2 Kings 7:13
in 2 Kings 7But one of his servants replied, “Please, have scouts take five of the horses that remain in the city. Their plight will be no worse than all the Israelites who are left here. You can see that all the Israelites here are doomed. So let us send them and find out.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are consumed); and let us send and see.
KJV
And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
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This verse in 2 Kings 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold ... - The Septuagint and a large number of the Hebrew MSS. omit the clause, “behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it.” But the text followed by our translators, which is that of the best maunscripts, is intelligible and needs no alteration. It is merely a prolix way of stating that the horsemen will incur no greater danger by going to reconnoitre than the rest of their countrymen by remaining in the city, since the whole multitude is perishing.
This site's exposition
take five of the horses that remain in the city
on 2 Kings 7:13-15
A servant proposes a small test, to send “five of the horses that remain in the city”. The scouts follow the road, and “the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste”. The king sees the proof before he risks an army.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); for speaking of the horses, many of which were dead and the rest ready to perish for hunger, he says, and repeats it, " They are as all the multitude of Israel. Israel used to glory in their multitude, but now they are diminished and brought low." He advised to send five horsemen, but, it should seem, there were only two horses fit to be sent, and those chariot-horses,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And one of his servants answered and said, let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the king . . . said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done--Similar stratagems have been so often resorted to in the ancient and modern wars of the East that there is no wonder Jehoram's suspicions were awakened.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And one of his servants answered - This is a very difficult verse, and the great variety of explanations given of it cast but little light on the subject. I am inclined to believe, with Dr. Kennicott, that there is an interpolation here which puzzles, if not destroys, the sense. “Several instances,” says he, “have been given of words improperly repeated by Jewish transcribers, who have been careless enough to make such mistakes, and yet cautious not to alter or erase, for fear of discovery. This verse furnishes another instance in a careless repetition of seven Hebrew words, thus: - הנשארים אשר נשארו בה הנם ככל ההמון ישראל אשר נשארו בה הנם ככל המון ישראל אשר תמי The exact English of this verse is this: And the servant said, Let them take now five of the remaining horses, which remain in it; behold they are as all the multitude of Israel, which [remain in it; behold they are as all the multitude of Israel which] are consumed; and let us send and see. “Whoever considers that the second set of these seven words is neither in the Septuagint nor Syriac versions, and that those translators who suppose these words to be genuine alter them to make them look like sense, will probably allow them to have been at first an improper repetition; consequently to be now an interpolation strangely continued in the Hebrew text.” They are wanting in more than forty of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. In some others they are left without points; in others they have been written in, and afterwards blotted out; and in others four, in others five, of the seven words are omitted. De Rossi concludes thus: Nec verba haec legunt Lxx., Vulg., Syrus simplex, Syrus Heptaplaris Parisiensis, Targum. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
That are left in it [the city]. Within the city, that did not die of hunger.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
We are starving. And long to go out to the loot and to the food. 4 Their enemy figured that the Bnei Yisroel are desperately starving and will therefore leave the city without first investigating whether the enemy is waiting in ambush.—Metzudas Dovid
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. 5 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
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעַן֩ | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אֶחָ֨ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵעֲבָדָ֜יו | meavadav | from servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וְיִקְחוּ־ | veyikchu- | and they may take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה | chamishah | five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| מִן־ | min- | of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַסּוּסִים֮ | hasusim | the horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִים֮ | hanisharim | <the> remaining | H7604 → | 133 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁאֲרוּ־ | nisharu- | they are left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בָהּ֒ | vah | in it | ||
| הִנָּ֗ם | hinam | here they | H2009 → | 843 times |
| כְּכָל־ | kekhol- | [will be] like all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֲמ֤וֹן | hehamon | [the] multitude of | H1995 → | 83 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁאֲרוּ־ | nisharu- | they are left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בָ֔הּ | vah | in it | ||
| הִנָּ֕ם | hinam | here they | H2005 → | 316 times |
| כְּכָל־ | kekhol- | [will be] like all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֲמ֥וֹן | hamon | [the] multitude of | H1995 → | 83 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תָּ֑מּוּ | tamu | they have come to an end | H8552 → | |
| וְנִשְׁלְחָ֖ה | venishlechah | and let us send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וְנִרְאֶֽה׃ | venireh | and we may see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
וַיַּעַן֩and he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
אֶחָ֨דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מֵעֲבָדָ֜יוfrom servants his
meavadavH5650 →799 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
וְיִקְחוּ־and they may take
veyikchu-H3947 →966 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
חֲמִשָּׁ֣הfive
chamishahH2568 →343 times
מִן־of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַסּוּסִים֮the horses
hasusimH5483 →140 times
הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִים֮<the> remaining
hanisharimH7604 →133 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁאֲרוּ־they are left
nisharu-H7604 →133 times
בָהּ֒in it
vah
הִנָּ֗םhere they
hinamH2009 →843 times
כְּכָל־[will be] like all
kekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הֲמ֤וֹן[the] multitude of
hehamonH1995 →83 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁאֲרוּ־they are left
nisharu-H7604 →133 times
בָ֔הּin it
vah
הִנָּ֕םhere they
hinamH2005 →316 times
כְּכָל־[will be] like all
kekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הֲמ֥וֹן[the] multitude of
hamonH1995 →83 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
תָּ֑מּוּthey have come to an end
tamuH8552 →
וְנִשְׁלְחָ֖הand let us send
venishlechahH7971 →845 times
וְנִרְאֶֽה׃and we may see
venirehH7200 →1300 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
Jeremiah 14:18If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:15
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
- Lamentations 1:20
See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.
- Ezekiel 7:15
Through
2 Kings 5:13Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you,…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 6:21
And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- 2 Kings 2:12
As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.
- 2 Kings 13:14
When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen…
- Revelation 7:14
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
- Jeremiah 38:7–10
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- 2 Kings 6:21
Through
2 Kings 7:4If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:18
If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land…
- Jeremiah 14:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.