Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 16:5
When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned his work.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Baasha’s reaction after King Asa of Judah secures an Aramean attack against Israelite cities. Upon learning of the campaign, Baasha abruptly halts his own military construction project at Ramah.
The words — The verb וַ/יֶּחְדַּ֕ל (va/i.yech.Dal) means “he ceased,” combined with מִ/בְּנ֖וֹת (mi./be.Not), “from building,” to record Baasha’s sudden abandonment of the fortification work.
The thread — This verse records the immediate tactical result of Asa’s diplomatic alliance, showing how Aramean pressure forces Israel’s king to abandon his defensive works at Ramah. The narrative continues by detailing how Asa later dismantles those abandoned stones and timbers to reinforce Judah’s own border cities.
Why it lands — The passage demands the reader to see how intelligence alone can terminate a military project and redirect strategic advantage without further battlefield engagement.
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 it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.