Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: יַחֲזִיאֵל ''Yaḥăzīʾēl'') is the name of five characters mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' ''Holman Bible Dictionary'' (1991), "Jahaziel" /ref> Four of the characters by this name are not credited with any independent action, but simply mentioned in passing as one of several priests ( 1 Chronicles 16:6, , ; ) or a member in a list of warriors (). However, one Jahaziel, a
Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...
, is mentioned as delivering a divine message.
Jahaziel the Levite
2 Chronicles 20 recounts a joint attack on Judah by the nations of
Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territ ...
,
Ammon
Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...
, and
Edom
Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...
in the time of King
Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; el, Ἰωσαφάτ, Iosafát; la, Josaphat), according to 1 Kings 22:41, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his fathe ...
. The king declared a fast to
the LORD
Lord is a general title denoting deference applied to a male person of authority, religious or political, or a deity.
Lord or The Lord may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Lord (band), an Australian heavy metal band
* "The Lord" (son ...
and prayed for his help before the assembled nation.
"Then in the midst of the congregation the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Joel son of Mattaniah the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, and he said, 'Give heed, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat; thus said the Lord to you, "Do not fear or be dismayed by this great multitude, for the battle is God's, not yours . . ."'" (, ''New Jewish Publication Society Bible'').
The next morning, Jehoshaphat led his people out, calling them to have
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people ofte ...
in the Lord, and leading them in praise. They saw their enemies turn on each other, and returned to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in joy. After that the kingdom of Judah was at peace thanks to divine intervention against its enemies.