2 Kings 11:5
in 2 Kings 11and commanded them, “This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall guard the royal palace,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;
KJV
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;
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This verse in 2 Kings 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Five divisions of the guard under their five captains are distinguished here. Three of the five divisions “enter in” on the Sabbath; the other two “go forth” on the Sabbath 2Ki 11:7. By the former phrase seems to be meant the mounting guard at the royal palace (the “king’s house,” where Athaliah then was); by the latter the serving of escort to the sovereign beyond the palace bounds.
This site's exposition
made a covenant with them
on 2 Kings 11:4-6
In the seventh year Jehoiada strikes at the one hour when the temple guard is doubled without raising suspicion, the sabbath change of watch, when the outgoing and the incoming courses are both present at once. He binds the captains by oath and shows them the hidden king's son before dividing the loyal guard three ways, a third at the king's house, a third at the gate of Sur, a third at the gate behind the guard, sealing every entrance before a sword is drawn. Barnes reads the sabbath doubling as ordinary priestly rotation turned to a plotter's use.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Let a third part of you come in on the Sabbath, etc." [2 Kings 11:5] This is what the high priest Jehoiada said to the priests and Levites when he brought forth Joash the son of Azariah, whom he had secretly nurtured in the temple …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he commanded them, saying, this is the thing that ye shall do,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
That enter in on the Sabbath - It appears that Jehoiada chose the Sabbath day to proclaim the young king, because as that was a day of public concourse, the gathering together of the people who were in this secret would not be noticed; and it is likely that they all came unarmed, and were supplied by Jehoiada with the spears and shields which David had laid up in the temple, 2Ki 11:10. The priests and Levites were divided into twenty-four classes by David, and each served a week by turns in the temple, and it was on the Sabbath that they began the weekly service, all this favored Jehoiada’s design.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְצַוֵּ֣ם | vaytzavem | and he commanded them | H6680 → | 494 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| זֶ֥ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַדָּבָ֖ר | hadavar | [is] the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תַּעֲשׂ֑וּן | taasun | you will do ! | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֤ית | hashelishit | the third [part] | H7992 → | 107 times |
| מִכֶּם֙ | mikem | of <the> you | ||
| בָּאֵ֣י | baei | [who] come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת | hashabat | <of> the sabbath | H7676 → | 110 times |
| וְשֹׁ֣מְרֵ֔י | veshomerei | and [who] keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת | mishmeret | [the] watch of | H4931 → | 78 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיְצַוֵּ֣םand he commanded them
vaytzavemH6680 →494 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
זֶ֥הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
הַדָּבָ֖ר[is] the thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תַּעֲשׂ֑וּןyou will do !
taasunH6213 →2628 times
הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֤יתthe third [part]
hashelishitH7992 →107 times
מִכֶּם֙of <the> you
mikem
בָּאֵ֣י[who] come
baeiH935 →2568 times
הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת<of> the sabbath
hashabatH7676 →110 times
וְשֹׁ֣מְרֵ֔יand [who] keep
veshomereiH8104 →468 times
מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת[the] watch of
mishmeretH4931 →78 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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 26:10When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 36:10
From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll…
- Jeremiah 26:24
Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
- Jeremiah 36:10
Through
1 Chronicles 9:25Their relatives came from their villages at fixed times to serve with them for seven-day periods.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 23:8
So the Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest…
- 2 Chronicles 23:8
Through
2 Kings 11:19He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and entered the…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 29:23
So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
- Matthew 19:28
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve…
- Matthew 25:31
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
- 2 Chronicles 23:19
He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason.
- Jeremiah 22:4
For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their…
- 1 Chronicles 29:23
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; Bede, Questions on the Book of Kings #18 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).