2 Kings 10:2
in 2 Kings 10“When this letter arrives, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weaponry,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor;
KJV
Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;
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This verse in 2 Kings 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA fenced city also - All here seems to refer to Samaria alone; in it were the magazines and implements of war, etc. No reader need be told that these letters were all ironical. It was the same as if he had said, “Ye have no means of defense; Israel is with me: if you yield not up yourselves and the city, I will put you all to the sword.
This site's exposition
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria
on 2 Kings 10:1-3
Jehu's first letter does not demand surrender; it dares Samaria's rulers to set up one of Ahab's seventy sons as king and fight for the house, testing whether they will resist him at all. The seventy sons, some of them likely grandsons given the reckoning at verse thirteen, mark the size of a dynasty Jehu intends to end in full. The letter's real aim is to force the guardians to name their loyalty before Jehu ever draws a sword against them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"You that are hearty well-wishers to the house of Ahab, and entirely in its interests, now is your time to appear for it. Samaria is a strong city; you are in possession of it; you have forces at command; you may choose out the likeliest person of all the royal family to head you; you know you are not tied to the eldest, unless he be the best and meetest of your master's sons.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you,.... Sons of Ahab, and some of Joram, and all either the sons or grandsons of Ahab: and there are with you chariots and horses; military ones: a fenced city also: as Samaria was, well walled and fortified, and able to hold out a long siege: and armour; of all sorts, to arm themselves and people with in their defence.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria--As it appears (2Ki 10:13), that grandsons are included it is probable that this number comprehended the whole posterity of Ahab.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A fenced city - Or, “fenced cities.” If Samaria had refused to acknowledge Jehu, many other Israelite towns would have been sure to follow the example.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And to the custodian of Achov’s children. Those who brought up his children. 1 The literal translation is, “and to those who raised Achov.”
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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| בְּבֹ֨א | bevo' | when comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַסֵּ֤פֶר | hasefer | the letter | H5612 → | 186 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾaleikhem | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְאִתְּכֶ֖ם | veitekhem | and [are] with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾadoneikhem | master<s> your | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְאִתְּכֶם֙ | veitekhem | and [are] with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָרֶ֣כֶב | harekhev | <the> chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וְהַסּוּסִ֔ים | vehasusim | and <the> horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וְעִ֥יר | veir | and a city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִבְצָ֖ר | mivtzar | fortification | H4013 → | 37 times |
| וְהַנָּֽשֶׁק׃ | vehanashek | and <the> weaponry | H5402 → |
וְעַתָּ֗הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
בְּבֹ֨אwhen comes
bevo'H935 →2568 times
הַסֵּ֤פֶרthe letter
haseferH5612 →186 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲלֵיכֶ֔םto you
ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times
וְאִתְּכֶ֖םand [are] with you
veitekhemH854 →929 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֑םmaster<s> your
ʾadoneikhemH113 →333 times
וְאִתְּכֶם֙and [are] with you
veitekhemH854 →929 times
הָרֶ֣כֶב<the> chariotry
harekhevH7393 →119 times
וְהַסּוּסִ֔יםand <the> horses
vehasusimH5483 →140 times
וְעִ֥ירand a city of
veirH5892 →1090 times
מִבְצָ֖רfortification
mivtzarH4013 →37 times
וְהַנָּֽשֶׁק׃and <the> weaponry
vehanashekH5402 →
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, 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.