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Selected Verse: 2 Kings 16:5 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
2Ki 16:5	Strong Concordance	Then Rezin [07526] king [04428] of Syria [0758] and Pekah [06492] son [01121] of Remaliah [07425] king [04428] of Israel [03478] came up [05927] to Jerusalem [03389] to war [04421]: and they besieged [06696] Ahaz [0271], but could [03201] not overcome [03898] him.
	King James	Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem--Notwithstanding their great efforts and military preparations, they failed to take it and, being disappointed, raised the siege and returned home (compare Isa 7:1).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem--Notwithstanding their great efforts and military preparations, they failed to take it and, being disappointed, raised the siege and returned home (compare Isa 7:1).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Rezin and Pekah, who had already begun their attacks upon Judaea in the reign of Jotham Kg2 15:37, regarded the accession of a boy-king, only 16 years of age, as especially favorable to their projects, and proceeded without loss of time to carry them out. The earlier scenes of the war, omitted by the writer of Kings, are given at some length in Ch2 28:5-15.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Of the war which the allied Syrians and Israelites waged upon Ahaz, only the principal fact is mentioned in Kg2 16:5, namely, that the enemy marched to Jerusalem to war, but were not able to make war upon the city, i.e., to conquer it; and in Kg2 16:6 we have a brief notice of the capture of the port of Elath by the Syrians. We find Kg2 16:5 again, with very trifling alterations, in Isa 7:1 at the head of the prophecy, in which the prophet promises the king the help of God and predicts that the plans of his enemies will fail. According to this, the allied kings intended to take Judah, to dethrone Ahaz, and to install a vassal king, viz., the son of Tabeel. We learn still more concerning this war, which had already begun, according to Kg2 15:37, in the closing years of Jotham, from Ch2 28:5-15; namely, that the two kings inflicted great defeats upon Ahaz, and carried off many prisoners and a large amount of booty, but that the Israelites set their prisoners at liberty again, by the direction of the prophet Oded, and after feeding and clothing them, sent them back to their brethren. It is now generally admitted that these statements are not at variance with our account (as Ges., Winer, and others maintain), but can be easily reconciled with it, and simply serve to complete it. (Note: Compare C. P. Caspari's article on the Syro-Ephraimitish war in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz (Univers. Progr. von Christiania, 1849), where the different views concerning the relation between the two accounts are fully discussed, and the objections to the credibility of the account given in the Chronicles most conclusively answered.) The only questions in dispute are, whether the two accounts refer to two different campaigns, or merely to two different events in the same campaign, and whether the battles to which the Chronicles allude are to be placed before or after the siege of Jerusalem mentioned in our text. The first question cannot be absolutely decided, since there are no decisive arguments to be found in favour of either the one supposition or the other; and even "the one strong argument" which Caspari finds in Isa 7:6 against the idea of two campaigns is not conclusive. For if the design which the prophet there attributes to the allied kings, "we will make a breach in Judah," i.e., storm his fortresses and his passes and conquer them, does obviously presuppose, that at the time when the enemy spake or thought in this manner, Judah was still standing uninjured and unconquered, and therefore the battles mentioned in Ch2 28:5-6 cannot yet have been fought; it by no means follows from the connection between Isa 7:6 and Isa 7:1 (of the same chapter) that Isa 7:6 refers to plans which the enemy had only just formed at the time when Isaiah spoke (Kg2 7:4.). On the contrary, Isaiah is simply describing the plans which the enemy devised and pursued, and which they had no doubt formed from the very commencement of the war, and now that they were marching against Jerusalem, hoped to attain by the conquest of the capital. All that we can assume as certain is, that the war lasted longer than a year, since the invasion of Judah by these foes had already commenced before the death of Jotham, and that the greater battles (Ch2 28:5-6) were not fought till the time of Ahaz, and it was not till his reign that the enemy advanced to the siege of Jerusalem. - With regard to the second question, it cannot be at all doubtful that the battles mentioned preceded the advance of the enemy to the front of Jerusalem, and therefore our account merely mentions the last and principal event of the war, and that the enemy was compelled to retreat from Jerusalem by the fact that the king of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser, whom Ahaz had called to his help, marched against Syria and compelled Rezin to hurry back to the defence of his kingdom. - It is more difficult to arrange in the account of the capture of Elath by the Syrians (Kg2 16:6) among the events of this war. The expression ההיא בּעת merely assigns it in a perfectly general manner to the period of the war. The supposition of Thenius, that it did not take place till after the siege of Jerusalem had been relinquished, and that Rezin, after the failure of his attempt to take Jerusalem, that he might not have come altogether in vain, marched away from Jerusalem round the southern point of the Dead Sea and conquered Elath, is impossible, because he would never have left his own kingdom in such a defenceless state to the advancing Assyrians. We must therefore place the taking of Elath by Rezin before his march against Jerusalem, though we still leave it undecided how Rezin conducted the war against Ahaz: whether by advancing along the country to the east of the Jordan, defeating the Judaeans there (Ch2 28:5), and then pressing forward to Elath and conquering that city, while Pekah made a simultaneous incursion into Judah from the north and smote Ahaz, so that it was not till after the conquest of Elath that Rezin entered the land from the south, and there joined Pekah for a common attack upon Jerusalem, as Caspari supposes; or whether by advancing into Judah along with Pekah at the very outset, and after he had defeated the army of Ahaz in a great battle, sending a detachment of his own army to Idumaea, to wrest that land from Judah and conquer Elath, while he marched with the rest of his forces in combination with Pekah against Jerusalem. "Rezin brought Elath to Aram and drove the Jews out of Elath, and Aramaeans came to Elath and dwelt therein to this day." השׁיב does not mean "to lead back" here, but literally to turn, to bring to a person; for Elath had never belonged to Aram before this, but was an Edomitish city, so that even if we were to read אדום for ארם, השׁיב could not mean to bring back. But there is no ground whatever for altering לארם into לאדום (Cler., Mich., Ew., Then., and others), whereas the form ארם is at variance with such an alteration through the assumption of an exchange of r and d, because אדום is never written defective אדם except in Eze 25:14. There are also no sufficient reasons for altering וארומים into וארומים (Keri); ארומיּם is merely a Syriac form for ארמּים with the dull Syriac u-sound, several examples of which form occur in this very chapter, - e.g., הקּומים for הקּמים Kg2 16:7, דּוּמשׂק for דּמּשׂק Kg2 16:10, and אילות for אילת Kg2 16:6, - whereas אדום, with additions, is only written plene twice in the ancient books, and that in the Chronicles, where the scriptio plena is generally preferred (Ch2 25:14 and Ch2 28:17), but is always written defective (אדמים). Moreover the statement that "אדומים (Edomites, not the Edomites) came thither," etc., would be very inappropriate, since Edomites certainly lived in this Idumaean city in perfect security, even while it was under Judaean government. And there would be no sense in the expression "the Edomites dwelt there to this day," since the Edomites remained in their own land to the time of the captivity. All this is applicable to Aramaeans alone. As soon as Rezin had conquered this important seaport town, it was a very natural thing to establish an Aramaean colony there, which obtained possession of the trade of the town, and remained there till the time when the annals of the kings were composed (for it is to this that the expression הזּה עד־היּום refers), even after the kingdom of Rezin had long been destroyed by the Assyrians, since Elath and the Aramaeans settled there were not affected by that blow. (Note: If we only observe that ארומים has not the article, and therefore the words merely indicate the march of an Aramaean colony to Elath, it is evident that אדומים would be unsuitable; for when the יהודים had been driven from the city which the Syrians had conquered, it was certainly not some Edomites but the Edomites who took possession again. Hence Winer, Caspari, and others are quite right in deciding that ארומים is the only correct reading.) As soon as the Edomites had been released by Rezin from the control of Judah, to which they had been brought back by Amaziah and Uzziah (Kg2 14:7, Kg2 14:22), they began plundering Judah again (Ch2 28:17); and even the Philistines took possession of several cities in the lowland, to avenge themselves for the humiliation they had sustained at the hand of Uzziah (Ch2 28:18).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Of the war which the allied Syrians and Israelites waged upon Ahaz, only the principal fact is mentioned in Kg2 16:5, namely, that the enemy marched to Jerusalem to war, but were not able to make war upon the city, i.e., to conquer it; and in Kg2 16:6 we have a brief notice of the capture of the port of Elath by the Syrians. We find Kg2 16:5 again, with very trifling alterations, in Isa 7:1 at the head of the prophecy, in which the prophet promises the king the help of God and predicts that the plans of his enemies will fail. According to this, the allied kings intended to take Judah, to dethrone Ahaz, and to install a vassal king, viz., the son of Tabeel. We learn still more concerning this war, which had already begun, according to Kg2 15:37, in the closing years of Jotham, from Ch2 28:5-15; namely, that the two kings inflicted great defeats upon Ahaz, and carried off many prisoners and a large amount of booty, but that the Israelites set their prisoners at liberty again, by the direction of the prophet Oded, and after feeding and clothing them, sent them back to their brethren. It is now generally admitted that these statements are not at variance with our account (as Ges., Winer, and others maintain), but can be easily reconciled with it, and simply serve to complete it.

(Note: Compare C. P. Caspari's article on the Syro-Ephraimitish war in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz (Univers. Progr. von Christiania, 1849), where the different views concerning the relation between the two accounts are fully discussed, and the objections to the credibility of the account given in the Chronicles most conclusively answered.)

The only questions in dispute are, whether the two accounts refer to two different campaigns, or merely to two different events in the same campaign, and whether the battles to which the Chronicles allude are to be placed before or after the siege of Jerusalem mentioned in our text. The first question cannot be absolutely decided, since there are no decisive arguments to be found in favour of either the one supposition or the other; and even "the one strong argument" which Caspari finds in Isa 7:6 against the idea of two campaigns is not conclusive. For if the design which the prophet there attributes to the allied kings, "we will make a breach in Judah," i.e., storm his fortresses and his passes and conquer them, does obviously presuppose, that at the time when the enemy spake or thought in this manner, Judah was still standing uninjured and unconquered, and therefore the battles mentioned in Ch2 28:5-6 cannot yet have been fought; it by no means follows from the connection between Isa 7:6 and Isa 7:1 (of the same chapter) that Isa 7:6 refers to plans which the enemy had only just formed at the time when Isaiah spoke (Kg2 7:4.). On the contrary, Isaiah is simply describing the plans which the enemy devised and pursued, and which they had no doubt formed from the very commencement of the war, and now that they were marching against Jerusalem, hoped to attain by the conquest of the capital. All that we can assume as certain is, that the war lasted longer than a year, since the invasion of Judah by these foes had already commenced before the death of Jotham, and that the greater battles (Ch2 28:5-6) were not fought till the time of Ahaz, and it was not till his reign that the enemy advanced to the siege of Jerusalem. - With regard to the second question, it cannot be at all doubtful that the battles mentioned preceded the advance of the enemy to the front of Jerusalem, and therefore our account merely mentions the last and principal event of the war, and that the enemy was compelled to retreat from Jerusalem by the fact that the king of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser, whom Ahaz had called to his help, marched against Syria and compelled Rezin to hurry back to the defence of his kingdom. - It is more difficult to arrange in the account of the capture of Elath by the Syrians (Kg2 16:6) among the events of this war. The expression ההיא בּעת merely assigns it in a perfectly general manner to the period of the war. The supposition of Thenius, that it did not take place till after the siege of Jerusalem had been relinquished, and that Rezin, after the failure of his attempt to take Jerusalem, that he might not have come altogether in vain, marched away from Jerusalem round the southern point of the Dead Sea and conquered Elath, is impossible, because he would never have left his own kingdom in such a defenceless state to the advancing Assyrians. We must therefore place the taking of Elath by Rezin before his march against Jerusalem, though we still leave it undecided how Rezin conducted the war against Ahaz: whether by advancing along the country to the east of the Jordan, defeating the Judaeans there (Ch2 28:5), and then pressing forward to Elath and conquering that city, while Pekah made a simultaneous incursion into Judah from the north and smote Ahaz, so that it was not till after the conquest of Elath that Rezin entered the land from the south, and there joined Pekah for a common attack upon Jerusalem, as Caspari supposes; or whether by advancing into Judah along with Pekah at the very outset, and after he had defeated the army of Ahaz in a great battle, sending a detachment of his own army to Idumaea, to wrest that land from Judah and conquer Elath, while he marched with the rest of his forces in combination with Pekah against Jerusalem.

"Rezin brought Elath to Aram and drove the Jews out of Elath, and Aramaeans came to Elath and dwelt therein to this day." השׁיב does not mean "to lead back" here, but literally to turn, to bring to a person; for Elath had never belonged to Aram before this, but was an Edomitish city, so that even if we were to read אדום for ארם, השׁיב could not mean to bring back. But there is no ground whatever for altering לארם into לאדום (Cler., Mich., Ew., Then., and others), whereas the form ארם is at variance with such an alteration through the assumption of an exchange of r and d, because אדום is never written defective אדם except in Eze 25:14. There are also no sufficient reasons for altering וארומים into וארומים (Keri); ארומיּם is merely a Syriac form for ארמּים with the dull Syriac u-sound, several examples of which form occur in this very chapter, - e.g., הקּומים for הקּמים Kg2 16:7, דּוּמשׂק for דּמּשׂק Kg2 16:10, and אילות for אילת Kg2 16:6, - whereas אדום, with additions, is only written plene twice in the ancient books, and that in the Chronicles, where the scriptio plena is generally preferred (Ch2 25:14 and Ch2 28:17), but is always written defective (אדמים). Moreover the statement that "אדומים (Edomites, not the Edomites) came thither," etc., would be very inappropriate, since Edomites certainly lived in this Idumaean city in perfect security, even while it was under Judaean government. And there would be no sense in the expression "the Edomites dwelt there to this day," since the Edomites remained in their own land to the time of the captivity. All this is applicable to Aramaeans alone. As soon as Rezin had conquered this important seaport town, it was a very natural thing to establish an Aramaean colony there, which obtained possession of the trade of the town, and remained there till the time when the annals of the kings were composed (for it is to this that the expression הזּה עד־היּום refers), even after the kingdom of Rezin had long been destroyed by the Assyrians, since Elath and the Aramaeans settled there were not affected by that blow.

(Note: If we only observe that ארומים has not the article, and therefore the words merely indicate the march of an Aramaean colony to Elath, it is evident that אדומים would be unsuitable; for when the יהודים had been driven from the city which the Syrians had conquered, it was certainly not some Edomites but the Edomites who took possession again. Hence Winer, Caspari, and others are quite right in deciding that ארומים is the only correct reading.)

As soon as the Edomites had been released by Rezin from the control of Judah, to which they had been brought back by Amaziah and Uzziah (Kg2 14:7, Kg2 14:22), they began plundering Judah again (Ch2 28:17); and even the Philistines took possession of several cities in the lowland, to avenge themselves for the humiliation they had sustained at the hand of Uzziah (Ch2 28:18).

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Could not overcome - Because God of his own mere grace, undertook his protection, and disappointed the hopes of his enemies.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
But could not overcome him - It is likely that this was the time when Isaiah was sent to console Ahaz; (see Isa 7:1); and predicted the death both of Rezin and Pekah, his enemies.

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¹ And it came to pass in the days [03117] of Ahaz [0271] the son [01121] of Jotham [03147], the son [01121] of Uzziah [05818], king [04428] of Judah [03063], that Rezin [07526] the king [04428] of Syria [0758], and Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425], king [04428] of Israel [03478], went up [05927] toward Jerusalem [03389] to war [04421] against it, but could [03201] not prevail [03898] against it.

⁵ Wherefore the LORD [03068] his God [0430] delivered [05414] him into the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Syria [0758]; and they smote [05221] him, and carried away [07617] a great multitude [01419] of them captives [07633], and brought [0935] them to Damascus [01834]. And he was also delivered [05414] into the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Israel [03478], who smote [05221] him with a great [01419] slaughter [04347].
⁶ For Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425] slew [02026] in Judah [03063] an hundred [03967] and twenty [06242] thousand [0505] in one [0259] day [03117], which were all valiant [02428] men [01121]; because they had forsaken [05800] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of their fathers [01].
⁷ And Zichri [02147], a mighty man [01368] of Ephraim [0669], slew [02026] Maaseiah [04641] the king's [04428] son [01121], and Azrikam [05840] the governor [05057] of the house [01004], and Elkanah [0511] that was next [04932] to the king [04428].
⁸ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] carried away captive [07617] of their brethren [0251] two hundred [03967] thousand [0505], women [0802], sons [01121], and daughters [01323], and took also away [0962] much [07227] spoil [07998] from them, and brought [0935] the spoil [07998] to Samaria [08111].
⁹ But a prophet [05030] of the LORD [03068] was there, whose name [08034] was Oded [05752]: and he went out [03318] before [06440] the host [06635] that came [0935] to Samaria [08111], and said [0559] unto them, Behold, because the LORD [03068] God [0430] of your fathers [01] was wroth [02534] with Judah [03063], he hath delivered [05414] them into your hand [03027], and ye have slain [02026] them in a rage [02197] that reacheth up [05060] unto heaven [08064].
¹⁰ And now ye purpose [0559] to keep under [03533] the children [01121] of Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389] for bondmen [05650] and bondwomen [08198] unto you: but are there not with you, even [07535] with you, sins [0819] against the LORD [03068] your God [0430]?
¹¹ Now hear [08085] me therefore, and deliver [07725] the captives [07633] again, which ye have taken captive [07617] of your brethren [0251]: for the fierce [02740] wrath [0639] of the LORD [03068] is upon you.
¹² Then certain [0582] of the heads [07218] of the children [01121] of Ephraim [0669], Azariah [05838] the son [01121] of Johanan [03076], Berechiah [01296] the son [01121] of Meshillemoth [04919], and Jehizkiah [03169] the son [01121] of Shallum [07967], and Amasa [06021] the son [01121] of Hadlai [02311], stood up [06965] against them that came [0935] from the war [06635],
¹³ And said [0559] unto them, Ye shall not bring in [0935] the captives [07633] hither: for whereas we have offended [0819] against the LORD [03068] already, ye intend [0559] to add [03254] more to our sins [02403] and to our trespass [0819]: for our trespass [0819] is great [07227], and there is fierce [02740] wrath [0639] against Israel [03478].
¹⁴ So the armed men [02502] left [05800] the captives [07633] and the spoil [0961] before [06440] the princes [08269] and all the congregation [06951].
¹⁵ And the men [0582] which were expressed [05344] by name [08034] rose up [06965], and took [02388] the captives [07633], and with the spoil [07998] clothed [03847] all that were naked [04636] among them, and arrayed [03847] them, and shod [05274] them, and gave them to eat [0398] and to drink [08248], and anointed [05480] them, and carried [05095] all the feeble [03782] of them upon asses [02543], and brought [0935] them to Jericho [03405], the city [05892] of palm trees [08558] [05899], to [0681] their brethren [0251]: then they returned [07725] to Samaria [08111].

³⁷ In those days [03117] the LORD [03068] began [02490] to send [07971] against Judah [03063] Rezin [07526] the king [04428] of Syria [0758], and Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425].

¹⁸ The Philistines [06430] also had invaded [06584] the cities [05892] of the low country [08219], and of the south [05045] of Judah [03063], and had taken [03920] Bethshemesh [01053], and Ajalon [0357], and Gederoth [01450], and Shocho [07755] with the villages [01323] thereof, and Timnah [08553] with the villages [01323] thereof, Gimzo [01579] also and the villages [01323] thereof: and they dwelt [03427] there.

¹⁷ For again the Edomites [0130] had come [0935] and smitten [05221] Judah [03063], and carried away [07617] captives [07628].

²² He built [01129] Elath [0359], and restored [07725] it to Judah [03063], after [0310] that the king [04428] slept [07901] with his fathers [01].

⁷ He slew [05221] of Edom [0123] in the valley [01516] of salt [04417] ten [06235] thousand [0505], and took [08610] Selah [05554] by war [04421], and called [07121] the name [08034] of it Joktheel [03371] unto this day [03117].

¹⁷ For again the Edomites [0130] had come [0935] and smitten [05221] Judah [03063], and carried away [07617] captives [07628].

¹⁴ Now it came to pass, after [0310] that Amaziah [0558] was come [0935] from the slaughter [05221] of the Edomites [0130], that he brought [0935] the gods [0430] of the children [01121] of Seir [08165], and set them up [05975] to be his gods [0430], and bowed down [07812] himself before [06440] them, and burned incense [06999] unto them.

⁶ At that time [06256] Rezin [07526] king [04428] of Syria [0758] recovered [07725] Elath [0359] to Syria [0758] [0130], and drave [05394] the Jews [03064] from Elath [0359]: and the Syrians [0726] came [0935] to Elath [0359], and dwelt [03427] there unto this day [03117].

¹⁰ And king [04428] Ahaz [0271] went [03212] to Damascus [01834] to meet [07125] Tiglathpileser [08407] king [04428] of Assyria [0804], and saw [07200] an altar [04196] that was at Damascus [01834]: and king [04428] Ahaz [0271] sent [07971] to Urijah [0223] the priest [03548] the fashion [01823] of the altar [04196], and the pattern [08403] of it, according to all the workmanship [04639] thereof.

⁷ So Ahaz [0271] sent [07971] messengers [04397] to Tiglathpileser [08407] king [04428] of Assyria [0804], saying [0559], I am thy servant [05650] and thy son [01121]: come up [05927], and save [03467] me out of the hand [03709] of the king [04428] of Syria [0758], and out of the hand [03709] of the king [04428] of Israel [03478], which rise up [06965] against me.

¹⁴ And I will lay [05414] my vengeance [05360] upon Edom [0123] by the hand [03027] of my people [05971] Israel [03478]: and they shall do [06213] in Edom [0123] according to mine anger [0639] and according to my fury [02534]; and they shall know [03045] my vengeance [05360], saith [05002] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069].

⁴ If we say [0559], We will enter [0935] into the city [05892], then the famine [07458] is in the city [05892], and we shall die [04191] there: and if we sit still [03427] here, we die [04191] also. Now therefore come [03212], and let us fall [05307] unto the host [04264] of the Syrians [0758]: if they save us alive [02421], we shall live [02421]; and if they kill [04191] us, we shall but die [04191].

⁶ Let us go up [05927] against Judah [03063], and vex [06973] it, and let us make a breach [01234] therein for us, and set [04427] a king [04428] in the midst [08432] of it, even the son [01121] of Tabeal [02870]:

³⁷ In those days [03117] the LORD [03068] began [02490] to send [07971] against Judah [03063] Rezin [07526] the king [04428] of Syria [0758], and Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425].

⁵ Then Rezin [07526] king [04428] of Syria [0758] and Pekah [06492] son [01121] of Remaliah [07425] king [04428] of Israel [03478] came up [05927] to Jerusalem [03389] to war [04421]: and they besieged [06696] Ahaz [0271], but could [03201] not overcome [03898] him.