2 Kings 8:21

21 So Jehoram went with all his chariots to attack the town of Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them under cover of darkness. But Jehoram’s army deserted him and fled to their homes.

2 Kings 8:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:21

So Joram went over to Zair
A city in Edom, the same with the Zaara of Ptolemy ^F9; some take it to be the same with Seir, the mountain or country of that name:

and all the chariots with him;
all the chariots of war he had:

and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about;
who came out of their cities in great numbers, and surrounded him, he having entered into their country in an hostile way, to subdue them:

and the captains of the chariots:
which belonged to the Edomites; those he smote, ( 2 Chronicles 21:9 )

and the people fled into their tents;
the army being routed.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F9 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17.

2 Kings 8:21 In-Context

19 But the LORD did not want to destroy Judah, for he had promised his servant David that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever.

20 During Jehoram’s reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own king.

21 So Jehoram went with all his chariots to attack the town of Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them under cover of darkness. But Jehoram’s army deserted him and fled to their homes.

22 So Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time.

23 The rest of the events in Jehoram’s reign and everything he did are recorded in

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew Joram, a variant spelling of Jehoram; also in 8:23, 24 .
• [b]. Greek version reads Seir.
• [c]. Or he went out and escaped. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.