Bible Strands
2 Kings 18:8
He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes King Hezekiah’s military campaign against the Philistines, positioned chronologically between his refusal to serve Assyria and Shalmaneser’s march against Samaria.
The words — הִכָּה (hi.Kah) = he struck down, and עַד (ad) = to/until, establish the geographical limit of the military advance.
The thread — The boundary phrase mirrors the comprehensive corruption in 2 Kings 17:9, while the Philistine focus connects to the broken rod in Isaiah 14:29 and their earlier occupation of Judah’s cities in 2 Chronicles 28:18.
Why it lands — The text states that Hezekiah’s territorial conquest resulted from the LORD’s presence, requiring readers to recognize that military success follows divine alignment rather than human fortification or strategy.
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
He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 17:9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities.
- Isaiah 14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
- 2 Chronicles 28:18 The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages.
- 1 Chronicles 4:41 These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings as well as the Meunites who were there, devoting them to destruction even to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
- Isaiah 5:2 He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!