2 Kings 7:13

13 One of his servants said, "Let some men take five of the remaining horses, since those left here will suffer the fate of the whole multitude of Israel that have perished already; let us send and find out."

2 Kings 7:13 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:13

And one of his servants answered and said, let some take, I
pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city,
&c.] Not having died through the famine as the rest:

behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it;
behold, I say, they are even as the multitude of Israel that are
consumed;
signifying, there was a like consumption among the horses as among the people, and they that remained were starving as they were; so that should those horses, and the men, fall into the hands of the Syrians, and perish, it would be no great matter; the loss would not be much, since they must perish if they continue in the city: according to the Vulgate Latin version, these five horses were all that were left:

and let us send and see;
whether the report of the lepers is true or not.

2 Kings 7:13 In-Context

11 Then the gatekeepers called out and proclaimed it to the king's household.

12 The king got up in the night, and said to his servants, "I will tell you what the Arameans have prepared against us. They know that we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, "When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.' "

13 One of his servants said, "Let some men take five of the remaining horses, since those left here will suffer the fate of the whole multitude of Israel that have perished already; let us send and find out."

14 So they took two mounted men, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, "Go and find out."

15 So they went after them as far as the Jordan; the whole way was littered with garments and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned, and told the king.

Footnotes

• [a]. Compare Gk Syr Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain