2 Kings 14:7
in 2 Kings 14Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He slew of Edom in the Valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Sela by war, and called the name of it Joktheel, unto this day.
KJV
He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.
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This verse in 2 Kings 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Amaziah’s Idumaean war is treated at length by the writer of Chronicles (marginal reference). The “Valley of Salt” is usually identified with the broad open plain called the Sabkah, at the southern end of the Dead Sea - the continuation of the Ghor or Jordan gorge. At the north-western corner of this plain stands a mountain of rock-salt, and the tract between this mountain and the sea is a salt-marsh. Salt springs also abound in the plain itself, so that the name would be fully accounted for.
This site's exposition
took Selah by war
Ten thousand Edomites fall in the valley of salt, and Amaziah takes Selah, the rock fortress later identified with Petra, renaming it Joktheel. The victory finishes what earlier kings began, since Edom had thrown off Judah's yoke under Jehoram, and here a portion of that ground is retaken by force. The renaming itself is a king's claim staked in a word, the same gesture Israel's conquerors use elsewhere in the historical books.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"In the second year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Israel, King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah began to reign," who avenged the death of his father, but with moderation, so that he spared the life of the relatives of the conspirators according …
The Medieval Church1 voice
"He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, etc." [2 Kings 14:7] It is said of Amaziah, the king of Judah: He struck down ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela in war, and called its name Joktheel; …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Joktheel - Which signifies, the obedience of God, that is, given him by God as a reward of his obedience to God's message by the prophet, 2 Chron. xxv, 8, 9.
9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
He slew of Edom in the valley of Salt ten thousand,.... Of which valley; see Gill on 2Sa 8:13, the Edomites having revolted from Judah in the days of Joram, 2Ki 8:
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Selah--literally, "the rock"; generally thought to be Petra. Joktheel--that is, "given" or "conquered by God." See the history of this conquest more fully detailed (2Ch 25:6-16).
He slew of Edom to the valley of salt - This war is more circumstantially related in 2Ch 25:5, etc. The Idumeans had arisen in the reign of Joram king of Judah, and shaken off the yoke of the house of David. Amaziah determined to reduce them to obedience; he therefore levied an army of three hundred thousand men in his own kingdom, and hired a hundred thousand Israelites, at the price of one hundred talents. When he was about to depart at the head of this numerous army, a prophet came to him and ordered him to dismiss the Israelitish army, for God was not with them: and on the king of Judah expressing regret for the loss of his hundred talents, he was answered, that the Lord could give him much more than that. He obeyed, sent back the Israelites, and at the head of his own men attacked the Edomites in the valley of salt, slew ten thousand on the spot, and took ten thousand prisoners, all of whom he precipitated from the rock, or Selah, which was afterwards called Joktheel, a place or city supposed to be the same with Petra, which gave name to Arabia Petraea, where there must have been a great precipice, from which the place took its name of Selah or Petra.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הוּא־ | hu'- | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הִכָּ֨ה | hikah | he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱד֤וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| בְּגֵיא־ | begei'- | in [the] Valley of | H1516 → | 59 times |
| מֶ֙לַח֙ | melach | Salt | H4417 → | 27 times |
| עֲשֶׂ֣רֶת | ʾaseret | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אֲלָפִ֔ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְתָפַ֥שׂ | vetafas | and he seized | H8610 → | 65 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַסֶּ֖לַע | hasela' | <the> Sela | H5554 → | |
| בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | bamilchamah | in <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמָהּ֙ | shemah | name its | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יָקְתְאֵ֔ל | yaketeel | Joktheel | H3371 → | |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ פ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
הוּא־he
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
הִכָּ֨הhe struck down
hikahH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱד֤וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
בְּגֵיא־in [the] Valley of
begei'-H1516 →59 times
מֶ֙לַח֙Salt
melachH4417 →27 times
עֲשֶׂ֣רֶתten
ʾaseretH6235 →176 times
אֲלָפִ֔יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
וְתָפַ֥שׂand he seized
vetafasH8610 →65 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַסֶּ֖לַע<the> Sela
hasela'H5554 →
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑הin <the> battle
bamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמָהּ֙name its
shemahH8034 →864 times
יָקְתְאֵ֔לJoktheel
yaketeelH3371 →
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ פ<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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
Psalms 60:1You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 8:12–13
from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
- 2 Samuel 8:3
David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- Psalms 44:9
But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.
- 1 Chronicles 18:12–13
Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
- 1 Chronicles 18:3
As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- 2 Samuel 8:12–13
Through
1 Chronicles 18:12Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
it leads to
- Psalms 60:1
You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 60:1
Through
Isaiah 16:1Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 3:4
Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
- Isaiah 10:32
Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 3:4
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Questions on the Book of Kings #21; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 16:1; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.