2 Kings 6:27

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 6:27

And he said, if the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee ?.... Mistaking her meaning, as if she prayed him to relieve her hunger; the margin of our Bible is, "let not the Lord save thee"; and so some understand it as a wish that she might perish; and so Josephus F15 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 9. c. 4. sect. 4.) , that being wroth, he cursed her in the name of God: out of the barn floor, or out of the winepress ? when neither of them afforded anything; no corn was to be had... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 6:27

If the Lord do not help thee - Some read this as an imprecation, May God save thee not! how can I save thee? 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 6:27

And he said, If the Lord do not help thee. This is probably the true mean-tug. The king is not so brutal as to "curse" the woman ( ἐπηράσατο αὐτή τὸν θεόν , Josephus, ' Ant. Jud.,' 9.4. § 4); neither does he take upon himself to tell her that God will not save her (Maurer). He merely refers her to God, as alone competent to do what she asks. Whence shall I help thee? Whence, i.e; dost thou suppose that I can save thee? Out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? Dost thou... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 6:27

If the Lord do not help - The translation in the text is decidedly better than the marginal rendering. Some prefer to render - “Nay ... let Jehovah help thee. Whence, shall I help thee?”Out of the barnfloor ... - The king means that both were empty - that he had no longer any food in store; and therefore could not help the woman. Compare Hosea 9:2. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Kings 6:26-27

2 Kings 6:26-27. The king of Israel was passing on the wall To give necessary directions for the defence of the city against assault; to see if the several guards were watchful and diligent, and if his orders were executed, and to observe the motions of the enemy. There cried a woman unto him, Help, my lord, O king For whither should the subject, in distress, go for help, but to the prince, who is by office the protector of right, and the avenger of wrong? He said, If the Lord do not... read more

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