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2 Kings 14:13

in 2 Kings 14

There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

KJV

And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth–shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

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This verse in 2 Kings 14

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
The object of breaking down the wall was to leave Jerusalem at the mercy of her rival; and it must have been among the conditions of the peace that the breach thus made should not be repaired. Gates in Oriental cities are named from the places to which they lead. The gate of Ephraim must therefore have been a north gate: perhaps also known, later on, by the name of the “gate of Benjamin” Jer 37:13; Zec 14:

This site's exposition

broke down the wall of Jerusalem

on 2 Kings 14:13-14

Jehoash takes Amaziah captive and marches on Jerusalem. He breaks down four hundred cubits of the wall “from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate”. The breach is deliberate policy, meant to leave Jerusalem undefended against the kingdom that had beaten her, and a fellow Hebrew king does the breaking.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Took Amaziah king of Judah - It is plain that Amaziah afterwards had his liberty; but how or on what terms he got it, is not known. See on 2Ki 14:14 (note).

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

And the children [held] hostage. The children of the princes, who were placed in the king’s palace as security that their fathers would not rebel against him. And so did [Targum] Yonoson render, “ the children of the princes.”
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Kings 14:14:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאֵת֩and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • אֲמַצְיָ֨הוּAmaziah

    ʾamatzyahuH558 →40 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָ֜הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • יְהוֹאָ֣שׁJehoash

    yehoashH3060 →17 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֲחַזְיָ֗הוּAhaziah

    ʾachazyahuH274 →37 times

  • תָּפַ֛שׂhe seized

    tafasH8610 →65 times

  • יְהוֹאָ֥שׁJehoash

    yehoashH3060 →17 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • בְּבֵ֣יתat Beth

    beveitH1053 →42 times

  • שָׁ֑מֶשׁShemesh

    shameshH1053 →42 times

  • וַיָּבֹא֙and he came

    vaiyavou'H935 →2568 times

  • יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • וַיִּפְרֹץ֩and he made a breach

    vaiyifrotzH6555 →

  • בְּחוֹמַ֨תin [the] wall of

    bechomatH2346 →133 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • בְּשַׁ֤עַרat [the] gate of

    beshaarH8179 →374 times

  • אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙Ephraim

    ʾefrayimH669 →

  • עַד־to

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • שַׁ֣עַר[the] gate of

    shaarH8179 →374 times

  • הַפִּנָּ֔הthe corner

    hapinahH6438 →

  • אַרְבַּ֥עfour

    ʾarba'H702 →318 times

  • מֵא֖וֹתhundred<s>

    meotH3967 →581 times

  • אַמָּֽה׃cubit[s]

    ʾamahH520 →247 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 31:38“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.6 worksNehemiah 8:16And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.5 worksZechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.4 worksNehemiah 12:39over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.4 works2 Chronicles 26:9Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.4 works2 Chronicles 36:6Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.2 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 25:6The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him.2 worksDaniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.2 worksJob 40:11–12Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.2 works2 Chronicles 25:23–24There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.2 worksLuke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”2 worksIsaiah 2:11–12The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.2 worksProverbs 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.2 works2 Chronicles 33:11So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.2 worksProverbs 29:23A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.2 works2 Chronicles 36:10In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 31:38

    “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 30:18

      This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Zechariah 14:10

      All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 12:39

    over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 3:1

      At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower…

    • Nehemiah 3:3

      The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

    • Nehemiah 8:16

      And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate…

  • Through

    Zechariah 14:10

    All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 15:32

      Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.

    • Zechariah 12:6

      On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 8:16

    And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate…

    it leads to

    • Nehemiah 12:39

      over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Jews Mourning in Exile, Eduard Bendemann, 1832, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Public domain.
Jews Mourning in Exile, Eduard Bendemann, 1832, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 14 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

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