2 Kings 3:8
in 2 Kings 3Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?” “By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
KJV
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
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This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThrough the wilderness of Edom - Because he expected the king of Edom to join them, as we find he did; for, being tributary to Judah, he was obliged to do it.
This site's exposition
and numbered all Israel
on 2 Kings 3:6-8
Jehoram's muster and his message to Jehoshaphat, wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle, repeat Ahab's own summons before Ramoth-gilead in 1 Ki 22:4 almost word for word, down to Jehoshaphat's identical answer, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. Jehoshaphat's readiness to yoke Judah to a northern king's war is the same pattern the chronicler will later rebuke him for at 2 Chr 19:2, lovest thou them that hate the LORD. The route chosen, through the wilderness of Edom, adds a third king and a longer march to an alliance already made.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And he said, which way shall we go up....
Jehoshaphat had like to have paid dearly for joining with Ahab, yet he joined with his son, and this expedition also had like to have been fatal to him. There is nothing got by being yoked with unbelievers. The great straits that the army of the confederates was reduced to in this expedition.
It was well that Jehoshaphat enquired of the Lord now, but it would have been much better if he had done it sooner, before he engaged in this war, or steered this course; so the distress might have been prevented. Good men are sometimes remiss and forgetful, and neglect their duty till necessity and affliction drive them to it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
They were disappointed by finding the wady of this valley, the brook Zered (De 2:13-18) [ROBINSON], dry. But the pious mind of Jehoshaphat inquired for a prophet of the Lord; and, on being informed that Elisha was at hand, the three kings "went down to him"; that is, to his tent, which was either in the camp, or close by it.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The readiest and most natural “way” was across the Jordan near Jericho into the Arboth-Moab, and then along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea to Moab proper, the tract south of the Arnon. But the way chosen was that which led to the Edomite country, namely, round the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and across the Arabah, or continuation of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley. Thus would be effected a junction with the forces of Edom, which had resumed its dependence on Judah, though the year before it had been in alliance with Moab 2Ch 20:22; and they would come upon the Moabites unprepared.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵי־ | ʾei- | where? | H335 → | |
| זֶ֥ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ | haderekh | [is] the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| נַעֲלֶ֑ה | naaleh | [which] we will go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דֶּ֖רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מִדְבַּ֥ר | midbar | [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | |
| אֱדֽוֹם׃ | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵי־where?
ʾei-H335 →
זֶ֥הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ[is] the way
haderekhH1870 →707 times
נַעֲלֶ֑ה[which] we will go up
naalehH5927 →890 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דֶּ֖רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
מִדְבַּ֥ר[the] wilderness of
midbarH4057 →
אֱדֽוֹם׃Edom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Numbers 21:4Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey
it leads to
- Exodus 6:9
Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.
- Judges 11:18
Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon.…
- Numbers 32:7
Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them?
- Acts 14:22
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Numbers 32:9
For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.
- Exodus 6:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.