Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 13:4
Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abijah stands on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim to address Jeroboam and all Israel immediately after his army lines up against Jeroboam’s forces for battle.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיָּקָם (va-yāqôm) literally means “he arose” or “he took a stand,” while צְמָרַיִם (ṣəmarayim) identifies the specific ridge in Ephraim that serves as the battlefield platform.
The thread — The location Zemaraim appears in Joshua 18:22 as a territorial boundary marker, and the public summons “Hear me” mirrors Jotham’s mount-top address in Judges 9:7 and the prophetic warning in 2 Chronicles 15:2.
Why it lands — The text records a military pause where a king forces a divided audience to listen before combat begins, requiring Jeroboam and his people to process a theological claim rather than immediately engage in violence.
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
And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;
Cross-references
- Joshua 18:22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
- Judges 9:7 When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out: “Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem, and may God listen to you.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
- Genesis 10:18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered,