Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 20:35
Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records this event during Jehoshaphat’s later reign, immediately following the narrative of his military deliverance in chapter 20. The text shifts from describing Judah’s spiritual victories to documenting a political decision made after the battle.
The words — The phrase אַחֲרֵי כֵן ('a.cha.rei Khen) translates literally to "after this," marking a chronological pivot. The verb אֶתְחַבַּר ('et.cha.bar) means "he made an alliance," specifying the nature of the subsequent political move.
The thread — This alliance connects to Jehoshaphat’s earlier maritime venture recorded in 1 Kings 22:48 and sets up the shipbuilding agreement detailed in 2 Chronicles 20:36. It also contextualizes the reign of Ahaziah, whose fatal accident is noted in 2 Kings 1:2.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that a king’s prior faithfulness does not immunize him from later strategic errors. It places the political consequence of allying with a wicked ruler directly before the narrative of the failed ship expedition.
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 after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
- 2 Kings 1:2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”