2 Kings 11:8 . A Hebrew word is here used different from the preceding, meaning "ranks of soldiers." The Levites were appointed to guard the king's person within the temple (2 Chronicles 23:7 ), while the soldiers were his guard in the court, and in going from the temple to the palace. The soldiers are here commanded to slay any one who should break through the "ranks" (as rendered in the RSV) to come near the king. In 2 Kings 11:15 the expression, "Have her forth without the ranges," is in the Revised Version, "Have her forth between the ranks;" i.e., Jehoiada orders that Athaliah should be kept surrounded by his own guards, and at the same time conveyed beyond the precincts of the temple. Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.
Bibliography Information
Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Ranges'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ebd/​r/ranges.html. 1897.