Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/292

228 And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for long seasons Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: but when in their distress they turned unto the, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city: for God did vex them with all adversity. But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack: for your work shall be rewarded. And

XV. 1—15 (no parallel in Kings).&emsp;

1. Azariah the son of Oded] is mentioned only in this passage. Cp. xvi. 7, where a prophet (Hanani), also known to us only through Chronicles, delivers a rebuke to Asa.

2. went out to meet] Cp. xix. 2.

if ye seek him] Cp. 1 Chr. xxviii. 9.

Vv. 3—6 contain the reflections of the Chronicler himself or a glossator on the whole course of Israelite history. The wording is too vague and there are periods in the history too obscure to make it possible to determine the reference definitely.

3. without a teaching priest, and without law] The connection between these two is closer than the English suggests. "Law" (Heb. tōrah) is properly "teaching, guidance." A "teaching" priest (Heb. mōreh) is one who gives "tōrah" or "guidance" on doubtful points of morality or ritual. Cp. Mal. ii. 7.

5. vexations] Rather, afflictions; cp. Acts xii. 1, "to vex (R.V. 'to afflict') certain of the church."

of the lands] The reference is probably to the Israelite territory only; cp. xi. 23, xxxiv. 33; and 1 Chr. xiii. 2 (mg.).

6. nation against nation] Apparently Israel is meant. In the civil strife of the days of the Judges, and again in the contentions of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, Israel seemed at times to be a collection of related but hostile tribes: cp. Judg. viii. 13—17, ix. 26 ff., xii. 1 ff., xx. 12 ff.

vex] Rather, afflict; see ver. 5.

7. be ye strong, etc.] The prophet's warning is continued in this verse.