2 Chronicles 14 · a question people ask
Was Asa's reign quiet, or at war?
2 Chronicles says, "In his days, the land was quiet ten years" (14:1), and "the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years" (14:6). Then Zerah comes out against Judah (14:9). After Asa's covenant, it says, "There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign" (15:19), and "In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah" (16:1). 1 Kings says, "There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days" (1 Kings 15:16), and doesn't tell of Zerah. The Bible doesn't say how these verses fit together. These notes quote each as it stands, and don't reckon the years or choose between them.
The verses
“So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in David’s city; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land was quiet ten years.”
“He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.”
“Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million troops and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.”
“There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.”