2 Kings 7:14
in 2 Kings 7Then the scouts took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
KJV
They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
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This verse in 2 Kings 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseNow the Lord repented himself concerning his servants, when he saw that their strength was gone, Deut. xxxii. The plenty that was in Samaria, from the plunder of the camp of the Syrians,
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.
This site's exposition
two chariots with horses
Matthew Henry reads the moment through Deuteronomy 32, where the LORD relents toward His servants once He sees their strength is gone. Samaria had come to that point. The king's command was brief: Go and see.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They took therefore two chariot horses,.... Not five, but two only, and those the best, that drew in the king's chariot perhaps, and so were better fed, and fitter for this expedition: and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, go and see; whether they are fled or not.
The Nineteenth Century3 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
They took - two chariot horses - They had at first intended to send five; probably they found on examination that only two were effective. But if they sent two chariots, each would have two horses, and probably a single horse for crossing the country.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Two chariot horses - Translate, “two horse-chariots.” They dispatched i. e. two war-chariots, with their proper complement of horses and men, to see whether the retreat was a reality or only a feint. The “horses” sent would be four or six, since chariots were drawn by either two or three horses.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
That are left in it [the city]. Within the city, that did not die of hunger.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְח֕וּ | vaiyikchu | and people took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| שְׁנֵ֖י | shenei | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| רֶ֣כֶב | rekhev | chariot[s] | H7393 → | 119 times |
| סוּסִ֑ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent [them] | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֧י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| מַחֲנֵֽה־ | machaneh- | [the] camp of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| אֲרָ֛ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְכ֥וּ | lekhu | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וּרְאֽוּ׃ | ureu | and see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
וַיִּקְח֕וּand people took
vaiyikchuH3947 →966 times
שְׁנֵ֖יtwo
sheneiH8147 →768 times
רֶ֣כֶבchariot[s]
rekhevH7393 →119 times
סוּסִ֑יםhorses
susimH5483 →140 times
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent [them]
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אַחֲרֵ֧יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
מַחֲנֵֽה־[the] camp of
machaneh-H4264 →215 times
אֲרָ֛םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לְכ֥וּgo
lekhuH1980 →1546 times
וּרְאֽוּ׃and see
ureuH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.