Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 8:7
And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
7 15. Elisha visits Damascus. Benhadad, being sick, sends Hazael to enquire of Elisha. Benhadad is murdered by Hazael (Not in Chronicles)
7. And Elisha came to Damascus ] Probably here ‘Damascus’ is used not for the city, but for the district. For Hazael (verse 9) has a journey to make to meet the prophet, and is sent from the royal city by the sick king with his enquiry. We need not suppose that Elisha went to fulfil the command which had been given to Elijah (1Ki 19:15) to anoint Hazael king over Syria. For he does not anoint him, but merely says ‘The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria’. Elisha appears to have been in no peril when he went into Syria, for the sick king’s message is of the most peaceable kind, and the presents which Hazael brought with him are an indication of the honour in which the prophet was held. This may be accounted for by the cure of Naaman, and by the release of the Syrian soldiers whom the prophet had brought into Samaria (2Ki 6:22-23).
The man of God is come hither ] Benhadad had experienced in many ways the power of the God of Israel, and though Rimmon was the god of Damascus, yet, in common with other idolaters, the king thinks that it may be possible for him, through the prophet, to obtain help from the Israelites’ God. Josephus ( Ant. IX. 4. 6) represents Benhadad as having sickened from despondency after his late flight from Samaria, and because the God of Israel was hostile to him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The hour had come for carrying out the command given by God to Elijah (marginal reference e), and by him probably passed on to his successor. Elisha, careless of his own safety, quitted the land of Israel, and proceeded into the enemys country, thus putting into the power of the Syrian king that life which he had lately sought so eagerly 2Ki 6:13-19.
The man of God – The Damascenes had perhaps known Elisha by this title from the time of his curing Naaman. Or the phrase may be used as equivalent to prophet, which is the title commonly given to Elisha by the Syrians. See 2Ki 6:12. Compare 2Ki 5:13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ki 8:7-15
Elisha came to Damascus.
Striking characters
We have here–
I. A dying king.
1. This dying king was very anxious. Shall I recover of this disease? This was the question he wanted Elisha to answer. Not, you may be sure, in the negative. Knowing some of the wonders that Elisha had performed, he in all likelihood imagined he would exert his miraculous power on his behalf, and restore him to life. All men more or less fear death, kings perhaps more than others. If ungodly, they have more to lose and nothing to gain. Observe,
2. His anxiety prompted him to do strange things.
(1) It was strange for him to ask a favour from the man whose death he had ravenously sought. What a change is this! Dying hours reverse our judgments, revolutionise our feelings, bring the lofty down.
(2) It was strange for him to ask a favour of a man whose religion he hated. Ben-hadad was an idolater.
(3) It was strange for him to make costly presents to a poor lonely man. What is the wealth, the grandeur, the crown, the sceptre of the mightiest monarch to him when he feels himself dying? He will barter all away for a few short hours of life. We have here–
II. A Patriotic Prophet. And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him (Ben-hadad), Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die. There was no contradiction in this message. The first part was properly the answer, to Ben-hadads inquiry. The second part was intended for Hazael, who, like an artful and ambitious courtier, reported only as much of the prophets statement as suited his own views. We have here–
III. A self-ignorant courtier. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? The conduct of this man as here recorded suggests two general remarks.
1. The germs of evil may exist in the mind of a wicked man, of which he is utterly unconscious.
2. By the force of circumstances these germs become developed in all their enormity. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Elisha came to Damascus] That he might lead Gehazi to repentance; according to Jarchi and some others.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To Damascus; either to the city, or rather to the kingdom, of Damascus, by comparing 2Ki 8:9; as Samaria, which properly was the name of the city, is sometimes the name of the kingdom; of which See Poole “1Ki 13:32“. Hither he came by the special direction of the Spirit, and under Gods protection, upon the errand here following.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7, 8. Elisha came to DamascusHewas directed thither by the Spirit of God, in pursuance of themission formerly given to his master in Horeb (1Ki19:15), to anoint Hazael king of Syria. On the arrival of theprophet being known, Ben-hadad, who was sick, sent to inquire theissue of his disease, and, according to the practice of the heathensin consulting their soothsayers, ordered a liberal present inremuneration for the service.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Elisha came to Damascus,…. On what account, and when, is not certain, whether to convert Gehazi, as say the Jews d; or to confirm Naaman in the true religion he professed, for which he might be dismissed from his office, since another man was made general of the Syrian army; or on account of the famine; or rather it may be to anoint, or, however, to declare that Hazael would be king of Syria; see 1Ki 19:15,
and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; at the time he came thither, where his palace was, and now a Mahometan temple; a very extraordinary building, according to Benjamin the Jew e:
and it was told him, saying, the man of God is come hither; the famous prophet in Israel, Elisha, through whom Naaman his general had been cured of his leprosy, of whom he had heard so much.
d T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 47. 1. e Itinerar. p. 55.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Elisha Predicts to Hazael at Damascus the Possession of the Throne. – 2Ki 8:7. Elisha then came to Damascus at the instigation of the Spirit of God, to carry out the commission which Elijah had received at Horeb with regard to Hazael (1Ki 19:15). Benhadad king of Syria was sick at that time, and when Elisha’s arrival was announced to him, sent Hazael with a considerable present to the man of God, to inquire of Jehovah through him concerning his illness. The form of the name (here and 2Ki 8:15) is etymologically correct; but afterwards it is always written without . (“and that all kinds of good of Damascus”) follows with a more precise description of the minchah – “a burden of forty camels.” The present consisted of produce or wares of the rich commercial city of Damascus, and was no doubt very considerable; at the same time, it was not so large that forty camels were required to carry it. The affair must be judged according to the Oriental custom, of making a grand display with the sending of presents, and employing as many men or beasts of burden as possible to carry them, every one carrying only a single article (cf. Harmar, Beobb. ii. p. 29, iii. p. 43, and Rosenmller, A. u. N. Morgenl. iii. p. 17).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Hazael’s Barbarity Predicted. | B. C. 885. |
7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. 8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath showed me that he shall surely die. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. 15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
Here, I. We may enquire what brought Elisha to Damascus, the chief city of Syria. Was he sent to any but the lost sheep of the house of Israel? It seems he was. Perhaps he went to pay a visit to Naaman his convert, and to confirm him in his choice of the true religion, which was the more needful now because, it should seem, he was not out of his place (for Hazael is supposed to be captain of that host); either he resigned it or was turned out of it, because he would not bow, or not bow heartily, in the house of Rimmon. Some think he went to Damascus upon account of the famine, or rather he went thither in obedience to the orders God gave Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 15, “Go to Damascus to anoint Hazael, thou, or thy successor.”
II. We may observe that Ben-hadad, a great king, rich and mighty, lay sick. No honour, wealth, or power, will secure men from the common diseases and disasters of human life; palaces and thrones lie as open to the arrests of sickness and death as the meanest cottage.
III. We may wonder that the king of Syria, in his sickness, should make Elisha his oracle.
1. Notice was soon brought him that the man of God (for by that title he was well known in Syria since he cured Naaman) had come to Damascus, v. 7. “Never in better time,” says Ben-hadad. “Go, and enquire of the Lord by him.” In his health he bowed in the house of Rimmon, but now that he is sick he distrusts his idol, and sends to enquire of the God of Israel. Affliction brings those to God who in their prosperity had made light of him; sometimes sickness opens men’s eyes and rectifies their mistakes. This is the more observable, (1.) Because it was not long since a king of Israel had, in his sickness, sent to enquire of the god of Ekron (ch. i. 2), as if there had been no God in Israel. Note, God sometimes fetches to himself that honour from strangers which is denied him and alienated from him by his own professing people. (2.) Because it was not long since this Ben-hadad had sent a great force to treat Elisha as an enemy (ch. vi. 14), yet now he courts him as a prophet. Note, Among other instances of the change of men’s minds by sickness and affliction, this is one, that it often gives them other thoughts of God’s ministers, and teaches them to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they had hated and despised.
2. To put an honour upon the prophet, (1.) He sends to him, and does not send for him, as if, with the centurion, he thought himself not worthy that the man of God should come under his roof. (2.) He sends to him by Hazael, his prime-minister of state, and not by a common messenger. It is no disparagement to the greatest of men to attend the prophets of the Lord. Hazael must go and meet him at a place where he had appointed a meeting with his friends. (3.) He sends him a noble present, of every good thing of Damascus, as much as loaded forty camels (v. 9), testifying hereby his affection to the prophet, bidding him welcome to Damascus, and providing for his sustenance while he sojourned there. It is probable that Elisha accepted it (why should he not?), though he refused Naaman’s. (4.) He orders Hazael to call him his son Ben-hadad, conforming to the language of Israel, who called the prophets fathers. (5.) He puts an honour upon him as one acquainted with the secrets of heaven, when he enquires of him, Shall I recover? It is natural to us to desire to know things to come in time, while things to come in eternity are little thought of or enquired after.
IV. What passed between Hazael and Elisha is especially remarkable.
1. Elisha answered his enquiry concerning the king, that he might recover, the disease was not mortal, but that he should die another way (v. 10), not a natural but a violent death. There are many ways out of the world, and sometimes, while men think to avoid one, they fall by another.
2. He looked Hazael in the face with an unusual concern, till he made Hazael blush and himself weep, v. 11. The man of God could outface the man of war. It was not in Hazael’s countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God did, at this time, reveal it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes. The more foresight men have the more grief they are liable to.
3. When Hazael asked him why he wept he told him what a great deal of mischief he foresaw he would do to the Israel of God (v. 12), what desolations he would make of their strong-holds, and barbarous destruction of their men, women, and children. The sins of Israel provoked God to give them up into the hands of their cruel enemies, yet Elisha wept to think that ever Israelites should be thus abused; for, though he foretold, he did not desire the woeful day. See what havock war makes, what havock sin makes, and how the nature of man is changed by the fall, and stripped even of humanity itself.
4. Hazael was greatly surprised at this prediction (v. 13): What, says he, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? This great thing he looks upon to be, (1.) An act of great power, not to be done but by a crowned head. “It must be some mighty potentate that can think to prevail thus against Israel, and therefore not I.” Many are raised to that dominion which they never thought of and it often proves to their own hurt, Eccl. viii. 9. (2.) An act of great barbarity, which could not be done but by one lost to all honour and virtue: “Therefore,” says he, “it is what I shall never find in my heart to be guilty of: Is thy servant a dog, to rend, and tear, and devour? Unless I were a dog, I could not do it.” See here, [1.] What a bad opinion he had of the sin; he looked upon it to be great wickedness, fitter for a brute, for a beast of prey, to do than a man. Note, It is possible for a wicked man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, and yet afterwards to be well reconciled to it. [2.] What a good opinion he had of himself, how much better than he deserved; he thought it impossible he should do such barbarous things as the prophet foresaw. Note, We are apt to think ourselves sufficiently armed against those sins which yet we are afterwards overcome by, as Peter, Matt. xxvi. 35.
5. In answer to this Elisha only told him he should be king over Syria; then he would have power to do it, and then he would find in his heart to do it. Honours change men’s tempers and manners, and seldom for the better: “Thou knowest not what thou wilt do when thou comest to be king, but I tell thee this thou wilt do.” Those that are little and low in the world cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, and, if ever they arrive at them, they will find how deceitful their hearts were and how much worse than they suspected.
V. What mischief Hazael did to his master hereupon. If he took any occasion to do it from what Elisha had said the fault was in him, not in the word. 1. He basely cheated his master, and belied the prophet (v. 14): He told me thou shouldst certainly recover. This was abominably false; he told him he should die (v. 10), but he unfairly and unfaithfully concealed that, either because he was loth to put the king out of humour with bad news or because hereby he might the more effectually carry on that bloody design which he conceived when he was told he should be his successor. The devil ruins men by telling them they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security, than which nothing is more fatal. This was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of this warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. 2. He barbarously murdered his master, and so made good the prophet’s word, v. 15. He dipped a thick cloth in cold water, and spread it upon his face, under pretence of cooling and refreshing him, but so that it stopped his breath, and stifled him presently, he being weak (and not able to help himself) or perhaps asleep: such a bubble is the life of the greatest of men, and so much exposed are princes to violence. Hazael, who was Ben-hadad’s confidant, was his murderer, and some think, was not suspected, nor did the truth ever come out but by the pen of this inspired historian. We found this haughty monarch (1 Kings xx.) the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, but he goes down slain to the pit with his iniquity upon his bones, Ezek. xxxii. 27.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Benhadad’s End – 8:7-15
This incident finds Elisha in the Syrian capital of Damascus, It appears that he was there to carry out the command to Elijah from the Lord when he ran away from Jezebel to Mount Horeb (1Ki 19:15). From the account there it seems the Lord told Elijah to anoint Hazael on his return from Horeb. There is no indication in the Scriptures that he did this, but that he proceeded at once to Abel-meholah and anointed Elisha to succeed him. From the episode related here, then, it seems the task of anointing Hazael was left to Elisha, contrary to the Lord’s command to Elijah.
Though it is not said that Elisha anointed Hazael, he does announce to him that the Lord has revealed that Hazael shall soon be king of Syria. It is probable that this is his purpose for being in the Syrian city. He found Ben-hadad, the old king, on his sick bed. Benhadad had likely grown old. He had fought his wars with Ahab and his sons for many years (1Kings chapters 20,22; I1Kings chapters 5,6,7). He, hearing that the famous man of God from Israel had come to his city, sent his counselor, Hazael, with a very rich present for the prophet, consisting of all forty camels could carry. He wished to know whether he would recover from his illness:
Ben-hadad was not sick with a terminal illness, and Elisha told Hazael that the king had the physical stamina to recover, but that the Lord had shown him Ben-hadad would surely die. He then glowered at Hazael, until the man was embarrassed, and Elisha began to weep. When Hazael inquired why the prophet wept Elisha said it was because of all the evil that Hazael would wreak on the people of Israel. He would destroy their strong cities with fire, slay their young men by the sword, murder the little children, and rip open the pregnant women.
Hazael exclaimed, “is thy servant a dog, to do this great thing?” The English version does not seem to convey to the mind exactly what Hazael meant by these words. He did consider. this Elisha told him mighty deeds, but he was not calling himself a dog for doing them. His meaning was that according to his present status he was as lowly as a dog, and that these things the prophet predicted were of too grand a scale for him. So Elisha frankly told him the Lord had shown him Hazael would be king of Syria.
On his return to Ben-hadad Hazael gave only a partial report of Elisha’s message. He told the king the prophet said Ben-hadad should surely recover. Then on the next day Hazael proceeded to bring to pass Elisha’s prediction. He soaked a thick cloth in water and put it over the face of the weak king and smothered him to death. Soon thereafter Hazael was made king of Syria, probably without the people knowing he had assassinated the old king.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
2Ki. 8:7. And Elisha came to DamascusElijah, his master, had been divinely commissioned to this (1Ki. 19:15), and now Elisha. by the instigation of the Spirit (Thenius), sets out to the task he inherited to perform. Benhadad, king of Syria, was sickHe. hearing of Elish is arrival, sent to enquire if he should recover; his messenger bearing propitiatory gifts for the prophet.
2Ki. 8:9. Took a present with him, even of, &c.lit., present in his hand, and of every good thing of Damascus. Forty camels burdenA camels burden is some six hundred pounds; but it was customary to give only a small burden to each, in order that the presentation, being borne by many, might have a more imposing effect, and express greater respect.
2Ki. 8:10. Go, say onto him, thou mayst certainly recoverA sentence which, like Delphic oracles, has two possible meanings, each the contradiction of the other. The words are, . The second word, written , is in sound the same as . The keri retains the form given in our text, , to him, Say to him, thou wilt live. The kethibh adopts the form , notSay, thou wilt not live. The sentence spoken would convey either meaning, and each form has equal authority. Doubtless the eager king would seize the hopeful meaning of the words, while Hazael would reserve in his own thoughts the doom which the words held. It should, however, be noted that Hazael reports the prophets words without uttering either the or .
2Ki. 8:11. He settled his countenance steadfastlyElishas fixed gaze, followed by his weeping, must have convinced Hazael that his guilty purpose to usurp the throne of Benhadad was known to him.
2Ki. 8:13. But what, is thy servant a dog, &c.But surely dogs are less capable of guilty craft and horrid atrocities than base men are! The more brutal Hazael should not have maligned the nobler brute, by suggesting that any creature except man was capable of such villany. , dog, is an Eastern term for a servile and despicable man (see 1Sa. 17:43, &c.)
2Ki. 8:15. Spread it over his faceThe bed coverlet, a quilt of thick cotton or wool. This, steeped in water, would effectually suffocate. It is, however, suggested that in warm countries guaze nets wetted, to keep off flies and gnats, or in cases of fever, are spread over a sleepers face. Bet it is superfluous to evade Hazaels murderous design, for a wetted guaze would not prevent respiration. The coverlet is properly described as a thick cloth, (comp. Jdg. 4:18), a mantle, and it killed the kingwhich Hazael desired.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki. 8:7-15
THE LUST OF AMBITION
I. That the lust of ambition makes man keenly alive to every opportunity of accomplishing its aims. Benhadad, the king of Syria, was sick. The dream of Hazael, cherished, perhaps, for years, was coming nearer to its realization. Death may come any hour; then the sceptre, the crown, boundless pomp and power are his. With what sinister eagerness would he watch every changing phase of the sick kings affliction! with what facility would his busy brain lay down the plans of future enterprises! A crown has a dangerous fascination for some minds. Gibbon describes, in his vivid and stately style, the heroic manner in which Septimus Severus became emperor of Rome, an ambition he had cherished for years. He waited his opportunity, his keen glance took in the bearing of every revolutionary change in the imperial city, and when the crowning disgrace was reached of offering the empire by auction to the highest bidder, he saw the time for action was come. Though opposed by two formidable rivals, his promptness and vigour conquered all difficulties. He ascended the imperial throne, which he found, as others have done before and since, was more difficult to sustain than to acquire. The ambitious man lives an anxious, restless life: he is ready to seize on every favouring circumstance.
II. That the lust of ambition may be cherished under the guise of devotion to its victim. Hazael readily complies with the wish of the sick monarch, and, with all the oriental display of profuse generosity, and the oriental mingling of pomp and humility, he enquires of the man of God as to the recovery of his master. It would seem as though none was more concerned than he, and yet the while plotting the most effectual way of removing the only obstacle to his aspiring designs. An unholy ambition generates falseness and unreality: the mans outer life gives the lie to his true character. The great dramatist has depicted this in the double-faced, hesitating conduct of the great regicideMacbeth
To beguile the time,
Look like the time: bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it.
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
Fake face must hide what the false heart doth know.
III. That the lust of ambition blinds man as to the atrocities it may urge him to commit. When Elisha, looking with prophetic insight in the mirror of the future, detailed to this man the horrible crimes he foresaw he would commit, Hazael stood aghast at the bare possibility of sinking down into such a monster of iniquity; and yet, doubtless, all these cruelties were perpetrated in the wars which this usurper carried on in Israel. Hazael reigned more than forty years, and during that time greatly harassed and oppressed the Israelites (see 2Ki. 8:28-29; 2Ki. 10:32-33; 2Ki. 12:17-18; 2Ki. 13:3-7; 2Ki. 13:22; 2Ch. 24:23-24). A man who is under the spell of an unholy ambition is hurried on to sins and excesses of which he little dreamed, and from which in earlier days his better nature stoutly recoiled. He is spurred on by the
Vaulting ambition which oerleaps itself.
IV. That the lust of ambition is unscrupulous as to the methods by which it attains its ends.
1. It will employ falsehood (2Ki. 8:14). Hazael assures the king that Elisha prophesied his recoverythe exact opposite of what the prophet had said. He purposely deceived Benhadad, intending to put him off his guard. But he who meditated a darker crime, and in whose heart Elishas words had roused a boundless ambition, was not too good to lie. Truth or falsehood is of small concern to one who grasps at power. The ambition must be sated, though truth is trampled on at every advancing step.
2. It shrinks not from murder (2Ki. 8:15). The man who shrank with indignant horror at the simple enumeration of the outrages he might commit, heartlessly smothered his royal master on the following daya method of assassination that would leave no marks of violence on the dead body, and give colour to the suspicion of suicide rather than murder. There was but one obstacle now between Hazael and his long-coveted prizea royal lifeand that is sacrificed without compunction. O, infatuate, short-sighted mortal! The sceptre rashly seized with the red hand of the murderer will change into a cross of trial, the crown into one of thorns, the throne into a bed of torture!
LESSONS:
1. Ambition dissociated from sound moral principle is full of peril.
2. There is no act of wickedness of which unholy ambition is incapable.
3. The most commendable ambition is to get and do the most good.
THE INFLUENCE OF CIRCUMSTANCFS UPON HUMAN CHARACTER (2Ki. 8:13)
Hazael came to the prophet to inquire whether his master would recover from his sickness. The answer is ambiguous. So far as the disease itself was concerned, he might recover. Yet his days were numbered; and the purpose to kill him was already being formed in the heart of his hitherto faithful servant. The prophet saw before him not only the kings enemy, but also the man who would one day inflict dire evils upon Israel. The thought of the horrors about to come to his people made the man of God weep. Hazael asks the cause of his sorrow. Elisha tells him frankly, and in the plainest terms, what was in the not very distant future. Hazael starts back with horror, when he sees in this prophetic mirror the image of his own baseness. Is thy servant a dog? The prophet seems to evade the question; and yet, in his reply, we have the full and complete explanation, if not to Hazael, at least to us, of all that occurred. The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. Is this man, then, a base and guilty hypocrite? Is he a man who hides under the cloak of pretended affection for his master, and reverence for humanity, his fiendish designs? How are we to account for the fact that he actually did all that Elisha foretold, if he was not a hypocrite? If we take humanity as it is, not as it has been described in poetry, and sometimes in what was intended to be prose, we shall have no difficulty in accepting both statementsthat of Elisha regarding the atrocities of Hazael, and that of Hazael regarding his horror and amazement at the very mention of the crimes. Hazael simply failed to take into account the influence of circumstances upon human character.
I. There is a doctrine of circumstances utterly at variance, not only with the teachings of Scripture, but also with the experience and deepest convictions of mankinda doctrine which asserts, or appears to assert, that circumstances make men, and that the only difference between the noblest saint and the basest criminal is a difference simply in the structure of the brain, and the character of the surroundings. Some men teach this, but no man believes it, or acts upon it, either in his feelings respecting his own deeds, or his judgments of the moral character of the actions of his friend. But we must, while rejecting a doctrine so monstrous, yet remember that, in a very real sense, circumstances have a power over character and life. Hazaels error is one of the commonest among ourselves. How many promises are made in early life that cannot afterwards be kept without doing moral wrong to ourselves and others! When the public mind is filled with horrors of some tragedy, or when men see one who has been universally trusted and respected, convicted of some base crime, the tendency is to deny to the criminal the common feelings of humanity, and to attribute to a momentary impulse of an insane mind, what has been the outcome of long-formed habits of thought and settled purposes. Life grows not by sudden freaks of this sort; but, like the plant or tree, derives its nourishment from its surroundings, and, year by year, though it may be imperceptible, assimilates these to itself. In order to form its present and its future, God ever requires its past, which men may forget or ignore. We may here learn a lesson from, and see some analogy in, the teachings of geology regarding the formation of the solid earth on which we tread. Go to the rock, and learn from its formation that once it was loose sand-dust, blown about by every wind! Behold in that rock, now fossilised, the print of the tiny foot, the ripple mark left by the wave on the falling leaf, even the march of the rain-drop as it fell there ages before. Now all is solid, it is true; but once it was far otherwise. So do we find character and life daily forming itself, and being formed, by the slow action of outward circumstances. They are to the mind as food is to the physical frame. The babe grows under the influence of nourishing food, pure air, and healthy exercise. So does our mental and moral nature grow up to a large extent by means of what is supplied in the surroundings.
II. Circumstances bring men into new temptations never felt before. Hazael king of Syria, or even with the throne within his reach, would be a very different person from Hazael the honoured servant of his master. The very thought passing through his mind, the very possibility of attaining such a position, would give a shock to the moral nature of a man who had been wont to regulate his life by expediency. Circumstances not only suggest new temptations, but also give an intensity to those already felt. As we pass from youth to manhood and womanhood, we enter into a new world, peopled with inhabitants whom we may have seen before, but only as trees walking, not in distinct and definite outline. Now they become actual powers in life. They speak to us in a language we can understand, and inspire us with new ideas. So when we enter into new relationships in life we extend the area of our pleasures, it may be, but we also make new desires and wants possible, and expose our moral nature to new dangers. It is a mere commonplace to say that city life, to those who have been brought up in the quiet of the country, will awaken new cravings. A few years amid these surroundings will be sufficient to change the old ways of thought and habits of life. It is not so much that the promises before made, and the views of life entertained, betokened any unreality or hypocrisy, but that they were the outcome of ignorance and inexperience of life. From this point of view, and in their bearing on this subject, nothing can be more instructive than the examples recorded for our guidance in the Holy Scriptures, profitable indeed for correction and discipline in righteousness. Had Cain been told that one day he would lift up his hand against Abel his brother, he would, and not without feeling, have said, Am I a dog? Josephs brethren could hardly have sold their brother into slavery had they not first fitted themselves for this by envy, malice, and hatred. Nor did Potiphars wife persecute Joseph altogether from pure hatred, but because her conduct made this necessary, in order that she might appear righteous in the eyes of his master. Suppose we apply the same principles to the crimes associated with Christs death. Pilate was not a dog, yet he did great things. He simply gave way to popular clamour, in order to gain popular favour (a vice by no means confined to Roman governers), and out of this weakness, or time-serving policy, came all his guilt and crime. If we judge the traitor Judas by the same standard, we shall, perhaps, stand more in awe of that which leads men to awful crimes. His terrible end shows that he did not realise where his avarice and his greed were leading him. Step by step, instead of resisting the tempter, he yielded to circumstances, and at last found himself completely under the powers of darkness. And it was night, says the Evangelist.
III. If we could, in one sentence, point the moral lesson of the history of crime in all ages, and in all countries, it would be this for us all: Is thy servant a dog? No, thy servant is no dog. He is a manhas in him two natures struggling for the mastery. He is not without his good impulses. Perhaps he often resolves to give himself up to their sway, but he yields too readily to the passions that war against the soul; he gives way to the circumstances that surround him, and that appeal to him. Visit our great convict prisons. Who are their immates? No doubt many of the so-called criminal classes are men and women who come from the lowest ranks of the community. Yes, but they are not all such; yea, these very names may blind us to the origin, progress, and end of wicked deeds. The criminal classes are what they are because of the power or circumstances over human nature; because man is also flesh, and when once he gives way to the baser passions, tends ever to sink lower and lower in the scale of being, to hand down his very vices to his children. But you will find many in these crowds to whom all lifes pleasures are now denied, who have belonged to the higher classes of society. They yielded to the lie, they gave way to passion, they yielded themselves up to the pleasures of sin. Now they stand aghast at the position in which they have placed themselves, and the depth to which they have fallen. Had you told them of this terrible fall years before, they would have been amazed and incredulous. Therefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.
IV. My text seems to suggest that much of what passes for virtue amongst us may simply be vice not manifested by circumstances. How much do women who are sometimes boastful owe to the fact that the world is harder in its judgments on their sins, than in the case of the other sex! How much to the fact they are more protected by circumstances! The rich man knows nothing of the temptations of the man hard pressed by circumstances, and hence his hard and unjust censures. The poor man, protected by his very poverty, knows not the temptation of those nursed in the lap of wealth; hence, when he hears of the sins of the other, he flatters himself on his superiority. He owes it not to his moral heroism, but to his surroundings. We have spoken much of the power of circumstances. Let not man think he is the creature of his surroundings. By Gods grace he may rise above them, and triumph over them, making his very passions minister to his success, and making his enemies his benefactors. There is for man, frail, weak, temptable as he is, and surrounded by everything that can minister to his weakness, one, and only one safe path. It is the way of holiness. It is the path of humility and obedience to the Divine word. These examples are given us as beacon lights to warn of danger, and to point to the one and only way of safety. He only is perfectly safe who commits his way to the Lord, who yields himself to the guidance of the word, who is conscious of weakness, and who, ceasing from man, looks above him to the strong Son of God, who can succour him when tempted. He only is safe who has been delivered from himself, and who is being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.C. W. P.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki. 8:7-15. Hazael discovered.
1. Unconscious wickedness Hazael had a heart that was capable of planning and executing great wickedness, yet knew it not. Would not believe it when told. If we could have the wickedness of our hearts disclosed to us, how appalled we should be. We judge ourselves by the past. That is bad enough But we think we shall and can do nothing worse than that. We forget that the things of the past furnish only a hint of the direction of the future, and may be excelled in the future. More evil in each of us, even the best, than we suppose. We should fear ourselves, distrust ourselves, and only trust God. What might we do under severe temptation. No safeguard against sin but in the help of God.
2. Anxious enquiry. Benhadad a wicked and idolatrous king. Very ill and full of anxious concern. Has no one to enquire of but the prophet Elisha, whose God he denied. In life many deride those ministers of religion whom they send for in sickness, and disobey that God whose pardon they need in sickness as the only source of comfort. If we love and serve God, we shall not be anxious to know whether we shall live or die.
3. The prediction accomplished. Elisha looked in Hazaels face and read his character and history there. Wept at that sad sight. Hazael was indignant, yet did the crime predicted of him. Had he thoroughly believed it to be possible, and been right-hearted, how he would have prayed. Let us believe the possibility of future sin, and pray earnestly for delivering grace. If we stand, let us take heed est we fall. Many strong men have fallen; let us not be too self-reliant. Huzael might recall the prophets words when too late. So may we. Let us seek Divine grace betimes. LEARN:
1. To trust in the Lord at all times.
2. To put no confidence in the flesh.
3. Not to judge of the future by our present feelings.
4. Seek Divine forgiveness of the past, and Divine guidance for the future.Class and Desk.
2Ki. 8:7-10. The power of a holy character.
1. Is recognised everywhere, even by the enemies of God: The man of God is come hither (2Ki. 8:7).
2. Inspires the hope of succour in affliction: Enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? (2Ki. 8:8).
3. Commands the deference of the rich and powerful (2Ki. 8:9).
4. Gives the deepest significance to words spoken at a critical moment (2Ki. 8:10).
The subduing power of suffering.
1. Bears down, the strongest and proudest warrior
2. Convinces the idolater of the helplessness and vanity of his own deities.
3. Renders the sufferer ready and eager to receive help from any quarter. Benhadad humbly seeks assistance from the man whose life he had threatened (2Ki. 6:13). In the days of his health and prosperity he had not heeded the lesson of Naamans cure, but in the hour of sickness he consults the same wonderful physician.
2Ki. 8:7-8. Benhadad upon the sick bed.
1. The rebellious, haughty and mighty king, the arch-enemy of Israel, who had never troubled himself about the living God, lies in wretchedness; he has lost courage, and now he seeks the prophet, whom he once wished to capture, just as a servant seeks his master. The Lord can with his hammer, which breaketh in pieces even the flinty rock, also make tender the hearts of men. Those who are the most self-willed in prosperity are often the most despairing in misfortune. Not until the end approaches do they seek God; but He cannot help in death those who have never thought of Him.
2. He does not send to ask the prophet, What shall I, a poor sinner, do that I may find grace and be saved? but only whether he shall recover his health. The children of this world are only anxious for bodily welfare; about eternal welfare they are indifferent. It should be our first care in severe illness to set our house in order and to surrender ourselves to the will of God. The time and the hour of death are concealed from men, and it is vain to enquire about them.
2Ki. 8:7. The man of God is come! That was the cry in the heathen city of Damascus, and the news penetrated even to the king, who rejoiced to hear it. This did not occur to Elisha in any city of Israel. Blessed is the city and the country where there is rejoicing that a Man of God is come!Lange.
Whether for the idolatries, or for the famine of Israel, the prophet is gone into Syria, no doubt Naaman welcomed him thither, and now would force upon him thanks for his cure, which the man of God would not receive at home. How famous is he now grown who was taken from the team! His name is not confined to his own nation; foreign countries take notice of it, and kings are glad to listen to him, and woo him with presents. The king of Syria, whose counsels he had detected, rejoiced to hear of his presence; and now, as having forgotten, he had sent a whole host to beseige the prophet in Dothan, sends an honourable messenger to him, laden with the burden of forty camels.Bp. Hall.
2Ki. 8:9. What will not princes part with for their life and health? Wherefore should I die, being so rich? said Cardinal Beauford, Chancellor of England in the reign of Henry VI. If the whole realm would save my life, I am able either by policy to get it, or by riches to buy it. Fie! will not death be hired? Will money do nothing?
2Ki. 8:11-13. The possibilities of human character detected and exposed. I. That some men are especially gifted in reading the tendencies of human character. Elisha had supernatural discernment. He saw in the eyes of Hazael, as in a mirror, the reflection of his true character, and had the courage to tell him of it. Much of the real man is imaged in the face, though it is possible to cherish the foulest villany under a misleading exterior. II. That the vision of prospective wickedness fill a tender heart with profound grief. Elisha beheld, as in a panorama, the enormities Hazael would perpetrate, and the prophet wept not only because of the obduracy and cruelty of character he foresaw in Hazael, but also because of the sufferings he saw coming on his own nation on account of their sins. How much grief is spared to some parents that they cannot see the crimes their children afterwards commit! They have grief enough when they dis over the undoubted facts, without the torture of anticipation. III. That man indignantly spurns the imputation of great crimes of which he is unconscious. What is thy servanta dogthat he should do this great thing? The career of Hazael illustrates a humiliating truth, that, though unconscious of it, there is in human nature the possibility of the greatest crimes.
2Ki. 8:11-12. He who has a good conscience is never disturbed or embarrassed if anyone looks him directly in the eye; but a bad conscience cannot endure an open, firm look, and trembles with terror at every rustling leaf. Elisha weeps. These were not tears of sentiment, but of the deepest pain, worthy of a man of God, who knows of no greater evil than the apostacy of his people from the living God, the determined contempt for the Divine Word, and the rejection of the Divine Grace. Where are the men who nowadays weep such tears? They were also tears of the most faithful love, which is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, vaunteth not itself, and is not puffed up. So our Lord wept once over Jerusalem (Luk. 19:41), and Paul over Israel (Rom. 9:1-3).Lange.
2Ki. 8:11. Heart reading. We believe the man lives not, and never did live, who could stand such inspection without quailing before it. Is there one who can affirm that he could stand with unblanched cheek before the man whom he believed to be viewing his naked soul, divested of all the purple and fine linen which cover its littlenessits foulnessits deformitiesits soreness from the outer world? Is there one who could endure, without confusion of facewithout a quivering framethe keen dissection of his character, his conduct, his spirit, by even the most friendly hand in the world? Would he be content that any human eye should trace the tortuous meanderings of feeling in regard to any one matter in which he has ever been engagedthe unholy thoughtthe ungenerous imputationthe low suspicionthe doubtthe dislikethe covetousnessthe hatethe contentionthe lust of the fleshthe lust of the eyethe pride of lifethat more or less enter into, and defile with, the prints of villanous hoofs the fairest garden of life? In this we show how much more fear we have of man than of God. To us it is of infinitely less concernment, both for this world and the world to come, what man thinks of us, than what God thinkswhat man knows than what God knows. Yet, while we shrink with such instinctive dread from the too near survey of fellow-sinners, we manage to get on very quietly, with small trouble of mind, in the perfect knowledge that One who cannot be mistaken has a sleepless eye fixed with unceasing vigilance upon our hearts. This keen susceptibility to the inspection and good opinion of man, and this comparative indifference to the constant survey of God, is a familiar thing, and strikes us little because it is familiar; but it is nevertheless one of the strangest anomalies of our nature, and is beheld with astonishment and grief by the angels of God. In their view it is an inversion of the whole order of life and being. To them God is allHis inspection is all; and that different state of things which gives more practical importance to the survey of a sinful fellow-creature like ourselves, must present a greater mystery than any of those deep problems in material or spiritual nature which men have vainly laboured for a thousand years to solve. To us it is plainer. Evil is, alas! more intelligible to man than to angels; and the good and the true is more intelligible to them than to us. It is sin which has cast a veil between our souls and Goda veil transparent to Him, but opaque to us. He sees us as clearly in our deformity as He did in our beauty; but we have ceased to see Him as He is. We do not realise the unseen. We live by sight, and not by faith. How different would be our conversation and our walk if we lived and moved in the ever-present consciousness that the Unseen Eye was upon us, and that the opinion of us hereafter to be pronounced in the presence of the assembled universe is a matter of inconceivably more importance to us than all that the world can think or say. Let us believe that to walk and act from day to day with this as a vital consciousness about uswithout any supreme anxiety but to walk so as to please Godis a most pleasant lifeis the very antepast of Heaven. There is no bondage in it. It is perfect freedom; and is happiness as complete as this world allows.Kitto.
2Ki. 8:13. Wicked men are carried into those heights of impiety which they could not in their good mood have possibly believed. Nature is subject to favourable opinions of herself, and will rather mistrust a prophet of God than her own good disposition. How many, from honest beginnings, have risen to incredible licentiousness, whose lives are now such that it were as hard for a man to believe they had ever been good, as to have pursuaded them once they should prove so desperately ill!Bp. Hall.
Subserviency before men is always joined with falseness and hypocrisy. Therefore, trust no one who is more than humble and modest. Hazael called himself a dog, while he plotted in his heart to become king of a great people. It is the way with all hypocrites that they bend and cringe, humble themselves and conceal their tricks, until they perceive their opportunity and have found the key of the situation. There is scarcely anything more discordant and disgusting than the dialect of self-abasement when it bears upon its face the stamp of affectation and falsehood.
2Ki. 8:11; 2Ki. 8:15. The regicide.
1. Does not scruple to tell a lie.
2. Seeks to commit his great crime in such a way as to create least suspicion.
3. Is spuired on by an ungovernable ambition.
4. Nevers reaps the advantage for which he has sacrificed everything.
It is the curse which rests upon him who has sold himself to sin, that all which ought to awaken his conscience and terrify and shock him out of his security, only makes him more obstinate, and pushes him on to carry out his evil designs.
2Ki. 8:15. Buchanan tells of Natholicus, the thirty-first king of the Scots, that, having usurped the crown, he sent a trusty friend to a famous witch, to know what success he should have in his kingdom, and how long he should live. The witch answered that he should shortly be murdered, not by an enemy, but by his friend. The messenger instantly enquired, by what friend? By thyself, said the witch. The messenger at first abhorred the thought of any such villany; but afterwards, conceiving that it was not safe to reveal the witchs answer, and yet that it could not be concealed, he resolved rather to kill the king to the content of many, than to hazard the loss of his own head. Thereupon, at his return, being in secret with the king to declare to him the witchs answer, he suddenly slew him.Trapp.
At heart proud, haughty, and imperious, Hazael affects humility and submissiveness. Towards his master, who had entrusted him with the most important commission, he is false and treacherous. He shrinks from no means to attain his object. He lies and deceives, but, at the same time, he is cunning and crafty, and knows how to conceal his traitorous purposes. When, alarmed and exposed by the words of the prophet, he can no longer keep them secret, he marches on to the crime; although he seeks to execute it in such a way that he may not appear to be guilty. With all this he combines energy, courage, cruelty, and a blind hatred against Israel, as the sequel shows. On account of these qualities he is well fitted to be, in the hand of God, a rod of anger, and a staff of indignation. The Lord makes the vessels of wrath serviceable for the purposes of His government; and here we have again, as often in the history of redemption, an example of wickedness punished by wickedness, and of godless men made, without their will or knowledge, instruments of holiness and justice.Lange.
O! Hazael; thou shalt not thus easily stop the mouth of thine own conscience. That shall call thee traitor, even in thy chair of state, and shall check all thy royal triumphs with, Thou hast founded thy throne in blood! I am deceived if this wet cloth shall not wipe thy lips in thy jolliest feasts, and make thy best morsels unsavoury. Sovereignty is painful upon the fairest terms; but upon treachery and murder, tormenting. Woeful is the case of that man whose public cares are aggravated with private guiltiness; and happy is he that can enjoy a little with the peace of an honest heart.Bishop Hall.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
D. PREDICTION CONCERNING THE CAREER OF HAZAEL 8:715
TRANSLATION
(7) Now Elisha went to Damascus when Benhadad the king of Aram was sick. And it was told him, saying, The man of God has come here. (8) And the king said unto Hazael, Take in your hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, that you may inquire of the LORD from him, saying, Shall I recover from this disease? (9) And Hazael went to meet him, and took a present in his hand, even every good thing of Damascus, forty camel burdens, and he came and stood before him, and said, Your son Benhadad, the king of Aram, has sent me unto you, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness? (10) And Elisha said unto him, Go, say to him,[548] You shall surely recover; but the LORD has shown me that he will surely die. (11) And he stood before him, and settled his countenance, and set it until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. (12) And Hazael said, Why is my lord weeping? And he said, Because I know the evil which you will do to the children of Israel. Their fortresses you will set afire, and their young men you will slay with the sword, and their little ones you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip open. (13) And Hazael said, But what is your servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha said, The LORD has shown me you as king over Aram. (14) So he went from Elisha, and came unto his master, and he said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And he said, He said to me that you will surely recover. (15) And it came to pass on the next day that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael ruled instead of him.
[548] The existing Hebrew text cannot be translated and the slight emendation of to (not) to lo (to him) is accepted by almost all authorities.
COMMENTS
The reasons for Elishas visit to Damascus are not given. Some have attempted to link this visit to the commission given many years earlier to Elijah that he was to anoint Hazael. Others speculate that Jezebel was stirring up trouble for the prophet, and so he determined to leave the country temporarily. Still another possibility is that Elisha was spending part of the time of the national famine outside the land even as his predecessor had once done.[549] Whatever his reasons for going to Damascus, the move was most bold. Not too long previous to this visit, the king of Damascus had made a determined effort to arrest Elisha and punish him for revealing Aramean military plans to Jehoram (cf. 2Ki. 6:13-19). Probably the Lord directed Elisha to make this trip, and the prophet, putting his trust in the Lord, carried out the command.
[549] Gray, (OTL, p. 529) thinks Benhadad sent for Elisha. If this were the case, one would think that Elisha would have been taken directly into the presence of the king.
It so happened that the aged Benhadad was quite ill at the time Elisha visited the city. Since the prophet made no effort to conceal his presence, his coming was soon reported to the king (2Ki. 8:7). Benhadad, knowing of the reputation of this man of God, immediately dispatched his trusted servant Hazael with presents for the prophet. He was instructed to make inquiry of Yahweh through the prophet concerning the prognosis for the king (2Ki. 8:8). The miracles of Elisha had convinced even these idolaters that Yahweh was a great and powerful God. Hazael carried out the instructions of his king, taking with him the choice goods of Damascus carried by forty camels. Through his messenger, Benhadad referred to himself as your son thus indicating the respect he felt toward the prophet (2Ki. 8:9).
Elisha instructed Hazael to tell his master that he would surely recover from that illness. However God had revealed to Elisha that the king would die, not of his illness, but of another cause (2Ki. 8:10). After rendering this answer to Hazael, the prophet fixed a hard stare upon his visitor until Hazael became uncomfortable and ashamed. Hazael had already formed a plan to eliminate his master and the stare of the prophet made him realize that his plans were known.
As the prophet mentally observed what lay in store for his people at the hand of Hazael, he began to weep (2Ki. 8:11). Hazael inquired as to the reason for this unexpected outburst, and in so doing addressed the prophet with the respectful my lord. Elisha explained his emotional outburst by describing the brutal warfare which Hazael would launch against Israelthe burning of cities, slaughter of youth, dashing to pieces of little children, and ripping open of pregnant women (2Ki. 8:12). Hazael shrugged off the implications of this prediction by asking how he, a lowly servanta contemptible dogwould ever be able to launch war against Israel and do the great things Elisha predicted of him. Elisha responded that Hazael would not continue in his lowly position, for the Lord had revealed that he would one day be king of Aram (2Ki. 8:13).
Hazael returned to Benhadad and reported only the first half of Elishas answer to the king. He suppressed the part of the answer that announced that Benhadad would die, but not of the illness (2Ki. 8:14). On the very next day, Hazael made his move against the king. He took a thick piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and held it over the ailing kings face until Benhadad died of suffocation.[550] Hazael then usurped the throne[551] (2Ki. 8:15).
[550] A few commentators have proposed that Benhadad committed suicide. But Hazael is the natural subject of the verbs in 2Ki. 8:15. Furthermore, 2Ki. 8:11 would be unintelligible if Hazael entertained no murderous intentions.
[551] Hazaels usurpation is noted in Assyrian inscriptions, which refer to him as the son of nobody, the regular designation of a usurper.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(7) And Elisha came to Damascus.In the fragmentary condition of the narrative, why he came is not clear. Rashi suggests that it was to fetch back Gehazi, who had fled to the Syrians (!), an idea based upon 1Ki. 2:39, seq. Keil and others think the prophet went with the intention of anointing Hazael, in accordance with a supposed charge of Elijahs. (Comp. 1Ki. 19:15, where Elijah himself is bidden to anoint Hazael). Ewald believes that Elisha retreated to Damascene territory, in consequence of the strained relations existing between him and Jehoram, owing to the latters toleration of idolatry. Obviously all this rests upon pure conjecture. It is clear from 2Ki. 8:7 that Elishas visit was not expected in Damascus, and further, that there was peace at the time between Damascus and Samaria. We do not know how much of Elishas history has been omitted between 2Ki. 7:20 and 2Ki. 8:7; but we may fairly assume that a divine impulse led the prophet to Damascus. The revelation, of which he speaks in 2Ki. 8:10; 2Ki. 8:13, probably came to him at the time, and so was not the occasion of his journey.
Ben-hadad . . . was sick.According to Josephus, on account of the failure of his expedition against Samaria (?).
The man of God.As if Elisha were well known and highly esteemed in Syria.
Is come hither.This certainly implies that Elisha had entered Damascus itself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(7-15) Elishas visit to Damascus, and its consequences.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
HAZAEL MADE KING OF SYRIA, 2Ki 8:7-15.
7. Elisha came to Damascus To fulfil the word of the Lord spoken long before to Elijah. See 1Ki 19:15, and note there.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Benhadad Of Aram, Through His Servant Hazael, Seeks Elisha’s Assurance That His Illness Is Not Fatal, But Elisha Discerns Dark Deeds Ahead At The Hands Of Hazael ( 2Ki 8:7-15 ).
This incident presumably occurred during a period of peace between Aram and Israel. On hearing that Elisha had paid a visit to Damascus, Benhadad, the king of Aram, who was in bed through illness, sent to find out from him whether he would live or die. Elisha’s reply was that the illness itself was not fatal. But as he looked at Hazael, the kings’ messenger, it was revealed to him that through Hazael’s hand the king would die, and that Hazael would become king of Aram and would be no friend to Israel. Hazael had as a young man been anointed by Elijah (1Ki 19:15), although probably not knowing what it was for. That would not, however, make him a friend of Israel. The thought now planted in Hazael’s mind he assassinated the king and reigned in his place.
That is one version of events. The full details of what happened are, however, disputed, partly due to the ambiguity of the narrative, in which Elisha does not actually say that Hazael will assassinate the king. But in our view the implication is clearly there, and it ties in with what we learn of his character.
Analysis.
a
b And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of YHWH by him, saying, “Will I recover from this illness?” (2Ki 8:8).
c So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, “Will I recover from this illness?” (2Ki 8:9).
d And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, You will surely recover. However YHWH has shown me that he will surely die” (2Ki 8:10).
e And he set his face steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept (2Ki 8:11).
d And Hazael said, “Why are you weeping my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. Their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child” (2Ki 8:12).
c And Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “YHWH has shown me that you will be king over Aram” (2Ki 8:13).
b Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would surely recover” (2Ki 8:14).
a And it came about on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died, and Hazael reigned instead of him (2Ki 8:15).
Note that in ‘a’ Benhadad the king of Aram was ill, and in the parallel he was dead and Hazael reigned instead of him. In ‘b’ Benhadad wanted to know whether his illness would prove fatal, and in the parallel he learned that it would not. In ‘c’ Hazael brings Elisha a splendid present from the king, and in the parallel he see himself as but a ‘dead dog’. In ‘d’ Elisha sees in his prophetic mind what Hazael will do to the king, and in the parallel he foresees what he will do to Israel. Centrally in ‘e’ he fixed his penetrating gaze on Hazael and wept because of what he foresaw.
2Ki 8:7
‘And Elisha came to Damascus, and Benhadad the king of Aram was ill, and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” ’
When Elisha paid a visit to Damascus, presumably during a period of peace, ‘Benhadad the king of Aram was ill’. There is a problem here as to which king is meant. As this was before Hazael became king this could not be Benhadad III, who followed Hazael. On the other hand the Assyrian records seem to suggest that the king prior to Hazael was named Hadad-ezer. That may, however, simply be because the latter was his chosen name, with Ben-hadad being his throne name because all kings of Aram were seen as being ‘the son of Hadad’ (compare how in Egypt every Pharaoh was ‘Horus, the son of Osiris’, although not many took it as literally as Egypt), or it may be because Hadadezer was followed for a short while by another Benhadad who did not reign long enough to be mentioned in Assyrian records (see note below). This incident therefore almost certainly precedes some of those already described.
We do not know why Elisha came to Damascus. He may have been guided there by YHWH in view of Elijah’s previous anointing of Hazael when Hazael was a young man (1Ki 19:15). It may indeed have been that anointing which was partly responsible for the plans that were seemingly buzzing in Hazael’s brain. Elisha may well have had a divine premonition that the time for its fulfilment was ripe, but if so it is not mentioned here. Had Elisha’s purpose in Damascus been in response to a plea from the king the present would have been sent previously. Thus his presence in Damascus at this time must have been, from a human point of view, a coincidence.
2Ki 8:8
‘And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of YHWH by him, saying, “Will I recover from this illness?” ’
The king accordingly sent his courtier Hazael to Elisha with a rich present, in order to enquire of YHWH whether he would recover from his illness. He had good cause to know that Elisha was very much a recipient of the truth from YHWH. Perhaps his own prophets had failed to come up with an answer.
2Ki 8:9
‘So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, “Will I recover from this illness?”
So Hazael went to meet Elisha taking a magnificent present from the king. We can compare the size of the present which had been intended for Elisha when he was asked to heal Naaman (2Ki 5:5). There is no good reason for suggesting that it is exaggerated. It was recognised that outstanding ‘prophets’ did not come cheap and required large payments for their services (compare Balaam), especially when such important information was required, and the enquirer was a powerful king. The gods in general were seen as greedy. ‘Forty’ may have represented ‘a large number’. The camels would be loaded with goods received through trading, possibly obtained from the Damascus street markets. With the gift came the request to learn about whether the king would recover from his illness.
‘He stood before him’ as one in the presence of a superior. Great deference was due to such an acknowledged prophet of widespread fame. Note how even the king is described as ‘his son’, seeing the prophet as a father figure.
2Ki 8:10
‘And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, You will surely live. However, YHWH has shown me that he will surely die.” ’
Elisha’s reply was twofold. Firstly it indicated that the illness was not life threatening, but secondly it indicated that nevertheless he would die in some other way, something which will shortly be explained. Elisha was replying to the king’s question as to whether his illness was a mortal illness, and his official reply was therefore ‘no’. We cannot fault him for leaving it with Hazael to decide whether to tell him that nevertheless he would die in another way.
There is a problem with the MT text here in that the original (the kethib) has ‘you will not live’ while the qere has ‘you will surely live’. The original text had no vowels and the original ‘l’ could signify ‘lo’ (not), but may in fact have been intended as ‘lu’ which would remove the negative. MT thus opts for either/or. What follows supports the qere in that his death was not due to his illness, although 2Ki 8:14 may have been Hazael’s lie. Whichever is the correct translation of the text the fact is finally stated that he would die, even if not from his illness.
2Ki 8:11
‘And he set his face steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept.’
As the conversation was proceeding Elisha was receiving fresh information from YHWH and he consequently began to stare at Hazael severely to such an extent that Hazael was ashamed (there is no good reason for seeing Elisha as being in a ‘prophetic trance’). This would tie in with the idea that Hazael already had his assassination plans in mind and was feeling guilty. Then Elisha burst into weeping.
2Ki 8:12
‘And Hazael said, “Why are you weeping my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. Their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.” ’
Hazael was not sure what to make of all this and asked Elisha why he was weeping. Note the courteous ‘my lord’. Prophets had to be treated rightly. Elisha’s reply was to explain to Hazael what he had seen in his own heart. He had received knowledge from YHWH that in the future Hazael would become an enemy of Israel and would invade and oppress Israel in the cruellest way. The descriptions do not, however, make Hazael out to be particularly cruel. What is described were the normal methods of warfare. But see Amo 1:3-5.
2Ki 8:13
‘And Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “YHWH has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ’
Hazael sought to convince Elisha that he had no such ideas in mind. He pointed out that he was only a humble servant (‘a dog’), not one who could do great exploits. He may, however, simply have been prevaricating, and may already have had such ideas in his heart. Elisha, however, bluntly declared to him that YHWH had shown him that Hazael would become king of Aram.
2Ki 8:14
‘Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.” ’
On Hazael arriving back at court the king asked him what Elijah had said, and keeping his own counsel Hazael merely informed him that Elisha had said that his illness would not prove fatal, and that he would live and not die of his illness.
2Ki 8:15
‘And it came about on the morrow, that he took the blanket, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died, and Hazael reigned instead of him.’
But on the next day he carried into action the plans that he had in mind. Possibly he was moved to act so quickly because he was afraid that Elisha might reveal his plans to the king. So on the next day, while the king was sleeping, he dipped a blanket made of twisted cloth in water, making it breath-proof, and then held it over the king’s face until he died. The fact that he then became king instead of the dead king demonstrates that he had previously laid his plans carefully and had ensured that he would have general support. It was not a spur of the moment decision.
(Some have translated as ‘one (someone) took the blanket —’ signifying person or persons unknown, and that is possible, but the general indication of the text is that the one who did so was Hazael who was probably one of the few who could enter the king’s bedchamber alone).
Note On The Identification Of Ben-hadad.
The Assyrian records (the annals of Shalmaneser) tell us that ‘Hadadezer — met his fate’ and that ‘Hazael — the son of a nobody (i.e. a commoner) took the throne.’ This indicates that this incident occurred between c. 845 and 841 BC. It does not, however, indicate that Hazael slew Hadadezer, thus it is quite possible that someone succeeded to Hadadezer, taking the name of Benhadad, and was himself shortly afterwards assassinated by Hazael, his reign not being long enough to figure in the Assyrian annals. The coming of a new king to the throne, which was a period when things were disrupted, often led to a coup attempt. Alternately as we have seen Benhadad may have been the throne name of Hadadezer.
Shalmaneser fought again with Hazael and Aram in c. 837 BC, forcing him to pay huge tribute, and there is no further mention of Hazael in the Assyrian records until Adad-nirari III cowed the now ageing Hazael into submission in c. 805-802 BC.
As Elisha foresaw Hazael was a constant aggressor against Israel ( 2Ki 8:28 ; 2Ki 9:15; 2Ki 10:32; 2Ki 13:3 ; 2Ki 13:22; see also Amo 1:3-5), and also against Judah from whom at one stage he stripped all its treasures, being ‘bought off’ when he planned to besiege Jerusalem (2Ki 12:18).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hazael Anointed King
v. 7. And Elisha came to Damascus, v. 8. And the king said unto Hazael, v. 9. So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, v. 10. And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover, v. 11. And he settled his countenance steadfastly until he was ashamed. v. 12. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel, v. 13. And Hazael, v. 14. So he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover, v. 15. And it came to pass on the morrow that he took a thick cloth,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
It is not very easy to ascertain at what time it was that Elisha paid this visit to Damascus. The Lord had commanded Elijah about 21 years before this period: See 1Ki 19:15 . (that is, supposing, this visit of Elisha was as is here introduced, after the two years of famine before related) to go to the wilderness of Damascus, and anoint Hazael king of Syria; but when Elisha went to Damascus, or what the occasion of his visit there was for, is not easy to conjecture. But passing this by, there is one sweet spiritual improvement ariseth out of it, which is this. Even in those distant ages before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the visits of God’s faithful servants to the Gentile and Heathen portended the full salvation being one day preached to them. And though our dear Lord told the poor woman of Canaan that he was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet we find that he graciously included both Jew and Gentile in one fold, and told that very woman that such was her faith, that everything should be as she herself desired. Mat 15:22-28 . When we consider in what was related before (see 2Ki 6:8-14 .) how Benhadad intended to have seized the prophet, it is somewhat singular that Elisha should venture his person in Damascus. And it is no less strange that the mind of Benhadad should have been so changed from hatred to reverence. But these things are all plain to be understood, when we trace the hand of the Lord in it. God giveth his servants boldness , like a lion, and the same God turneth the hearts of his children’s enemies to be at peace with them, when such things answer the sovereign purpose of his holy will. The answer which Elisha made to Hazael’s question, whether the king his master should recover, seems at first reading ambiguous. He said, thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit ye shall surely die. But the sense seems to be very plainly this; the disorder under which thy master labours is not in itself mortal; of that disease he might certainly recover. But he shall surely die of a violent death. For thou wilt be his executioner. This the following verses prove.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 8:7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
Ver. 7. Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. ] Ex terrore et moerore: he was so vexed at the late shameful flight of his host from the siege of Samaria, occasioned by a causeless fear, that it made him sick, saith Josephus. Philip of Spain bore his great loss in 1588 much better.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 8:7-9
2Ki 8:7-9
ELISHA IN DAMASCUS; THE KING INQUIRED OF HIM
“And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness?”
That Elisha was honorably received in Damascus at that time might have been due to his fame that resulted from the healing of Naaman. Certainly, something had changed from that situation in which Benhadad sought to capture him (2Ki 6:13 ff). “Not only in Israel, but also in the neighboring nations, Elisha was well known and respected as God’s man.”
“And the king said unto Hazael” (2Ki 8:8). This character should not be confused with the father of Benhadad, who was called the son of Hazael (2Ki 13:3). This Hazael was the “son of a nobody,” who murdered Benhadad and seized his throne.
“Hazael … took a present with him … forty camels’ burden … Shall I recover of this sickness?” (2Ki 8:9). “One camel’s burden is six hundred pounds”; but, “This affair must be judged according to Oriental custom of making a grand display with the sending of presents, employing as many men or beasts of burden as possible to carry them, each one of them carrying only a single article.”
“Shall I recover of this sickness?” That the king of Syria would bring such a question before Elisha is a strong indication that the Gentiles, generally, throughout that whole era, were aware of the True God’s existence and of the worthlessness of the pagan deities of the peoples.
The exact date of this event is not known; however, “The inscriptions of Shalmanezer III, record his victory over Benhadad in 846 B.C. and another victory over Hazael, whom he described as `a nobody who seized the throne,’ in the year 842 B.C. This would have been during the reign of Jehoram in Judah, about three years before Jehu seized the throne of Israel.”
A number of scholars suppose that Elisha anointed Hazael king over Syria on this trip, but there is nothing here to support such a view. God had commanded Elijah at Horeb to anoint Hazael (1Ki 19:15); and there are two ways of understanding what happened: (1) Either Elijah went to Damascus and anointed him without any Scriptural record of it being recorded, or (2) Elijah transferred the obligation to Elisha who anointed him without any record of it being placed in the Bible. LaSor assumed that, “Elisha’s doing so was the purpose of this visit.” Honeycutt also wrote that, “The anointings, both of Hazael and of Jehu, were fulfilled by Elisha.” The Lord has not revealed to us everything that happened, because such information, if we had it, would be of no value. The purpose of the sacred author was that of revealing the manner of God’s triumph over paganism.
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 8:7. Damascus was the principal city i of Syria, and was located just north of Israel. Elisha went to that place where an occasion came up for making a prediction. Ben-hadad was the king of Syria, and he was sick. He heard of the arrival of Elisha.
2Ki 8:8. The Syrian king had knowledge of the talents of Elisha, and decided to appeal to him for information. Hazael was an attendant upon Benhadad and did service at the royal court. He was told to take the customary “present” and call upon Elisha. Shall I recover of this disease? All that Ben-hadad had in mind when he sent for answer to this question was whether his illness was necessarily fatal. He knew nothing of the other conditions that might arise.
2Ki 8:9. The extent of the present which Hazael took to Elisha would tell the reader that such was not to meet any material need for just one man. See the comments at Gen 32:13 for further explanation. Thy son was a figurative term that denoted a feeling of respect. Hazael delivered the very question of his king to Elisha.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Deu 33:1, 1Ki 13:1
Damascus: Gen 14:15, 1Ki 11:24, Isa 7:8
Benhadad: 2Ki 6:24, 1Ki 15:18, 1Ki 20:1, 1Ki 20:34
The man of God: 2Ki 1:9, 2Ki 1:10, 2Ki 2:15, 2Ki 6:12
is come: Jdg 16:2, Act 17:6
Reciprocal: Jos 14:6 – the man 1Ki 14:3 – And take 1Ki 19:15 – wilderness of Damascus 2Ki 1:2 – whether Jer 40:5 – gave him Amo 1:4 – Hazael
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
BENHADAD
Benhadad the king of Syria was sick.
2Ki 8:7
The life and death of Benhadad has much to say to us
I. Let us look at one of the two men who took part in that bedside scene which no eye beheld but the all-seeing eye of God.Benhadad was a man of vast power, ruling over a wealthy and warlike country, a man who loved pleasure, and did not know what it was to be obliged to deny himself in any luxury on which he set his heart. He was a bitter enemy of Gods people; and as licentious as he was cruel. He had as little belief in God as he had in virtue, for he was not only a scoffer at Gods existencehe openly and daringly defied him. There can be no doubt of ithe had by a long course of sin and self-indulgence become a hardened and thoroughly depraved man: insomuch that God sent to tell him that for his persevering iniquity he was appointed to utter destruction.
II. It is not in that light he appears in the chapter before us.We do not see him in his pride and reckless dissipation: we see him laid upon the bed of sicknessfearing the approach of death. His uneasy mind turned for some help and comfort to the man of God who was at that time in Damascus. His infidelity failed him then, as it does so often fail in that awful moment.
III. It is indeed an affecting scene, and one that brings home to us some solemn truths which none can deny, and yet all are prone to forget.Benhadad had everything that heart could wish of this world: he was not only a king, but a king of kings, for he was lord over thirty-two vassal kings; he had tens of thousands of soldiers in his armieseverything was at his service that power and wealth could procure. Yet all these things could not keep off from him the day of sickness, nor save him from the bed of pain and weakness. He had an enemy who was able to steal through all his sentinels, and lay hands on him in the midst of all his luxurious surroundings. He lived as if he were a god who could know neither weakness nor pain; but he learnt that there are messengers of God who, like God Himself, are no respecters of persons. Every one knows this, but how few seem to be influenced by it!
IV. Another no less important truth unveiled to us in Benhadads sick-room is the different view men take of religion when they feel death near at hand, from the view they take of it often when they are well.There was a time when Benhadad thought he could do no better than scoff at God and at the people of God; but he was sick and weak, and ready to die, so he felt that to have Gods man near him when he was dying would be a good thing for him now he was going into Gods awful presence. How often it is so! There are those who shun religious people when they are well as if they were either fools or hypocrites, who are glad enough to see them when the gates of Eternity are opening before them. Benhadad never thought of sending when he was sick to the thirty-two kings who used to get drunk with him at midday, and join him in what he then thought to be a jovial life. Nay, he bethought him of the poor wandering prophet whom he had then despised and scoffed at. Wonderful to say, he even thought that he could be the better for such a mans prayer! He had hated the sight of him while he was well and strong. If he had only attended to what Elisha said to him in Gods name when he was living, he would have had something better than Elishas prayers when he was dyinghe would have had the Presence of God.
V. For we learn from that death-bed scene that a change of view about religion, when the end is near, may mean anything but a change of heart towards God.Benhadads anxiety was more about the recovery of his health than about his soul. His was not the cry of the jailer, What must I do to be saved? but the concern of one clinging to the worldShall I recover of this disease? He could not bear to think that he was going to die. He would beguile himself with the prospect of recovery rather than prepare himself for the prospect of eternity. So it is generally in their sickness with those who have lived for this world and lived in pleasure. The real comfort they crave is the comfort of thinking they will get well againa kind of comfort which those around them are too often ready enough to impart, like Hazael, who, to lull Benhadads fears, put a lie into Elishas lips, Thou shalt surely recover!
Rev. G. Despard.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Ki 8:7. Elisha came to Damascus Either to the city so called, or rather, as it seems from 2Ki 8:9, to the kingdom of Damascus; as Samaria, which properly was the name of a city, sometimes means the kingdom of which that city was the capital. Some have thought that Elisha went thither to avoid the famine; but it is more probable that he was sent by God, on the errand following. Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, was sick For neither honour, wealth, nor power will secure men from the common diseases and disasters of human life: palaces and thrones lie as open to the arrests of death as the meanest cottage. It was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither Which doubtless had rarely, if ever, been the case before; and his having cured Naaman had raised a great opinion of his power with God in that country.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Elisha’s preparation of God’s instrument of judgment on Israel 8:7-15
Hazael was the governor of Damascus. [Note: J. A. Brinkman, "Additional Texts from the Reigns of Shalmaneser III and Shamshi-Adad V," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32 (1973):43-44.] The Gentile King of Aram had more interest in inquiring of Yahweh than Jehoram’s predecessor did (2Ki 8:8; cf. 2Ki 1:2). It was customary in the Near East to make a great show of giving gifts. It was also common to have one camel carry only one gift to make the present appear even greater. [Note: Keil, p. 334.]
Ben-Hadad would have recovered (2Ki 8:10) if Hazael had not murdered him (2Ki 8:15). Elisha probably knew Hazael would murder him. The prophet fixed his gaze steadily on Hazael, perhaps hoping to embarrass him out of doing the deed (2Ki 8:11). Hazael evidently became ashamed because he felt Elisha could read his mind (2Ki 8:11). Hazael would be God’s instrument of judgment on Israel (2Ki 8:12; cf. 1Ki 19:15). He referred to himself humbly as a mere dog incapable of such a feat (2Ki 8:13). Hazael did come from lowly stock. On one Assyrian record Shalmaneser referred to him as "the son of a nobody." [Note: D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 1:246.]
Like Saul, David, and Solomon, Hazael learned that he would be king by special revelation from the Lord (2Ki 8:13). Whether this announcement accompanied Elisha’s anointing by Elijah (1Ki 19:15), or whether that took place at another time, we do not know. Rather than waiting for God to place him on Aram’s throne at the proper time, as David so admirably did, Hazael murdered Ben-Hadad. He did so in a manner that made it look as though the king had died of natural causes (2Ki 8:15).
Ben-Hadad II died in 841 B.C. and Hazael ruled from 841-801 B.C. during the reigns of Jehoram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz of Israel, and Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash of Judah.
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Kings of Aram in 2 Kings [Note: Adapted from The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 509.] |
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Kings |
Dates |
References |
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Ben-Hadad II |
860-841 B.C. |
1 Kings 20; 2Ki 6:24; 2Ki 8:7; 2Ki 8:9; 2Ki 8:14 |
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Hazael |
841-801 B.C. |
1Ki 19:15; 1Ki 19:17: 2 Kings 8; 2Ki 9:14-15; 2Ki 10:32; 2Ki 12:17-18; 2Ki 13:3; 2Ki 13:22; 2Ki 13:24-25 |
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Ben-Hadad III |
801-773 B.C. |
2Ki 13:3; 2Ki 13:24-25 |
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Rezin |
773-732 B.C. |
2Ki 15:37; 2Ki 16:5-6; 2Ki 16:9 (cf. Isa 7:1; Isa 7:4; Isa 7:8; Isa 8:6; Isa 9:11) |
The episodes in this Elisha narrative (2Ki 2:1 to 2Ki 8:15) give us many insights into Jehoram and his reign over Israel. Like Ahab and Ahaziah before him, he had little regard for Yahweh. Consequently he did not enjoy much blessing from God personally, and Israel experienced severe discipline in the form of famines, invasions by foreign neighbors, and lack of influence. Nevertheless there were a few in Israel who remained faithful to the Lord, including the prophets (about 7,000 individuals in all; 1Ki 19:18).
The meanings of the miracles Elisha performed that I have suggested rest on standard principles of historical grammatical interpretation. I have sought to understand what the original readers of Kings would have seen these miracles as signifying. The meanings of the words in the text, the relationship of the miracle to its context, and the meaning of symbols that biblical and extrabiblical references reveal are key interpretive factors. Commentators differ, of course, in their understandings of these matters as well as the interpretive problems. However, on the basis of the study I have done, the views expressed above seem to me to be what these miracles signified when they occurred. Some evangelical expositors have seen Elisha’s miracles as typifying Jesus Christ and His ministry. [Note: E.g., Arno C. Gaebelien, The Annotated Bible, 1:307-26.] There are many similarities.