2 Kings 10:33

From Jordan eastward. — This verse defines the border land which Hazael ravaged, and, in fact, occupied. It was the land east of the Jordan, that is to say, all the land of Gilead, which was the territory of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

From Aroer. — Aroer, now ‘Arâ‘îr, on the Arnon, was the southern limit of Gilead, which extended northward to Mount Hermon, and included Bashan. “Even (both) Gilead and Bashan,” is added to make it clear that the whole of the land east of the Jordan, and not merely Gilead in the narrower sense, was conquered by Hazael. These conquests of Hazael were characterised by great barbarity. (Comp. Amos 1:3, and Elisha’s prediction of the same, 2 Kings 8:12, supra.) Ewald thinks Hazael took advantage of the internal troubles at the outset of the reign to effect his conquests. But a man of Jehu’s energy must soon have established domestic tranquillity.