2 Chronicles 16:8

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Hanani the seer confronts King Asa of Judah after Asa purchased an alliance with the king of Aram instead of trusting God to defeat the invading Cushite and Libyan forces.

The words — The Hebrew לְ/חַ֧יִל (le./Cha.yil) literally denotes a military host or army, while לָ/רֹ֛ב (la./Ro) specifies that the force was characterized by overwhelming multitude.

The thread — The passage echoes the massive Cushite and Libyan host detailed in 2 Chronicles 14:9 and aligns with the repeated pattern of divine intervention recorded in 2 Chronicles 13:16.

Why it lands — The text states that reliance on the Lord alone secured victory against a numerically superior army, demanding that readers abandon political alliances in favor of direct dependence on God.

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

הֲלֹ֧אha./Lo'¿/ not הַכּוּשִׁ֣יםha./ku.Shimthe/ Cushites וְהַלּוּבִ֗יםve./ha./lu.Vimand/ the/ Libyans הָי֨וּha.Yuwere they לְחַ֧יִל׀le./Cha.yil<to>/ an army לָרֹ֛בla./Rofor/ multitude לְרֶ֥כֶבle./Re.khev<to>/ chariotry וּלְפָרָשִׁ֖יםu./le./fa.ra.Shimand/ <to>/ horsemen לְהַרְבֵּ֣הle./har.Behto/ abundance מְאֹ֑דme.'Odexceedingly וּבְהִשָּֽׁעֶנְךָ֥u./ve./hi.sha.'en./Khaand/ because/ depending/ you עַל־'al-on יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh נְתָנָ֥םne.ta.Na/mhe gave/ them בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃be./ya.De./khain/ hand/ your

King James Version

Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 12:3 with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.
2 Chronicles 13:16 So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
2 Chronicles 14:9 Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.
2 Chronicles 16:7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
2 Chronicles 13:18 Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Psalms 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Psalms 37:39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.