Bible Strands
2 Kings 12:17
At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a military campaign during King Joash’s reign, noting Hazael’s advance while temple offering funds remain with the priests. This account captures the moment external invasion forces the Judahite monarchy to redirect sacred and royal wealth.
The words — The text identifies חֲזָאֵל (Hazael) as king of אֲרָם (Aram) and his action יַעֲלֶה (he went up) to fight against גַּת (Gath). These terms establish the invading monarch and his strategic movement toward Judah’s capital.
The thread — Hazael’s assault on Judah and Jerusalem is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:23 as a spring campaign that devastates the region. The reference to Gath links to earlier narratives involving Achish, king of Gath, in 1 Samuel 27:2 and 1 Kings 2:39.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to observe how external military pressure directly compels internal financial and religious compromise. It demands acknowledgment of the causal sequence between national threat and the diversion of consecrated resources.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 24:23 In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.
- 1 Samuel 27:2 So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
- 1 Kings 2:39 After three years, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And Shimei was told, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
- 1 Kings 19:17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
- 2 Kings 8:12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”
- 1 Chronicles 8:13 and Beriah and Shema (who were the heads of families living in Aijalon and who drove out the inhabitants of Gath).
- 1 Chronicles 18:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from the hand of the Philistines.
- Jeremiah 42:15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there,
- Luke 9:51 As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
- Luke 9:53 But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.