers, he sent them directly to take the cities of Israel:
and he smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth,
with all the land of Naphtali;
places which lay on the northern part of Israel, the nearest to Syria. Ijon some place in the tribe of Naphtali, others in Asher; it seems to be on the extreme border of the land northward, as Dan also was; hence the phrase from Dan to Beersheba, i.e. from north to south. Abelbethmaachah is the same with Abelmaim, ( 2 Chronicles 16:4 ) which perhaps is the same with that Abela, placed by Jerome
F24 De loc. Heb. fol. 83. K.
F25 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19.
The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.