2 Kings 6:24

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24-33

This last paragraph of this chapter should, of right, have been the first of the next chapter, for it begins a new story, which is there continued and concluded. Here is, I. The siege which the king of Syria laid to Samaria and the great distress which the city was reduced to thereby. The Syrians had soon forgotten the kindnesses they had lately received in Samaria, and very ungratefully, for aught that appears without any provocation, sought the destruction of it, 2 Kgs. 6:24. There are base... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24

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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24

And it came to pass after this —probably some considerable time after, when the memory of Jehoram's kind act had passed away— that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host. A contrast is intended between the inroads of small bodies of plunderers and the invasion of the territory by the monarch himself at the head of his entire force. And went up. However Samaria was approached from Syria, there must always have been a final ascent, either from the Jordan valley or from the Plain of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24-33

Half-heartedness. Jehoram was altogether half-hearted in his religion. He "halted between two opinions." While he paid a certain amount of respect to Elisha, as the prophet of Jehovah, he nevertheless allowed the worship of Baal to continue in the capital ( 2 Kings 10:18-28 ), if not elsewhere, and maintained the calf-worship also at Dan and Bethel ( 2 Kings 3:3 ). He had suffered himself to be guided by Elisha in respect of the Syrian prisoners captured by the prophet ( 2 Kings 6:23 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24-33

Samaria besieged. I. A CITY IN DISTRESS . Once more the people of Samaria were in great straits. A besieging army was at their gates, and, most terrible of all, the horrors of famine were within their walls. They were reduced to the greatest extremities. The women were actually beginning to cook and eat their own children. Whichever way they looked, the prospect was dark. To open the gates to the Syrians meant death or captivity. And the longer they remained within their walls, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24-33

Subjects worth considering. "And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria," etc. These verses, brimful of the wicked and the horrible, press the following subjects on our attention. I. THE INHUMANITY OF WAR . "And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:24-33

The siege of Samaria. Unwarned by the failure of previous attempts, Benhadad was soon engaged in a new war on Israel. The fresh invasion was made the occasion of a fresh deliverance, more wonderful than any of the preceding, but not before Samaria had been reduced to the most desperate straits. I. THE HORRORS OF A SIEGE . 1. The city invested . The King of Syria advanced with his army, and struck a direct blow at the capital of the country. Samaria was the key of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 6:24

After this - Perhaps some years after - when the miracle and the kind treatment were alike forgotten. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Kings 6:24

2 Kings 6:24. And it came to pass after this, &c. How long after we are not informed; but probably some years, when they had forgotten the kindnesses they had received in Samaria, which for a time, it appears, had quite disarmed them of their hatred against Israel, and caused them to lay aside all thoughts of war. Now, however, they alter their minds, and break out again into hostilities. Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host He whom Ahab wickedly spared, now comes to requite... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 6:8-33

Miracles of warning to Israel (6:8-8:15)The remaining stories of Elisha concentrate on his dealings with the rulers of Israel and Syria. God was going to use Syria to punish Israel for its sin during the period of the Omri dynasty, but first he had various lessons to teach the two nations.On one occasion when Israel and Syria were fighting each other, Elisha repeatedly warned the Israelite king of Syrian ambushes (8-10). The Syrian king was furious when he learnt why his ambushes failed, and... read more

Group of Brands