2 Chronicles 12:13

12:13 King Rehoboam solidified his rule in Jerusalem; he was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite named Naamah.

Psalms 48:1

Psalm 48

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

48:1 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise

in the city of our God, his holy hill.

Psalms 78:68-70

78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above;

as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.

78:70 He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

Psalms 132:13

132:13 Certainly the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. 10 

Isaiah 14:32

14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 11 

Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;

the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.


tn Heb “and the king, Rehoboam, strengthened himself in Jerusalem and ruled.”

tn Heb “Rehoboam.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.

tn Heb “the city where the Lord chose to place his name from all the tribes of Israel.”

tn Heb “his”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.

sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).

tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.

tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”

tn Or “for.”

10 tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”

11 sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.