Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 14:8
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Asa organizes the military forces of Judah and Benjamin following a season of urban rebuilding and divine rest. This muster occurs immediately before the advance of Zerah the Cushite.
The words — חַיִל (cha.Yil) denotes an organized "army" or military host. נֹשֵׂא (no.Se') means "bearing" or "carrying," specifying how the Judahite contingent carried their large shields and spears.
The thread — The precise troop counts echo the military records in 2 Chronicles 11:1, 13:3, and 17:14. The chronicler consistently tracks these numbers to document the kingdom's defensive capacity.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge the exact scale and ethnic division of the defending force before the battle begins. It asks for a plain accounting of the military reality without allegorical interpretation.
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 Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 13:3 Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor.
- 2 Chronicles 11:1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the house of Judah and Benjamin—180,000 chosen warriors—to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
- 2 Chronicles 17:14 These are their numbers according to the houses of their fathers: From Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor;
- 2 Chronicles 25:5 Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield.