World English Bible · The divided kingdom
2 Chronicles 14
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So slept with his fathers, and they in city; and his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land was quiet ten years. did that which was good and right in his eyes, for he took away the foreign and the , broke down the pillars, cut down the , and commanded Judah to seek , the of their fathers, and to and command. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the and the sun ; and was quiet before him. He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because had given him rest. For he said to Judah, "Let's build these cities and make walls around them, with towers, , and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought our . We have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. had an army of three hundred thousand out of Judah who bore bucklers and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand out of who bore shields and drew bows. All these were of valor. Zerah the came out against them with an army of a million troops and three hundred chariots, and he came to . Then went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at . cried to his , and said, ", there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, our ; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. , you are our . Don't let man prevail against you." So struck the before and before Judah; and the fled. and the people who were with him pursued them to . So many of the fell that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before and before his army. Judah's army very much booty. They struck all the cities around , for the came on them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. They also struck the tents of those who had livestock, and sheep and camels in abundance, then returned to .
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The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.