In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha initiated a war. How could this be? After all, it says in the book of Kings, “In the twenty-sixth year … of Asa … Elah son of Baasha became king” (1 Kings 16:8). Also, it says there that Baasha became king over Israel in the third year of Asa and reigned over Israel for twenty-four years (1 Kings 15:33). It emerges, then, that Baasha’s reign ended in the twenty-sixth year of Asa! It is possible to explain that when the text provides these numbers in the book of Kings, it does not count from the beginning of Asa’s reign but from the beginning of his wars, and in the beginning of his reign there was peace in the land for ten years, as it says, “During his days, there was peace in the land for ten years” (2 Chronicles 13:23). After all, the book of Kings discusses matters pertaining to the kings of Israel also. Hence, it does not make reference to Asa’s reign from its beginning, only from the time he began to fight, leaving out the ten years during which there was peace in the land. Two of those ten years were in the days of Jeroboam; and during the remaining eight years, either Nadab had not yet taken over as king of Israel, or if he had, the text does not count them for him because his reign was not yet secured. But in the second year after that ten-year period, Nadab became king in the full sense and fought against Asa. So when it says there “In the third year of Asa,” what it means is in the third year from when he began to fight the Israelite kings. He first fought against Nadab son of Jeroboam; and three years later Baasha became king and fought against Asa, as it says, “There was a war between Asa and Baasha … all their days” (1 Kings 15:32). And this war that Baasha initiated, during which he built up the highland, was in the twenty-third year of Baasha’s reign, which was the thirty-sixth year since the beginning of Asa’s reign and the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth year of Asa’s wars. For the text counts the second year of Nadab son of Jeroboam for Baasha also—perhaps because [Nadab] did not make it through the whole year. But in Seder Olam (16)

it says that this war was in the sixteenth year of Asa, one year after the Cushite war; and when the text refers to the thirty-sixth year, it is counting from the death of Solomon. For when Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter—in the fourth year of his reign—it was decreed that the Davidic kingship be divided for thirty-six years, equaling the thirty-six years during which Solomon was Pharaoh’s son-in-law. But the Davidic kingship was destined to return in the sixteenth year of Asa, at which point there had elapsed thirty-six years since Solomon. Yet because Asa acted wrongly in the war against Baasha, relying on the king of Aram and sending him treasures from the House of the Lord (v. 2), and not relying on the Lord (v. 7), the Davidic kingship did not return but remained divided as it was.

With levavam shalem. [This means]: with asher levavam shalem (=those whose hearts are true). There are many cases like this.

Asa inflicted harm on some of the people at that time—because he felt anger at everything as a result of the prophecy he had heard.

And zenim. This means: and minim (varieties): the Targum renders le-minehu (=of its kind; Gen 1:12)—li-znohi.

They made a fire for [Asa]. This refers to the burning of the spices and blends. But our Sages, of blessed memory (b. Avodah Zarah 11a), explain that when kings would die, it was customary to burn their bed and the items that they used.