2 Kings 25:1

XXV.

(1) And it came to pass. — With the account which follows comp. Jeremiah 52:4 seq., Jeremiah 39:1, Jeremiah 40-43.

In the ninth year... tenth day. — Comp. the similarly exact dates in 2 Kings 25:3; 2 Kings 25:8; Ezekiel 24:1, agrees with the present. The days were observed as fasts during the exile (Zechariah 7:3; Zechariah 7:5; Zechariah 8:19).

Came... against Jerusalem. — After taking the other strong places of Judah, as Sennacherib had done (Jeremiah 34:7; comp. 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 19:8), Zedekiah must have prepared for the siege, as it lasted a year and a half.

Forts. — The Hebrew word (dâyçq) occurs in Ezekiel 4:2; Ezekiel 17:17; Ezekiel 21:27; Ezekiel 26:8. Its meaning is some kind of siege work, as appears from the context in each case; but what precisely is not clear. The LXX. here has “wall” (τεῖχος); Syriac, “palisade” (qalqûmê, i.e., χαράκωμα).