2 Kings 24:16

16 All the men of might, which were seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths which were one thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

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 And he carried away all Jerusalem and all the princes and all the mighty men of valour, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths; none remained except the poorest sort of the people of the land.

15 He likewise carried Jehoiachin away to Babylon and the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officers, and the mighty of the land; he carried them all into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 All the men of might, which were seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths which were one thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his father’s brother, king in his stead and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.