The Meaning of 2 Kings 12:17 Explained

2 Kings 12:17

KJV: Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

YLT: Then go up doth Hazael king of Aram, and fighteth against Gath, and captureth it, and Hazael setteth his face to go up against Jerusalem;

Darby: Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.

ASV: Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then Hazael  king  of Syria  went up,  and fought  against Gath,  and took  it: and Hazael  set  his face  to go up  to Jerusalem. 

What does 2 Kings 12:17 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 12:17-21 - Inglorious Ends
As long as we are with the Lord, He is with us. Then our enemies are His enemies, and He shows Himself strong on the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. See 2 Chronicles 15:2. So Joash found it in the earlier part of his reign. We need to ponder the blessings set out in Psalms 81:14-16, as guaranteed to the life which is at one with God. But directly Joash listened to the princes and forsook the house of God and gave license to the Asherim and idols, God was turned against the people and became their enemy. See 2 Chronicles 24:23-25. The reign that commenced in sunshine was sadly overcast, and the king perished by the hands of conspirators and never came to the sepulcher of the kings.
Then disaster after disaster befell the nation. They had to learn that they had been chosen for a special service in the world and could not be as others. Yet amid these dark days, what gleams of light there were! The Lord hearkened, 2 Kings 13:4; He gave Israel a savior, 2 Kings 13:5; He was gracious and had compassion and would not cast them from His presence, 2 Kings 13:23. Even when the Lord chastens us sore, He does not give us over unto death, Psalms 118:18. There is a "needs-be," but there is also a "thus-far-and-no-farther." [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 12

1  Jehoash reigns well all the days of Jehoiada
4  He gives order for the repair of the temple
17  Hazael is diverted from Jerusalem by a present of the hallowed treasures
19  Jehoash being slain, Amaziah succeeds him

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 12:17 mean?

Then went up Hazael king of Syria and fought against Gath and took it then set his face to go up to Jerusalem
אָ֣ז יַעֲלֶ֗ה חֲזָאֵל֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אֲרָ֔ם וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם עַל־ גַּ֖ת וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֑הּ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם פָּנָ֔יו לַעֲל֖וֹת עַל־ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם

יַעֲלֶ֗ה  went  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
חֲזָאֵל֙  Hazael 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲזָאֵל 
Sense: a king of Syria; sent by his master, Ben-hadad, to the prophet Elisha, to seek a remedy for Ben-hadad’s leprosy; apparently later killed Ben-hadad, assumed the throne, and soon became engaged in a war with the kings of Judah and Israel for the possession of the city of Ramoth-gilead.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲרָ֔ם  of  Syria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָם 
Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם  and  fought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
גַּ֖ת  Gath 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גַּת  
Sense: one of the five royal or chief cities of the Philistines and the native city of Goliath.
וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֑הּ  and  took  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: לָכַד  
Sense: to capture, take, seize.
וַיָּ֤שֶׂם  then  set 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
פָּנָ֔יו  his  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
לַעֲל֖וֹת  to  go  up 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.