2 Kings 7:10

10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, "We went to the Aramean camp, but there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were."

2 Kings 7:10 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:10

So they came and called to the porter of the city
The chief of those that had the care of the gate of it; for there were more than one, as follows:

and they told them;
the porter, and the watchmen with him:

we came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man
there, neither voice of man;
not one to be seen or heard:

but horses tied, and asses tied;
to their mangers; the latter, as well as the former, were used for war, not only to carry burdens, but to fight upon, as Aelianus ^F1 relates of some people; and especially when there was a want of horses, as Strabo ^F2; and both observe that this creature was sacrificed to Mars:

and the tents as they were;
none of them struck, nor anything taken out of them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 De Animal. l. 12. c. 34.
F2 Geograph. l. 15. p. 500.

2 Kings 7:10 In-Context

8 When these leprous men had come to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent, ate and drank, carried off silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. Then they came back, entered another tent, carried off things from it, and went and hid them.

9 Then they said to one another, "What we are doing is wrong. This is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, we will be found guilty; therefore let us go and tell the king's household."

10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, "We went to the Aramean camp, but there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were."

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.' "