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Selected Verse: 2 Kings 6:24 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
2Ki 6:24	Strong Concordance	And it came to pass after this [0310], that Benhadad [01130] king [04428] of Syria [0758] gathered [06908] all his host [04264], and went up [05927], and besieged [06696] Samaria [08111].
	King James	And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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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]
BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (Kg2 6:24-33) Ben-hadad . . . besieged Samaria--This was the predicted accomplishment of the result of Ahab's foolish and misplaced kindness (Kg1 20:42).

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

BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (Kg2 6:24-33)

Ben-hadad . . . besieged Samaria--This was the predicted accomplishment of the result of Ahab's foolish and misplaced kindness (Kg1 20:42).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
After this - Perhaps some years after - when the miracle and the kind treatment were alike forgotten.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
After this there arose so fearful a famine in Samaria on the occasion of a siege by Benhadad, that one mother complained to the king of another, because she would not keep her agreement to give up her son to be eaten, as she herself had already done. Kg2 6:25 The famine became great - till an ass's head was worth eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of dove's dung was worth five shekels. היה בּ, to become for = to be worth. The ass was an unclean animal, so that it was not lawful to eat its flesh. Moreover the head of an ass is the most inedible part of the animal. Eighty shekels were about seventy thalers (10, 10s. - Tr.), or if the Mosaic bekas were called shekels in ordinary life, thirty-five thalers (5, 5s.; see Bertheau, Zur Gesch. der Isr. p. 49). According to Thenius, a quarter of a cab is a sixth of a small Dresden measure (Msschen), not quite ten Parisian cubic inches. Five shekels: more than four thalers (twelve shillings), or more than two thalers (six shillings). The Chetbib חרייונים is to be read יונים, excrementa columbarum, for which the Keri substitues the euphemistic יונים, fluxus, profluvium columbarum. The expression may be taken literally, since dung has been known to be collected for eating in times of terrible famine (vid., Joseph. Bell. Jud. v. 13, 7); but it may also be figuratively employed to signify a very miserable kind of food, as the Arabs call the herba Alcali Arab. s̆nân, i.e., sparrow's dung, and the Germans call Asa foetida Teufelsdreck. But there is no ground for thinking of wasted chick-pease, as Bochart (Hieroz. ii. p. 582, ed. Ros.) supposes (see, on the other hand, Celsii Hierobot. ii. p. 30ff.). (Note: Clericus gives as a substantial parallel the following passage from Plutarch (Artax. c. 24): "he only killed the beasts of burden, so that the head of an ass was hardly to be bought for sixty drachmae;" and Grotius quote the statement in Plin. h. n. viii. 57, that when Casalinum was besieged by Hannibal a mouse was sold for 200 denaria.) Kg2 6:26 As the king was passing by upon the wall to conduct the defence, a woman cried to him for help; whereupon he replied: אל־יושׁעך יי, "should Jehovah not help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" It is difficult to explain the אל which Ewald (355, b.) supposes to stand for אם לא. Thenius gives a simpler explanation, namely, that it is a subjective negation and the sentence hypothetical, so that the condition would be only expressed by the close connection of the two clauses (according to Ewald, 357). "From the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" i.e., I can neither help thee with corn nor with wine, cannot procure thee either food or drink. He then asked her what her trouble was; upon which she related to him the horrible account of the slaying of her own child to appease her hunger, etc. Kg2 6:30 The king, shuddering at this horrible account, in which the curses of the law in Lev 26:29 and Deu 28:53, Deu 28:57 had been literally fulfilled, rent his clothes; and the people then saw that he wore upon his body the hairy garment of penitence and mourning, מבּית, within, i.e., beneath the upper garment, as a sign of humiliation before God, though it was indeed more an opus operatum than a true bending of the heart before God and His judgment. This is proved by his conduct in Kg2 6:31. When, for example, the complaint of the woman brought the heart-breaking distress of the city before him, he exclaimed, "God do so to me ... if the head of Elisha remain upon him to-day." Elisha had probably advised that on no condition should the city be given up, and promised that God would deliver it, if they humbled themselves before Him in sincere humility and prayed for His assistance. The king thought that he had done his part by putting on the hairy garment; and as the anticipated help had nevertheless failed to come, he flew into a rage, for which the prophet was to pay the penalty. It is true that this rage only proceeded from a momentary ebullition of passion, and quickly gave place to a better movement of his conscience. The king hastened after the messenger whom he had sent to behead Elisha, for the purpose of preventing the execution of the murderous command which he had given in the hurry of his boiling wrath (Kg2 6:32); but it proves, nevertheless, that the king was still wanting in that true repentance, which would have sprung from the recognition of the distress as a judgment inflicted by the Lord. the desperate deed, to which his violent wrath had impelled him, would have been accomplished, if the Lord had not protected His prophet and revealed to him the king's design, that he might adopt defensive measures. Kg2 6:32 The elders of the city were assembled together in Elisha's house, probably to seek for counsel and consolation; and the king sent a man before him (namely, to behead the prophet); but before the messenger arrived, the prophet told the elders of the king's intention: "See ye that this son of a murderer (Joram, by descent and disposition a genuine son of Ahab, the murderer of Naboth and the prophets) is sending to cut off my head?" and commanded them to shut the door against the messenger and to force him back at the door, because he already heard the sound of his master's feet behind him. These measures of Elisha, therefore, were not dictated by any desire to resist the lawful authorities, but were acts of prudence by which he delayed the execution of an unrighteous and murderous command which had been issued in haste, and thereby rendered a service to the king himself. - In Kg2 6:33 we have to supply from the context that the king followed close upon the messenger, who came down to Elisha while he was talking with the elders; and he (the king) would of course be admitted at once. For the subject to ויּאמר is not the messenger, but the king, as is evident from Kg2 7:2 and 2 Kings 17. The king said: "Behold the calamity from the Lord, why shall I wait still further for the Lord?" - the words of a dispairing man, in whose soul, however, there was a spark of faith still glimmering. The very utterance of his feelings to the prophet shows that he had still a weak glimmer of hope in the Lord, and wished to be strengthened and sustained by the prophet; and this strengthening he received.

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

After this there arose so fearful a famine in Samaria on the occasion of a siege by Benhadad, that one mother complained to the king of another, because she would not keep her agreement to give up her son to be eaten, as she herself had already done.

Kg2 6:25

The famine became great - till an ass's head was worth eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of dove's dung was worth five shekels. היה בּ, to become for = to be worth. The ass was an unclean animal, so that it was not lawful to eat its flesh. Moreover the head of an ass is the most inedible part of the animal. Eighty shekels were about seventy thalers (10, 10s. - Tr.), or if the Mosaic bekas were called shekels in ordinary life, thirty-five thalers (5, 5s.; see Bertheau, Zur Gesch. der Isr. p. 49). According to Thenius, a quarter of a cab is a sixth of a small Dresden measure (Msschen), not quite ten Parisian cubic inches. Five shekels: more than four thalers (twelve shillings), or more than two thalers (six shillings). The Chetbib חרייונים is to be read יונים, excrementa columbarum, for which the Keri substitues the euphemistic יונים, fluxus, profluvium columbarum. The expression may be taken literally, since dung has been known to be collected for eating in times of terrible famine (vid., Joseph. Bell. Jud. v. 13, 7); but it may also be figuratively employed to signify a very miserable kind of food, as the Arabs call the herba Alcali Arab. s̆nân, i.e., sparrow's dung, and the Germans call Asa foetida Teufelsdreck. But there is no ground for thinking of wasted chick-pease, as Bochart (Hieroz. ii. p. 582, ed. Ros.) supposes (see, on the other hand, Celsii Hierobot. ii. p. 30ff.).

(Note: Clericus gives as a substantial parallel the following passage from Plutarch (Artax. c. 24): "he only killed the beasts of burden, so that the head of an ass was hardly to be bought for sixty drachmae;" and Grotius quote the statement in Plin. h. n. viii. 57, that when Casalinum was besieged by Hannibal a mouse was sold for 200 denaria.)

Kg2 6:26

As the king was passing by upon the wall to conduct the defence, a woman cried to him for help; whereupon he replied: אל־יושׁעך יי, "should Jehovah not help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" It is difficult to explain the אל which Ewald (355, b.) supposes to stand for אם לא. Thenius gives a simpler explanation, namely, that it is a subjective negation and the sentence hypothetical, so that the condition would be only expressed by the close connection of the two clauses (according to Ewald, 357). "From the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" i.e., I can neither help thee with corn nor with wine, cannot procure thee either food or drink. He then asked her what her trouble was; upon which she related to him the horrible account of the slaying of her own child to appease her hunger, etc.

Kg2 6:30

The king, shuddering at this horrible account, in which the curses of the law in Lev 26:29 and Deu 28:53, Deu 28:57 had been literally fulfilled, rent his clothes; and the people then saw that he wore upon his body the hairy garment of penitence and mourning, מבּית, within, i.e., beneath the upper garment, as a sign of humiliation before God, though it was indeed more an opus operatum than a true bending of the heart before God and His judgment. This is proved by his conduct in Kg2 6:31. When, for example, the complaint of the woman brought the heart-breaking distress of the city before him, he exclaimed, "God do so to me ... if the head of Elisha remain upon him to-day." Elisha had probably advised that on no condition should the city be given up, and promised that God would deliver it, if they humbled themselves before Him in sincere humility and prayed for His assistance. The king thought that he had done his part by putting on the hairy garment; and as the anticipated help had nevertheless failed to come, he flew into a rage, for which the prophet was to pay the penalty. It is true that this rage only proceeded from a momentary ebullition of passion, and quickly gave place to a better movement of his conscience. The king hastened after the messenger whom he had sent to behead Elisha, for the purpose of preventing the execution of the murderous command which he had given in the hurry of his boiling wrath (Kg2 6:32); but it proves, nevertheless, that the king was still wanting in that true repentance, which would have sprung from the recognition of the distress as a judgment inflicted by the Lord. the desperate deed, to which his violent wrath had impelled him, would have been accomplished, if the Lord had not protected His prophet and revealed to him the king's design, that he might adopt defensive measures.

Kg2 6:32

The elders of the city were assembled together in Elisha's house, probably to seek for counsel and consolation; and the king sent a man before him (namely, to behead the prophet); but before the messenger arrived, the prophet told the elders of the king's intention: "See ye that this son of a murderer (Joram, by descent and disposition a genuine son of Ahab, the murderer of Naboth and the prophets) is sending to cut off my head?" and commanded them to shut the door against the messenger and to force him back at the door, because he already heard the sound of his master's feet behind him. These measures of Elisha, therefore, were not dictated by any desire to resist the lawful authorities, but were acts of prudence by which he delayed the execution of an unrighteous and murderous command which had been issued in haste, and thereby rendered a service to the king himself. - In Kg2 6:33 we have to supply from the context that the king followed close upon the messenger, who came down to Elisha while he was talking with the elders; and he (the king) would of course be admitted at once. For the subject to ויּאמר is not the messenger, but the king, as is evident from Kg2 7:2 and 2 Kings 17. The king said: "Behold the calamity from the Lord, why shall I wait still further for the Lord?" - the words of a dispairing man, in whose soul, however, there was a spark of faith still glimmering. The very utterance of his feelings to the prophet shows that he had still a weak glimmer of hope in the Lord, and wished to be strengthened and sustained by the prophet; and this strengthening he received.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Ben - hadad - He whom Ahab wickedly spared, now comes to requite his kindness, and to fulfil that Divine prediction. Ben - hadad was a name very frequent among the kings of Syria, if not common to them all.

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⁴² And he said [0559] unto him, Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], Because thou hast let go [07971] out of thy hand [03027] a man [0376] whom I appointed to utter destruction [02764], therefore thy life [05315] shall go for his life [05315], and thy people [05971] for his people [05971].

²⁴ And it came to pass after this [0310], that Benhadad [01130] king [04428] of Syria [0758] gathered [06908] all his host [04264], and went up [05927], and besieged [06696] Samaria [08111].
²⁵ And there was a great [01419] famine [07458] in Samaria [08111]: and, behold, they besieged [06696] it, until an ass's [02543] head [07218] was sold for fourscore [08084] pieces of silver [03701], and the fourth part [07255] of a cab [06894] of dove's dung [01686] [03123] [02755] for five [02568] pieces of silver [03701].
²⁶ And as the king [04428] of Israel [03478] was passing by [05674] upon the wall [02346], there cried [06817] a woman [0802] unto him, saying [0559], Help [03467], my lord [0113], O king [04428].
²⁷ And he said [0559], If the LORD [03068] do not help [03467] thee, whence [0370] shall I help [03467] thee? out of the barnfloor [01637], or out of the winepress [03342]?
²⁸ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered [0559], This woman [0802] said [0559] unto me, Give [05414] thy son [01121], that we may eat [0398] him to day [03117], and we will eat [0398] my son [01121] to morrow [04279].
²⁹ So we boiled [01310] my son [01121], and did eat [0398] him: and I said [0559] unto her on the next [0312] day [03117], Give [05414] thy son [01121], that we may eat [0398] him: and she hath hid [02244] her son [01121].
³⁰ And it came to pass, when the king [04428] heard [08085] the words [01697] of the woman [0802], that he rent [07167] his clothes [0899]; and he passed by [05674] upon the wall [02346], and the people [05971] looked [07200], and, behold, he had sackcloth [08242] within [01004] upon his flesh [01320].
³¹ Then he said [0559], God [0430] do [06213] so and more [03254] also to me, if the head [07218] of Elisha [0477] the son [01121] of Shaphat [08202] shall stand [05975] on him this day [03117].
³² But Elisha [0477] sat [03427] in his house [01004], and the elders [02205] sat [03427] with him; and the king sent [07971] a man [0376] from before [06440] him: but ere the messenger [04397] came [0935] to him, he said [0559] to the elders [02205], See [07200] ye how this son [01121] of a murderer [07523] hath sent [07971] to take away [05493] mine head [07218]? look [07200], when the messenger [04397] cometh [0935], shut [05462] the door [01817], and hold him fast [03905] at the door [01817]: is not the sound [06963] of his master's [0113] feet [07272] behind [0310] him?
³³ And while he yet talked [01696] with them, behold, the messenger [04397] came down [03381] unto him: and he said [0559], Behold, this evil [07451] is of the LORD [03068]; what should I wait [03176] for the LORD [03068] any longer?

² Then a lord [07991] on whose hand [03027] the king [04428] leaned [08172] answered [06030] the man [0376] of God [0430], and said [0559], Behold, if the LORD [03068] would make [06213] windows [0699] in heaven [08064], might this thing [01697] be? And he said [0559], Behold, thou shalt see [07200] it with thine eyes [05869], but shalt not eat [0398] thereof.

³³ And while he yet talked [01696] with them, behold, the messenger [04397] came down [03381] unto him: and he said [0559], Behold, this evil [07451] is of the LORD [03068]; what should I wait [03176] for the LORD [03068] any longer?

³² But Elisha [0477] sat [03427] in his house [01004], and the elders [02205] sat [03427] with him; and the king sent [07971] a man [0376] from before [06440] him: but ere the messenger [04397] came [0935] to him, he said [0559] to the elders [02205], See [07200] ye how this son [01121] of a murderer [07523] hath sent [07971] to take away [05493] mine head [07218]? look [07200], when the messenger [04397] cometh [0935], shut [05462] the door [01817], and hold him fast [03905] at the door [01817]: is not the sound [06963] of his master's [0113] feet [07272] behind [0310] him?

³¹ Then he said [0559], God [0430] do [06213] so and more [03254] also to me, if the head [07218] of Elisha [0477] the son [01121] of Shaphat [08202] shall stand [05975] on him this day [03117].

⁵⁷ And toward her young one [07988] that cometh out [03318] from between her feet [07272], and toward her children [01121] which she shall bear [03205]: for she shall eat [0398] them for want [02640] of all things secretly [05643] in the siege [04692] and straitness [04689], wherewith thine enemy [0341] shall distress [06693] thee in thy gates [08179].

⁵³ And thou shalt eat [0398] the fruit [06529] of thine own body [0990], the flesh [01320] of thy sons [01121] and of thy daughters [01323], which the LORD [03068] thy God [0430] hath given [05414] thee, in the siege [04692], and in the straitness [04689], wherewith thine enemies [0341] shall distress [06693] thee:

²⁹ And ye shall eat [0398] the flesh [01320] of your sons [01121], and the flesh [01320] of your daughters [01323] shall ye eat [0398].

³⁰ And it came to pass, when the king [04428] heard [08085] the words [01697] of the woman [0802], that he rent [07167] his clothes [0899]; and he passed by [05674] upon the wall [02346], and the people [05971] looked [07200], and, behold, he had sackcloth [08242] within [01004] upon his flesh [01320].

²⁶ And as the king [04428] of Israel [03478] was passing by [05674] upon the wall [02346], there cried [06817] a woman [0802] unto him, saying [0559], Help [03467], my lord [0113], O king [04428].

²⁵ And there was a great [01419] famine [07458] in Samaria [08111]: and, behold, they besieged [06696] it, until an ass's [02543] head [07218] was sold for fourscore [08084] pieces of silver [03701], and the fourth part [07255] of a cab [06894] of dove's dung [01686] [03123] [02755] for five [02568] pieces of silver [03701].