Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - 2 King 8:20 - 8:20

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Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - 2 King 8:20 - 8:20


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Nevertheless the divine chastisement was not omitted. The ungodliness of Joram was punished partly by the revolt of the Edomites and of the city of Libnah from his rule, and partly by a horrible sickness of which he died (2Ch 21:12-15). Edom, which had hitherto had only a vicegerent with the title of king (see 2Ki 3:9 and 1Ki 22:48), threw off the authority of Judah, and appointed its own king, under whom it acquired independence, as the attempt of Joram to bring it back again under his control completely failed. The account of this attempt in 2Ki 8:21 and 2Ch 21:9 is very obscure. “Joram went over to Zair, and all his chariots of war with him; and it came to pass that he rose up by night and smote the Edomites round about, and indeed the captains of the war-chariots, and the people fled (i.e., the Judaean men of war, not the Edomites) to their tents.” It is evident from this, that Joram had advanced to Zair in Idumaea; but there he appears to have been surrounded and shut in, so that in the night he fought his way through, and had reason to be glad that he had escaped utter destruction, since his army fled to their homes. צָעִירָה is an unknown place in Idumaea, which Movers, Hitzig, and Ewald take to be Zoar, but without considering that Zoar was in the land of Moab, not in Edom. The Chronicles have instead שָׂרָיו עִם, “with his captains,” from a mere conjecture; whilst Thenius regards צעירה as altered by mistake from שֵׂעִירָה (“to Seir”), which is very improbable in the case of so well-known a name as שֵׂעִיר. הַסֹּבֵיב is a later mode of writing for הַסֹּובֵב, probably occasioned by the frequently occurring word סָבִיב. “To this day,” i.e., to the time when the original sources of our books were composed. For the Edomites were subjugated again by Amaziah and Uzziah (2Ki 14:7 and 2Ki 14:22), though under Ahaz they made incursions into Judah again (2Ch 28:17). - At that time Libnah also revolted. This was a royal city of the early Canaanites, and at a later period it was still a considerable fortress (2Ki 19:8). It is probably to be sought for in the ruins of Arak el Menshiyeh, two hours to the west of Beit-Jibrin (see the Comm. on Jos 10:29). This city probably revolted from Judah on the occurrence of an invasion of the land by the Philistines, when the sons of Joram were carried off, with the exception of the youngest, Jehoahaz (Ahaziah: 2Ch 21:16-17).