And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

2 CHRONICLES 20:25KJV
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2 Chronicles 20:25 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 20:25 mean?

2 Chronicles 20:25 describes how King Jehoshaphat and his people gathered an overwhelming amount of valuable goods, riches, and precious jewels from the defeated enemy armies, so much that it took them three days to collect it all. The verse highlights the abundance of the spoil left behind after a victory that the people of Judah did not have to fight for themselves.

The setting is after God caused confusion among the enemy armies attacking Judah, leading them to destroy each other. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and his people went out to the battlefield and found the dead enemies with great wealth and valuables on them. The verse emphasizes the sheer volume of the spoil, showing how unexpectedly great the outcome was for Judah after trusting in God.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 20:25

  • שָׁלָל (shalal, H7998): This word means "spoil" or "plunder." It refers to the goods and valuables taken from defeated enemies. The use of שָׁלָל here underscores that the people of Judah benefited greatly from the victory without having to fight for these riches themselves.
  • רֹב (rov, H7230): Translated as "abundance," this word points to the extraordinary quantity of spoil. The verse stresses that there was far more than usual, making the victory even more remarkable.
  • יָקָר (yaqar, H3368, but tagged as H2532): This word means "precious" or "valuable." It describes the jewels and treasures found among the spoil, highlighting the high worth of what was collected.
  • גּוּפָה (guphah, H6297): Meaning "dead bodies," this word makes clear that the spoil was found among the fallen enemies, emphasizing the total defeat of the opposing armies.

Why 2 Chronicles 20:25 matters

  • This verse clears up any idea that the victory was only spiritual or symbolic; it shows there were real, tangible rewards for Judah’s faith and obedience.
  • The emphasis on the abundance and value of the spoil reveals how complete and unexpected God’s deliverance was, far beyond what the people of Judah could have anticipated.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by showing the fulfillment of God’s promise to fight for Judah, and it sets up the people’s response of praise and thanksgiving in the following verses.

Where else these words appear

“bodies” Hebrew H6297 · used in 21 verses

  • Genesis 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
  • 2 Kings 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
  • Jeremiah 33:5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

“precious” Hebrew H2532 · used in 25 verses

  • Genesis 27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
  • Jeremiah 3:19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
  • Daniel 11:8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.

“riches” Hebrew H7399 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
  • Genesis 36:7 For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:29 Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.

“than” Hebrew H369 · used in 29 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • 1 Chronicles 22:4 Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.
  • Isaiah 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.