2 Kings 25:2

2Ki 25:2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

Ver. 2. Unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.] Which was a full year and half; yet so as that the siege was raised for a time by the coming of Pharaohhophra, that broken reed, as Ezekiel styleth him, whereunto there was no trusting; and so it proved: for he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff. {Jer 37:5; Jer 37:11}

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.

Verse 2. - 4. And the city was besieged, &c.] Nebuchadnezzar, having routed the Egyptian army, returned to Jerusalem, and besieged it so closely that, being reduced by famine, and a breach made in the wall, the Chaldeans entered it on the ninth day of the fourth month, (Wednesday, July 27,) Zedekiah and many others endeavouring to make their escape by night.

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

(2) Unto the eleventh year.—The siege lasted altogether one year, five months, and twenty-seven days (2Ki_25:1 compared with 2Ki_25:8). The Chaldæans raised the siege for a time, and marched against Pharaoh-Hophra, who was coming to the help of the Jews (Jer_37:5 seq.; comp. Eze_17:17; Eze_30:20 seq.)

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

2. unto the eleventh year] The natural strength of the position of Jerusalem must have been very considerable, for such a rabble as remained to be able to hold out nearly two years against the forces of Babylon. We know however (Jer_34:7) that Nebuchadnezzar’s troops were engaged at the same time in attacking Lachish and Azekah. So that a part only of his soldiers were employed against Jerusalem. We find too (Jer_37:5; Jer_37:11) that, on the report that the army of Pharaoh was coming forth out of Egypt, the siege of Jerusalem was so far relaxed that Jeremiah undertook to leave the city and depart into the land of Benjamin but was stopped at the gate by Irijah.

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.

The siege lasted almost exactly a year and a half. Its calamities - famine, pestilence, and intense suffering - are best understood from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, written probably almost immediately after the capture.

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

2. Unto the eleventh year — Strong must that city have been which could, after all its previous misfortunes, endure so long a siege as this. It appears from Jer_37:5-11, that during this siege the army of Pharaoh-hophra (Jer_44:30) interfered, and for a time obliged the Babylonian forces to retire from Jerusalem.

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

And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. The writer omits all the details of the siege, and hastens to the final catastrophe. From Jeremiah and Ezekiel we learn that, after the siege had continued a certain time, the Egyptian monarch, Hophra or Apries, made an effort to carry out the terms of his agreement with Zedekiah, and marched an army into Southern Judaea, with the view of raising the siege (Jer_37:5; Eze_17:17) Nebuchadnezzar hastened to meet him. With the whole or the greater part of his host he marched southward and offered battle to the Egyptians. Whether an engagement took place or not is uncertain. Josephus affirms it, and says that Apries was "defeated and driven out of Syria" ("Ant. Jud:," 10:7. The silence of Jeremiah is thought to throw doubt on his assertion. At any rate, the Egyptians retired (Jer_37:7) and took no further part in the struggle. The Babylonians returned, and the siege recommenced. A complete blockade was established, and the defenders of the city soon began to suffer from famine (Jer_21:7, Jer_21:9; Lam_2:12, Lam_2:20) Ere long, as so often happens in sieges, famine was followed by pestilence, (Jer_21:6, Jer_21:7; Josephus, "Ant. Jud:," l:s:c) and after a time the place was reduced to the last extremity. (Lam_4:3-9) Bread was no longer to be had, and mothers devoured their children. (Lam_4:10) At length a breach was effected in the defenses; the enemy poured in; and the city fell (see the comment on ver. 4).

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