Amplified Bible
2 Kings 6:25
25Now there was a great famine in Samaria; and they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
2 Kings 6:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
- New International Version (NIV)There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
Context of 2 Kings 6:25
23So the king prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Aram did not come into the land of Israel again. 24But it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) gathered his whole army together and went up and besieged Samaria. Now there was a great famine in Samaria; and they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26As the king of Israel (Jehoram) was passing by on the [city] wall a woman cried out to him, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27He said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I get you help? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
Read all of 2 Kings 62 Kings 6:25 word by word
וַיְהִ֨י רָעָ֤ב גָּדוֹל֙ בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן וְהִנֵּ֖ה צָרִ֣ים עָלֶ֑יהָ עַ֣ד הֱי֤וֹת רֹאשׁ־חֲמוֹר֙ בִּשְׁמֹנִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף וְרֹ֛בַע הַקַּ֥ב דִּבְיוֹנִ֖ים בַּחֲמִשָּׁה־כָֽסֶף׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And there was a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- in Samariaשֹׁמְרוֹןshômerôn · SamariaH8111
- and, behold, they besiegedצוּרtsûr · to confineH6696
- it, until an ass’sחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
- headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- for fourscoreשְׁמֹנִיםshemônîym shemônîym · eightyH8084
- of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- and the fourth partרֹ֫בַעrôba‛ · fourthH7255
- of a cabקַבqab · kabH6894
- of dove’s dungחֲרֵי־יוֹנִיםchărêy-yônîym chărâ'yôn · dove-dungH2755
- of dove’s dungיוֹנָהyônâh · doveH3123
- of dove’s dungדִּבְיוֹנִיםdibyôn cheryôn · quanoH1686
- for fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
Cross-references for 2 Kings 6:25
- 2 Kings 6:28And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
- 2 Kings 7:4If we say, ‘We will enter the city’—then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit still here, we will also die. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans (Syrians). If they let us live, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die.”
- 2 Kings 25:3On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine [caused by the siege] was severe in the city; there was no food for the people of the land.
- 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.
- Jeremiah 14:13But I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, the [false] prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I [the Lord] will give you lasting peace in this place.’ ”
- Jeremiah 32:24See the siege ramps [of mounded earth that the enemy has built against the walls]; they have come up to the city to capture it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the virulent disease [that have overcome the people]. What You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You see it.
- Jeremiah 52:6In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
- Ezekiel 4:13Then the Lord said, “Thus the children of Israel will eat their bread unclean and defiled among the nations where I will banish them.”
Commentaries on 2 Kings 6:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25And, behold, they besieged it - They had closed it in on every side, and reduced it to the greatest necessity. An ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver - I suppose we are to take the ass's head literally; and if the head sold for so much, what must other parts sell for which were much to be preferred? The famine must be great that could oblige them to eat any part of an animal that was proscribed by the law; and it must be still greater that…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25As the donkey was “unclean,” it would not be eaten except in the last resort; and its head would be its worst and cheapest part. Cab - This measure is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. According to the rabbinical writers it was the smallest of all the dry measures in use among the Jews, being the sixth part of a seah, which was the third part of an ephah. If it was about equal to two of our quarts, the “fourth part of a cab” would be about a pint…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-33Verses 24-33 Learn to value plenty, and to be thankful for it; see how contemptible money is, when in time of famine it is so freely parted with for any thing that is eatable! The language of Jehoram to the woman may be the language of despair. See the word of God fulfilled; among the threatenings of God's judgments upon Israel for their sins, this was one, that they should eat the flesh of their own children, De 28:53-57. The truth and the awful justice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24-25The famine was so severe that people ate and sold normally forbidden foods at high prices. For example, donkey meat was forbidden in the laws about unclean foods (Leviticus 11:1–7). Dove's dung might have been a type of wild vegetable, but during sieges, people sometimes ate dung (Isaiah 36:12). The dove's dung might also have been used as fuel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver--Though the ass was deemed unclean food, necessity might warrant their violation of a positive law when mothers, in their extremity, were found violating the law of nature. The head was the worst part of the animal. Eighty pieces of silver, equal to £5 5s. the fourth part of a cab--A cab was the smallest dry measure. The proportion here stated was nearly half a pint for 12s. 6d. dove's dung--is…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 6:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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