2 Kings 6:24
in 2 Kings 6Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
KJV
And it came to pass after this, that Ben–hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
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This verse in 2 Kings 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBen-hadad - He whom Ahab wickedly spared, now comes to requite his kindness, and to fulfil that Divine prediction. Ben- hadad was a name very frequent among the kings of Syria, if not common to them all.
This site's exposition
assembled his entire army
on 2 Kings 6:24-25
Ben-hadad returns with “his entire army” and lays a full siege on Samaria. A donkey fetches “eighty shekels of silver” for its head, and “a quarter cab of dove’s dung sold for five shekels of silver”. Many readers take the dung for a cheap seed pod or husk.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Some time later King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army; he marched against Samaria and laid siege to it." This is that Ben-hadad who had been condemned to death by God; and Ahab had received the order to execute him. But he spared his …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
There are base spirits that can never feel obliged. The country, we may suppose, was plundered and laid waste when this capital city was brought to the last extremity,
And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host,.... Still retaining a grudge and enmity against Israel, and not at all softened by the kind and humane treatment his forces had met with, when in the hands of Israel; and finding he could do nothing in a secret way, by ambush, mustered all his forces together, to try what he could by open war: and went up, and besieged Samaria; Jehoram king of Israel not being able to stop him till he came to his capital, which he laid close siege to.
Concerning the sons of the prophets, and their condition and character. The college here spoken of seems to be that at Gilgal, for there Elisha was ( ch. iv. 38 ), and it was near Jordan; and, probably, wherever Elisha resided as many as could of the sons of the prophets flocked to him for the advantage of his instructions, counsels, and prayers.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
After this - Perhaps some years after - when the miracle and the kind treatment were alike forgotten.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַחֲרֵי־ | ʾacharei- | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֔ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| וַיִּקְבֹּ֛ץ | vaiyikbotz | and he gathered | H6908 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | Ben | H1130 → | 50 times |
| הֲדַ֥ד | hadad | Hadad | H1130 → | 50 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָ֖ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַחֲנֵ֑הוּ | machanehu | army his | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וַיַּ֕עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וַיָּ֖צַר | vaiyatzar | and he laid siege | H6696 → | 38 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אַחֲרֵי־after
ʾacharei-H310 →715 times
כֵ֔ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
וַיִּקְבֹּ֛ץand he gathered
vaiyikbotzH6908 →
בֶּן־Ben
ben-H1130 →50 times
הֲדַ֥דHadad
hadadH1130 →50 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אֲרָ֖םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַחֲנֵ֑הוּarmy his
machanehuH4264 →215 times
וַיַּ֕עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
וַיָּ֖צַרand he laid siege
vaiyatzarH6696 →38 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃Samaria
shomeronH8111 →109 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
1 Kings 22:31Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 20:24
So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
- 2 Chronicles 18:30
Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
- Jeremiah 16:6
“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
- 1 Kings 20:24
Through
1 Kings 20:1Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 15:18
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this…
- 1 Kings 22:31
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
- 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.
- 1 Kings 15:18
Through
2 Kings 17:5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
it leads to
- Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- Hosea 13:16
Through
Ecclesiastes 9:14There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:15–22
And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,
- 2 Samuel 20:15–22
Where this verse is studied
What the record shows
1 entry- Ben-hadad (son of Hadadezer) — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Melqart stele
Biblical figure (King of Aram-Damascus, 844/842 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The Melqart stele's second line is badly worn and its reading is a long-running fight. Wayne Pitard and Emile Puech read the father's name in ways that would place this Bar-Hadad in northern Syria rather than Damascus; Frank Moore Cross defended a Damascene reading. The stone alone does not settle it.
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); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 6:24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.