· Translation: KJV

2 Chronicles 14:9There came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a million troops, and three hundred chariots; and he came to Mareshah.

The setting

Mareshah, ~910 BC. Dust clouds appear on the horizon as the largest army ever assembled against Judah approaches this fortified city in modern-day Israel...

The emotion here: shock at recording such staggering enemy numbers

The original word

eleph (אֶלֶף) — thousand, but here meaning an overwhelming, uncountable multitude

Why it matters

Zerah's million-man army was nearly twice the size of Asa's entire kingdom's population

Read with care

What most readers miss in 2 Chronicles 14:9

The chronicler mentions the exact location because everyone knew Mareshah was where impossible battles were fought

Common misconceptionPeople focus on the million soldiers, but the real terror was the 300 chariots - ancient tanks that could break any formation.

Bible Genome reading

2 Chronicles 14:9 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability30%
Memorability40%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone40%
Themes:oppositionoverwhelming odds

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 2 Chronicles 14

2 Chronicles 14:9 comes from the book of 2 Chronicles, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include opposition, overwhelming odds. Notable phrases: million troops; Zerah the Ethiopian.

Your reflection

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