Bible Strands
2 Kings 6:14
the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a great army. They went there by night and surrounded the city.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king of Aram, acting on a report that Elisha is located in Dothan, dispatches forces to capture him.
The words — וַ/יִּשְלַח־ (va/i.yish.lach-), "and he sent," and כָּבֵ֑ד (ka.Ved), "massive," describe the royal command and the heavy scale of the deployed force.
The thread — The mobilization of royal troops to locate a specific figure recurs in 1 Samuel 23:26 and 1 Samuel 24:2, and the sending of a great army from a named location appears in 2 Kings 18:17.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that human strategy, even when numerically overwhelming, operates against a context the text presents as already encompassed by divine oversight.
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
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 23:26 Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
- 1 Samuel 24:2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to look for David and his men in the region of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
- 2 Kings 18:17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
- Matthew 26:47 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people.
- Matthew 26:55 At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me.
- John 18:3 So Judas brought a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. They arrived at the garden carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.
- 2 Kings 1:9 Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”