2 Crônicas 13:9

The priests of the Lord... and the Levites. — The Hebrew seems to include the Levites among the priests of the Lord.

Cast out. — Banished (Jeremias 8:3).

After the manner of the nations of other lands. — Literally, like the peoples of the lands; that is, priests of all classes of the nation, and not members of the divinely chosen tribe of Levi. (See 1 Reis 12:31; 1 Reis 13:33). The surrounding heathen had no exclusive sacerdotal castes.

So that whosoever cometh... — Literally, every one that cometh, that they may fill his hand, with a steer, son of a herd, and seven rams, becometh a priest unto non-gods. “To fill a man’s hand” was the legal phrase for giving him authority and instituting him as a priest. (See Êxodo 28:41; Êxodo 29:9; Juízes 17:5.) Every one that came with the prescribed sacrifices (see Êxodo 29) was admissible to the new priesthood. The phrase “a young bullock and seven rams” is not a full account of the sacrifices required by the law of Moses for the consecration of a priest. Perhaps Abijah did not care to be exact; but it is quite possible that Jeroboam had modified the Mosaic rule.

The compound substantive “no-gods” (lô’ ’elôhîm) is like lô’ ’êl and lô’ ’elôah (Deuteronômio 32:17; Deuteronômio 32:21). The calves are spoken of as mere idols, although there is little doubt that Jeroboam set them up as representations of the God of Israel.