Zerah

Extracted by Dr. Thomas from the Works of Sir Isaac Newton.)


Then Shishak came out of Egypt, and spoiled the temple, and brought Judah into subjection to the monarchy of Egypt (which was in the fifth year of Rehoboam); the Jews continued under great troubles for twenty years, being “without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law; and in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city, for God did vex them with all adversity.”—(2 Chron. 12:2–4, 9; 15:3, 5, 6.) But when Shishak was dead, and Egypt fell into troubles, Judah had quiet ten years. And in that time Asa built fenced cities in Judah, and got up an army of 580,000 men, with which, in the fifteenth year of his reign, he met and overcame Zerah, the Ethiopian, who had conquered Egypt and Lybia, Troglodytica, and came out with an army of 1,000,000 Lybians and Ethiopians, to recover the country conquered by Sesack.—(2 Chron. 14:1, 6–9, 12.) And after this victory, Asa dethroned his mother for idolatry, and he renewed the altar, and brought new vessels of gold and silver into the temple; and he and the people entered into a new covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers upon pain of death to those who worshipped other gods; and his son, Jehoshaphat, took away the high places, and in the third year of his reign sent some of his princes, and of the priests, and Levites, to teach in the cities of Judah; and they had the Book of the Law with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. This is that Book of the Law which was afterwards lost in the reign of Manasses, and found again in the reign of Josiah, and therefore it was written before the third year of Jehoshaphat.—(2 Chron. 15:3, 12, 13, 16, 18.)

(2001). The Christadelphian, 14(electronic ed.), 248–249.