Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 8:8
And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
8. the king said unto Hazael ] Josephus says Hazael was the most trusted of Benhadad’s household. He was evidently one of his chief ministers, and must have been in some prominent position at the time when God’s message came to Elijah to anoint him as future king.
in thine hand ] The Hebrew expression for ‘with thee’. So in the next verse the literal ‘in his hand’ (see margin) is rendered ‘with him’. The Oriental notion of sending a present is to make it seem as grand as possible, by committing each portion to a separate servant, or placing it on a separate beast of burden.
inquire of the Lord ] It was not for information only that Benhadad sent, but with the hope that for such a gorgeous present the prophet might intercede with the God of Israel for his recovery.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hazael was no doubt a high officer of the court. The names of Hazael and Benhadad occur in the Assyrian inscription on the Black Obelisk now in the British Museum. Both are mentioned as kings of Damascus, who contended with a certain Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and suffered defeat at his hands. In one of the battles between this king and Benhadad, Allah of Jezreel is mentioned among the allies of the latter. This same Shalmaneser took tribute from Jehu. This is the point at which the Assyrian records first come in direct contact with those of the Jews.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. Take a present in thine hand] But what an immense present was this – forty camels’ burden of every good thing of Damascus! The prophet would need to have a very large establishment at Damascus to dispose of so much property.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Take a present in thine hand; by which he thought to purchase his favour, and the healing of his disease.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the king said to Hazael,…. The captain general of his army:
take a present in thine hand, and go and meet the man of God, who, perhaps, was not as yet come into the city, only into the region of Damascus: or rather “with thee”; so the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; and which Noldius f approves of, since a burden of forty camels, 2Ki 8:9 could not be carried in the hand:
and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, shall I recover of this disease? he did not desire him to pray the Lord that he might recover, only was curious to know whether he should or not, see 2Ki 1:2.
f Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 189. No. 362.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) Hazael.See Note on 2Ki. 8:15. In 1Ki. 19:15; 1Ki. 19:17 the name is written Hzhl; here it is spelt with an etymological allusion, Hzhl, i.e., El hath seen (foreseen). Hazael appears to have been the highest officer in Ben-hadad s court; Josephus says, the trustiest of his domestics.
Take a present in thine hand.Comp. Num. 22:7; 1Sa. 9:7; 2Ki. 5:5; 1Ki. 14:3.
Go, meet the man of God.Literally, go to meet him. This does not imply, as some have supposed, that Elisha was still on the road to Damascus, nor even that he happened to be at the time on his way to the palace, for how could Ben-hadad know that? What is meant is Go to the place where the prophet is to be found; seek an interview with him.
Enquire of the Lord by him.A different construction is used in 2 Kings 1, 2.
By him.Literally, from with him. (Comp. Note on 2Ki. 1:15.)
Shall I recover of this disease?Comp. 2Ki. 1:2.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Inquire of the Lord by him It is noticeable that this heathen king sends in his sickness to inquire, not of his own gods, but of the prophet of Jehovah. This was doubtless owing to his knowledge of what Elisha had done for Naaman, the captain of his host. In the days of his health and prosperity he had not heeded the lesson of Naaman’s cure, but in the hour of sickness he consults the same wonderful physician.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 8:8 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?
Ver. 8. Take a present. ] For so he thought to purchase the prophet’s favour, as they were wont to do their soothsayers’ and sorcerers’.
Shall I recover of this disease?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Hazael. One of Ben-hadad’s servants.
present. It does not say that Elisha accepted it.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Hazael: 1Ki 19:15
Take: 2Ki 5:5, 1Sa 9:7, 1Ki 14:3
inquire: 2Ki 1:2, 2Ki 1:6, 2Ki 3:11-13, 1Ki 14:1-4, Luk 13:23, Act 16:30
Reciprocal: Gen 43:11 – carry down Jdg 17:10 – a father Jdg 18:19 – a father Eze 14:7 – and cometh
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 8:8. The king said, Go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord, &c. In his health he bowed down in the house of Rimmon, but now he sends to inquire of the God of Israel. It is not long since he sent a great force to seize and treat Elisha as an enemy; yet now he courts and inquires of him as a prophet: thus affliction brings those to God, who, in their prosperity, made light of him: it opens mens eyes, and rectifies their mistakes: and among other instances of the change it produces in their minds, this is one, and not the least considerable, that it often gives them other thoughts of Gods ministers, and teaches them to value those whom they before hated and despised. Affliction, however, has not this good effect upon all: it only blinds and hardens some. We lately saw even a king of Israel sending, in his sickness, to inquire of the god of Ekron, as if there had been no God in Israel. How does the conduct of this heathen, in similar circumstances, reprove and condemn the idolatrous and incorrigible Israelite! Thus does God sometimes fetch that honour to himself from strangers, which is denied him, and alienated from him, by his own professing people.