2 Kings 24:16

16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Bavel brought captive to Bavel.

2 Kings 24:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 24:16

And all the men of might, even seven thousand
The particulars of the 10,000 carried captive are here given; 7000 of which were the principal men of the land:

and craftsmen and smiths one thousand;
which made 8000:

all that were strong, and apt for war;
of these consisted the other 2000; so Abarbinel reckons them; but, according to the Jewish chronologer ^F20, which Jarchi and other Jewish commentators follow, the 7000 were out of the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the tribes, and the 3000 out of the tribe of Judah, which are supposed to be those Jeremiah speaks of, ( Jeremiah 52:28 ) ,

even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon;
among these were Ezekiel the prophet, and Mordecai, the uncle of Esther.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25.

2 Kings 24:16 In-Context

14 He carried away all Yerushalayim, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

15 He carried away Yehoiakim to Bavel; and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Yerushalayim to Bavel.

16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Bavel brought captive to Bavel.

17 The king of Bavel made Mattanyah, [Yehoiakim's] father's brother, king is his place, and changed his name to Tzidkiyahu.

18 Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu of Livna.