Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 1:5
And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
5. And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said ] More literally with R.V., And the messengers returned unto him and he said. The pronoun refers to the sick king in Samaria. They could only have gone a little way on their journey, and their early reappearance caused him some surprise.
‘The errand is soon done. The messengers are returned ere they go. Not a little were they amazed to hear their secret message from another’s mouth, neither could they choose but think: He that can tell what Ahaziah said, what he thought, can foretell how he shall speed. We have met with a greater god than we went to seek. What need we inquire for another answer?’ (Bp Hall’s Contemplations).
Why are ye now turned back? ] To accord with the previous clause, render with R.V., Why is it that ye are returned?
Before you have been at Ekron; which he easily knew by their quick return. 5. the messengers turned backTheydid not know the stranger; but his authoritative tone, commandingattitude, and affecting message determined them at once to return. And when the messengers turned back unto him,…. To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about:
he said unto them, why are ye now turned back? for, by the time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and returned.
(5) Turned back unto him.Unto Ahaziah, as the Syriac and Vulgate actually read. Literally, And the messengers returned unto him, and he said, &c. Though Elijah was unknown to the envoys, such a menacing interposition would certainly be regarded as a Divine warning, which it was perilous to disregard.
Why are ye now turned back?Why have ye returned? with emphasis on the Why.
2Ki 1:5. When the messengers turned back unto him, &c. It may seem something strange, that Ahaziah’s messengers should stop their journey to Ekron at Elijah’s command. But he was a man of such a venerable presence, and spake to them with such authority in the name of the Lord, that they were over-awed thereby to obey him rather than the king.
It is somewhat remarkable that the prophet Elijah, and John the Baptist, should have been as much alike in dress as they were in their commission. Our dear Lord pointed to John as the Elias of the gospel. If ye will receive it, (said Christ) this is Elias which was for to come. Mat 11:14 . Observe the alarms of a guilty conscience in the case of Ahaziah. His own fears interpreted to him that this must be the servant of the Lord, whose religion he had despised. Like his father, he knew that no prophet of the Lord could prophecy good concerning him, but evil. See 1Ki 22:8 .
2Ki 1:5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
Ver. 5. Why are ye now turned back? ] Re infecta, as he thought; but they returned unto him with heavy tidings, as 1Ki 14:6 . “An evil man seeketh only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.” Pro 17:11
2Ki 1:5-8
2Ki 1:5-8
AHAZIAH LEARNED ELIJAH’S IDENTITY FROM THE MESSENGERS
“And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned? And they said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say unto him, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he that came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and was girt with a girdle of leather around his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
There can be little doubt that Ahaziah’s seeking Elijah’s identity was for one purpose only – that of putting the prophet to death.
“He was a hairy man” (2Ki 1:8). The RSV is doubtless correct in its rendition of this clause as, He wore a garment of hair-cloth. This was the traditional clothing of God’s prophets, for Zechariah wrote of false prophets, “Who put on a hairy mantle to deceive” (Zec 13:4). “Also John the Baptist’s garb of camel’s hair and a leather girdle (Mat 3:4) in imitation of his forerunner is sufficient commentary on this phrase.” It was not intended to be a comfortable garment, because, “It was one of professional austerity.”
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 1:5-6. The early return of his messengers caused Ahaziah to ask why. They gave a true account of their meeting with a man.
2Ki 1:7-8. An hairy man does not mean merely that he had a thick growth of hair, but the lexicon describes it as meaning it was in a ruffled and unkempt condition. Being apart from society much of the time, Elijah took this habit. Ahaziah had evidently seen him and recognized the description.
2Ki 1:5. He said, Why are ye now turned back? Before you have been at Ekron: which he knew by their quick return. To avoid a repetition, we have no account given of the prophets meeting them, other than what they give of it themselves at their return.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments