Ephron] so the Kethīb, whereas the Authorized Version following the Ḳerī has Ephrain. Ephrain is a later form of the name Ephron, as Shamrain (Ezra iv. 10, 17) is of Shomron (Samaria). The place has been identified with eṭ-Ṭaiyebeh, a place south-east of Ain Sīnia and north-east of Beitin (Beth-el). It was probably the city called Ephraim, to which our Lord retired after the raising of Lazarus (John xi. 54).
²⁰and Ephron[¹] with the towns thereof. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the Lord smote him, and he died.
[¹] Another reading is, Ephrain.
20. the Lord smote him, and he died] The same phrase is used of the death of Nabal (1 Samuel xxv. 38); it implies suddenness or some other unusual circumstance (compare Acts xii. 23, the death of Herod Agrippa). 1 Kings xiv. 20 says simply Jeroboam ... slept with his fathers.
21, 22.
The Epilogue of Abijah’s Reign.
²¹But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
21. fourteen wives] The many wives are mentioned here as a symbol of the wealth and state of Abijah.
²²And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
22. his ways] The Chronicler takes a much more favourable view of Abijah than Kings, where it is said of him that “he walked in all the sins of his father...” (1 Kings xv. 3), and received favour from Jehovah only on account of the merits of David. Evidently the Chronicler deemed it fitting to fasten on the fact of the favour, perhaps because he felt it imperative that Jeroboam should receive from the next king of Judah the punishment for his sins which Rehoboam could not inflict.
in the commentary] Hebrew Midrash. See Introduction, § 5, p. [xxxi.]