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2 Kings 6:8

in 2 Kings 6

Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

KJV

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

This verse in 2 Kings 6

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

took counsel with his servants

on 2 Kings 6:8-10

The king of Syria plans his raids in secret councils, and each time the man of God sends word to the king of Israel of the place to avoid. The title man of God, used of Elisha here and repeatedly through the chapter's first half, is the same office worn by the prophet of 1 Kings 13 and by Elijah before him, a man whose access runs past locked bedchambers and closed camps. The king of Israel is saved not once nor twice, the text's own count of a pattern that will soon draw Syria's suspicion.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The work of God's prophets is to give us warning; if, being warned, we do not save ourselves, it is our own fault, and our blood will be upon our own head. The king of Israel would regard the warnings Elisha gave him of his danger by the Syrians, but not the warnings he gave him of his danger by his sins.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the king of Syria warred against Israel--This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The king of Syria warred against Israel - This was probably the same Ben-hadad who is mentioned 2Ki 6:
The king of Syria - Probably the great Benhadad (see 2Ki 6:24).

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וּמֶ֣לֶךְand [the] king of

    umelekhH44282525 times

  • אֲרָ֔םAram

    ʾaramH758143 times

  • הָיָ֥הhe was

    hayahH19613559 times

  • נִלְחָ֖םfighting

    nilchamH3898177 times

  • בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לagainst Israel

    beyisraelH34782507 times

  • וַיִּוָּעַץ֙and he consulted

    vaiyivaatzH3289

  • אֶל־<to>

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • עֲבָדָ֣יוservants his

    ʾavadavH5650799 times

  • לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying

    lemorH5595305 times

  • אֶל־[will be] to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • מְק֛וֹםa place of

    mekomH4725401 times

  • פְּלֹנִ֥יa certain one

    peloniH6423

  • אַלְמֹנִ֖יa certain one

    ʾalmoniH492

  • תַּחֲנֹתִֽי׃encampments my

    tachanotiH8466

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Proverbs 21:30

    There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Acts 5:39

      But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

    • Proverbs 19:21

      Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

    • Jeremiah 9:23

      This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

    • Isaiah 14:27

      The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?

    • 1 Corinthians 3:19–20

      For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

  • Through

    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.”

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 20:24

      So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.

  • Through

    Proverbs 20:18

    Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 24:6

      Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

    • Luke 14:31

      Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

A Famine in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A Famine in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.