2 Chronicles 13:17Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
The setting
Battlefield strewn with bodies, central Israel, ~913 BC. 500,000 dead — imagine the population of Atlanta wiped out in one day...
The emotion here: documenting devastating consequences with heavy heart and sobering responsibility
The original word
bâchar (בָּחַר) — chosen men, the elite warriors, not random soldiers but Israel's best
Why it matters
This single battle killed more Israelites than died in the entire Babylonian exile
Read with care
What most readers miss in 2 Chronicles 13:17
The Chronicler records this horror factually — no celebration, just sober recognition of war's cost
Common misconceptionPeople think this glorifies violence, but the massive casualty count is meant to shock us — this is what happens when God's people split and fight each other instead of their real enemies.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 2 Chronicles 13:17
Bible Genome reading
2 Chronicles 13:17 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
2 Chronicles 13:17 comes from the book of 2 Chronicles, written during the United Kingdom period. The setting is the battlefield. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include warfare, death. Notable phrases: great slaughter; five hundred thousand.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does 2 Chronicles 13:17 mean to you, today?
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