2 Kings 24:16

16 of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and [of] the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors {fit 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 He deported all of Jerusalem: all of the commanders, ten thousand of the skilled warriors, and the artisans; no one was left over except the poorest of the people of the land.

15 He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his court officials, and the citizenry of the land he caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

16 of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and [of] the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors {fit for war} the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place and changed his name [to] Zedekiah.

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "doers of war"