For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

2 KINGS 7:6KJV
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2 Kings 7:6 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 7:6 mean?

2 Kings 7:6 describes how the Lord caused the Syrian army to hear what sounded like a huge army approaching, with chariots and horses, making them believe that Israel had hired foreign kings to attack them. This supernatural event led the Syrians to panic and abandon their camp, thinking they were about to be overwhelmed.

In the story, the Syrians were besieging Samaria, and the people inside the city were desperate. The verse explains the turning point: God intervened by making the Syrians "hear" (not actually see) the noise of a powerful army. The Syrians assumed Israel had made alliances with the Hittites and Egyptians, two well-known regional powers, and fled in fear, leaving everything behind.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 7:6

  • "Lord" (אֲדֹנָי, 'Adonay'): This word emphasizes God's authority and power in orchestrating events beyond human control, highlighting that the panic was not due to human strategy but divine action.
  • "Noise" (קוֹל, qol): Repeated three times in the verse, this word means "sound" or "voice." The emphasis on "noise" underlines that what the Syrians experienced was auditory, not visual, making their fear based entirely on what they heard.
  • "Host" (חַיִל, chayil): Here, "host" refers to a large, mighty army. The Syrians believed the sound signaled a "great host," intensifying their terror and sense of being outnumbered.

Why 2 Kings 7:6 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the Syrians' retreat was not caused by an actual military threat, but by a divinely caused illusion, showing God's ability to save in unexpected ways.
  • The detail about the Hittites and Egyptians shows how ancient Israel's neighbors were perceived as powerful, and how fear of alliances could sway military decisions.
  • Understanding this verse helps make sense of the sudden change in the story's direction: the siege is lifted not by battle, but by God's intervention, setting up the fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy earlier in the chapter.

Where else these words appear

“hired” Hebrew H7936 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
  • 2 Samuel 10:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.
  • Nehemiah 6:12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

“Hittites” Hebrew H2850 · used in 47 verses

  • Genesis 15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
  • Numbers 13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
  • 2 Samuel 11:21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

“chariots” Hebrew H7393 · used in 104 verses

  • Genesis 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
  • 1 Kings 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
  • 2 Chronicles 12:3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.

“Syrians” Hebrew H758 · used in 117 verses

  • Genesis 10:22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
  • 1 Kings 22:35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
  • 1 Chronicles 2:23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.