Ranges
(1.) Lev. 11:35. Probably a cooking furnace for two or more
pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps
a fire-place fitted to receive a pair of ovens.
(2.) 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 Chr.
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 R.V.) 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.