2 Chronicles 16:1 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa This date disagrees so much with what is said 1 Kings 15:33, that there seems to be no other way of reconciling the two passages, but allowing that a trivial mistake has been made by the transcribers here, and that instead of the thirty-sixth, we ought to read here the twenty-sixth. This reading is approved by Houbigant, and is evidently adopted by Josephus, lib. 8, cap. 6. Baasha began his reign in the third year of Asa, and reigned no more than twenty-four years. He was, therefore, dead nine years, at least, before the thirty-sixth year of Asa. Baasha came up against Judah, and built Ramah That is, made a wall about it, and fortified it. The late defection of so many of his subjects to the house of David was the occasion of his fortifying this place, designing hereby both to prevent others of them from revolting, and to hinder Asa's subjects from coming into his dominions to seduce his people from their obedience to him.