Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 21:17
So they went to war against Judah, invaded it, and carried off all the possessions found in the king’s palace, along with his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the aftermath of the LORD stirring the Philistines and Arabs against King Jehoram of Judah. These raiders launch a military campaign that strips the royal house of its wealth and heirs.
The words — וַיִּשְׁבּוּ (va/yish.bu) translates as "and they took captive," while הָרְכוּשׁ (ha/re.khush) means "the property." These terms specify that the invaders seized both the royal estate and the king's family members as captives.
The thread — The raid executes the judgment announced in 2 Chronicles 21:16 and leaves only Jehoahaz, though 2 Chronicles 22:1 immediately notes Jerusalem installing Ahaziah as king. The systematic removal of royal heirs prefigures the captivity patterns later recorded in 2 Chronicles 25:23.
Why it lands — The text reports the total loss of royal assets and succession lines, requiring the reader to observe that political continuity now rests solely on the surviving youngest son rather than established dynastic power.
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 they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 22:1 Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram, king in his place, since the raiders who had come into the camp with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 22:6 So he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
- 2 Chronicles 25:23 There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.
- 2 Chronicles 24:7 For the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had even used the sacred objects of the house of the LORD for the Baals.
- Job 5:3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.