2 Chronicles 18


2 Chronicles 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles the Old Testament in the Christian Bible or of the second part of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had the final shape established in late fifth or fourth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the kingdom of Judah until its destruction by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar and the beginning of restoration under Cyrus the Great of Persia . The focus of this chapter is the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and is divided into 34 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Old Testament references

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Analysis

This chapter parallels closely with 1 Kings 22:1–40 with a different introduction and conclusion, mainly to demonstrate that 'true YHWH-prophecy also existed in the northern kingdom'. The alliance with Ahab was Jehoshaphat's first of the two missteps.

Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab (18:1–11)

Verse 1 refers to 2 Chronicles 17:5 concerning Jehoshaphat's wealth and to 2 Kings 8:18, 27 about the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son, Joram, with Ahab's daughter, Athaliah, probably driven by mutual political interests, but driving the royalty of Judah away from the Lord.

Verse 1

Micaiah's message of defeat (18:12–27)

Micaiah's speech describes a meeting of the Lord with his heavenly council where the prophet was a witness to the conversation.

Verse 27

  • Cross references:
The last words of the prophet Micaiah the son of Imlah are exactly the first words of the prophet Micah the Morasthite in the Book of Micah.

Death of Ahab, king of Israel (18:28–34)

This section parallels closely to with some differences in the last parts, such as in verse 34, the sentence "was holding himself up in the chariot, facing Aram, until the evening" is a clearer rendering of 1 Kings 22:35 which reads that "was held up in the chariot,... and he died in the evening", as well as the omission of the remaining narrative regarding the return of the army and the washing of Ahab's chariot at the pool of Samaria, which did not concern Jehoshaphat.