2 Kings 24:16

16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.

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 carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest people of the land.

15 And he carried away Jehoi'achin to Babylon; the king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.

17 And the king of Babylon made Mattani'ah, Jehoi'achin's uncle, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedeki'ah.

18 Zedeki'ah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamu'tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.