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.
The Chronicler stands alone both in recording the condemnation of Asa in this passage and in himself condemning him in verse 12. In 1 Kings no blame is passed on Asa.
⁷And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
7. Hanani the seer] Hanani as a seer is known to us from this passage only; but in xix. 2 and xx. 34 (also 1 Kings xvi. 1) Jehu the prophet is called son of Hanani.
the seer] an ancient title, elsewhere applied only to Samuel. Compare 1 Samuel ix. 9 “he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.” In consequence of this phrase it has been supposed that the story of Hanani is a genuinely old tradition. This is possible, but the evidence of this one phrase is not sufficient to be convincing. The term may be a deliberate archaism of the Chronicler.