13:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam According to 1 Kgs 14:20, Jeroboam reigned over the northern kingdom for 22 years (circa 930–909 bc).

13:2 Micaiah The Hebrew text here identifies Abijah’s mother as Micaiah, a variant form of Maacah (which appears in 2 Chron 11:20). There she is listed as the daughter of Absalom, but she is most likely his granddaughter.

13:3 four hundred thousand battle-hardened warriors, chosen men These numbers may be symbolic or exaggerated. The point is that Jeroboam’s army outnumbered Abijah’s army two to one.

13:4 Then Abijah stood up Abijah’s speech is defensive, perhaps indicating that Jeroboam was the aggressor in this conflict.

13:5 gave the kingdom to David over Israel forever Abijah accuses Jeroboam of rejecting God’s appointed ruler. God had promised that David’s descendants would rule over Israel forever. See 1 Chr 17:11–14.

a covenant of salt Salt was used in certain sacrifices. See Num 18:19 and note.

13:6 a servant of Solomon the son of David See 1 Kgs 11:26.

13:8 the kingdom of Yahweh The Chronicler associates David’s royal line with the kingdom of God (1 Chr 17:14). By rejecting the Davidic monarchy—God’s chosen king—Jeroboam had rejected God’s kingdom.

bull calves of gold Refers to idols built by Jeroboam. See 1 Kgs 12:25–33 and note.

13:9 Did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, the Levites? Have you not made for yourselves priests like all the peoples of the lands? Jeroboam also rejected temple worship of God and had driven out the priests and Levites, members of the tribe set apart for religious service. See 2 Chron 11:13 and note.

13:11 bread upon the pure table See Lev 24:5–6.

golden lampstand See 2 Chron 4:7 and note.

13:12 for sounding blasts against you See Num 10:9.

13:14 in front and behind Not only were Abijah and his army greatly outnumbered (2 Chron 13:3), they were also outmaneuvered by Jeroboam’s army. The Chronicler portrays Abijah’s situation as dire.

13:15 God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel While the victory is attributed to God, it most likely involved Abijah’s army (v. 17).

13:16 and God gave them into their hand Because of their faithfulness, God gave Judah and Abijah victory over the larger army of Jeroboam (see note on v. 18).

13:17 five hundred thousand chosen men See note on 2 Chron 13:3.

13:18 they relied upon Yahweh The Chronicler emphasizes reliance on God as the means to victory. Earlier, Rehoboam had been defeated by Egypt because he forsook God (12:1–12). Here, Abijah is given victory because he is reliant on God while Jeroboam rejects Him (see note on v. 5; note on v. 8; note on v. 9).

13:20 and he died According to 1 Kings, Jeroboam died during the reign of Abijah’s successor, Asa (1 Kgs 15:25). Most likely the Chronicler does not intend this note to be chronological. Instead, he is contrasting the success of Abijah with the eventual demise of Jeroboam.

13:22 the rest of the words of A common epitaph for deceased kings (compare 1 Kgs 11:41; 14:19).

are written in the story of the prophet Iddo Iddo is earlier identified as a visionary (or seer); nothing else is known about him. He is mentioned only in the context of the Chronicler’s source-materials (2 Chr 9:29; 12:15).