And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
Study Helps
Interpretation
Jerusalem was so fortified, that it could not be taken till famine rendered the besieged unable to resist. In the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah, we find more of this event; here it suffices to say, that the impiety and misery of the besieged were very great.
Read with
This thought runs through 2 Kings 25:4-7.
Glossary
- City People
- The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
- Arabah Place
- A name given to Abi-albon, or, as elsewhere called, Abiel, one of David’s warriors ( 2 Sam. 23:31 ; 1 Chr. 11:32 ), probably as being an inhabitant of Arabah ( Josh. 15:61 ), a town in the wilderness of Judah.
- Chaldea Place
- Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell el Muqayyar.