Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 14:1
Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records the death of King Abijah and the accession of his son Asa, noting a ten-year period of land peace. This account marks the immediate transition of Judah’s monarchy and establishes the historical baseline before evaluating Asa’s subsequent reign.
The words — The verb וַ/יִּשְׁכַּ֨ב (va/i.yish.Kav) literally means "and he lay down," functioning as a royal idiom for death, while וַ/יִּקְבְּר֤וּ (va/i.yik.be.Ru) means "and they buried." These terms anchor the narrative in the physical reality of Abijah’s passing and the formal interment in the City of David.
The thread — This succession formula and burial location appear in 1 Kings 2:10, 1 Kings 14:31, and 1 Kings 15:8, which similarly note David, Rehoboam, and Abijam resting with their fathers and being buried in the City of David. The Chronicler repeats this structure to maintain dynastic continuity and frame royal mortality within a recognized historical pattern.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note that political stability follows a royal transition, while deliberately pausing before assessing the new king’s moral standing. It asks the reader to observe how historical records frame leadership changes before measuring a ruler’s subsequent actions against divine standards.
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
So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 2:10 Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
- 1 Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 15:8 And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.
- 1 Chronicles 3:10 Solomon’s son was Rehoboam: Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,
- 2 Chronicles 9:31 And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
- Matthew 1:7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.