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2 Chronicles 32:4

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Chronicles 32:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So there was gathered much people together, and they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So there was gathered much people together, and they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
2 Chronicles 32:4 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Chronicles 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1After these things, and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself.
2And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
3he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city; and they helped him.
4So there was gathered much people together, and they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
5And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised [it] up to the towers, and the other wall without, and strengthened Millo [in] the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
6And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the broad place at the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for there is a greater with us than with him:
← 2 Chronicles 32:32 Chronicles 32:5 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So there was gathered much people together, etc.] At the instance of Hezekiah, his nobles and officers: who stopped all the fountains; perhaps by laying planks over them, and earth upon them, so that it could not be discerned there were any fountains there: and the brook that ran through the midst of the land; which, according to Kimchi, was Gihon, (<143230>2 Chronicles 32:30), which was near Jerusalem; the stream of this very probably they turned into channels under ground, whereby it was brought into the city into reservoirs there provided, that that might have a supply during the siege, while the enemy was distressed for want of it: saying, why should the kings of Assyria come and find…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“So there was gathered much people . . . who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land--"Where these various fountains were, we have now no positive means of ascertaining; though En-rogel, and the spring now called the Virgin's Fount, may well be numbered among them. JOSEPHUS mentions the existence of various fountains without the city, but does not mention any of them in this connection but Siloam. 'The brook,' however, is located with sufficient precision to enable us to trace it very definitely. We are told that it 'ran through the midst of the land.' Now a stream running through either the Kedron or Hinnom Valley, could, in no proper sense, be said to…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The “brook” intended is probably not the Kidron, but the natural water-course of the Gihon, which ran down the Tyropoeon valley (compare the 1 Kings 1:3 note). return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“who stopped: This was prudently done; for, without water, how could an immense army subsist in ar arid country? No doubt the Assyrian army suffered much through this; as a Christian army did, through the same cause, 1,800 years afterwards. the brook: Ch2 32:30, Ch2 30:14 ran through the midst of: Heb. overflowed kings: The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic read king, in the singular number. Ch2 32:1; Kg2 18:9, Kg2 18:13, Kg2 19:17; Isa 10:8 find: Kg1 3:9, Kg1 3:16, Kg1 3:17, Kg1 19:21 2 Chronicles 32:5”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification