Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 13:15
and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Judah’s forces raising a battle cry while encircled by Jeroboam’s army, immediately following the priests’ trumpet blasts in response to Judah’s prayer. This moment occurs during the decisive clash between Abijah’s Judah and Jeroboam’s Israel.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיָּרִיעוּ (va/yā.rî.‘û) denotes sounding a battle signal or war cry, repeated in the phrase בְּהָרִיעַ (be.hā.rî.‘a) to mark the precise moment God acts. The text explicitly states that God routed Jeroboam and all Israel at that exact signal.
The thread — The motif of divine routing of enemies at a battle cry or trumpet signal appears in 2 Chronicles 14:12 against the Cushites, Numbers 32:4 regarding conquered territories, and Joshua 6:16 during the fall of Jericho. These passages share the pattern of God delivering enemies in response to Israel’s vocal or instrumental proclamation.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that military victory originates from divine intervention rather than human strategy. It requires the reader to acknowledge that obedience in crisis, marked by vocal appeal and signal, precedes God’s decisive action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 14:12 So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.
- Numbers 32:4 which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, are suitable for livestock—and your servants have livestock.”
- Joshua 6:16 After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
- Joshua 6:20 So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it.
- Joshua 11:8 and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.
- Judges 4:15 And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.
- Judges 7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
- 2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- 2 Chronicles 20:21 Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever.”
- Psalms 47:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout unto God with a voice of triumph.