Asa, the son of Abijah of Judah, was a worthier and a more pious ruler
than his father had been. He did away with the gross worship of
Priapus, (18) to which his mother was devoted. To reward him for his
piety, God gave him the victory over Zerah, the king of the Ethiopians.
As a result of this victory he came again into possession of the throne
of Solomon and of the treasures Shishak had taken from his grandfather,
which Zerah in turn had wrested form Shishak. (19) Asa himself did not
long keep them. Baasha, the king of Israel, together with Ben-hadad,
the Aramean king, attacked Asa, who tried to propitiate Ben-hadad by
giving him his lately re-acquired treasures. (20) The prophet justly
rebuked him for trusting in princes rather than in God, and that in
spite of the fact that Divine help had been visible in his conflicts
with the Ethiopians and the Lubim; for there had been no need for him
to engage in battle with them; in response to his mere prayer God had
slain the enemy. (21) In general, Asa showed little confidence in God;
he rather trusted his own skill. Accordingly, he made even the scholars
of his realm enlist in the army sent out against Baasha. He was
punished by being afflicted with gout, he of all men, who was
distinguished on account of the strength residing in his feet. (22)
Furthermore, the division between Judah and Israel was made permanent,
though God had at first intended to limit the exclusion of David's
house from Israel to only thirty-six years. Had Asa shown himself
deserving, he would have been accorded dominion over the whole of
Israel. (23) In point of fact, Asa, through his connection by marriage
with the house of Omri, contributed to the stability of the Israelitish
dynasty, for as a result of the support given by the southern ruler
Omri succeeded in putting his rival Tibni out of the way. Then it was
that God resolved that the descendants of Asa should perish
simultaneously with the descendants of Omri. This doom was accomplished
when Jehu killed the king of Judah on account of his friendship and
kinship with Joram the king of Samaria. (24)