2 Kings 24:14

2Ki 24:14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, [even] ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

Ver. 14. And he carried away all Jerusalem,] i.e., The greater and better part of the people: among the rest, Mordecai the Benjamite the son of Jair, {Est 2:5-6} and Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, {Eze 1:2-3} who therefore calls it his "captivity" or deportation. {Eze 40:1}

And all the craftsmen and smiths.] The like craft useth the devil, when he endeavoureth to take out of the way such as are zealous and active, valiant for God’s truth, and violent for his kingdom. {a}

{a} A Lapide.

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.

The entire number of the captives was not more than 11,000. They consisted of three classes:

(1) the “princes” or “mighty of the land,” i. e., courtiers, priests, elders, and all who had any position or dignity - in number 3,000 (compare 2Ki 24:14, 2Ki 24:16).

(2) the “mighty men of valor” or “men of might,” i. e., the soldier class, who were 7,000. And

(3) craftsmen or artisans, who numbered 1,000. The word here translated “craftsmen” denotes artisans in stone, wood, or metal, and thus includes our “masons, carpenters, and smiths.” The word translated “smiths” means strictly “lock-smiths.”

The object of carrying off these persons was twofold:

(1) it deprived the conquered city of those artisans who were of most service in war; and

(2) it gave the conqueror a number of valuable assistants in the construction of his buildings and other great works.

The Assyrian monarchs frequently record their removal of the skilled artisans from a conquered country. The population of the ancient city has been calculated, from its area, at 15,000. The remnant left was therefore about 5000 or 6,000.

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

2Ki 24:14. He carried away all Jerusalem — That is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; not simply all, but the best and most considerable part, as the following words explain and restrain it. Even ten thousand captives — Which are more particularly reckoned up 2Ki 24:16, where there are seven thousand mighty men, and a thousand smiths; and those mentioned 2Ki 24:15 make up the other two thousand. Craftsmen and smiths — Who might furnish them with new arms, and thereby give him fresh trouble.

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

Beside these treasures, he carried away captive to Babylon the cream of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, not only the most affluent, but, as is evident from Jer 24:1-10, the best portion in a moral respect. In Kg2 24:14 the number of those who were carried off is simply given in a general form, according to its sum-total, as 10,000; and then in Kg2 24:15, Kg2 24:16 the details are more minutely specified. "All Jerusalem" is the whole of the population of Jerusalem, which is first of all divided into two leading classes, and then more precisely defined by the clause, "nothing was left except the common people," and reduced to the cream of the citizens. The king, queen-mother, and king's wives being passed over and mentioned for the first time in the special list in Kg2 24:15, there are noticed here כּל־השּׂרים and החיל גּבּורי כּל, who form the first of the leading classes. By the שׂרים are meant, according to Kg2 24:15, the סריסים, chamberlains, i.e., the officials of the king's court in general, and by הארץ אוּלי ("the mighty of the land") all the heads of the tribes and families of the nation that were found in Jerusalem; and under the last the priests and prophets, who were also carried away according to Jer 29:1, with Ezekiel among them (Eze 1:1), are included as the spiritual heads of the people. The החיל גּבּורי are called החיל אנשׁי in Kg2 24:16; their number was 7000. The persons intended are not warriors, but men of property, as in Kg2 15:20. The second class of those who ere carried away consisted of כּל־החרשׁ, all the workers in stone, metal, and wood, that is to say, masons, smiths, and carpenters; and המּסגּר, the locksmiths, including probably not actual locksmiths only, but makers of weapons also. There is no need for any serious refutation of the marvellous explanation given of מסגּר by Hitzig (on Jer 24:1), who derives it from מס and גּר, and supposes it to be an epithet applied to the remnant of the Canaanites, who had been made into tributary labourers, although it has been adopted by Thenius and Graf, who make them into artisans of the foreign socagers. עם־הארץ דּלּת = דלּת־הארץ (Kg2 25:12), the poor people of the land, i.e., the lower portion of the population of Jerusalem, from whom Nebuchadnezzar did not fear any rebellion, because they possessed nothing (Jer 39:10), i.e., neither property (money nor other possessions), nor strength and ability to organize a revolt. The antithesis to these formed by the מלחמה עשׂי מ גּבּורים, the strong or powerful men, who were in a condition to originate and carry on a war; for this category includes all who were carried away, not merely the thousand workmen, but also the seven thousand החיל אנשׁי, and the king's officers and the chiefs of the nation, whose number amounted to two thousand, since the total number of the exiles was then thousand. There is no special allusion to warriors or military, because in the struggle for the rescue of the capital and the kingdom from destruction every man who could bear arms performed military service, so that the distinction between warriors and non-warriors was swept away, and the actual warriors are swallowed up in the ten thousand. Babel is the country of Babylonia, or rather the Babylonian empire.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

24:14-16 In addition to Jehoiachin, the prophet Ezekiel was also taken into captivity (Ezek 1:1). Throughout the book of Ezekiel, events in Ezekiel’s life are dated in terms of the years since Jehoiachin had been taken captive. • The 10,000 taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar likely includes 7,000 . . . troops, 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, and a number of administrative officials and leading citizens of Jerusalem. In any case, 10,000 is probably a round figure (see also Jer 52:28).

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

Verse 14. He carried away all Jerusalem] That is, all the chief men, the nobles, and artificers. Among these there were of mighty men seven thousand; of craftsmen and smiths, one thousand.

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

(14) All Jerusalem.—Limited by what follows, and meaning the most important part of the population.

The princes—i.e., the nobles, e.g., the grandees of the court, some of the priests (Eze_1:1), and the heads of the clans.

The mighty men of valour.—This is probably right. Thenius and Bähr prefer to understand the men of property and the artisans, as in 2Ki_15:20.

All the craftsmen and smiths.—The former were workers in wood, stone, and metal, i.e., carpenters, masons, and smiths. (Comp. Gen_4:22.) The “smiths” (properly, “they who shut”) answer to what we should call locksmiths. They were makers of bolts and bars for doors and gates (Jer_24:1; Jer_29:2). It is obvious that by deporting “the craftsmen and smiths” the king of Babylon made further outbreaks impossible (comp. 1Sa_13:19.) Kimchi’s explanation of “smiths” is a curiosity of exegesis. He makes of them “learned persons, who shut other people’s mouths, and propose riddles which nobody else can guess.” Hitzig and Thenius derive the word (masgçr) from mas, “levy,” and gçr, “alien,” so that it would originally mean “statute labourers,” “Canaanites compelled to work for the king;” and afterwards, as here, “manual labourers” in general. But such a compound term in Hebrew would be very surprising.

The poorest sort.—Those who had neither property nor handicraft. (Comp. Jer_39:10.)

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

14. he carried away all Jerusalem] The policy of Nebuchadnezzar was to remove out of the way all those who might be able to organize and plan a revolt when he and his army had departed. Hence all the people of rank, of wealth, and of skill as handicraftsmen are deported, and only the poorest folk left, who had neither knowledge nor means for doing more than work of drudgery. The total number of captives was 10,000. In verse 16 the numbers of some classes are specified, the ‘men of might’ were 7000, and the craftsmen 1000, which leaves 2000 for the royal household and their retainers, and the princes and the others who are spoken of in the general phrase as ‘strong and apt for war’. Such men it would have been dangerous to leave behind. In this captivity the prophet Ezekiel was included. See Eze_1:3.

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 all the men of might, even seven thousand,.... The particulars of the 10,000 carried captive are here given; 7000 of which were the principal men of the land:

and craftsmen and smiths one thousand; which made 8000:

all that were strong, and apt for war; of these consisted the other 2000; so Abarbinel reckons them; but, according to the Jewish chronologer (t), which Jarchi and other Jewish commentators follow, the 7000 were out of the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the tribes, and the 3000 out of the tribe of Judah, which are supposed to be those Jeremiah speaks of, Jer 52:28,

even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon; among these were Ezekiel the prophet, and Mordecai, the uncle of Esther.

(t) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 25.

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

All; the chief men, chap. xxv. 18. Ezechiel and Mardocheus were in the number. --- Engraver. The first term means a workman in wood, stone, &c.; the latter seems to designate a mason, smith, or garrison-soldier; (Calmet) or one expert in making camps; (Sa) an engineer. (Tirinus) --- St. Jerome explains it of one who enchases jewels in gold. (Menochius) --- Hecateus and Demetrius (ap. Jos.[Josephus?] and Clement of Alexandria) mention this transportation. (Du Hamel)

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).

All Jerusalem, i.e. the inhabitants of Jerusalem; not simply all, but the best and most considerable part, as the following words explain and restrain it.

Ten thousand captives; which are more particularly reckoned up, 2Ki 24:16, where there are seven thousand mighty men, and a thousand smiths; and those mentioned 2Ki 24:15 make up the other two thousand.

All the craftsmen and smiths; which might furnish them with new arms, and thereby give him fresh trouble.

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

14. Ten thousand captives — According to Jer_52:28, they numbered three thousand and twenty-three. See note on 2Ki_25:21. Numerically this must have been only a small part of the entire Jewish population, which in David’s time numbered five hundred thousand warriors, so that the poorest sort of the people, from whom rebellion and trouble were not expected, were more than the captives; but these latter were the might and flower of the nation, and might, therefore, well be called all Jerusalem. The mass of those left were people of the land, country people, dwelling outside of Jerusalem; and no doubt by reason of the numerous wars this part of the population had become greatly diminished since the time of David. The craftsmen and smiths would be especially serviceable to Nebuchadnezzar on the great works which he contemplated at his capital.

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

And he carried away all Jerusalem. The expression has to be limited by what follows. "All Jerusalem" means all that was important in the population of Jerusalem all the upper classes, the "princes" and "nobles," all the men trained to the use of arms, and all the skilled craftsmen and artisans of the city. The poor and weak and unskilled were left. The number deported, according to our author, was either ten or eleven thousand. The whole population of the ancient city has been calculated from its area at fifteen thousand. The largest estimate of the population of the modern city is seventeen thousand. And all the princes. The sarim, or "princes," are not males of the blood royal, but the nobles, or upper classes of Jerusalem. (comp. Jer_25:18 Jer_26:10-16, etc.) And all the mighty men of valori.e. "all the trained troops" (Ewald); not "all the men of wealth," as Bahr renderseven ten thousand captives. As the soldiers are reckoned below (ver. 16) at seven thousand, and the craftsmen at one thousand, the upper-class captives would seem to have been two thousand; unless, indeed, the "craftsmen" are additional to the ten thousand, in which Case the upper-class captives would have numbered three thousand, and the prisoners have amounted altogether to eleven thousand. And all the craftsmen and smiths. Ewald understands "the military workmen and siege engineers" to be intended ("History of Israel," vol. 4. p. 263, note 9); but the term vrj in Hebrew includes all workers in stone, metal, or wood (Gen_4:22; Isa_44:12; 1Ki_7:14) and there is nothing to limit it here to military craftsmen. It was an Oriental practice to weaken a state by the deportation of all the stronger elements of its population. None remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. These words must be taken with some latitude. There are still "princes" in Jerusalem under Zedekiah, (Jer_38:4, Jer_38:25, Jer_38:27) and courtiers of rank, (Jer_38:7) and "captains of forces", (Jer_40:7) and "men of war". (Jer_52:7) But the bulk of the inhabitants now left behind in Jerusalem were poor and of small account.

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

All - Not simply all, but the best and most considerable part, as the following words explain it. Captives - Which are more particularly reckoned up, ver. 16, where there are seven thousand mighty men, and a thousand smiths; and those mentioned ver. 15, make up the other two thousand. Craftsmen and smiths - Who might furnish them with new arms, and thereby give him fresh trouble.

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

Craftsmen and gatekeepers. [Targum] Yonoson rendered the craftsmen and the sentries of the gates. But, our Rabbis said that these were great Torah scholars, that when one would begin [to speak], all remained silent [=חרש], as it is written, “Be silent before Me, O islands.” ”מסגר” [is one who] all sit before him and learn from him, as it is stated, ”And he will open, and no one will close, and he will close, and no one will open.”

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.