2 Kings 25:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Kings 25:19
And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king’s presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
took
לָקַח֩la.Kach
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
an
אֶחָ֜ד'e.Chad
H259
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
officer
סָרִ֨יסsa.Ris
H5631
a eunuch · noun, common masculine singular absolute
set
פָקִ֣ידfa.Kid
H6496
a superintendent (civil · noun, common masculine singular absolute
men
אַנְשֵׁ֣י'an.Shei
H582
a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Esther 1:14 And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which sa…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 25:8-21
Though we have reason to think that the army of the Chaldeans were much enraged against the city for holding out with so much stubbornness, yet they did not therefore put all to fire and sword as soon as they had taken the city (which is too commonly done in such cases), but about a month after (compare Kg2 25:8 with Kg2 25:3) Nebuzar-adan was sent with orders to complete the destruction of Jerusalem. This space God gave them to repent, after all the foregoing days of his patience, but in vain; their hearts (for aught that appears) were still hardened, and therefore execution is awarded to the utmost. 1. The city and temple are burnt, Kg2 25:9. It does not appear that the king of Babylon des…
five men of them that were in the king's presence--that is, who belonged to the royal retinue. It is probable that there were five at first, and that other two were found afterwards (Jer 52:25).
Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 25:19
And five men of them that were in the king's presence - These were principal counselors, and confidential officers.
In Jer 52:25, it is said he took seven men who were near the king's person, and the same number is found in the Arabic in this place; and the Chaldee has no less than fifty men; but in Jeremiah this, as well as all the rest of the versions, reads seven. Probably they were no more than five at first, or, perhaps Jeremiah reckoned with the five the officer that was set over the men of war, and the principal scribe of the host mentioned here, as two with the five; and thus made seven in the whole.
John Gill on 2 Kings 25:18
And 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). From hence, to the end of 2 Kings 25:21 the account is the same as in Jeremiah 52:25, only here in 2 Kings 25:19 it is said, that five men that were in the king's presence were taken, there seven men; to account for…
Dictionary and topics
Army — The Israelites marched out of Egypt in military order (Ex. 13:18, “harnessed;” marg., “five in a rank”). Each tribe formed a battalion, with its own banner and leader (Num. 2:2; 10:14). In war the…
Chaldees — Or Chaldeans, the inhabitants of the country of which Babylon was the capital. They were so called till the time of the Captivity (2 Kings 25; Isa. 13:19; 23:13), when, particularly in the Book of…
Ezra — Help. (1.) A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel (Neh. 12:1). (2.) The “scribe” who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and…
Fast — The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called “the fast” (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old…
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Judah, Kingdom of — When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem became the…
Kings, The Books of — The two books of Kings formed originally but one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX., which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as the third…
Nebuzaradan — “the captain of the guard,” in rank next to the king, who appears prominent in directing affairs at the capture of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:8-20; Jer. 39:11; 40:2-5). He showed kindness toward Jeremiah,…
Armies Of Israel, The
war
הַמִּלְחָמָ֗הha.mil.cha.Mah
H4421
a battle (i.e. the engagement) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
five
וַחֲמִשָּׁ֨הva.cha.mi.Shah
H2568
five · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular absolute
men
אֲנָשִׁ֜ים'a.na.Shim
H582
a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
were
מֵרֹאֵ֤יme.ro.'Ei
H7200
to see · preposition + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
king’s
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
presence
פְנֵֽיfe.nei-
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
found
נִמְצְא֣וּnim.tze.'U
H4672
properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person common plural
city
בָעִ֔ירva.'Ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
principal
שַׂ֣רsar
H8269
a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine singular construct
scribe
הַסֹּפֵר֙ha.so.Fer
H5608
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
host
הַצָּבָ֔אha.tza.Va'
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
mustered
הַמַּצְבִּ֖אha.matz.Bi'
H6633
to mass (an army or servants) · definite article + verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
people
עַ֣ם'am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct
land
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
threescore
וְשִׁשִּׁ֥יםve.shi.Shim
H8346
sixty · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
men
אִישׁ֙'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
people
מֵעַ֣םme.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
land
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The people carried away to Babel (cf. Jer 52:12-27, and Jer 39:8-10). - In this section we have first a general account of the destruction of the temple and city (Kg2 25:8-10), and of the carrying away of the people (Kg2 25:11 and Kg2 25:12), and then a more particular description of what was done with the metal vessels of the temple (Kg2 25:13-17), and how the spiritual and secular leaders of the people who had been taken prisoners were treated (Kg2 25:18-21).
Kg2 25:8-10
The destruction of Jerusalem, by the burning of the temple, of the king's palace, and of all the larger buildings, and by throwing down the walls, was effected by Nebuzaradan, the c…
Instead of deporting key citizens and officials as in the Babylonian invasion of 597 BC (24:14), Nebuchadnezzar had these leaders put to death. Even religious leaders were executed. • Although Seraiah the high priest was slain, his son Jehozadak was sent into exile (1 Chr 6:15). Thus the priestly line continued even in captivity and later returned to Jerusalem beginning in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1–2:20).
Rashi on 2 Kings 25:19
The scribe of the general of the army. Who knew the number of each city, how many men it enlists into the army.
Babylon · Nebuchadnezzar king of: Took Zedekiah, &c captive to Babylon — Nebuchadnezzar king of: Took Zedekiah, &c captive to Babylon
Jerusalem · Calamities of, mentioned: Taken and burned by Nebuchadnezzar — Calamities of, mentioned: Taken and burned by Nebuchadnezzar
Kings · Attendants of, stood in their presence — Attendants of, stood in their presence
Muster · Of troops — Of troops
Nebuzaradan (Nebuzar-Adan) · the inhabitants to Babylon — the inhabitants to Babylon
Scribe (S) · The mustering officer of the army — The mustering officer of the army
Scribes · Acted as: Keepers of the muster-rolls of the host — Acted as: Keepers of the muster-rolls of the host
Secretary (Recordist) · Military — Military
Seraiah · .Killed by Nebuchadnezzar — .Killed by Nebuchadnezzar
Zephaniah · .Taken to Riblah and killed — .Taken to Riblah and killed
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
