2 Chronicles 16:3"Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me."
The setting
Damascus, Syria, 895 BC. Asa's messengers arrive at Ben-Hadad's palace with gold and silver, asking him to betray his ally Israel...
The emotion here: documenting with disappointment how a good king fell
The original word
bərîṯ (ברית) — covenant, the most sacred kind of promise in ancient culture
Why it matters
Ben-Hadad's father and Baasha's father had made this treaty, making it a generational agreement
Read with care
What most readers miss in 2 Chronicles 16:3
Asa is asking Ben-Hadad to break a sacred covenant — the very thing that held ancient societies together
Common misconceptionModern readers see this as clever diplomacy, but ancient readers would be horrified — Asa is encouraging covenant-breaking, the foundation of all trust.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 2 Chronicles 16:3
Bible Genome reading
2 Chronicles 16:3 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
2 Chronicles 16:3 comes from the book of 2 Chronicles, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Asa. The dominant emotion in this verse is seeking, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include political alliance, treaty breaking. Notable phrases: treaty between me and you; break your treaty. This verse contains a command.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same seeking
“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
— Amos 5:24
“Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that …”
— Genesis 18:25
“Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don't know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evi…”
— Luke 11:4
Your reflection
What does 2 Chronicles 16:3 mean to you, today?
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