Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all his chariots: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered Then may be understood as a temporal connector (so Revised Standard Version) or as a logical one (so Good News Translation with “So”). In some languages the verb passed over will require an object stating what territory they crossed over. But its meaning is adequately expressed by saying “went to Edom” (New Century Version) or “went to attack Edom” (New Living Translation). Revised English Bible says “pushed on into Edom.” The parallel account in 2 Kgs 8.21 says that they “passed over to Zair,” so here in 2 Chronicles NET Bible says “crossed over to Zair.” But since the Chronicler does not include this information, it is better not to harmonize the text with that of 2 Kings. For chariots see the comments on 1 Chr 18.4 and 2 Chr 1.14.

And he rose by night: This clause begins with the Hebrew verbal transition marker that is sometimes rendered “And it happened.” This marker makes a break in the timeline of the story here and helps to move the story forward. The grammatical subject of the Hebrew verb rendered rose is singular and refers technically only to Jehoram. This is also true of the previous verb passed over and the next verb smote, but since the king represents the entire army, it is implied that both Jehoram and his army are the real subjects of these actions, which translators may make explicit by using the pronoun “they.” The more serious question is what the verb rose really means. Does it mean to get up from a sitting or sleeping position? Because there is mention of the night, most versions will probably be understood in this way. Or does it mean to “set out” (New Revised Standard Version) to do something? In this context the Hebrew verb translated rose is best understood as a technical military term, indicating a combat maneuver; for example, Revised English Bible translates this whole clause as “he made a sortie by night.” This is probably the best way to understand the text. The army of Jehoram took advantage of the cover of darkness to break out of the trap into which they had fallen.

And smote the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders is literally “and he struck Edom the one surrounding him and the chariot commanders.” The Hebrew verb rendered smote is often used as a euphemism for the verb “kill” (see the comments on 1 Chr 13.10). However, this cannot be its intended meaning here, since the larger context seems to indicate that the revolt of Edom was God’s judgment on Jehoram. In fact, the following verse shows that Jehoram did not defeat the Edomites. If this understanding is correct, then the Hebrew verb normally translated smote should be translated “broke through.” The intended sense is that Jehoram and his troops broke through the enemy lines and escaped from the Edomites who had surrounded them. This interpretation is the basis for Revised English Bible‘s rendering of the last half of the verse, which reads “When the Edomites encircled him and his chariot-commanders he made a sortie by night and broke out” (similarly Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). This rendering makes more sense in the context than that of Revised Standard Version.

Other scholars have suggested that the Hebrew should have a third person masculine suffix attached to the sign of the direct object before Edom, so that the last half of this verse would read “and Edom who surrounded him and the chariot officers arose at night and struck him [Jehoram].” This is the basis for NET Bible‘s rendering, which reads “The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers.” However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project strongly recommends Edom as the object of the Hebrew verb rendered smote.

The parallel text of 2 Kgs 8.21 highlights the failure of Judah by adding “his army scattered to their homes” (Good News Translation). However, the Chronicler omits this detail.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .