LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. 20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise [1]the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and
defines his first statement; those who stood up to praise were Kohathites by clan, Korahites by family.
20—25 (no parallel in Kings). The Deliverance.
20. Tekoa] The modern Teḳu'a, a ruin on a hill 2790 feet above the sea, about six miles south of Beth-lehem. It was an ancient place; xi. 6; 1 Chr. ii. 24; 2 Sam. xiv. 2; Amos i. 1. The "wilderness of Tekoa" means that part of the "wilderness of Judah" which was near Tekoa.
believe . . . so shall ye be established] Cp. Is. vii. 9, "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." In both places there is a play on the words in the Heb.; "believe" and "be established" representing two voices of the same verb ha'amīnū . . . tē'āmēnū.
21. them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise] Cp. the preliminaries of the Battle of the Standard fought between the Scots and English in 1138.
the beauty of holiness] Render in holy attire, i.e. in priestly garments. Cp. 1 Chr. xvi. 29 (note).
before the army] Contrast Josh. vi. 7, 9 (the armed men precede the Ark).
Give thanks] cp. 1 Chr. xvi. 41.
22. the LORD set liers in wait] Comparing Josh. viii. 2, where Joshua is bidden by God to set an ambush, we might suppose that the present phrase implies simply that the Lord suggested to Jehoshaphat the plan of setting an ambush. Such a view, however, seems antagonistic to ver. 17, where the Judeans are told only to stand still and see the salvation wrought by God; and indeed it would detract immensely from the value of the tale as an awe-inspiring marvel. It is preferable to suppose that certain supernatural Divine agents were meant by the Chronicler. If the tradition has an historical basis, some sudden
- ↑ Or, in the beauty of holiness
