2 Kings 25:2 - Exposition

And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of King Zedekiah . The writer omits all the details of the siege, and hastens to the final catastrophe. From Jeremiah and Ezekiel we learn that, after the siege had continued a certain time, the Egyptian monarch, Hophra or Apries, made an effort to carry out the terms of his agreement with Zedekiah, and marched an army into Southern Judaea, with the view of raising the siege ( Jeremiah 37:5 ; Ezekiel 17:17 ). Nebuchadnezzar hastened to meet him. With the whole or the greater part of his host he marched southward and offered battle to the Egyptians. Whether an engagement took place or not is uncertain. Josephus affirms it, and says that Apries was "defeated and driven out of Syria" ('Ant. Jud.,' 10.7. § 3). The silence of Jeremiah is thought to throw doubt on his assertion. At any rate, the Egyptians retired ( Jeremiah 37:7 ) and took no further part in the struggle. The Babylonians returned, and the siege recommenced. A complete blockade was established, and the defenders of the city soon began to suffer from famine ( Jeremiah 21:7 , Jeremiah 21:9 ; Lamentations 2:12 , Lamentations 2:20 ). Ere long, as so often happens in sieges, famine was followed by pestilence ( Jeremiah 21:6 , Jeremiah 21:7 ; Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' l.s.c .), and after a time the place was reduced to the last extremity ( Lamentations 4:3-9 ). Bread was no longer to be had, and mothers devoured their children ( Lamentations 4:10 ). At length a breach was effected in the defenses; the enemy poured in; and the city fell (see the comment on verse 4).