2 Kings 8:19-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 8:19 tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of.” The translation divides it for the sake of clarity.
2. 2 Kings 8:19 tn Heb “just as he had said to him, to give to him a lamp for his sons all the days.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty; this is reflected in the translation.
3. 2 Kings 8:20 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
4. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “Joram,” which is a short form of the name Jehoram (also in vv. 23, 24).
5. 2 Kings 8:21 tc Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Jehoram was surrounded and launched a victorious night counterattack. It would then be quite natural to understand the last statement in the verse to refer to an Edomite retreat. Yet v. 22 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. Therefore, if the MT is retained, it may be better to understand the final statement in v. 21 as a reference to an Israelite retreat (made in spite of the success described in the preceding sentence). Instead the translation assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text, adding a vav (ו) to the accusative sign before Edom, reading אֹתוֹ (ʾoto, “him,”) instead of just אֶת (ʾet). In this reading, Edom is the subject of the verb rather than the direct object, “Edom struck him.” This is more consistent with the context but there is no manuscript evidence in favor of this.
6. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”