2 Kings 16:7
in 2 Kings 16So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.
KJV
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath–pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
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This verse in 2 Kings 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ahaz was threatened on all sides, on the north by Rezin and Pekah; on the southeast by Edom 2Ch 28:17; and on the southwest by the Philistines 2Ch 28:18. To these external dangers was added the still greater peril of disaffection at home. A large party in Judah was “weary” of the house of David Isa 7:13, ready to join the confederacy Isa 8:6, Isa 8:12, and to accept for king “the son of Tabeal.” Ahaz saw no hope of safety unless he could obtain a powerful protector; and, Egypt being particularly weak at this time, he turned to Assyria.
This site's exposition
I am thy servant and thy son
on 2 Kings 16:7-9
Ahaz answers the siege by making himself a vassal in words lifted from covenant language, I am thy servant and thy son, offered to Tiglath-pileser rather than to the Lord who had just proved willing to save Jerusalem without him. He funds the appeal by stripping the silver and gold from the house of the Lord and his own treasury, the same expedient Asa used against Baasha at 1 Ki 15:18. Assyria answers by taking Damascus and killing Rezin, and Judah's short-term rescue becomes the debt that shapes the rest of the chapter.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): I am thy servant and thy son, that is, "I will be as dutiful and obedient to thee as to a master or father, if thou wilt but do me this good turn." Had he thus humbled himself to God, and implored his favour, he might have been delivered upon easier terms; he might have saved his money, and needed only to have parted with his sins.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
8:4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarch, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I am thy servant and thy son - I will obey thee in all, and become tributary to thee; only help me against Syria and Israel.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אָחָ֜ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| מַלְאָכִ֗ים | malakhim | messengers | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תִּ֠גְלַת | tiglat | Tiglath- | H8407 → | 12 times |
| פְּלֶ֤סֶר | peleser | pileser | H8407 → | 12 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁוּר֙ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֥ | ʾavdekha | [am] servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וּבִנְךָ֖ | uvinkha | and son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָ֑נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֲלֵ֨ה | ʾaleh | come up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וְהוֹשִׁעֵ֜נִי | vehoshieni | and deliver me | H3467 → | 206 times |
| מִכַּ֣ף | mikaf | from [the] hand of | H3709 → | 192 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָ֗ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| וּמִכַּף֙ | umikaf | and from [the] hand of | H3709 → | 192 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַקּוֹמִ֖ים | hakomim | who are rising up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עָלָֽי׃ | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אָחָ֜זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
מַלְאָכִ֗יםmessengers
malakhimH4397 →213 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תִּ֠גְלַתTiglath-
tiglatH8407 →12 times
פְּלֶ֤סֶרpileser
peleserH8407 →12 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁוּר֙Assyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
עַבְדְּךָ֥[am] servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וּבִנְךָ֖and son your
uvinkhaH1121 →4930 times
אָ֑נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עֲלֵ֨הcome up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
וְהוֹשִׁעֵ֜נִיand deliver me
vehoshieniH3467 →206 times
מִכַּ֣ףfrom [the] hand of
mikafH3709 →192 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אֲרָ֗םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
וּמִכַּף֙and from [the] hand of
umikafH3709 →192 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַקּוֹמִ֖יםwho are rising up
hakomimH6965 →628 times
עָלָֽי׃on me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 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
2 Kings 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 5:26
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
- 1 Kings 15:20
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
- Joshua 20:7
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 20:14–15
Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26
Through
2 Chronicles 28:20Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
- Isaiah 30:16
“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
- 2 Kings 15:29
Through
1 Kings 20:4And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:6–7
Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 13:6–7
About 2 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; 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.
