1 Chronicles 5:17

Jotham. King of Judah from about 750 to 731 B.C.

Jeroboam. King of Israel from about 793 to 753 B.C. Jeroboam was the vigorous ruler who restored the territory of Israel “from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain” (2 Kings 14:25). The phrase, “reckoned by genealogies,” suggests that he probably took a census of the tribes east of the Jordan. In the chaotic period following Jeroboam, Jotham may have taken over the territory of Israel across the Jordan, for he “fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them” (2 Chron. 27:5).

When the Philistines heard. During the early years of his reign David had had no difficulty with the Philistines. In the time of his exile from Saul the Philistines had befriended him, and when David became king of Judah they hoped for friendship from him in opposition to Saul’s house. They felt confident that they could retain their power over a divided Hebrew nation. But when David became king over all Israel, and succeeded in capturing Jebus and effected an alliance with Hiram of Tyre, the Philistines, fearing David’s growing strength, determined to make war against Israel and curb the power of its new king.

Hold. Heb. mesudah, “the stronghold.” The same Hebrew word is used in v. 7, and evidently the same fortification is meant (see PP 703, 704).