2 Chronicles 21:7-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “house.”
2. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Or “covenant.”
3. 2 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “which he made to David, just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” Here “lamp” is metaphorical, symbolizing the Davidic dynasty.
4. 2 Chronicles 21:8 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
5. 2 Chronicles 21:8 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
6. 2 Chronicles 21:9 tc Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Jehoram was surrounded and launched a victorious nighttime counterattack. Yet v. 10 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. The translation above assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text. Adding a third masculine singular pronominal suffix to the accusative sign before Edom (reading אֹתוֹ [ʾoto, “him”] instead of just אֶת [ʾet]) and taking Edom as the subject of verbs allows one to translate the verse in a way that is more consistent with the context, which depicts an Israelite defeat, not victory. See also 2 Kgs 8:21.