2 Kings 14:7

HE SMITES EDOM. (Kg2 14:7)

He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand--In the reign of Joram the Edomites had revolted (see Kg2 8:20). But Amaziah, determined to reduce them to their former subjection, formed a hostile expedition against them, in which he routed their army and made himself master of their capital.

the valley of salt--that part of the Ghor which comprises the salt and sandy plain to the south of the Dead Sea.

Selah--literally, "the rock"; generally thought to be Petra.

Joktheel--that is, "given" or "conquered by God." See the history of this conquest more fully detailed (Ch2 25:6-16).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Ki 14:7 He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

Ver. 7. In the valley of Salt.] Near to the Lake Asphaltites, which yielded much salt. {a} See 2Sa 8:13.

Ten thousand.] Besides ten thousand more whom he cast down from a rock; {2Ch 25:11-12} not to make himself and the soldiers sport with, as the cruel Spaniards have dealt by the poor Indians, - but because they still stood out, as it is likely.

And took Selah.] Or, Petra, {see Isa 16:1} the chief city of Arabia Petraea, called afterwards Philadelphia by Ptolemy Philadelph, who repaired it. {b} Amaziah calleth it Jockteel, i.e., obedience to God, or the congregation of God, as Pagnine expoundeth it.

{a} Justin.

{b} Jun. Lap.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 14:7. He slew of Edom — That is, of the Edomites, or the children of Seir, as they are called 2Ch 25:1. The Edomites, after having been subject to Judah from the time of David, who subdued them, revolted in the days of Jehoram, (2Ki 8:10,) and now Amaziah endeavoured to reduce them: and having, at the command of God, abandoned the help of the Israelites, although he had purchased it with a large sum, (2Ch 25:7-10,) he and the men of Judah gained a great victory over them, and made the following slaughter. In the valley of Salt — Which was in the land of Edom. And took Selah — Or, the rock, as the word signifies. This city, called by other authors Petra, which also means a rock, was the metropolis of all that part of Arabia, termed from hence Arabia Petræa, or Arabia the rocky. And called the name of it Joktheel — Which word signifies, the obedience of God; so he named it, either, because, having taken it, he established in it, as some think, the laws and statutes of Moses; or rather, because he considered it as given him by God, as a reward of his obedience to God’s message by the prophet, requiring him to dismiss all the forces which he had hired of the Israelites.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:7 10,000 Edomites: Amaziah’s victory, mentioned only briefly here, is discussed in detail in 2 Chr 25:5-15. Despite granting Amaziah this victory, God chastised him both for hiring Israelite mercenaries and for carrying home Edomite gods and worshiping them. • The Valley of Salt was about three miles south of the Dead Sea. • Sela is traditionally identified as a site in the rocks and cliffs near Petra in modern Jordan. The capture of this highly defensible location demonstrated that Amaziah’s victory was God-given.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, the tower, or rock, 2 Chron. 25:32.

For the Idumeans, whom David had brought to subjection, did rebel in the time of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. He slew of Edom to the valley of salt] This war is more circumstantially related in 2Ch 25:5, c. The Idumeans had arisen in the reign of Joram king of Judah, and shaken off the yoke of the house of David. Amaziah determined to reduce them to obedience he therefore levied an army of three hundred thousand men in his own kingdom, and hired a hundred thousand Israelites, at the price of one hundred talents. When he was about to depart at the head of this numerous army, a prophet came to him and ordered him to dismiss the Israelitish army, for God was not with them: and on the king of Judah expressing regret for the loss of his hundred talents, he was answered, that the Lord could give him much more than that. He obeyed, sent back the Israelites, and at the head of his own men attacked the Edomites in the valley of salt, slew ten thousand on the spot, and took ten thousand prisoners, all of whom he precipitated from the rock, or Selah, which was afterwards called Joktheel, a place or city supposed to be the same with Petra, which gave name to Arabia Petraea, where there must have been a great precipice, from which the place took its name of Selah or Petra.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) He slew.—Rather, he it was that smote.

The valley of salt.—Comp. 2Sa_8:13. El-Ghôr, the salt plain of the Dead Sea, which Amaziah would traverse in marching against Edom.

Ten thousand.—The number slain in one conflict.

Selah.—Heb., the Sèlac, i.e., the crag. The Hebrew name of the famous rock-hewn town of Petra.

By war.—Or, in the battle. After the decisive engagement, Amaziah’s troops forced their way through the narrow defile leading to the Edomite capital, probably meeting no great resistance.

Joktheel.—A town of Judah bore this name (Jos_15:38). The name probably means God’s ward, referring to the wonderful strength of the natural position of the town. Others explain, subjugated of God.

Unto this day—i.e., unto the time when the original document was written, from which the writer derived this notice.

The reduction of the capital implies that of the country. The defeat of Jehoram (2Ki_8:20, seq.) was thus avenged. Chronicles gives a more detailed account of the re-conquest of Edom, and its consequences (2Ch_25:5-16). it is there related that Amaziah hired a large force of mercenaries from the northern kingdom, but sent them home again at the bidding of a prophet. On their way back they attacked and plundered certain of the cities of Judah. The fall of Selah was followed by a massacre of captives. The gods of Edom, which Amaziah carried off, proved a snare to him. (See the Notes on the passage.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. He slew of Edom] The Chronicler in 2Ch_25:5-10 gives an account of Amaziah’s military preparations, before the expedition against Edom. He tells us that he gathered and marshalled his men of war, from twenty years old and upward, to the number of 300,000 choice men. To these he hired mercenary troops out of Israel, another 100,000. But a man of God forbade him to take the Israelites with him, as the Lord was not with Israel. Though grieved at the loss of the hundred talents, which he had paid for this body of allies, Amaziah separated them and sent them back again, wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great wrath. After this with his own troops only Amaziah undertook the war with Edom, in which he was successful. According to Josephus (Ant. IX. 9. 1) the first planned expedition was against the Amalekites and Gebalites as well as the Edomites. On Gebal, a city of Phœnicia, see note on 1Ki_5:18.

in the valley of salt] The R.V. prints both ‘Valley’ and ‘Salt’ with capitals to mark it as a proper name. The LXX. has a transliteration of the two words Γεμελέδ. The Valley of Salt lay at the south of the Dead Sea, and was on the border of the Edomite territory. We read that the Edomites had revolted from Judah in the days of Joram (2Ki_8:20-22), and it seems they had not as yet been reduced to subjection.

ten thousand] Beside the 10,000 slain in the battle, the Chronicler mentions 10,000 more who were taken captive, and cast headlong from the rock so ‘that they all were broken in pieces’ (2Ch_25:12).

and took Selah [R.V. Sela] by war] Sela which signifies ‘a rock’ is probably the city which was known in later times as ‘Petra’. It was a city of Edom, not far from Mount Hor, about 2 days’ journey northward from the top of the gulf of Akabah. The Chronicler says nothing about Sela, but mentions ‘the rock’ as the place from which the 10,000 captives were cast down. It may have been from the height on which Sela stood and took its name, that the execution of the captives took place.

called the name of it Joktheel] This name, which is a trisyllable (Jokthe-él) is interpreted by Gesenius as ‘a Deo subactum’. It might with propriety be given by Amaziah to a city won by him after the direction which God had given him to put away the Israelite mercenaries. He would consider that the victory was a direct gift from God.

unto this day] That Sela continued to be called Jokteel at the time when the book of Kings was compiled is in the highest degree improbable. We know that Edom reconquered some of the lost territory very soon (2Ch_28:17) and during the captivity made inroads into the south of Judah as far as Hebron (Joseph. Ant. xii. 8.6). But in this passage the compiler takes the words of an earlier writer, exactly as they stood, and that earlier record was made before Sela was recovered and before the name Joktheel had fallen into disuse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah the king of Judah,.... By the return of his messengers:

saying, the thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon; intending by this proverbial way of speaking to humble the pride of Amaziah; comparing him to a thistle or thorn, a low, mean, abject, weak, prickly, and troublesome shrub, and himself to a cedar, a tree high and lofty, strong, large, and spreading:

saying, give thy daughter to my son to wife; signifying, that if in a peaceable manner he had desired to contract affinity with him, and so establish mutual friendship, he should have despised him as being as much below him as the thistle is below a cedar; and therefore should still more despise and defy him, who addressed him in an hostile manner, and in such haughty language:

and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle; and so there was an end put at once to its pride and ambition, and to its treaty with the cedar; intimating hereby, that his soldiers would as easily vanquish and destroy the army of Amaziah as a wild beast can destroy a thistle.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Amaziah’s Idumaean war is treated at length by the writer of Chronicles (marginal reference).

The “Valley of Salt” is usually identified with the broad open plain called the Sabkah, at the southern end of the Dead Sea - the continuation of the Ghor or Jordan gorge. At the north-western corner of this plain stands a mountain of rock-salt, and the tract between this mountain and the sea is a salt-marsh. Salt springs also abound in the plain itself, so that the name would be fully accounted for. It is doubted, however, whether the original of the word “valley,” commonly used of clefts and ravines, can be applied to such a sunk plain as the Sabkah; and it is certainly most unlikely that 10,000 prisoners would have been conveyed upward of eighty miles (the distance of the Sabkah from Petra), through a rough and difficult country, only in order to be massacred. On the whole, it is perhaps most probable that the “Valley of Salt” yet remains to be discovered, and that its true position was near Selah or Petra (see Jdg 1:36 note). Amaziah gave to Petra the name Joktheel, “subdued by God,” in a religious spirit as an acknowledgment of the divine aid by which his victory was gained. The name failed to take permanent hold on the place, because the Edomites, on not long afterward recovering their city, restored the old appellation (2Ch 28:17; compare Isa 16:1, and Amo 1:11).

Unto this day - The writer of Kings evidently gives the exact words of his document, composed not later than the reign of Ahaz, before whose death the Edomites had recovered Petra.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Edom, who had rebelled under Joram, chap. viii. 20. The particulars of this war are given, 2 Paralipomenon xxv. 5. Josephus ([Antiquities?] ix. 9.) says, Amasias designed also to attack Amalec and Gebal in the same country. --- Pits. Called the woody vale, Genesis xiv. 8., (Menochius) south-west of the Dead Sea, (Adrichomius) or rather to the south of Palmyra, towards Bosra, 3 Kings ix. 18. --- Rock. Petra, the capital of the country, formerly called Rekem Arke, or Hagor. Most of the houses are hewn out of the rock. Hebrew Sela signifies "a rock;" and many think that this was some other place, whence the Idumeans were hurled down, after the victory. Amasias gave it the name of Jectehel, "obedience of God," in memory of his having obtained this success, in consequence of his having obeyed the prophet, and sent away 100,000, for whom he had paid 100 talents to the king of Israel.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Of Edom, i.e. of the Edomites, or the children of Seir, as they are called, 2Ch 25:11; either because they dwelt in Seir; see Gen 36:8; or because these people were confederates. And he invaded these people because they were subjects to his kingdom, from which they had revolted in Joram’s days, 2Ki 8:20.

The valley of salt; which was the land of Edom; of which see 2Sa 8:13; Psa 60:1.

Selah, or,

the rock; the chief city of that part of Arabia, called by other authors Petra, which signifies a rock, because it was built upon a rock, 2Ch 25:12.

Joktheel, which signifies the obedience of God, i.e. given him by God as a reward of his obedience to God’s message by the prophet, 2Ch 25:8,9.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Slew of Edom — The Edomites had cast off the yoke of Judah in the days of Jehoram, (2Ki_8:20,) and had so strengthened themselves that, according to 2Ch_25:5-6, Amaziah considered it necessary to lead an army of four hundred thousand men against them. See the parallel passage in Chronicles for a fuller record of this Edomite war.

Valley of salt — The broad, open plain at the lower end of the Dead Sea, which virtually forms the southern termination of the Ghor, or great Jordan valley. It is appropriately called the Salt Valley from the salt mountain at its northwestern extremity, and the brackish springs and streams that are found in it. In this same valley David once smote the Edomites. See note on 2Sa_8:13.

Selah — More properly written, as in Isa_16:1, Sela; Hebrew, שׂלע, or השׂלע, the rock. The capital city of the Edomites, situated in Mount Seir, two days’ journey south of the Valley of Salt, at the eastern base of Mount Hor. By the Greek writers it is called Petra. Strabo and Pliny describe it as a narrow valley, shut in by precipitous rocks and inaccessible mountains, but having a stream running through it fed by copious fountains and supplying water for the irrigation of gardens. After the Mohammedan conquest its site was long unknown, but, discovered A.D. 1812 by Burckhardt, it has since been many times visited and described by travellers. Its site and ruins are represented as among the most wonderful things of the Orient. It is a city whose most imposing remains consist of tombs and temples sculptured in the solid rock. And not the least remarkable thing, according to Robinson, is the colour of the rocks. “They present an endless variety of bright and living hues, from the deepest crimson to the softest pink, verging also sometimes to orange and yellow.” The principal entrance to the city is from the east, through a wild, deep chasm, called the Sik, varying in width from twelve to fifty feet. At a point where this chasm takes a sharp turn stands the celebrated structure called the Khazneh, which, says Palmer, “in beauty of form and colouring surpasses all the other tombs and temples. The facade is of a deep but delicate rose colour, and that of the uncut rock around it varies from every shade of red to chocolate.” This writer plausibly conjectures that it represents “the museum of Petra, the philharmonic institution of the place.” The other principal remains are the theatre, the tomb with three rows of columns, the ruined bridges, and the triumphal arch. “In looking at the wonders of this ancient city,” writes Robinson, “one is at a loss whether most to admire the wildness of the position and natural scenery, or the taste and skill with which it was fashioned into a secure retreat, and adorned with splendid structures, chiefly for the dead.”

Called the name of it Joktheel — The name signifies subdued by God, but does not seem to have been commonly applied to the place for any considerable length of time, for it does not again occur, and Isaiah calls the place by its old name, Sela. 2Ki_16:1. The phrase unto this day, indicates, therefore, that this record of Amaziah’s conquest was written during the Jewish rule over Edom, and before the time of Ahaz, when the Edomites had again thrown off the Hebrew yoke. 2Ch_28:17.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand. Edom had revolted from Judah and recovered complete independence in the reign of Jehoram, about fifty years previously. (2Ki_8:20) Since that time the two countries had remained at peace. Now, however, Amaziah resolved upon a great effort to resubjugate them. According to Josephus ("Ant. Jud:," 9:9. and Chronicles, (2Ch_25:5) he levied an army of 400, 000 men 300, 000 Jews, and 100, 000 hired Israelites with which he marched against the three nations of the Amalekites, the Idumaeans, and the Gabalites. Rebuked by a prophet for want of faith in calling to his aid the wicked Israelites, he consented to dismiss them, and made the invasion at the head of his own troops only. These were carefully organized, (2Ch_25:5) and met with a great success. Ten thousand of his enemies fell in battle, and an equal number were made prisoners. These last were barbarously put to death by being precipitated from the top of a rock. (2Ch_25:12) "The valley of salt," the scene of the battle, is probably identified with the sunken plain, now called Es Sabkah, at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. This is "a large flat of at least six miles by ten, occasionally flooded" (Tristram), but dry in the summertime. It is full of salt springs, and is bounded on the west and northwest by a long ridge of pure salt, known as the Khasm Usdum, so that the name "valley of salt" would be very appropriate. And took Selah by war. Selah with the article (has-Selah) can only be the Idumaean capital, which the Greeks called Petra (Petra or hJ Petra), and which is one of the most remarkable sites in the world. In the rocky mountains which form the eastern boundary of the Arabah or sandy slope reaching from the edge of the Sabkah to the Red Sea, amid cliffs of gorgeous colors, pink and crimson and purple, and ravines as deep and narrow as that of Proffers, partly excavated in the rook, partly emplaced upon it, stood the Edomite town, difficult to approach, still more difficult to capture, more like the home of a colony of sea-gulls than that of a number of men. Petra is graphically described by Dean Stanley ("Sinai and Palestine," pp. 88-92), and has also received notice from Robinson ("Researches," vol. it. pp. 518-538), Highten ("Dictionary of the Bible," vol. 3. p. 1191), and others. And called the name of it Joktheel; i.e. "subdued by God." The name took no permanent hold. Selah is still "Sela" in Isaiah, (Isa_16:1) Obadiah (ver. 3), and Jeremiah. (Jer_49:16) It is known only as "Petra" to the Greeks and Romans. Unto this day; i.e. to the time of the writer who composed the account of Amaziah"s reign for the "Book of the Kings," and whoso words the author of Kings transcribes here as so often elsewhere.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joktheel - Which signifies, the obedience of God, that is, given him by God as a reward of his obedience to God's message by the prophet, 2 Chron. xxv, 8, 9.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Edom

See 2Ch 25:5-16.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And named it Yokseil. For it set his teeth on edge, as it is written, “After Amatzyohu came from killing the Edomites, he brought the gods of the children of Seir, etc., for deities, he would bow down to them, etc.,” and the prophet rebuked him and said to him, “I know that God has made a plan to destroy you.” Now what was the advice? That He persuaded him to incite the king of Yisroel.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.