2 Kings 8:21

21 So Jehoram ^[a] crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. When the Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, he rose up and attacked by night. His troops, however, 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17.

2 Kings 8:21 In-Context

19 Yet for the sake of His servant David, the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah, since He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.

20 In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.

21 So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. When the Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, he rose up and attacked by night. His troops, however, fled to their homes.

22 So to this day Edom has been in rebellion against the hand of Judah. Likewise, Libnah rebelled at the same time.

23 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoram, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram (the son of Jehoshaphat), as in verse 16; also in verses 23 and 24