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2 Chronicles 11:6

He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
2 Chronicles 11:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
  • KJV He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
  • NKJV And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
  • NASB He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
  • NLT He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Rehoboam fortifies Bethlehem, Etam, and Tekoa among other cities. These defenses guard the southern kingdom.

Overview

This verse begins a list of cities Rehoboam fortified to protect Judah. Bethlehem, notably, would become the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1). Even in routine administrative detail, the Chronicler traces the preservation of the land and line through which Christ would come.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Matt 2:5–6“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
  • 1 Sam 17:12Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons in the days of Saul. And Jesse was old and well along in years.
  • Amos 1:1These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
  • 1 Chr 4:32And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five towns—
  • 2 Chr 20:20Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
  • Judg 15:8And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
  • 2 Sam 14:2So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
  • Jer 6:1“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
  • Neh 3:27And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.
  • Gen 35:19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
  • Neh 3:5Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Chronicles videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Chronicles 11:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 ChroniclesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.

How 2 Chronicles 11:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.