The whole attitude of Jehoshaphat’s prayer summarizes one of the interesting paradoxes of the Chronicler’s thought. As I have amply shown, the Chronicler’s historiography attributes military power and activity to righteous kings. Jehoshaphat himself was earlier described as equipping and manning the fortified cities (17.2, 12, 19) and recruiting an army of over a million warriors (17.14–19). At the same time, the pious king is expected not only to possess military strength but to forego its use and to rely only on God for protection. This paradox may illustrate the comprehensiveness of the
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