And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

2 CHRONICLES 20:4KJV
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2 Chronicles 20:4 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 20:4 mean?

2 Chronicles 20:4 describes how the people of Judah came together from all their cities to ask for help from the LORD, seeking Him in a time of trouble. The verse shows a united response, with everyone gathering specifically to turn to God for guidance and deliverance.

This verse is set during King Jehoshaphat’s reign, when Judah faced a serious threat from enemy nations. The people did not rely on their own strength or plans but gathered as a community to seek God’s help. The focus is on their collective action—coming from every city—to earnestly seek the LORD’s intervention.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 20:4

  • "together" (קָהַל, qāhal): This word means to assemble or gather as a group, highlighting the unity and shared purpose of the people as they came together.
  • "ask" / "seek" (בָּקַשׁ, bāqash): This verb is used twice in the verse, meaning to search for or seek earnestly. It emphasizes that the people were not just asking casually, but were urgently and sincerely seeking God’s help.
  • "LORD" (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, underscoring that the people were turning specifically to their covenant God, not just any deity.

Why 2 Chronicles 20:4 matters

  • The verse clarifies that seeking God was a community-wide effort, not just the action of the king or a few leaders, but of all Judah.
  • It highlights the seriousness of the situation by showing that people left their cities to gather and seek God together, which would not have been done lightly.
  • This verse sets the stage for the rest of the chapter, where God responds to their united prayer, making it a key moment in the story of Jehoshaphat’s faith and leadership.

Where else these words appear

“together” Hebrew H6908 · used in 121 verses

  • Genesis 41:35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:6 And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,
  • Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.