2 Chronicles 20:26

And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah,.... As it was afterwards called from what they did there, as follows, which was the reason of its name: for there they blessed the Lord; returned thanks to him for this wonderful appearance on their behalf, and gave him the glory of it; no doubt but they had given him praise before in some sort and manner, but now in a set, solemn, and public manner, with one heart and voice they united in ascribing honour, blessing, and glory to him: therefore the name of the same place was called the valley of Berachah unto this day; the valley of Blessing; this name it bore in the times of Ezra, the writer of this book, even after the Jews returned from the Babylonish captivity; it is thought to be the same that is called by Jerom (w) Cepharbarucha, which he speaks of as not far from Engedi, see 2 Chronicles 20:2, others will have it to be the same with the valley of Jehoshaphat, but not so likely, that seems to be nearer Jerusalem. (w) Epitaph. Paulae.

20:20-30 Jehoshaphat exhorted his troops to firm faith in God. Faith inspires a man with true courage; nor will any thing help more to the establishing of the heart in shaking times, than a firm belief of the power, and mercy, and promise of God. In all our trust in the Lord, and our praises of him, let us especially look at his everlasting mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ. Never was an army so destroyed as that of the enemy. Thus God often makes wicked people destroy one another. And never was a victory celebrated with more solemn thanksgivings.

2 Chronicles 20:26 . On the fourth day, &c. — Undoubtedly many thanksgivings were offered to God immediately, and perhaps even a day of praise was kept in the camp, before they drew their forces out of the field: but in the fourth day they assembled in a valley, and blessed God with so much zeal and fervency, that a name was thereby given to the place, and the remembrance of that work of wonder perpetuated for the encouragement of succeeding generations to trust in God. Of Berachah — Hebrew, of blessing, so called, from the solemn blessings and praises given to God on that occasion.

26–30 (no parallel in Kings). The Sequel of the Deliverance 26 . valley of Berachah ] A wâdi Bereikût south of Tekoa is mentioned by Robinson. It is probable that also the “valley of Jehoshaphat” mentioned by Joel (3. [4. Heb .] 2) is to be identified with the scene of Jehoshaphat’s deliverance.

Verse 26. - Berachah . This is just the Hebrew fern. subst, from a verb. It is used in 1 Chronicles 12:3 as the name of a man. The present name of the valley survives in the Waddy Bereikat on the Hebron road, beyond, therefore, the date unto this day of the writer. 2 Chronicles 20:26

And on the fourth day they {q} assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. (q) To give thanks to the Lord for the victory: and therefore the valley was called Berachah, that is, blessing or thanksgiving, which was also called the valley of Jehoshaphat, Joel 3:2,12 because the Lord judged the enemies according to Jehoshaphat's prayer.

(26) Valley of Berachah — i.e., blessing. The place is still called Wady Beraikut, a wide, open valley west of Tekoa, near the road from Hebron to Jerusalem. St. Jerome speaks of a Caphar Barucha, “ village of blessing,” in the same neighbourhood. For there . . . unto this day.—A notice after the manner of the ancient historians (Genesis 11:9; Genesis 28:19; Exodus 17:7; 2Samuel 5:20).

(26) First and last. — The former and the latter. The chronicler adds his usual formula. Behold, are they not written.—The Hebrew is faulty here. “Behold, they are written” is the customary phrase in the Chronicles (2Chronicles 20:34; 2Chronicles 24:27); “are they not written” being that of Kings. In the Hebrew text here the two phrases are blended. Some- MSS., and the Syriac, Vulg., and Arabic read, “Behold, they are written.” But it is possible that hinnām (“behold they”) is here a corruption of hēm (“they”); and that the reading of Kings should be followed, with other Hebrew MSS. and the Targum.

24-26. when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness—Most probably the conical hill, Jebel Fereidis, or Frank Mountain, from the summit of which they obtained the first view of the scene of slaughter. Jehoshaphat and his people found the field strewed with dead bodies, so that they had not to fight at all, but rather to take possession of an immense booty, the collection of which occupied three days. On the fourth they set out on their return to Jerusalem in the same order and joyful mood as they came. The place where they mustered previous to departure was, from their public thanksgiving service, called, "The Valley of Berachah" ("benediction"), now Wady Bereikut.

On the fourth day the men of Judah gathered themselves together, to give thanks to God the Lord for this blessing, in a valley which thence received the name בּרכה עמק (valley of blessing), and which cannot have been far from the battle-field. Thence they joyfully returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, to Jerusalem, and went up, the Levites and priests performing solemn music, to the house of God, to render further thanks to the Lord for His wondrous help ( 2 Chronicles 20:27 .). The ancient name בּרכה still exists in the Wady Bereikut, to the west of Tekoa, near the road which leads from Hebron to Jerusalem. "A wide, open valley, and upon its west side, on a small rising ground, are the ruins of Bereikut, which cover from three to four acres" (Robinson's New Biblical Researches, and Phys. Geogr. S. 106; cf. v. de Velde, Memoir, p. 292). Jerome makes mention of the place in Vita Paulae, where he narrates that Paula, standing in supercilio Caphar baruca, looked out thence upon the wide desert, and the former land of Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Reland, Pal. illustr. pp. 356 and 685). There is no ground, on the other hand, for the identification of the valley of blessing with the upper part of the valley of Kidron, which, according to Joel 3:2 , Joel 3:12 , received the name of Valley of Jehoshaphat (see on Joel 3:2 ). - On 2 Chronicles 20:27 , cf. Ezra 6:22 ; Nehemiah 12:43 .