2 Kings 6:26

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) The king . . . was passing by upon the wall.—On the broad rampart of the city, which was like that which we see at such old places as Chester. The king went round to encourage the garrison and to superintend the defence. A woman in the street below, or perhaps on a housetop near the rampart, appeals to him for justice against her neighbour.

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 6:26-27. The king of Israel was passing on the wall — To give necessary directions for the defence of the city against assault; to see if the several guards were watchful and diligent, and if his orders were executed, and to observe the motions of the enemy. There cried a woman unto him, Help, my lord, O king — For whither should the subject, in distress, go for help, but to the prince, who is by office the protector of right, and the avenger of wrong? He said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? — Dost thou ask of me corn or wine, which I want for myself? If God do not help thee, I cannot. Or his words may be considered as the language of passion or desperation, and rendered, The Lord will not, and I cannot help thee.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:24-33 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 of God were displayed in this horrible transaction. Alas! what miseries sin has brought upon the world! But the foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord. The king swears the death of Elisha. Wicked men will blame any one as the cause of their troubles, rather than themselves, and will not leave their sins. If rending the clothes, without a broken and contrite heart, would avail, if wearing sackcloth, without being renewed in the spirit of their mind, would serve, they would not stand out against the Lord. May the whole word of God increase in us reverent fear and holy hope, that we may be stedfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The walls of fortified towns had a broad space at the top, protected toward the exterior by battlements, along which the bulk of the defenders were disposed, and from which they hurled their missiles and shot their arrows. The king seems to have been going his rounds, to inspect the state of the garrison and the defenses.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

26. as the king was passing—to look at the defenses, or to give some necessary orders for manning the walls.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Passing by upon the wall, to give necessary order for the defence of the city against assaults, and to see if the several guards were watchful and diligent, and if his directions were executed, and to observe the motions of the enemy.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, &c. To spy out the motion and situation of the enemy, and to give orders for the annoyance of them, and to see that his soldiers did their duty:

there cried a woman to him, saying, help, my lord, O king; desired his assistance and help in a cause depending between her and another woman.

Geneva Study Bible

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

26. the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall] Making the necessary rounds to see that the watch was kept up, and everything done that could be done for the security of the city. Josephus says he was afraid lest some one should let in the enemy. The wall must have been furnished with a breast-work so that the inhabitants could pass along without being in much danger, and it would be open on the inner side. Hence any one within could see and speak to those who were passing along, as this woman did. In some cases dwelling-houses were built into the wall, and must have had a passage through them.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 26. - And as the King of Israel was passing by upon the wall. The wall of Babylon is said to have been so broad at the top that a four-horse chariot could turn round on it (Herod., 1:179). All ancient cities had walls upon which a great part of the garrison stood, and from which they shot their arrows and worked their engines against the assailants. From time to time the commandant of the place - the king himself, in this instance - would mount upon the wall to visit the posts, and inspect the state of the garrison, or observe the movements of the enemy. There cried a woman unto him. Houses sometimes abutted on the wall of a town (see Joshua 2:15; 1 Samuel 19:12, etc.), and women sometimes took part in their defense (Judges 9:53), so that in visiting the posts a commandant might be brought into contact with women. Saying, Help, my lord, O king; rather, save, i.e. "preserve me from perishing of hunger." 2 Kings 6:26

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

As the king was passing by upon the wall to conduct the defence, a woman cried to him for help; whereupon he replied: אל־יושׁעך יי, "should Jehovah not help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" It is difficult to explain the אל which Ewald (355, b.) supposes to stand for אם לא. Thenius gives a simpler explanation, namely, that it is a subjective negation and the sentence hypothetical, so that the condition would be only expressed by the close connection of the two clauses (according to Ewald, 357). "From the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" i.e., I can neither help thee with corn nor with wine, cannot procure thee either food or drink. He then asked her what her trouble was; upon which she related to him the horrible account of the slaying of her own child to appease her hunger, etc.