2 Kings 25:18
in 2 Kings 25The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
KJV
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
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This verse in 2 Kings 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,.... The sagan, or deputy priest, who officiated for the high priest, when by any means he was rendered unfit and incapable; so Joseph, the son of Ellem, as Josephus (x) relates, officiated for Matthias, when defiled with a nocturnal pollution; and seven days before the day of atonement they always substituted one under the high priest, lest anything of this kind should happen to him (y).
This site's exposition
took away Seraiah the chief priest
on 2 Kings 25:18-21
Seraiah "the chief priest" is named as Jehozadak's father at 1 Chronicles 6:14-15, and Ezra 7:1 traces Ezra's priestly line back through this same Seraiah. All are struck down at Riblah, and the verse closes the kingdom: "So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land."
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
That it was the holy city, where was the testimony of Israel; but that glory has departed, for Solomon's temple is burnt to the ground (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His office as captain of the guard (Ge 37:36; 39:1) called him to execute the awards of justice on criminals; and hence, although not engaged in the siege of Jerusalem (Jer 39:13), Nebuzar-adan was despatched to rase the city, to plunder the temple, to lay both in ruins, demolish the fortifications, and transport the inhabitants to Babylon.
Seraiah the chief priest - Zephaniah - The person who is here called the second priest was what the Jews call sagan, a sort of deputy, who performed the functions of the high priest when he was prevented by any infirmity from attending the temple service. See on 2Ki 23:4 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It devolved on Nebuzaradan to select for exemplary punishment the persons whom he regarded as most guilty, either in respect of the original rebellion or of the protracted resistance. Instead of taking indiscriminately the first comers, he first selected those who by their offices would be likely to have had most authority - the high priest; the second priest (2Ki 23:4 note); three of the temple Levites; the commandant of the city; five members of the king’s Privy Council (or seven, see 2Ki 25:19 note); and the secretary (or adjutant) of the captain of the host. To these he added sixty others, who were accounted “princes.” Compared with the many occasions on which Assyrian and Persian conquerers put to death hundreds or thousands after taking a revolted town, Nebuzaradan (and Nebuchadnezzar) must be regarded as moderate, or even merciful, in their vengeance. Compare Jer 40:2-5. The three keepers of the door - Rather, “three keepers.” The Hebrew has no article. The temple “door-keepers” in the time of Solomon numbered twenty-four 1Ch 26:17-18, who were probably under six chiefs. After the captivity the chiefs are either six Ezr 2:42; Neh 7:45 or four 1Ch 9:17.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The height of the crown was three amohs. And in the beginning of the Book [of Melochim] it states, ”five amohs [high].” 9 Melochim:16. I reconciled the verses there.
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. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֣ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief of | H7227 → | 454 times |
| טַבָּחִ֗ים | tabachim | [the] bodyguards | H2876 → | 32 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׂרָיָה֙ | serayah | Seraiah | H8304 → | |
| כֹּהֵ֣ן | kohen | [the] priest of | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הָרֹ֔אשׁ | harosh | the head | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צְפַנְיָ֖הוּ | tzefanyahu | Zephaniah | H6846 → | |
| כֹּהֵ֣ן | kohen | a priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| מִשְׁנֶ֑ה | mishneh | second | H4932 → | 35 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת | sheloshet | [the] three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| שֹׁמְרֵ֥י | shomerei | [the] keepers of | H8104 → | 468 times |
| הַסַּֽף׃ | hasaf | the threshold | H5592 → | 32 times |
וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
רַב־[the] chief of
rav-H7227 →454 times
טַבָּחִ֗ים[the] bodyguards
tabachimH2876 →32 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׂרָיָה֙Seraiah
serayahH8304 →
כֹּהֵ֣ן[the] priest of
kohenH3548 →750 times
הָרֹ֔אשׁthe head
haroshH7218 →599 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צְפַנְיָ֖הוּZephaniah
tzefanyahuH6846 →
כֹּהֵ֣ןa priest
kohenH3548 →750 times
מִשְׁנֶ֑הsecond
mishnehH4932 →35 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת[the] three
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
שֹׁמְרֵ֥י[the] keepers of
shomereiH8104 →468 times
הַסַּֽף׃the threshold
hasafH5592 →32 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 21:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 37:3
Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 29:25
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 52:24
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 25:18–21
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 38:1
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:
- Jeremiah 37:3
Through
Ezra 7:1Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 2:1
Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad…
- 1 Chronicles 6:4–14
Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, Phinehas was the father of Abishua,
- Nehemiah 2:1
Through
Jeremiah 52:24The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 35:4
and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the…
- Jeremiah 35:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
On this verse
On this chapter
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.