17:6) What does it mean that Jehoshaphat “delighted in (NKJV), rejoiced in (HCSB)was devoted to (NIV), took great pride in (NASB), was courageous in (RSV, ESV)” (gabahh) the ways of the Lord?

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

       305      גָּבַה (gābah) be high, exalted.

Derivatives
           305a      גָּבַֹה (gābōah) high, exalted.
           305b      גֹּבַה (gōbah).height, exaltation.
           305c      גַּבְהוּת (gabhût) haughtiness (Isa 2:11, 17, only).
     The root gābah and its derivatives are used ninety-four times in the OT. The verb appears in the Qal twenty-four times, meaning basically “to be high or lofty” and in the Hiphil ten times, meaning “to make high, to exalt.” gābōah appears forty-one times, the noun gōbah seventeen times, and the noun gabhût twice. The root is used only three times in the Pentateuch (Gen 7:19; Deut 3:5; 28:52), but by contrast in the prophets cf. Isa, fourteen times; Jer, seven times; Ezk, twenty-two times.
     As the root is used in its basic sense it describes the height of persons, objects, places, and natural phenomena. Thus, the verb gābah signifies the growing of a tree (Ezk 17:24; 31:5, 10, 14); the stem of a vine (Ezk 19:11); the heavens in respect to the earth (Ps 103:11; Job 35:5). Saul is described as being “taller” than any of his people (I Sam 10:23). It describes the high wall Manasseh built around Jerusalem (II Chr 33:14). It may mean “to fly high” as an eagle (Jer 49:16; Ob 4).
     Similarly the adjective gābōah describes a high mountain(s) (Gen 7:19; Isa 30:25; 40:9; 57:7; Jer 3:6; Ezk 17:22; 40:2; Ps 104:18); high hills (I Kgs 14:23; II Kgs 17:10; Jer 2:20; 17:2); the high gates of Babylon (Jer 51:58); high battlements (Zeph 1:16); high towers (Isa 2:15); the high gallows intended for Mordecai (Est 5:14; 7:9); the horns in Daniel’s vision (Dan 8:3). Similar documentation could be made for the use of the noun gōbah.
In several places the word is used in a very positive sense both with respect to man as a quality of life worthy of possession and as descriptive of God himself. In the former category compare God’s word to Job, "Deck yourself with majesty (gāʾôn) and dignity (gōbah) (40:10; cf. 36:7) and II Chr 17:6, “Jehoshaphat’s heart was lifted up (“encouraged”) in the ways of the Lord.” Secondly, God’s position is said to be “on high” (Ps 113:5; Job 22:12) and his ways are “higher” than those of mankind (Isa 55:9).
     The usual nuance behind the words under discussion is pride or haughtiness. Of interest is the negative usage of this word in connection with some part of the human body. For example, pride is linked with the heart in: Ezk 28:2, 5, 17; Ps 131:1; Prov 18:12; II Chr 26:16; 32:25 (all with the verb); Prov 16:5; II Chr 32:26 (with adjective and noun). Isaiah 2:11; 5:15 and Ps 101:5 connect pride with the eyes. Proverbs 16:18 and Eccl 7:8 tie pride with man’s spirit, and Ps 10:4 with man’s “nose”/countenance. On a few occasions individuals are said to be guilty specifically of this sin of pride: Uzziah (II Chr 26:16); Hezekiah (II Chr 32:25–26); the prince of Tyre (Ezk 28:2, 17). Conversely, Isaiah speaks of the suffering servant who will be exalted (rûm), lifted up (nāśaʾ) and be very high (gābah) (52:13).
In the LXX the word is translated as hupsos or hupsēlos, but never as hubris.
Bibliography: TDOT, II, pp. 356–60. THAT, I, pp. 394–97.
V.P.H.
Victor P. Hamilton, “305 גָּבַה,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 145–146.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew
1467 גָּבַהּ (gā·ḇǎh): v.; ≡ Str 1361; TWOT 305—1. LN 81.3–81.11 (qal) be tall, tower high, i.e., be in an elevated spatial position or dimension (1Sa 10:23; Job 35:5; Isa 55:9a; Eze 19:11; 31:5, 10, 14+); (hif) make high, grow tall, i.e., make an object be in an elevated position or dimension (2Ch 33:14; Job 5:7; 39:27; Ps 113:5; Pr 17:19; Isa 7:11; Jer 49:16; Eze 17:24; Ob 4+); 2. LN 87.19–87.57 (qal) exalt, i.e., to assign or give high status to an object as an extension of being spatially high in elevation (Job 36:7; Isa 5:16; 52:13+); (hif) exalt (Eze 21:31[EB 26]+), see also domain LN 33.354–33.364; 3. LN 88.206–88.222 (qal) be proud, haughty, arrogant, i.e., exaltation of self, as a moral failure (2Ch 26:16; 32:25; Ps 131:1; Pr 18:12; Isa 3:16; Jer 13:15; Eze 16:50; 28:2, 5, 17; Zep 3:11+); 4. LN 25.68–25.79 (qal) be devoted, formally, exalt, i.e., have a state of zeal and eagerness, with an implication of giving oneself to a behavior, as an extension of assigning high status to an object and so placing high value to it (2Ch 17:6+); 5. LN 32.19–32.23 (qal) hard to understand, formally, high, i.e., not be able to have a functional understanding of a principle or subject as a figurative extension of an object being in a high elevation and so not be able to be clearly seen (Isa 55:9b)
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

Dating issue in 2 Chronicles 16.1

 1 & 2 Chronicles (NIV Application Commentary)

 The date formula ("theirty-sixth year of Asa's reign," 16:1) is problematic because according to 1 Kings 15:33 and 16:8, King Baasha is already dead.  Williamson's proposal for the harmonization of the data proves as helpful as any of the several options offered by commentators.  He suggests that the day formulas in 15:19 ("the thirty-fith year of Asa's reign") and 16:1 ("the thirty-sxth year...") actually refer to the split of the monarch.  This means these two date formulas correspond to the fifteenth and sixteenth years of Kings Asa' reign.  --Williamson, 1 and 2 Chronicles (NCBC), p. 255-28

The Bible Knowledge Commentary

16:1. In Asa’s 36th year he was confronted by Baasha, king of Israel, who built a fortress at the Israel-Judah border at Ramah, about six miles north of Jerusalem. Baasha’s purpose was to prevent further movement of Israelites south to Judah. A problem surfaces here in that the dates of Baasha (909–886 B.C.; cf. 1 Kings 15:33) necessitate his death 10 years before the 36th year of Asa. This has led some scholars to conclude that the 35th year (2 Chron. 15:19) refers to the 35th year of the kingdom of Judah since its division from Israel in 931 B.C. This would be 896 B.C. But this is unlikely for the 35th year of the kingdom would hardly be called “the 35th year of Asa’s reign.” More likely is the suggestion that the numbers may rest on a copyist’s misreading of Hebrew figures whereby 35th (15:19) and 36th (16:1) may have been misread for 15th and 16th. This would push the date of the events of chapter 16 back to 895, within Baasha’s reign.

 ---Eugene H. Merrill, “2 Chronicles,” ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 632.

Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

2 Chronicles 16

War with Baasha, and the weakness of Asa's faith. The end of his reign. - 2 Chronicles 16:1-6. Baasha's invasion of Judah, and Asa's prayer for help to the kingof Syria. The statement, “In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa,Baasha the king of Israel came up against Judah,” is inaccurate, or rathercannot possibly be correct; for, according to 1 Kings 16:8, 1 Kings 16:10, Baasha diedin the twenty-sixth year of Asa's reign, and his successor Elah wasmurdered by Zimri in the second year of his reign, i.e., in the twenty-seventh year of Asa. The older commentators, for the most part, acceptedthe conjecture that the thirty-fifth year (in 2 Chronicles 15:19) is to bereckoned from the commencement of the kingdom of Judah; andconsequently, since Asa became king in the twentieth year of the kingdomof Judah, that Baasha's invasion occurred in the sixteenth year of his reign,and that the land had enjoyed peace till his fifteenth year; cf. Ramb. ad h. l.; des Vignoles, Chronol. i. p. 299. This is in substance correct; but the statement, “in the thirty-sixth year of Asa's kingship,” cannot re reconciled with it. For even if we suppose that the author of the Chronicle derived his information from an authority which reckoned from the rise of the kingdom of Judah, yet it could not have been said on that authority, אסא למלכוּת. This only the author of the Chronicle can have written; but then he cannot also have taken over the statement, “in the thirty-sixth year,” unaltered from his authority into his book. There remains therefore no alternative but to regard the text as erroneous - the letters ל (30) and י (10), which are somewhat similar in the ancient Hebrew characters, having been interchanged by a copyist; and hence the numbers 35 and 36 have arisen out of the original 15 and 16. By this alteration all difficulties are removed, and all the statements of the Chronicle as to Asa's reign are harmonized. During the first ten years there was peace (2 Chronicles 14:1); thereafter, in the eleventh year, the inroad of the Cushites; and after the victory over them there was the continuation of the Cultus reform, and rest until the fifteenth year, in which the renewal of the covenant took place (2 Chronicles 15:19, cf. with 2 Chronicles 15:10); and in the sixteenth year the war with Baasha arose.

---Keil, Carl Friedrich & Delitzsch, Franz. "Commentary on 2 Chronicles 16:1". http://www.studylight.org/com/kdo/view.cgi?bk=13&ch=16. 1854-1889.

2 Chronicles 16.9 - loyal TWOT 2401d

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
     2401      שָׁלֵם (šālēm) be complete, sound.

Derivatives
           2401a      שָׁלוֹם (šālôm) peace.
           2401b      שֶׁלֶם (šelem) peace offering.
           2401c      שָׁלַם (šālam) be in a covenant of peace. Denominative verb.
           2401d      שָׁלֵם (šālēm) perfect, whole, full.
           2401e      שִׁלֵּם (šillēm) recompense (Deut 32:35, only).
           2401f      שַׁלְמֹן (šalmōn) reward, bribe (Isa 1:23, only).
           2401g      שִׁלּוּם (šillûm), שִׁלֻּם (šillūm) recompense, reward.
           2401h      שִׁלֻּמָה (šillūmâ) reward (Ps 91:8, only).
           2401i      שְׁלֹמֹה (šĕlōmōh) Solomon.

     The general meaning behind the root š-l-m is of completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship.
     Of this group, some take their meanings from the comparatively infrequent simple stems while the others šillēm, šillûm, and possibly šalmôn reflect the intensive Piel sense. The apparant diversity of meanings between the two stems can be accounted for in terms of the concept of peace being restored through payment (of tribute to a conqueror, Josh 10:1), restitution (to one wronged, Ex 21:36), or simple payment and completion (of a business transaction, II Kgs 4:7).
     The payment of a vow (Ps 50:14) completes an agreement so that both parties are in a state of šālôm. Closely linked with this concept is the eschatological motif in some uses of the term. Recompense for sin, either national or personal, must be given. Once that obligation has been met, wholeness is restored (Isa 60:20; Joel 2:25).
Adjectivally, šālēm is used of an attitude (a “perfect” heart; e.g. I Kgs 8:61; I Chr 28:9), and of a complete amount (of money, Ruth 2:12; of sin, Gen 15:16; of a whole nation, Amos 1:6, 9). An accurate weight is called “perfect” (Deut 25:15) or “just” (Prov 11:1).
     Interesting is that šālēm is used of the whole (i.e. uncut) stones for the altar (Deut 27:6; Josh 8:31) and also of the dressed stones used for the temple (I Kgs 6:7).
G. Lloyd Carr, “2401 שָׁלֵם,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 930–931.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

TO COMPLETE: 

A. Verb. 

shalam (שָׁלַם, 7999), “to finish, complete, repay, reward.” The Hebrew root denotes perfection in the sense that a condition or action is “complete.” This concept emerges when a concrete object is described. When sufficient building materials were at hand and workmen had enough time to apply them, “the wall [of Jerusalem] was finished” at the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 6:15). However, this Hebrew root is also found in words with so many nuances and applications that at times its original and basic intent is all but obscured. In the nasb, for example, shalam is represented with such words as: “fulfill, make up, restore, pay, repay, full, whole, wholly, entire, without harm, friendly, peaceably, to be at peace, make peace, safe, reward, retribution, restitution, recompense, vengeance, bribe, peace offering.” 

Perfection and completeness is primarily attributed to God. He is deficient in nothing; His attributes are not marred by any shortcomings; His power is not limited by weakness. God reminded Job of His uninhibited independence and absolute self-sufficiency: “Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine” (Job 41:11). And Job himself admitted: “And who shall repay him what he hath done?” (Job 21:31). 

Without any deficiency or flaw in executing justice, God is likewise never lacking in mercy and power to bestow benevolences of every kind. Job is told by his friend: “If thou wert pure … he would make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous” (Job 8:6). He can make it happen that “… to the righteous good shall be repaid” (Prov. 13:21). Cyrus says of the Lord: “He … shall perform all my pleasure” (Isa. 44:28). The Lord will also “… restore comforts unto him and to his mourners” who wept in the Babylonian exile (Isa. 57:18). 

The God of perfect justice and goodness expects total devotion from His creatures. Job, suspected of not rendering the required obedience to his Maker, is therefore urged to “be at peace [with God]” (Job 22:21). 

The concept of meeting one’s obligation in full is basic in human relationships. Israel’s social law required that the person causing injury or loss “… shall surely make it good” (Exod. 22:14). “And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast” (Lev. 24:18). In some instances, an offender “… shall pay double unto his neighbor” (Exod. 22:9). David declared that the rich man who slaughtered the poor man’s only lamb “… shall restore the lamb fourfold …” (2 Sam. 12:6). Debts were not to be left unpaid. After providing the widow with the amount needed, Elisha directed her: “Go sell the oil, and pay [shalam] thy debt …” (2 Kings 4:7). “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again …” (Ps. 37:21). A robber who has mended his ways “… give[s] again that he had robbed …” (Ezek. 33:15). 

National relationships were established on the basis of “complete” negotiations. Thus cities and peoples “made peace with Israel” after they agreed to Joshua’s stipulations (Josh. 10:1). War between the two kingdoms ended when Jehoshaphat “… made peace with the king of Israel” (1 Kings 22:44). 

B. Adjective. 

shalem (שָׁלֵם, 8003), “perfect.” God demanded total obedience from His people: “Let [their] heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments …” (1 Kings 8:61). Solomon failed to meet this requirement because “… his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4). Hezekiah, on the other hand, protested: “… I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart” (2 Kings 20:3). 

In business transactions, the Israelites were required to “… have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure …” (Deut. 25:15).  

W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 44.

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon

†i. שָׁלֵם S^{7999, 8003, 8004} TWOT^{2401, 2401c, 2401d} GK^{8966, 8969, 8970, 8971} adj. complete, safe, at peace;—שׁ׳ Gn 15:16 +; pl. שְׁלֵמִים Gn 34:21 Na 1:12; f. שְׁלֵמָה Dt 25:15 +; pl. שְׁלֵמוֹת 27:6 Jos 8:31;— 1. complete: a. full, perfect: אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה full weight Dt 25:15 Pr 11:1, אֵיפָה שׁ׳ Dt 25:15; of עָוֹן Gn 15:16 (JE); number of captives Am 1:6, 9; of army Na 1:12 (text corrupt; G משֵׁל מַיִם, but?; v. Comm.); of reward Ru 2:12; of stones, whole (in natural condition, unhewn) Dt 27:6 Jos 8:31 (cf. law Ex 20:25). b. finished: i.e. hewn stones 1 K 6:7; temple 2 Ch 8:16. 2. safe, unharmed, of pers. Gn 33:18 (P; Sam. שׁלוֹם, cf. בשׁלום 28:21; not n.pr.loc. as Vrss). 3. in covt. of peace, friendship, c. אֵת Gn 34:21 (P); לֵבָב שָׁלֵם עִם י׳ a mind at peace with י׳, keeping covt. relation, hence complete, perfect, 1 K 8:61; 11:4; 15:3, 14; c. אֶל 2 Ch 16:9, אֶל om. 2 K 20:3 = Is 38:3 (לֵב), 1 Ch 12:38; 29:19 2 Ch 15:17; 19:9; 25:2; לֵב 1 Ch 28:9; 29:9.

Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000), 1023–1024.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew

8969 II. שָׁלֵם (šā·lēm): adj.; ≡ Str 8003; TWOT 2401d—1. LN 68.22–68.33 completely, fully, richly, i.e., pertaining to what is fully accomplished (Ge 15:16; Ru 2:12+); 2. LN 21.9–21.13 safe, i.e., pertaining to not being in danger (Ge 33:18+); 3. LN 34.1–34.21 friendly, i.e., pertaining to being in a relatively close association, personal or governmental (Ge 34:21; Na 1:12+); 4. LN 72.12–72.22 accurate, i.e., pertaining to that which is true to an accepted norm or standard (Dt 25:15^(2×); Pr 11:1+); 5. LN 59.23–59.34 whole, i.e., pertaining to the totality of a collection (Am 1:6, 9; Dt 27:6; Jos 8:31; 1Ki 6:7+), note: in context, refers to towns, and whole, uncut stone; 6. LN 25.33–25.58 fully devoted, i.e., have a great love and zeal, implying obedience (1Ki 8:61; 11:4; 15:3, 14; 2Ki 20:3; 1Ch 12:39[EB 38]; 28:9; 29:9, 19; 2Ch 15:17; 16:9; 19:9; 25:2; Isa 38:3+), note: some sources parse 2Ch 8:16 as 8966

James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

---