Bible Strands
2 Kings 14:11
But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jehoash king of Israel delivers a warning to Amaziah king of Judah after the latter’s victory over Edom, urging him to remain at home rather than provoke war. The narrative then records Amaziah’s refusal and the subsequent positioning of both armies.
The words — The Hebrew verb שָׁמַ֣ע (sha.Ma') literally means “he listened,” highlighting Amaziah’s deliberate refusal to heed Jehoash’s counsel. The verb וַ/יִּתְרָא֣וּ (va/i.yit.ra.'U) translates as “they looked at one another,” describing the two forces taking opposing battle lines.
The thread — Beth-shemesh is consistently marked in Joshua as a territorial boundary and Levitical settlement (Joshua 15:10, Joshua 19:38, Joshua 21:16). In this account, the same location becomes the neutral ground where the divided kingdoms confront each other militarily.
Why it lands — The passage presents the immediate tactical outcome of rejecting counsel regarding pride and overextension. It requires the reader to note how geographic and political boundaries, when disregarded, produce direct confrontation.
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
But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth–shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
Cross-references
- Joshua 19:38 Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. There were nineteen cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 15:10 The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
- Joshua 21:16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.
- 1 Samuel 6:9 but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
- 2 Chronicles 25:16 While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”
- 2 Chronicles 25:20 But Amaziah would not listen, for this had come from God in order to deliver them into the hand of Jehoash, because they had sought the gods of Edom.