Original Word: אֲרוֹמִי
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: Arowmiy
Pronunciation: ah-roh-MEEM
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-o-mee')
KJV: Syrian
Word Origin: [a clerical error for H130 (אֱדוֹמִי - Edomite)]

1. an Edomite (as in the margin}

Syrian

A clerical error for 'Edomiy; an Edomite (as in the margin} -- Syrian.

see HEBREW 'Edomiy

Word Origin
scribal error for Adomi, q.v.

Biblical Occurrence

“ At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and he drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, where they live to this day.” (2 Kings 16:6)

The term אֲרוֹמִי identifies these newcomers to Elath as Arameans—people descended from Aram, son of Shem. Though the noun appears only here, it crystallizes a critical turning point in Judah’s history.

Historical Background: Aram, Judah, and the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis

• Around 735 BC Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel formed an anti-Assyrian coalition.
• King Ahaz of Judah refused to join, provoking their invasion (Isaiah 7).
• While Syria’s army pressed northward against Assyria, Rezin struck south, capturing the Red Sea port of Elath that Uzziah had earlier reclaimed for Judah (2 Chronicles 26:2).
• Losing Elath severed Judah’s maritime trade and signaled divine chastening upon Ahaz, who trusted in Assyria rather than in the LORD (2 Kings 16:7–9).

Geographical Significance: Elath

Elath (modern Eilat/Aqaba) controlled copper supplies from Timna and the caravan and sea lanes linking Arabia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Whoever held Elath controlled lucrative trade routes and customs revenue. For Judah, possession of this port during Uzziah’s godly reign had mirrored Solomon’s prosperity (1 Kings 9:26–28); its loss under Ahaz laid bare the spiritual and economic cost of apostasy.

Textual Considerations

Several Hebrew manuscripts read אֱדוֹמִי (“Edomites”) instead of אֲרוֹמִי. 2 Chronicles 28:17 plainly reports Edomite raids at the same time. The consonantal similarity between ’rmy and ’dmy may explain the variant. The Masoretic Text’s choice of “Arameans,” however, fits the narrative flow of 2 Kings 16, where Rezin’s Syrian forces are in view. Either way, Judah’s humiliating retreat is emphasized: Gentile powers occupy the covenant land’s southern gateway “to this day”—a phrase underscoring the lasting consequence of unbelief.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Accountability

– The loss of Elath fulfills warnings that disobedience would lead to foreign occupation (Deuteronomy 28:43–44).
2. God’s Sovereign Use of Nations

– Aram serves as an instrument of judgment, just as earlier Egypt and later Assyria and Babylon would.
3. The Folly of Fleshly Alliances

– Ahaz’s plea to Tiglath-Pileser III brought brief relief but long-term vassalage (2 Kings 16:7–18). Trusting human power without repentance always compounds bondage.
4. Hope in the Messianic Sign

– Isaiah confronted Ahaz during this crisis with the Immanuel promise (Isaiah 7:14). Judah’s king refused the sign, yet the LORD pledged one anyway, affirming that ultimate deliverance would arrive through the virgin-born Son rather than political maneuvering.

Ministry Applications

• Spiritual decline often surfaces first in the seemingly “secular” arenas of finance and security, as Judah’s empty treasury and exposed frontier testify.
• God may permit unbelieving peoples—modern “Arameans”—to occupy spheres once dominated by His people, prompting examination of heart loyalties.
• Leaders who compromise for short-term gain endanger generations; the chronicler’s “to this day” warns that some losses endure beyond a single reign.
• The Immanuel promise assures believers that divine presence, not geopolitical leverage, secures the future.

Summary

אֲרוֹמִי appears but once, yet in that solitary mention it signals a seismic shift—from God-given expansion under Uzziah to humiliating contraction under Ahaz. The Aramean occupation of Elath dramatizes the principle that covenant privilege carries responsibility, and that forsaking the LORD invites foreign domination. Even so, embedded in the same historical setting is the prophetic hope of Immanuel, reminding God’s people that the remedy for their deepest crises lies not in alliances or armaments but in the coming King who is “God with us.”

וַֽאֲדֹומִים֙ ואדומים vaadoMim wa’ăḏōwmîm wa·’ă·ḏō·w·mîmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts