²Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus¹, saying, ³_There is_² a league between me and thee, as _there was_ between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ¹ Hebrew _Darmesek_. ² Or, Let there be. =2.= _silver and gold_] In 1 Kings, “all the silver and the gold that were left.” _Ben-hadad_] At least three kings of Syria bore this name, the two others being severally (1) a contemporary of Ahab (1 Kings xx. 1 ff.), (2) a contemporary of Jehoash the grandson of Jehu, 2 Kings xiii. 25. _that dwelt at Damascus_] The epithet distinguishes the king of Damascus from other kings of Syria, e.g. from the king of Hamath. _Damascus_] Hebrew “Darmesek”; see note on 1 Chronicles xviii. 5. ⁴And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities¹ of Naphtali. ¹ Hebrew _storehouses of the cities_. =4.= _and they smote_] The places smitten were all in the extreme north of Israel. _Ijon_] The city cannot be identified, but the name is preserved in _Merj ‘Iyūn_, a table-land north of the Jordan valley. Bädeker, _Palestine_⁵, p. 291. _Abel-maim_] In 1 Kings, “Abel-beth-maacah”; compare 2 Samuel xx. 14, 15. No doubt the two names designate one place. _all the store cities_] In 1 Kings, “all Chinneroth” (i.e. the district west of the Sea of Galilee). As this was a very fruitful district, the “store cities” of the Chronicler may be only another name for it. ⁵And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. =5.= _and let his work cease_] In 1 Kings _and dwelt in Tirzah_ (Hebrew), _and returned to Tirzah_ (LXX.). Baasha (like Jeroboam; 1 Kings xiv. 17) fixed his seat of government at Tirzah in the centre of the Northern Kingdom in order to be able to watch Syria as well as Judah. The Chronicler takes no interest in the home of Baasha. ⁶Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. =6.= _took all Judah_] In 1 Kings _summoned all Judah_ (so translate); _none was exempted_. _Geba and Mizpah_] The names signify, “the hill and the watch-tower.” Geba is mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii. 8, evidently as being on the northern boundary of Judah. Yet, be it noted, it was only 7 miles north of Jerusalem, whilst Mizpah was about 5 miles north-west of the capital. For Mizpah see Jeremiah xli. 1‒9. See also note on xiv. 6‒8. =7‒10= (not in 1 Kings). THE INTERVENTION OF HANANI.