2 Chronicles 14:9

9 Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah,

2 Chronicles 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 14:9

And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with an
host of thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots
According to Josephus ^F2, this army consisted of 900,000 foot, and 100,000 horsemen, and certain it is there were horsemen among them, ( 2 Chronicles 16:8 ) some say these were not the Ethiopians in Africa, beyond Egypt, being, as is said, too far off for such an army to travel, and it would be hard to say what should induce them to it; and besides it is urged, the king of Egypt would never have suffered them to pass through his dominions, as they must to come to Judea; but that they were the Cushite Arabs, that inhabited Midian, part of Arabia Petraea, and Arabia Felix, near Judaea, (See Gill on Numbers 12:1), but since this great host consisted of Lubim or Libyans, inhabitants of Africa, as well as of Ethiopians, ( 2 Chronicles 16:8 ) , these Ethiopians seem to be rather those in Africa, who were masters of Egypt and Libya, as well as Ethiopia, quickly after the death of Shishak, or Sesostris, see ( 2 Chronicles 12:2 2 Chronicles 12:3 ) , which accounts for the size of this army, and their passage through Egypt: that there were two sorts of Ethiopians, the western and eastern ones, the one that dwelt in Africa, the other in Asia, appears clearly from Homer {c}, Herodotus ^F4, and Heliodorus ^F5, the former of which seem here meant; nor need this army be thought incredible, especially since they were joined by the Lubim or Libyans, and assisted by the Philistines, as appears by what follows; besides, the two armies of Israel and Judah we read of in the preceding chapter, when put together, exceed this; see also ( 2 Chronicles 17:14-18 ) , so the armies of Tamerlane and Bajazet, that of the former being 1,600,000, and that of the latter 1,400,000 ^F6:

and came unto Mareshah;
a city in the tribe of Judah, on the borders of it, ( 2 Chronicles 11:8 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 12. sect. 1.
F3 Odyss. 1. ver. 23, 24.
F4 Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 69, 70.
F5 Ethiopic. l. 9. c. 6.
F6 Laonic. Chalcocond. de rebus Turc. l. 3. p. 98, 102.

2 Chronicles 14:9 In-Context

7 Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.

8 King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men.

9 Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah,

10 so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah.

11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, “O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew a Cushite.
• [b]. Or an army of thousands and thousands; Hebrew reads an army of a thousand thousands.