2 Kings 12:17
in 2 Kings 12At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
KJV
Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
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This verse in 2 Kings 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
There was probably a considerable interval between the conclusion of the arrangement for the repairs and the Syrian expedition related in these verses. For the events which had happened, see 2Ch 24:15-22. 2Ki 12:17 This is the first and last time that we hear of the Damascene Syrians undertaking so distant an expedition. Gath (see Jos 13:3 note) could only be reached from Syria through Israel or Judah. It was not more than 25 or 30 miles from Jerusalem. It is uncertain whether the city belonged at this time to Judah or to the Philistines.
This site's exposition
set his face to go up
on 2 Kings 12:17-18
Hazael's army takes Gath, the one recorded expedition of Damascus reaching so far south, then turns to face Jerusalem itself. Jehoash empties two treasuries to send him back, the hallowed things three generations of his own fathers had dedicated and his own hallowed things besides, all the gold the temple and the king's house together held. Hazael takes the payment and withdraws, the wealth a repaired temple had only lately received now spent to cancel a siege rather than furnish worship.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and thence intended to march with his forces against Jerusalem, the royal city, the holy city, but whose defence, on account of its sinfulness, had departed. Joash had neither spirit nor strength to make head against him, but gave him all the hallowed things, and all the gold that was found both in his exchequer and in the treasures of the temple (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Hazael - fought against Gath, and took it - This city, with its satrapy or lordship, had been taken from the Philistines by David, (see 2Sa 8:1, and 1Ch 18:1); and it had continued in the possession of the kings of Judah till this time. On what pretense Hazael seized it, we cannot tell; he had the ultima ratio regum, power to do it, and he wanted more territory.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
They did not demand and accounting from the men. The supervisors would not make an accounting with the treasurers that the supervisors would give the money—continually—into whose hand to give it to the workers, because they were not suspect in their eyes, for they worked with integrity.
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. 3 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֣ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֗ה | yaaleh | he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| חֲזָאֵל֙ | chazael | Hazael | H2371 → | 23 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָ֔ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם | vaiyilachem | and he fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּ֖ת | gat | Gath | H1661 → | |
| וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֑הּ | vaiyilkedah | and he captured it | H3920 → | 121 times |
| וַיָּ֤שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| חֲזָאֵל֙ | chazael | Hazael | H2371 → | 23 times |
| פָּנָ֔יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לַעֲל֖וֹת | laalot | to go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
אָ֣זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
יַעֲלֶ֗הhe went up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
חֲזָאֵל֙Hazael
chazaelH2371 →23 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲרָ֔םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
וַיִּלָּ֥חֶםand he fought
vaiyilachemH3898 →177 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
גַּ֖תGath
gatH1661 →
וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֑הּand he captured it
vaiyilkedahH3920 →121 times
וַיָּ֤שֶׂםand he set
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
חֲזָאֵל֙Hazael
chazaelH2371 →23 times
פָּנָ֔יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
לַעֲל֖וֹתto go up
laalotH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 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
Luke 9:51As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:5–9
The Lord GOD has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.
- Luke 18:31
Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
- Mark 16:19
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
- Luke 13:22
Then Jesus traveled throughout the towns and villages, teaching as He made His way toward Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 50:5–9
Through
1 Kings 19:17Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:12
“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword,…
- 2 Kings 13:22
And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz.
- 2 Kings 13:3
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.
- 2 Kings 8:12
Through
Jeremiah 42:15then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way…
- Deuteronomy 17:16
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomHazaelThe Aramean officer over whose face Elisha wept, foreseeing the cruelty of his coming reign; king of Aram and scourge of Israel.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.