2 Kings 8:3

At the end of seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to the king to appeal for her house and her land.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — After seven years of exile in Philistine territory, the woman returns and approaches the king of Israel to petition for the restoration of her house and land.

The words — מִקְצֵה (miqṣê) translates literally as "end," and שָׁב (shav) means "to return," framing her action as a timed homecoming.

The thread — Her approach mirrors other displaced women seeking royal intervention, such as the woman from Tekoa (2 Samuel 14:4) and the grieving mother at the king's wall (2 Kings 6:26).

Why it lands — The text records a concrete legal appeal for property restoration, requiring the reader to observe how displaced families navigate loss through established royal authority.

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

וַיְהִ֗יva/y.Hiand/ it was מִקְצֵה֙mi/k.Tzehfrom/ [the] end of שֶׁ֣בַעShe.va'seven שָׁנִ֔יםsha.Nimyears וַתָּ֥שָׁבva./Ta.shovand/ she returned הָאִשָּׁ֖הha./'i.Shahthe/ woman מֵאֶ֣רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] land of פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑יםpe.lish.Tim[the] Philistines וַתֵּצֵא֙va./te.Tze'and/ she went out לִצְעֹ֣קli/tz.'Okto/ cry out אֶל־'el-to הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king אֶל־'el-concerning בֵּיתָ֖הּbei.Ta/hhouse/ her וְאֶל־ve./'el-and/ concerning שָׂדָֽהּ׃sa.Da/hfield/ her

King James Version

And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 14:4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!”
2 Kings 4:13 and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied.
2 Kings 6:26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
2 Kings 8:6 When the king asked the woman, she confirmed it. So the king appointed for her an officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the country until now.”
Psalms 82:3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
Jeremiah 22:16 He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
Luke 18:3 And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’