Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
Made then like the dust by threshing. Threshing in the East is performed in the open air, upon a level plot of ground daubed over with a covering, to prevent as much as possible the earth, sand, or gravel from rising. A great quantity of them all, notwithstanding this precaution, must unavoidably be taken up with the grain; at the same time, the straw is shattered to pieces. Hence, it is a most significant figure, frequently employed by Orientals to describe a state of national suffering little short of extermination (Isaiah 21:10; Micah 4:12; Jeremiah 51:33). The figure originated in a barbarous war-custom, which Hazael literally followed (Amos 1:3-4: cf. Amos 1:2 Sam. 8:31; Judges 8:7).