2 Kings 24:16
in 2 Kings 24The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
KJV
And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
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This verse in 2 Kings 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the leading men of the land
on 2 Kings 24:15-16
Verse 15 names "the leading men of the land", and verse 16 counts "seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths". Barnes reads the two as distinct terms, one for civil rank and one for fitness in war. Ezekiel is taken in this deportation.
This site's exposition
all strong and fit for battle
Esther 2:6 places Mordecai's family among the exiles taken with Jeconiah king of Judah, as Matthew Henry notes. The Hebrew word for the metalsmiths, masger, comes from a verb meaning to shut, and Albert Barnes renders it locksmiths. Babylon wanted men fit for battle.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
There is an excellent and significant illustration in the book of Kings, showing how the sin of fornication is prevented by an attack of pride.
And of the way in which, as we said, the sin of fornication is prevented by an attack of vainglory, there is an excellent and significant figure in the book of Kings, where, when the children of Israel had been taken captive by Necho, King of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria, came up and brought them back from the borders of Egypt to their own country, not indeed meaning to restore them to their former liberty and their native land, but meaning to carry them off to his own land and to transport them to a still more distant country than the land of Egypt in which they had been prisoners.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In this captivity Ezekiel the prophet was carried away ( Ezek. i. 1, 2 ) and Mordecai, Esth. ii. This Jehoiachin was also called Jeconiah ( 1 Chron. iii.
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And all the men of might, even seven thousand,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The elite of the nation for rank, usefulness, and moral worth, all who might be useful in Babylon or dangerous in Palestine, were carried off to Babylon, to the number of ten thousand (2Ki 24:14). These are specified (2Ki 24:15, 16), warriors, seven thousand; craftsmen and smiths, one thousand; king's wives, officers, and princes, also priests and prophets (Jer 29:1;
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Seven thousand. But above he states, “ten thousand.” 12 Above, v. The third verse comes to reconcile [the difference], in the Book of Yirmiyohu, ”This is the people whom Nevuchadnetzar exiled in the seventh year, three thousand Jews.” 13 Yirmiyahu:28. The verse there states, “three thousand and twenty-three Jews.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the dignitaries of the land. These are the dignitaries of Yehudah and Binyomin, who were righteous men. Concerning them Scripture states, ”Like these good figs, so will I recognize the exiles of Yehudah.” 11 Yirmiyahu:5.
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. 4 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
18 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵת֩ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֨י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַחַ֜יִל | hachayil | <the> strength | H2428 → | 246 times |
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| אֲלָפִ֗ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְהֶחָרָ֤שׁ | vehecharash | and the craftsman | H2796 → | 37 times |
| וְהַמַּסְגֵּר֙ | vehamasger | and the smith | H4525 → | |
| אֶ֔לֶף | ʾelef | one thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| הַכֹּ֕ל | hakol | <the> everyone | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גִּבּוֹרִ֖ים | giborim | warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֣י | ʾosei | makers of | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֑ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וַיְבִיאֵ֧ם | vayviem | and he brought them | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֛ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| גּוֹלָ֖ה | golah | exile[s] | H1473 → | 43 times |
| בָּבֶֽלָה׃ | bavelah | Babylon towards | H894 → | 262 times |
וְאֵת֩and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַנְשֵׁ֨י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הַחַ֜יִל<the> strength
hachayilH2428 →246 times
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
אֲלָפִ֗יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
וְהֶחָרָ֤שׁand the craftsman
vehecharashH2796 →37 times
וְהַמַּסְגֵּר֙and the smith
vehamasgerH4525 →
אֶ֔לֶףone thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
הַכֹּ֕ל<the> everyone
hakolH3605 →5413 times
גִּבּוֹרִ֖יםwarriors
giborimH1368 →158 times
עֹשֵׂ֣יmakers of
ʾoseiH6213 →2628 times
מִלְחָמָ֑הwar
milchamahH4421 →320 times
וַיְבִיאֵ֧םand he brought them
vayviemH935 →2568 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֛לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
גּוֹלָ֖הexile[s]
golahH1473 →43 times
בָּבֶֽלָה׃Babylon towards
bavelahH894 →262 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Kings 24:14He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 52:28
These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
- 2 Kings 25:12
But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- Ezekiel 1:1–2
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
- Jeremiah 39:10
But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- Jeremiah 40:7
When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in…
- Jeremiah 52:28
Through
Jeremiah 29:2(This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
it leads to
- 2 Kings 24:12–16
Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 22:24–28
“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
- Jeremiah 27:20
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 24:12–16
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 5.12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.