Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 6:18
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
18. And when they came down to him ] As the words stand, ‘they’ must refer to the Syrian troops, and to understand the sentence we must suppose that Elisha and his servant, the latter encouraged by the heavenly vision, had come forth from the city and been able to pass the gate. After this the Syrians followed them, and on their approach Elisha prayed that they might be smitten with blindness. Some have however thought that ‘to him’ is an error for ‘to them’, and have referred the verb to Elisha and his servant. Thus the sense would be: ‘When Elisha and his servant came down to the enemy, as they were emboldened to do, then Elisha prayed &c.’ But there is no such great difficulty in understanding the existing text, as to warrant us in accepting a conjecture which seems only supported by one, the Syriac, version. It was quite in the character of Elisha to go forth with his now courageous servant, and the Syrians at first would let them pass out so far that they might be surrounded directly by the waiting troops.
Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness ] What seems to have been sent upon the men was an illusion which prevented them from seeing correctly what was before them. Josephus explains it as a mist ( ) whereby they were prevented from recognising Elisha. The word, which is plural in form, occurs only here and in Gen 19:11. It denotes the seeing of something unreal instead of the true image. Thus these men could go with Elisha to Samaria, not knowing to what place he was leading them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They came down to him – The Syrians, who had been encamped on rising ground opposite the hill of Dothan, now descended and drew near to the city.
The blindness with which they were smitten was not real – blindness actual loss of sight – but a state of illusion in which a man sees things otherwise than as they are (compare 2Ki 6:20).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. Smite this people – with blindness] Confound their sight so that they may not know what they see, and so mistake one place for another.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When they came down to him; either in the city, into which they easily got admission, when they declared that the only end of their coming was to take Elisha; or in the field without the city, whither he went to meet them.
He smote them with blindness; not with a total blindness, that they could see nothing, for then they would not have followed him; but with a partial blindness, that they could not distinctly discern the man they sought; which might be by some alteration made by God in their brain, or in the air. See Poole “Gen 19:11“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. Smite this people, I pray thee,with blindnessnot a total and material blindness, for thenthey could not have followed him, but a mental hallucination (see Ge19:11) so that they did not perceive or recognize him to be theobject of their search.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when they came down to him,…. The Syrian army, from the hill on which they were first seen, who came down from thence to the bottom of the hill on which the city stood; and whither Elisha came out, in order both to meet them, and proceed on his journey to Samaria:
Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness; or “blindnesses” g; with great blindness, such as the men of Sodom were smitten with; the same word is here used as of them, Ge 19:11
and he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha; not in such manner that they could discern no object, for then they could not have followed Elisha; but their sight was so altered, that they knew not the objects they saw; they appeared quite otherwise to them than they were; they saw the city, but knew it not to be the same, and Elisha, but knew him not to be the man of God, though they might have some in the host that knew him personally.
g “in caecitatibus”, Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When the enemy came down to Elisha, he prayed to the Lord that He would smite them with blindness; and when this took place according to his word, he said to them, This is not the way and this is not the city; follow me, and I will lead you to the man whom ye are seeking; and led them to Samaria, which was about four hours’ distance from Dothan, where their eyes were opened at Elisha’s prayer, so that they saw where they had been led. cannot be understood as referring to Elisha and his servant, who went down to the Syrian army, as J. H. Mich., Budd., F. v. Meyer, and Thenius, who wants to alter into , suppose, but must refer to the Syrians, who went down to the prophet, as is evident from what followed. For the assumption that the Syrians had stationed themselves below and round the mountain on which Dothan stood, and therefore would have had to come up to Elisha, need not occasion an unnatural interpretation of the words. It is true that Dothan stands upon an isolated hill in the midst of the plain; but on the eastern side it is enclosed by a ranger of hills, which project into the plain (see V. de Velde, R. i. p. 273). The Syrians who had been sent against Elisha had posted themselves on this range of hills, and thence they came down towards the town of Dothan, which stood on the hill, whilst Elisha went out of the town to meet them. It is true that Elisha’s going out is not expressly mentioned, but in 2Ki 6:19 it is clearly presupposed. is mental blindness here, as in the similar case mentioned in Gen 19:11, that is to say, a state of blindness in which, though a man has eyes that can see, he does not see correctly. Elisha’s untruthful statement, “this is not the way,” etc., is to be judged in the same manner as every other ruse de guerre, by which the enemy is deceived.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(18) And when they came down to him.This would mean that the Syrians came down to Elisha. But the prophet was, to begin with, in the city, which lay on the top of the hill; and the heavenly host intervened between him and his enemies, so that the latter must have occupied the lower position. The reading of the Syriac and Josephus s, and they (i.e., Elisha and his servant) went down to themi.e., to the Syrian force; and this is apparently right. The sight of the heavenly host guarding his master had inspired the prophets follower with courage to face any danger in his masters company.
Elisha prayed.And Elisha; prayedmentally, as he approached his foes.
This people.Perhaps in the sense of multitude.
Blindness.Sanwrm: the term used in Gen. 19:11, and nowhere besides. It denotes not so much blindness as a dazing effect, accompanied by mental bewilderment and confusion. They saw, but knew not what they saw (Rashi). Ewald pronounces the passage in Genesis the model of the present one.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. When they came down to him When the Syrian host came down to Elisha to capture him.
Smote them with blindness The same Divine power which, in answer to prayer, opened the spiritual eyes of the young man, closed and blinded even the natural eyes of the enemies of Elisha. Jehovah blesses his servants with enlarged visions of his power and glory, but curses his enemies with blindness. Compare Gen 19:11; Act 13:11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 6:18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Ver. 18. And he smote them with blindness. ] Scotomate, non sed not with bodily blindness, but a dizziness and defect in their judgments, or a dazzling and deluding their senses, that seeing they saw, and yet perceived not. The like befell those sodomites in Gen 19:11 God who made the senses, can either hold or delude them, at his pleasure.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
blindness. Elisha’s fourteenth miracle. See note on 2Ki 2:15. One of nine instances of persons so afflicted. See note on Gen 19:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Smite this people: Confound their sight, so that they may not know what they see; and so mistake one place for another. The word sanverim, rendered blindness, occurs only here and in Gen 19:11 – see note. Deu 28:28, Job 5:14, Zec 12:4, Joh 9:39, Joh 12:40, Act 13:11, Rom 11:7
Reciprocal: 1Ki 13:4 – his hand 2Ki 3:23 – This is blood 2Ki 4:33 – prayed 2Ki 6:17 – open his eyes Job 38:15 – from Jer 36:26 – but Hos 9:8 – with Luk 24:16 – General Joh 8:59 – but
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 6:18. And when they came down to him Either in the city, into which they easily got admission, when they declared that the only end of their coming was to take Elisha; or rather, in the field, without the city, whither he went to meet them. Elisha prayed, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness Not of the eyes, or, at least, not with total blindness, for in that case they could not have seen to have followed him; but rather with blindness of the mind, or imagination, which was rendered stupid and confused, or with that dimness and confusion in their sight, which prevented their distinguishing one object from another; the city of Dothan, for instance, from the city of Samaria. We have a similar case Gen 19:11. Thus it happens to several men in their liquor, that though their eyes are open, and they can perceive the several objects which surround them, yet they cannot discern wherein they differ. And if we may suppose that the Syrian army was under the same , as the Greeks happily term such a degree of blindness or want of distinct vision, we need no more wonder that they readily accepted a guide who offered his service, than that a drunkard, after having lost his way, and found himself bewildered, should be thankful to any hand which should undertake to conduct him safe home Houbigant and Dodd.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:18 And when {i} they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
(i) Meaning the Syrians his enemies, who came down thinking themselves sure of him.