Bible Strands
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;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records King Jehoshaphat’s military census while Judah consolidates fortified cities and stored supplies. The text lists tribal contingents organized by ancestral households to quantify the kingdom’s defensive strength.
The words — The text states פְקֻדָּתָ֖ם (pequddatam) as “their mustering” or “their numbered list,” indicating a formal military roster. It also uses לְ/בֵ֣ית (leveit) for “to the house of,” showing that troop counts were structured around patriarchal clans rather than temporary units.
The thread — The text notes numerical increase in Genesis 12:2, Genesis 13:16, and Genesis 15:5 as divine promises to multiply offspring. The census applies that same ancestral framework to Jehoshaphat’s army, treating military capacity as a continuation of patriarchal blessing.
Why it lands — The text presents organized, quantified strength as a direct outworking of household divisions and stored provisions. Readers must recognize that Judah’s readiness depends on faithful adherence to ancestral structure rather than unmoored accumulation.
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 these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
Cross-references
- Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 13:16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
- Genesis 15:5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Numbers 1:2 “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
- Numbers 1:18 and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation and recorded their ancestry by clans and families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years of age or older,
- 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 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 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.
- 2 Chronicles 26:13 Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.