any controversy shall come to you from your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgements, ye shall warn them, that they be not guilty towards the LORD, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not be guilty. 11And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. [1]Deal courageously, and the LORD be with the good.
20And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the [2]Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2Then
10. between blood and blood] To decide between one kind of blood-shedding and another, i.e. between manslaughter and murder. Deut. xvii. 8.
between law and commandment] To decide what particular ordinance applies to a particular case.
ye shall warn them] Cp. Ezek. iii. 17—21.
wrath] Heb. ḳeṣeph; see note on ver. 2.
11. Amariah] Perhaps the one mentioned in 1 Chr. vi. 11 [v. 37, Heb.].
matters of the LORD] i.e. in all religious and ritual questions. Contrast the king's matters, i.e. civil cases, such probably as questions of taxation, military service, and so forth.
officers before you] i.e. waiting to execute your instructions.
Ch. XX. 1—4 (no parallel in Kings). The Invasion of the
Moabites and their Allies.
Vv. 1—30 of this chapter present an edifying tale of a miraculous victory gained by Jehoshaphat over an invading horde of desert tribes, a victory gained solely through prayer to Jehovah and without a single blow being struck by a Judean soldier. The whole narrative is an admirable example of midrashic narrative, and should be compared with xiv. 9—15 and xiii. 3—20, where see notes. Regarding the possibility of an historical foundation for the tale, see the Introd. § 7, pp. xlix, l, and cp. G. A. Smith, Hist. Geography, pp. 272, 273.
1. some of the Ammonites] Read, some of the Meunim. They
