Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 1:13
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
13. a captain of the [R.V. a ] third fifty ] The LXX. omits the number ‘third’, and the grammar in the Hebrew is not quite regular.
came and fell on his knees ] He utters no command, but as a suppliant recognises the power of which Elijah was the representative. Josephus makes him admit that he has only come because the king commanded it.
be precious in thy sight ] A common phrase about a life that is spared. Cf. 1Sa 26:21; Psa 72:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2Ki 1:13
Let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants be precious in thy sight.
The preciousness of life
Question naturally arises, Is life precious? How does God value it? And how should His servants regard it?
I. This question seems to be answered in the negative.
1. By the general tenor of the Old Testament. Sinai thundered and lightened. The sight thereof was terrible. The voice was death. The Flood. Destruction of Sodom. Overthrows in the wilderness. Death of the two captains with their fifties.
2. By Gods continued judgments on the impenitent. The Galileans in our Lords day. Except ye repent (Luk 13:1-5). Many instances of this in the New Testament: Ananias and Sapphira; Herod Agrippa, in Act 12:1-25.
II. But for two reasons the reply is in the affirmative.
1. Because many lives were spared in the Old Testament.
(1) Through entreaty, as in the case of this captain. So Abraham entreated for Sodom. Moses and Aaron for the children of Israel (Num 14:15-20; Num 16:22).
(2) Through Gods sovereign mercy. People of Nineveh.
2. Because the greatest life of all has been given for all the children of men. Herein the Mosaic law fulfilled, which said, A life for a life. Nothing so highly esteemed of God as the precious blood of Christ. It was the full price of our salvation, and its efficacy is eternal (Psa 49:8; Heb 9:12).
Application.
1. There is no need that you should doubt whether God will receive you. You need not even retreat, Let my life be precious in Thy sight. It is precious. The best proof of this has been given.
2. Do not manifest an un-Christlike spirit. Vengeance is mine. Our duty is plain, to be like Christ in valuing the lives of our brethren. He came not to destroy life, but to save. (J. G. Tanner, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Fell on his knees, and besought him; expressing both reverence to his person, and a belief of his power, and a dread of Gods judgments.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty,…. Which was most daring and insolent, and showed him to be dreadfully hardened, to persist in his messages after such rebuffs: and the third captain of fifty went up; instead of calling to the prophet at the bottom of the hill as the other did, he went up to the top of it:
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah: in reverence of him as a prophet of the Lord, and under a dread of the power he was possessed of, of calling for fire from heaven on him and his men, as the former instances showed:
and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight: he owns their lives lay at his mercy; he begs they might be spared, since it was not in contempt of him, and through ill will to him as the prophet of the Lord, but in obedience to the king’s command, that they were come to him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The king, disregarding the punishing hand of the Lord, which, even if it might possibly have been overlooked in the calamity that befell the captain who was first sent and his company, could not be misunderstood when a similar fate befell the second captain with his fifty men, sent a third company, in his defiant obduracy, to fetch the prophet. ( after is apparently an error of the pen for , as the following word shows). But the third captain was better than his king, and wiser than his two predecessors. He obeyed the command of the king so far as to go to the prophet; but instead of haughtily summoning him to follow him, he bent his knee before the man of God, and prayed that his own life and the lives of his soldiers might be spared.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(13) A captain of the third fifty.Literally, a captain of a third fifty. But 2Ki. 1:11, another captain of fifty, and the phrase which follows here, the third captain of fifty, indicate the right reading, a third captain of fifty. (So LXX. and Vulg.)
Fell.Margin. (Comp. Isa. 46:1, Bel boweth down.)
Besought him.Begged favour, grace, or compossion of him (Gen. 42:21; Hos. 12:5).
These fifty thy servants.Or, these thy servants, fifty (men), laying stress on the number of lives.
Be precious in thy sight.Comp. Psa. 72:14; 1Sa. 26:21.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Fell on his knees before Elijah This was very different from the manner of the two former.
These fifty thy servants Not Ahaziah’s servants, but Elijah’s. This humble and reverential manner showed becoming respect for Elijah and his God, and turned away the fierce anger of Jehovah. Had the former captains observed like respect, the penal fire had not fallen.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
How lovely doth this third captain appear, in thus intreating for mercy! He comes to Elijah because it was the king’s command! But he comes to sue for favor. Reader! when the sinner, humbled under a sense of sin, and conscious of his undeservings, comes to the Lord God of the prophet’s son, Elijah’s Master; and throws himself upon the free bounty and sovereign grace of Jesus; oh! how we feel interested in his cause? He must succeed! Jesus waits to be gracious. He will save; that is, he will be Jesus. How beautifully the prophet describes this: Zep 3:17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
Ver. 13. And he sent again a captain. ] Another pentacontarch; but of a better make than the former. Some think it was good Obadiah, whom be knew to be gracious with the prophet, and could prevail with him to come to the king.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
life = soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ki 1:13-14
2K1 1:13-14
THE THIRD CAPTAIN OF FIFTY ENTREATED ELIJAH HONORABLY
“And again he sent the third captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in thy sight.”
Some scholars have supposed that Ahaziah did not hear of the fate of the first two companies that he sent to Elijah, and that if he had heard of it, he would not have sent a third. Such a supposition could hardly be true. The king certainly would have made it his business to find out why the first two detachments failed in their mission. Also, the captain of the third fifty knew all about what had happened and mentioned it in his prayerful request of the prophet. Also his kneeling before the man of God, and his earnest plea for him to spare his life and that of his men cannot be reconciled with any general ignorance concerning what God had done in answer to Elijah’s prayer.
This contrast with the attitude of the other two captains accomplished what was intended, and Elijah responded to it favorably.
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 1:13-14. Nothing has been said about spectators at the first two transactions. We know there was some means by which it was known what took place, for the third captain mentioned the matter in his pleading address to Elijah. The only request that is recorded was on behalf of him and his men. We know, however, that Elijah was requested to go with the men, from what the angel said to him in the next verse.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
he sent again: Job 15:25, Job 15:26, Pro 27:22, Ecc 9:3, Isa 1:5
fell on: Heb. bowed, Isa 66:2
besought: Exo 11:8, Num 12:11-13, 1Ki 13:6, Isa 60:14, Rev 3:9
O man of God: Psa 102:17, Jam 4:7
Reciprocal: 1Sa 18:30 – set by 1Sa 22:17 – would not 2Ki 4:40 – O thou Est 7:3 – let my life Mat 27:54 – feared 1Ti 6:11 – O man
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 1:13. And fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him Expressing both reverence for his person, and a dread of Gods judgments, being struck with the fate of the two other captains and their fifties. There is nothing to be got by contending with God: if we would prevail with him, it must be by supplication. And those are wise that learn submission from the fatal consequences of obstinacy in others.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my {k} life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be {l} precious in thy sight.
(k) Which humble myself before God and his servant.
(l) That is, spare my life, and do not let me die as the other two.