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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>2 Kings 3 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/2_kings/3.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_kings/3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/2_kings/3-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../2_kings/">2 Kings</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_kings/2.htm" title="2 Kings 2">◄</a> 2 Kings 3 <a href="../2_kings/4.htm" title="2 Kings 4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-1.htm">2 Kings 3:1</a></div><div class="verse">Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.</div>III.<p>THE REIGN OF JEHORAM OF ISRAEL, AND HIS EXPEDITION AGAINST MOAB, IN WHICH JEHOSHAPHAT OF JUDAH TAKES PART.</span><p>(1) <span class= "bld">Began to reign.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">reigned.</span><p><span class= "bld">The eighteenth year.</span>—Comp. Note on <a href="/2_kings/1-17.htm" title="So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.">2Kings 1:17</a>; <a href="/2_kings/8-16.htm" title="And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.">2Kings 8:16</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-2.htm">2 Kings 3:2</a></div><div class="verse">And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Wrought evil.</span>—<span class= "ital">Did the evil in the eyes, &c., i.e.</span>, maintained the illicit worship of the bullock at Beth-el (<a href="/2_kings/3-3.htm" title="Nevertheless he joined to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.">2Kings 3:3</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Like his mother.</span>—Jezebel lived throughout his reign (<a href="/2_kings/9-30.htm" title="And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.">2Kings 9:30</a>), which explains why he did not eradicate the Baal-worship (<a href="/context/2_kings/10-18.htm" title="And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.">2Kings 10:18-28</a>).<p><span class= "bld">For he put away.</span>—<span class= "ital">And he removed,</span> scil., from its place in the temple of Baal. (Comp. <a href="/context/1_kings/16-31.htm" title="And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.">1Kings 16:31-32</a>.) It must have been afterwards restored, probably by the influence of Jezebel. (Comp. <a href="/context/2_kings/10-26.htm" title="And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.">2Kings 10:26-27</a>, and Notes.)<p><span class= "bld">The image.</span>—<span class= "ital">Pillar.</span> (Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/34-4.htm" title="And they broke down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it on the graves of them that had sacrificed to them.">2Chronicles 34:4</a>.) The LXX., Vulg., and Arabic read “pillars” (a different pointing); and the LXX. adds at the end, “and brake them in pieces.” This seems original. Ahab would be likely to set up more than one pillar to Baal.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-3.htm">2 Kings 3:3</a></div><div class="verse">Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">He cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam.</span>—<a href="/1_kings/12-28.htm" title="Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.">1Kings 12:28</a>, <span class= "ital">seq.</span>, <a href="/1_kings/16-2.htm" title="For as much as I exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel; and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;">1Kings 16:2</a>; <a href="/1_kings/16-26.htm" title="For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.">1Kings 16:26</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Therefrom.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">from it</span> (a collective feminine). So in <a href="/2_kings/13-2.htm" title="And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.">2Kings 13:2</a>; <a href="/2_kings/13-6.htm" title="Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)">2Kings 13:6</a>; <a href="/2_kings/13-11.htm" title="And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.">2Kings 13:11</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-4.htm">2 Kings 3:4</a></div><div class="verse">And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.</div>(4) The revolt of Moab, continued from <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>. Ahaziah did not reign two full years, and his accident seems to have prevented any attempt on his part to reduce the Moabites.<p><span class= "bld">Mesha.</span>—The name means “deliverance, salvation,” and occurs on the monument set up by this king, describing his victories and buildings. (See Note on <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">A sheep-master.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">nôqēd</span> (<a href="/amos/1-1.htm" title="The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.">Amos 1:1</a>). In Arabic, <span class= "ital">naqad</span> means a kind of sheep of superior wool; <span class= "ital">naqqâd</span>, the owner or shepherd of such sheep. The land of Moab is mountainous, but well watered, and rich in fertile valleys, and thus specially suited for pasture; and the Arabian wilderness lay open to the Moabite shepherds and their flocks.<p><span class= "bld">Rendered.</span>—<span class= "ital">Used to render</span> (<span class= "ital">waw</span> conversive of the perfect); scil., year by year. This tribute is referred to in <a href="/isaiah/16-1.htm" title="Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.">Isaiah 16:1</a>.<p><span class= "bld">With the wool.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">in wool</span> (an accusative of <span class= "ital">limitation</span>). The word rendered “lambs” (<span class= "ital">kārîm</span>) means lambs fatted for food. The expression “in wool,” therefore, relates only to the <span class= "ital">rams</span>. Mesha’s annual tribute was paid in kind, and consisted of a hundred thousand fatted lambs and the fleeces of a hundred thousand rams. This was a heavy burden for a country no larger than the county of Huntingdon. (Comp. Mesha’s own allusions to the “oppression” of Moab by Omri and Ahab, <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>, Note.) The LXX. adds, <span class= "greekheb">ἐν τῇ ἐπαναστάσει</span> (“in the revolt”); implying that the present rebellion was distinct from that of <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>, and that this tribute was imposed as an indemnity for the former revolt. The addition is probably due to a transcriber.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-5.htm">2 Kings 3:5</a></div><div class="verse">But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">But.</span>—<span class= "ital">And.</span><p><span class= "bld">When.</span>—So some MSS. The ordinary text has, “about the time of Ahab’s death” (<span class= "ital">ke</span> for <span class= "ital">be</span>).<p><span class= "bld">Rebelled</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, refused payment of the annual tribute.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-6.htm">2 Kings 3:6</a></div><div class="verse">And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">The same time.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">in that day;</span> which, in Hebrew, is a much less definite phrase than in English. The time intended is that when the Moabite refusal of tribute was received by Jehoram, who, on his accession, would demand it afresh.<p><span class= "bld">Numbered.</span>—<span class= "ital">Mustered, made a levy of</span>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-7.htm">2 Kings 3:7</a></div><div class="verse">And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I <i>am</i> as thou <i>art</i>, my people as thy people, <i>and</i> my horses as thy horses.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">Wilt thou go.</span>—So Ahab asks Jehoshaphat in <a href="/1_kings/22-4.htm" title="And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.">1Kings 22:4</a>, and he replies as here, “I am as thou art,” &c. This indicates that the present section was originally composed by the same hand as <a href="/context/1_kings/20-1.htm" title="And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.">1Kings 20:1-34</a>; <a href="/context/1_kings/22-1.htm" title="And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.">1Kings 22:1-37</a> (<span class= "ital">Thenius</span>) Jehoshaphat assented, in spite of the prophetic censures of his alliance with Ahab and Ahaziah (<a href="/2_chronicles/19-2.htm" title="And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath on you from before the LORD.">2Chronicles 19:2</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/20-37.htm" title="Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has broken your works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.">2Chronicles 20:37</a>); perhaps because he was anxious to inflict further punishment on the Moabites for their inroad into Judah (2 Chronicles 20), and to prevent any recurrence of the same (<span class= "ital">Keil</span>).<p><span class= "bld">Against Moab to battle?</span>—Or,<span class= "ital"> into Moab to the war?</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-8.htm">2 Kings 3:8</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">And he said</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, Jehoram said.<p><span class= "bld">Which way.</span>—They might cross the Jordan, and attack the northern frontier of Moab, or they might round the southern end of the Dead Sea, and invade Moab from the side of Edom. The former was the shortest route for both kings. But Moab’s strongest defences were on the north frontier, and the allies would be liable to attacks from the Syrians in Ramoth-gilead (<a href="/2_kings/8-28.htm" title="And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.">2Kings 8:28</a>). The longer and more difficult southern road may have been chosen partly on these grounds, and partly because Jehoshaphat wished to march as far as might be within his own territory, and to get a contingent from Edom, which was at this time subject to him (<a href="/1_kings/22-48.htm" title="Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.">1Kings 22:48</a>), and perhaps to hold it in check. Moreover, the Moabites were less likely to be on their guard on the southern border, which was more difficult of access.<p><span class= "bld">And he answered.</span>—<span class= "ital">Said</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, Jehoshaphat.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-9.htm">2 Kings 3:9</a></div><div class="verse">So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">The king of Edom.</span>—A vassal king appointed by Jehoshaphat (<a href="/1_kings/22-48.htm" title="Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.">1Kings 22:48</a>).<p><span class= "bld">They fetched a compass.</span>—<span class= "ital">Went round</span> (scil., the Dead Sea) <span class= "ital">a journey of seven days.</span> The confederates appear to have lost their way among the mountains of Seir. They would, in any case, be greatly delayed by the cattle which it was necessary to take with them for subsistence. It is evident from the context that the distress began <span class= "ital">after</span> the Edomite contingent had joined.<p><span class= "bld">For the host, and for the cattle that followed them.</span>—The stopping is wrong. It should be, <span class= "ital">and there was not water for the army and for the cattle which followed them.</span> “Them,” i.e., the kings. (Comp. <a href="/judges/5-15.htm" title="And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.">Judges 5:15</a>.) “The cattle,” <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the herds and flocks for the maintenance of the army.<p>The allies appear to have marched through the deep, rocky glen of <span class= "ital">El-Ahsy</span> (or <span class= "ital">El-Qurâhy</span>), between Moab and Edom. They expected to find water there, as is usually the case, even in the dry season; but on this occasion the water failed.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-10.htm">2 Kings 3:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!</div>(10) <span class= "bld">That.</span>—Omit (<span class= "ital">kî</span>, emphatically introducing the assertion).<p><span class= "bld">Together.</span>—Omit.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-11.htm">2 Kings 3:11</a></div><div class="verse">But Jehoshaphat said, <i>Is there</i> not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here <i>is</i> Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">But</span> (<span class= "ital">and</span>) <span class= "bld">Jehoshaphat . . . by him?</span>—The same question is asked by Jehoshaphat in <a href="/1_kings/22-7.htm" title="And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?">1Kings 22:7</a>.<p><span class= "bld">By him.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">from with him</span> (<span class= "ital">mē’ôthô for mē’ittô</span>, both here and in the parallel place—a mark of the same hand). Jehoshaphat is for “seeking Jehovah” through a prophet, in contrast with Jehoram, who at once despairs. (Comp. <a href="/amos/5-4.htm" title="For thus said the LORD to the house of Israel, Seek you me, and you shall live:">Amos 5:4</a>; <a href="/amos/5-8.htm" title="Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:">Amos 5:8</a>; and Note on <a href="/1_chronicles/13-3.htm" title="And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul.">1Chronicles 13:3</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/15-2.htm" title="And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear you me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while you be with him; and if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.">2Chronicles 15:2</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">One of the king of Israel’s servants.</span>—One of the king’s staff, who, like Obadiah (<a href="/1_kings/18-3.htm" title="And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:">1Kings 18:3</a>), was perhaps a friend of the prophets of Jehovah.<p><span class= "bld">Here is Elisha.</span>—The prophet must have followed the army of his own accord, or rather, as Keil suggests, under a Divine impulse, in order that, when the hour of trial came, he might point Jehoram to Jehovah as the only true God.<p><span class= "bld">Which poured water on the hands of Elijah.</span>—Was the personal attendant of that greatest of prophets. The phrase alludes to the well-known Oriental custom of the servant pouring water from a ewer on his master’s hands to wash them.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-12.htm">2 Kings 3:12</a></div><div class="verse">And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat.</span>—All the versions except the Targum add, “the king of Judah.” Jehoshaphat said what follows either on the ground of <span class= "ital">Elijah’s</span> reputation, or because the news of Elisha’s succession had already reached Judah.<p>The proper names, Shaphat and Jehoshaphat, are identical (He judgeth, <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, Jah judgeth). (Comp. Ahaz and Jehoahaz.)<p><span class= "bld">Went down to him.</span>—From the royal tents, which were probably pitched on an eminence, so as to overlook the camp. The three kings go to consult the prophet as persons of ordinary station might do. This shows the estimation in which he was held. Keil says they were humbled by misfortune.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-13.htm">2 Kings 3:13</a></div><div class="verse">And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Unto the king of Israel.</span>—As the leader of the confederacy; or as Elisha’s sovereign, who might be supposed to have brought the others to the prophet.<p><span class= "bld">The prophets of thy father</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the Baal prophets (comp. <a href="/1_kings/18-19.htm" title="Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.">1Kings 18:19</a>) and false prophets of Jehovah (<a href="/1_kings/22-6.htm" title="Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.">1Kings 22:6</a>; <a href="/1_kings/22-11.htm" title="And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus said the LORD, With these shall you push the Syrians, until you have consumed them.">1Kings 22:11</a>). Elisha’s sarcasm indicates that the former had not been wholly rooted out.<p><span class= "bld">Nay.</span>—Heb., ‘<span class= "ital">al</span>; Greek, <span class= "greekheb">μή</span>. “Say not so;” or, “Repulse me not.” (Comp. <a href="/ruth/1-13.htm" title="Would you tarry for them till they were grown? would you stay for them from having husbands? no, my daughters; for it grieves me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.">Ruth 1:13</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">These three kings.</span>—And not one (myself) only, emphasising the word <span class= "ital">three</span>. Or else Jehoram would rouse compassion by the <span class= "ital">magnitude</span> of the imminent disaster.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-14.htm">2 Kings 3:14</a></div><div class="verse">And Elisha said, <i>As</i> the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Before whom I stand.</span>—As a minister. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/17-1.htm" title="And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.">1Kings 17:1</a>; <a href="/1_kings/18-15.htm" title="And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him to day.">1Kings 18:15</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Surely.</span>—Kî (for); used as in <a href="/2_kings/3-10.htm" title="And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!">2Kings 3:10</a> (“I cry, alas!” “I thus swear,” <span class= "ital">for</span>, &c.). Jehoshaphat is accepted because of his faithful dependence on Jehovah (<a href="/2_kings/3-11.htm" title="But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.">2Kings 3:11</a>). Jehoram still maintained or tolerated the cultus of Bethel and Dan. (See <a href="/2_kings/3-3.htm" title="Nevertheless he joined to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.">2Kings 3:3</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Regard the presence.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">lift the face</span>. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/19-21.htm" title="And he said to him, See, I have accepted you concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which you have spoken.">Genesis 19:21</a>; <a href="/genesis/32-21.htm" title="So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.">Genesis 32:21</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-15.htm">2 Kings 3:15</a></div><div class="verse">But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">Bring me a minstrel</span>.—<span class= "ital">Mĕnaggēn</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, a harper, player on a stringed instrument (<span class= "ital">nĕgînāh</span>). Elisha called for music as a natural means of calming his perturbed spirit (<a href="/context/2_kings/3-13.htm" title="And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No: for the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.">2Kings 3:13-14</a>). Composure and serenity of soul were essential, if the prophet was to hear the voice of God within. Cicero tells us that the Pythagoreans were wont to tranquillise their minds after the strain of thought with’ harp music and singing (<span class= "ital">Tusc</span>. Iv. 2). (Comp. <a href="/1_samuel/10-5.htm" title="After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when you are come thither to the city, that you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:">1Samuel 10:5</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/25-1.htm" title="Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:">1Chronicles 25:1</a>, Note.) The incident is a striking mark of the <span class= "ital">historical</span> truth of the narrative.<p><span class= "bld">And it came to pass.</span>—Perfect with <span class= "ital">weak waw</span>: a later idiom. (Comp. <a href="/1_samuel/17-48.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew near to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.">1Samuel 17:48</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">The hand of the Lord came upon him.</span>—Targum and some MSS., “the Spirit of the Lord;” but comp. <a href="/1_kings/18-46.htm" title="And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.">1Kings 18:46</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-16.htm">2 Kings 3:16</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">Make.</span>—Right (infinitive, equivalent to an energetic imperative).<p><span class= "bld">Valley.</span>—<span class= "ital">Nahal</span>, wady, torrent-bed, gully. According to Thenius, “the brook Zered” of <a href="/deuteronomy/2-13.htm" title="Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.">Deuteronomy 2:13</a> is meant; the present <span class= "ital">Wady el-Ahsy</span>, (or <span class= "ital">el-Hasa</span>) which forms the natural southern boundary of Moab, and from which several gorges lead up into the Moabite highlands. (See <a href="/isaiah/15-7.htm" title="Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.">Isaiah 15:7</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Full of ditches.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">pits, pits</span>. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/14-10.htm" title="And the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.">Genesis 14:10</a> : “Wells, wells of bitumen.”) The pits were to gather the water, which otherwise would soon have run away in the bed of the torrent (<a href="/context/jeremiah/14-3.htm" title="And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.">Jeremiah 14:3-4</a>). The style of the oracle is stamped with the liveliness and originality of historic truth.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-17.htm">2 Kings 3:17</a></div><div class="verse">For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">Ye shall not see wind.</span>—Which in the east is the usual precursor of rain.<p><span class= "bld">Yet that valley.</span>—<span class= "ital">And that wady.</span> He says “<span class= "ital">that</span> (<span class= "ital">hû’</span>) valley,” meaning “the one of which I spoke” (<a href="/2_kings/3-16.htm" title="And he said, Thus said the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.">2Kings 3:16</a>). Contrast “<span class= "ital">this</span> (<span class= "ital">zeh</span>) valley,” i.e., “the one in which we are” (<a href="/2_kings/3-16.htm" title="And he said, Thus said the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.">2Kings 3:16</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Your cattle.</span>—<span class= "ital">Miqneh</span>: flocks and herds, as distinguished from “beasts” (<span class= "ital">bĕhēmāh</span>), <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, probably, beasts of burden.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-18.htm">2 Kings 3:18</a></div><div class="verse">And this is <i>but</i> a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.</div>(18) <span class= "bld">Is but a light thing.</span>—<span class= "ital">Will be a light thing</span> (<a href="/1_kings/16-31.htm" title="And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.">1Kings 16:31</a>).<p><span class= "bld">He will deliver the Moabites.</span>—The contrary of Jehoram’s expectation (<a href="/2_kings/3-10.htm" title="And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!">2Kings 3:10</a>; <a href="/2_kings/3-13.htm" title="And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No: for the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.">2Kings 3:13</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-19.htm">2 Kings 3:19</a></div><div class="verse">And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">And ye shall smite . . . shall fell . . .</span>—These verbs are continuative of those in the last verse, <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, they do not <span class= "ital">command</span> a course of action, but <span class= "ital">foretell</span> it. (Comp. <a href="/context/2_kings/8-12.htm" title="And Hazael said, Why weeps my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: their strong holds will you set on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and will dash their children, and rip up their women with child.">2Kings 8:12-13</a>.) Taken as <span class= "ital">commands</span>, they appear to conflict with <a href="/deuteronomy/20-19.htm" title="When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them: for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:">Deuteronomy 20:19</a>, where the felling of an enemy’s <span class= "ital">fruit trees</span> for the purposes of siege-works is forbidden. Keil, however, explains that the law relates to Canaanite territory which the Israelites were to occupy, whereas Moab’s was an enemy’s country, and therefore not to be spared.<p><span class= "bld">Fenced city . . . choice city.</span>—There is a <span class= "ital">paronomasia</span>, or play on words of similar sound, in the Hebrew: <span class= "ital">‘îr mibçār . . . ‘îr mibhôr.</span><p><span class= "bld">Every good tree</span>—i.e., fruit-bearing trees.<p><span class= "bld">Stop.</span>—<a href="/genesis/26-15.htm" title="For all the wells which his father's servants had dig in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.">Genesis 26:15</a>; <a href="/genesis/26-18.htm" title="And Isaac dig again the wells of water, which they had dig in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.">Genesis 26:18</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Mar.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">make to grieve</span>: a poetical expression. An <span class= "ital">unfruitful</span> land is said to <span class= "ital">mourn</span> (<a href="/isaiah/24-4.htm" title="The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.">Isaiah 24:4</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/12-4.htm" title="How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.">Jeremiah 12:4</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Every good piece of land.</span>—<span class= "ital">All the good demesne </span>(<span class= "ital">literally, portion, allotment</span>)<span class= "ital">.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-20.htm">2 Kings 3:20</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.</div>(</span>20<span class= "ital">)</span> <span class= "bld">When the meat offering was offered.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/18-29.htm" title="And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.">1Kings 18:29</a>; <a href="/1_kings/18-36.htm" title="And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.">1Kings 18:36</a>. A more exact definition of the time. The reckoning by <span class= "ital">hours</span> was unknown before the captivity. According to the Talmud, the morning sacrifice was offered in the Temple the moment it became light. (Ewald assumes that “the meat offering” was offered on this occasion in the camp.) That help came to the distressed army just at the hour of morning worship was a striking coincidence. (This allusion to the law of <a href="/exodus/29-38.htm" title="Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.">Exodus 29:38</a>, <span class= "ital">seq</span>., may be an <span class= "ital">indirect</span> hit at the northern kingdom.)<p><span class= "bld">There came water.</span>—<span class= "ital">Water was coming from the way</span> (direction) <span class= "ital">of Edom</span>. It would seem that a sudden storm of rain had fallen on the mountains of Seir, at some distance from the camp (Josephus says at a distance of three days’ march); and the water found its natural outlet in the dry wady. Reuss thinks this explanation “superfluous,” in the face of “the author’s intention to describe a <span class= "ital">miracle</span>;” but there are different kinds of miracle, and, in the present instance, the miraculous element is visible in the prophet’s prediction of the coming help, and in the <span class= "ital">coincidence</span> of the natural phenomena with the needs of the Israelites. (Comp. <a href="/context/2_kings/7-1.htm" title="Then Elisha said, Hear you the word of the LORD; Thus said the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.">2Kings 7:1-2</a>, <span class= "ital">seq</span>.) [This statement seems to preclude also the naturalistic explanation founded on the meaning of the Arabic name of the locality. <span class= "ital">Hisyun, hasyun, hasan</span>, mean water which gathers on a hard bottom under the sand in certain localities, and which the Arabs get at by scooping holes in the ground. See Lane, <span class= "ital">Arab. Eng. Lex</span>. s.v.]<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-21.htm">2 Kings 3:21</a></div><div class="verse">And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">And when</span> <span class= "bld">. . . heard . . . they gathered.</span>—<span class= "ital">Now all the Moabites had heard </span>. . . <span class= "ital">and had gathered themselves: literally, had been summoned, called together</span> (<a href="/judges/7-23.htm" title="And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.">Judges 7:23</a>).<p><span class= "bld">All that were able to put on armour.</span>—<span class= "ital">From every one girding on a girdle, and upwards</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, all of adult age, all who could bear arms. It was a levy <span class= "ital">en masse</span> of the male population for the defence of the country.<p><span class= "bld">Stood in.</span>—<span class= "ital">Had taken their stand on the frontier.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-22.htm">2 Kings 3:22</a></div><div class="verse">And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side <i>as</i> red as blood:</div>(22) <span class= "bld">They rose up early.</span>—The Moabite camp on the frontier mountains.<p><span class= "bld">And the sun shone upon the water.</span>—A parenthesis (<span class= "ital">now the sun had risen upon the water</span>). The red sunrise tinged the water with the same colour.<p><span class= "bld">On the other side.</span>—<span class= "ital">Min-nèged</span>, “opposite,” “over against them” (<a href="/2_kings/2-7.htm" title="And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.">2Kings 2:7</a>; <a href="/2_kings/2-15.htm" title="And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.">2Kings 2:15</a>). The sun rose behind the Moabites.<p><span class= "bld">Red.</span>—’<span class= "ital">Adōm</span>. There may be an allusion to the red earth of the locality (Edom), which would further redden the water.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-23.htm">2 Kings 3:23</a></div><div class="verse">And they said, This <i>is</i> blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.</div>(23) <span class= "bld">The kings are surely slain.</span>—<span class= "ital">Have surely fought with</span> (or <span class= "ital">destroyed</span>) <span class= "ital">one another</span>. LXX., <span class= "greekheb">ἐμαχέσαντο</span>. The supposition was not improbable. Confederates of different races not seldom had been known to fall out among themselves (comp. <a href="/judges/7-22.htm" title="And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, to Tabbath.">Judges 7:22</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/20-23.htm" title="For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.">2Chronicles 20:23</a>, and Note), and in this case the old enmity of Edom towards Israel, and the suppressed jealousies between Israel and Judah, made such a result very likely. The Moabites would know also that the wady had been waterless, so that their mistake was natural. When once their instinct for plunder was aroused they did not stop to think, but with a wild cry of “Moab, to the spoil !” they rushed in disorder upon the Israelite camp.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-24.htm">2 Kings 3:24</a></div><div class="verse">And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in <i>their</i> country.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Smote the Moabites.</span>—Who were unprepared for resistance.<p><span class= "bld">But they went forward smiting</span> <span class= "bld">. . .</span> <span class= "bld">country.</span>—The Hebrew text (<span class= "ital">Kethib</span>) <span class= "ital">has, and he went</span> (<span class= "ital">way-yābô</span>, spelt defectively, as in <a href="/1_kings/12-12.htm" title="So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.">1Kings 12:12</a>) <span class= "ital">into it</span> (<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the land of Moab), <span class= "ital">and smote</span> (literally, <span class= "ital">smiting</span> an infinitive for a finite form) Moab. This is better than the Hebrew margin (<span class= "ital">Qeri</span>), <span class= "ital">and they smote it</span> (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span> Moab), or the reading of some MSS. and the Targum and Syriac, “and they smote them, and smote Moab,” which is tautologous. The original reading is perhaps represented by that of the LXX., <span class= "greekheb">καὶ ἐπάταξαν εἰσπορευόμενοι καὶτύπτοντες τὴν Μωαβ</span>, “and they entered the country, destroying as they went on.” (In Hebrew the participles would be infinitives.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-25.htm">2 Kings 3:25</a></div><div class="verse">And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about <i>it</i>, and smote it.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">And they beat down the cities.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">And the cities they would overthrow</span>, describing what happened again and again.<p><span class= "bld">On every . . . filled it.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">And every good plot, they would cast each man his stone, and fill it; and every fountain of water they would stop, and every good tree they would fell. </span>All this as Elisha foretold, <a href="/2_kings/3-19.htm" title="And you shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.">2Kings 3:19</a><span class= "ital">.</span><p><span class= "bld">Only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof.</span>—Literally, as margin, <span class= "ital">until one left her stones in Kir-harèseth.</span> This clause connects itself with the opening statement, “And the cities they would overthrow (or, kept overthrowing) until her stones were left in Kir-harèseth,” <span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the work of destruction stopped before the walls of this, the principal strong-hold of the country. In the other cities the invaders had not left one stone upon another.<p><span class= "bld">Kir-haraseth.</span>—Called “Kir-moab,” <a href="/isaiah/15-1.htm" title="The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;">Isaiah 15:1</a>, and “Kir-hères,” <a href="/isaiah/16-11.htm" title="Why my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kirharesh.">Isaiah 16:11</a>. The Targum on Isaiah 15 calls it “Kerak (<span class= "ital">castle</span>) of Moab,” and it still bears that name. It stands upon a steep cliff of chalk.<p><span class= "bld">Howbeit the slingers went about it.</span>—<span class= "ital">And the slingers went round, surrounded it.</span><p><span class= "bld">And smote it</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> shot at the men on the walls with deadly effect.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-26.htm">2 Kings 3:26</a></div><div class="verse">And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through <i>even</i> unto the king of Edom: but they could not.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">The battle was too sore for him.</span>—The garrison was giving way under the destructive fire of the slingers.<p><span class= "bld">To break through even unto the king of Edom.</span>—Because the Edomite contingent seemed to be the most vulnerable point in the allied army, or because he hoped that these unwilling allies of Israel would allow him to escape through their ranks.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/3-27.htm">2 Kings 3:27</a></div><div class="verse">Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him <i>for</i> a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to <i>their own</i> land.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">Then.</span>—<span class= "ital">And</span>.<p><span class= "bld">His eldest son</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the despairing king of Moab took his own son and heir.<p><span class= "bld">Offered him for a burnt offering.</span>—To Chemosh, without doubt, by way of appeasing that wrath of the god which seemed bent on his destruction. (Comp. the words of Mesha’s inscription: “Chemosh was angry with his ląnd.” Note, <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>.) There is a reference to such hideous sacrifices in <a href="/micah/6-7.htm" title="Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?">Micah 6:7</a>, “Shall I give my firstborn for my transgressions?” In dark times of national calamity the Hebrews were prone, like their neighbours, to seek help in the same dreadful rites. (Comp. the case of Manasseh, <a href="/2_chronicles/33-6.htm" title="And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.">2Chronicles 33:6</a>; see also <a href="/context/psalms/106-37.htm" title="Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils,">Psalm 106:37-39</a>.) From the cuneiform records we learn that the sacrifice of children was also a Babylonian practice. (<a href="/amos/2-1.htm" title="Thus said the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:">Amos 2:1</a> refers to a totally different event from that recorded in the text.)<p><span class= "bld">Upon the wall.</span>—Of Kir-haraseth. This was done that the besiegers might see, and dread the consequences, believing, as they would be likely to do, that the Divine wrath was now appeased.<p><span class= "bld">And there was great indignation against Israel.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">And great wrath fell upon Israel</span>. This phrase always denotes a visitation of Divine wrath. (Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/19-10.htm" title="And what cause soever shall come to you of your brothers that dwell in your cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, you shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come on you, and on your brothers: this do, and you shall not trespass.">2Chronicles 19:10</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/24-18.htm" title="And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.">2Chronicles 24:18</a>.) The manifestation of wrath in the present case was apparently a successful sortie of the Moabite garrison, whose faith in this terrible expedient of their king inspired them with new courage, while the besiegers were proportionally disheartened. The result was that “they (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the allied forces) departed from him (raised the siege), and returned to the land” (of Israel). Why did Divine wrath fall upon Israel rather than upon Moab? upon the involuntary cause rather than the voluntary agents in this shocking rite? If the wrath of Jehovah be meant, we cannot tell. But, as the present writer understands the words of the text, they rather indicate that the object of the dreadful expiation was attained, and that <span class= "ital">the wrath of Chemosh</span> fell upon the Hebrew alliance. It is certain that belief in the supremacy of Jehovah did not hinder ancient Israel from admitting the real existence and potency of foreign deities. (See Note on <a href="/context/1_chronicles/16-25.htm" title="For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.">1Chronicles 16:25-26</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/17-21.htm" title="And what one nation in the earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make you a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before your people whom you have redeemed out of Egypt?">1Chronicles 17:21</a>; and comp. <a href="/numbers/21-29.htm" title="Woe to you, Moab! you are undone, O people of Chemosh: he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.">Numbers 21:29</a>; <a href="/judges/11-24.htm" title="Will not you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.">Judges 11:24</a>.) This peculiar conception is a token of the antiquity of the record before us. In the second half of Isaiah the foreign gods are called non. entities.<p>After the events described in this verse we may suppose that Mesha’s successes continued, as described on the stone of Dibon. (See Note on <a href="/2_kings/1-1.htm" title="Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.">2Kings 1:1</a>.)<p><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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