xxx. 25 (despite the last words); and on general grounds the latter

view seems preferable to the present writer. If so, we have in Chronicles the first traces of the extension of Judaism northwards from Judea into Samaria and Galilee. Hölscher thinks that the evidence of Chronicles can be supported from the late chapters Zechariah ix.‒xiv., and from passages in Judith.

_Simeon_] The territory of this tribe lay in the South (1 Chronicles iv. 28‒43; Joshua xix. 1‒9), and it is natural to think that at the disruption Simeon followed Judah in allegiance to the house of David. Here, however, and in xxxiv. 6 it is reckoned as one of the ten tribes forming the Northern Kingdom, for what reason it is hard to say. The traditions relating to the tribe are far from clear (see _Encyclopedia Britannica_ s.v. _Simeon_).

¹⁰So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

=10.= _in the third month_] In this month the Feast of Weeks (i.e. of wheat harvest) was held; Deuteronomy xvi. 9.

¹¹And they sacrificed unto the LORD in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

=11.= _the spoil_] Compare xiv. 13‒15.

¹²And they entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

=12.= _they entered into the covenant_] Compare xxix. 10; 2 Kings xxiii. 3.

¹³and that whosoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

=13.= _should be put to death_] According to the Law; Deuteronomy xvii. 2‒7.

¹⁴And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

=14.= _shouting_] The word (_terū‘āh_) is used to denote a blast with the festal trumpets; see next note.

_trumpets_] The word (_hăṣōṣĕrāh_) means a special kind of trumpet used only for religious purposes; Numbers x. 1‒10; 1 Chronicles xv. 24 (note). Driver, _Amos_, pp. 144‒6, gives an illustration derived from the Arch of Titus.

¹⁵And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

=15.= _he was found of them_] A fulfilment of the promise given in verse 2.

=16‒19= (1 Kings xv. 13‒15). OTHER RELIGIOUS MEASURES OF ASA.

¹⁶And also Maacah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen¹, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah²; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

¹ Or, _queen mother_.

² Or, _for Asherah_.

=16.= _And also Maacah_] “Maacah the daughter of Abishalom” is described as the mother of Abijam (Abijah) in 1 Kings xv. 2 and as the mother of Asa in 1 Kings xv. 10, although Asa is described as the son of Abijam (Abijah) in 1 Kings xv. 8. Most probably Maacah was the grandmother of Asa but retained her position as queen mother during two reigns, i.e. until removed by Asa.

_from being queen_] Or, as margin, =from being queen mother=.

_an abominable image_] Exactly what is meant by this phrase is uncertain. The image was one of peculiarly repulsive appearance, or perhaps of specially degrading significance.

_for an Asherah_] Revised Version margin (rightly, as representing the meaning of the Chronicler) for =Asherah=, since Asherah here and in a few other passages (1 Kings xviii. 19; 2 Kings xxi. 7, xxiii. 4, 7) is to be translated as the name of a goddess, about whom however very little is known. Excavations at Ta‘anach have revealed that a goddess named _Ashirat_ (= _Asherah_) was worshipped in Palestine from an early period. The references here and in the passages cited above would therefore seem to be to this goddess. That conclusion, if sound, disposes of the opinion that the Chronicler was mistaken in imagining that “Ashērah” was anything more than a common noun denoting the wooden symbol of a deity. We must of course translate according to the meaning of the Chronicler whether he has fallen into an error or not. See also the note on xiv. 3, p. 224.

_the brook Kidron_] On the east of Jerusalem, an unclean place; compare 2 Kings xxiii. 4, “in the fields of Kidron.” Bädeker, _Palestine_⁵, p. 80.

¹⁷But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

=17.= _the high places_] Hebrew _bāmōth_. These were not necessarily places of idolatrous worship, but they were sanctuaries rigorously forbidden by the Law from the Deuteronomic period onwards, which in the opinion of the Chronicler of course meant from the time of Moses. Failure to “remove” the high places was therefore reckoned by him as a sin in any of the kings, no matter how early in the period of the monarchy.

_were not taken away ... days_] So also 1 Kings xv. 14, but a direct contradiction of the Chronicler’s statement in xiv. 3! Two explanations seem possible; _either_, “Israel” (contrary to the frequent usage of the word in Chronicles, see xi. 3) here denotes the Northern Kingdom as distinct from Judah, in which case xiv. 3 is to be taken as referring only to Judah, _or_ perhaps these verses 16‒19 are an addition to Chronicles inserted by someone who thought the Chronicler had wrongfully neglected 1 Kings xv. 13‒15.

_perfect_] i.e. “whole, undivided in its allegiance.”

¹⁸And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

=18.= _the things that his father had dedicated_] Probably _spoils of war_; compare 1 Chronicles xviii. 11. It is implied that Abijah had vowed a portion of his spoils, but that Asa first actually presented them in the Temple. The verse is quoted _verbatim_ from 1 Kings xv. 15, and is most obscure, so that there is probability in the view that it is only a misplaced repetition of 1 Kings vii. 51b. No stress can therefore be laid on the suggestion that we may see in this statement an indirect confirmation of Abijah’s victory recorded in 2 Chronicles xiii.

¹⁹And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

=19.= _there was no more war_] This statement can be reconciled with 1 Kings xv. 16, 32 only by interpreting it broadly to mean that nothing serious occurred until the war with Baasha had been going on for several years: a forced interpretation. Perhaps the Chronicler deliberately contradicts Kings “there was war between Asa and Baasha all their days,” assigning to Asa’s reign a time of peace which seemed appropriate to his piety.