Bible Strands
2 Kings 8:21
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records King Jehoram of Judah leading his chariot forces into the territory of Zair to suppress the Edomite insurrection that began in his reign. The passage captures the immediate military response to Edom’s revolt and the concurrent apostasy of Libnah.
The words — The text foregrounds וַיַּעֲבֹר (wa.ya‘aḇōr), meaning “and he passed over,” and צַעִיר (ṣa‘îr), identified here as the location Zair where the campaign was concentrated.
The thread — The rebellion of Edom against Judah’s authority is introduced in 2 Kings 8:20 and confirmed as an enduring condition in 2 Kings 8:22, while the tactical retreat of fleeing troops mirrors the collapse of royal forces described in 2 Samuel 18:17.
Why it lands — The passage demonstrates that military force cannot reverse covenantal rebellion, requiring the reader to recognize the limits of human power against entrenched apostasy.
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
So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 18:17 They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.