2 Kings 6:10
6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it 1 to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 2
2 Kings 11:5
11:5 He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.
2 Kings 11:7
11:7 The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. 3
2 Kings 25:18
25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.
1 tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
2 tn Heb “and the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”
3 tn Verses 5b-7 read literally, “the third of you, the ones entering [on] the Sabbath and the ones guarding the guard of the house of the king, and the third in the gate of Sur, and the third in the gate behind the runners, and you will guard the guard of the house, alternating. And the two units of you, all the ones going out [on] the Sabbath, and they will guard the guard of the house of the Lord for the king.” The precise meaning of this text is impossible to determine. It would appear that the Carians and royal bodyguard were divided into three units. One unit would serve during the Sabbath; the other two would be off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada divided the first unit into three groups and assigned them different locations. The two off duty units were assigned the task of guarding the king.