2 Kings 8:20-24

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 8:20 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
2. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “Joram,” which is a short form of the name Jehoram (also in vv. 23, 24).
3. 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.
4. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”
5. 2 Kings 8:22 tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
6. 2 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Joram and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
7. 2 Kings 8:24 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”