In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

and in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, the word ranges has two very different meanings.

Leviticus

In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

word here is in the dual number; or perhaps a fireplace fitted to receive a pair of ovens.

2 Kings

2 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...

11:8, the 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 The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

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 Revised Version) 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 Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...

should be kept surrounded by his own guards, and at the same time conveyed beyond the precincts of the temple.

References

Hebrew Bible words and phrases {{Hebrew-Bible-stub