VIII. (1-6) How the kindness of the Shunammite woman to Elisha was further rewarded through the prophet’s influence with the king. (1) THEN SPAKE ELISHA. — Rather, _Now Elisha had spoken_. The time is not defined by the phrase. It was _after the_ raising of the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 8:1), and _... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THE SAYING. — _According to the word._ IN THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES. — The lowlands of the coast were not so subject to droughts as the limestone highlands of Israel. (Comp. Genesis 12:10; Genesis 26:1.) The Philistines, besides, dealt with foreign traders who put in to their shores. (Comp.... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THE SEVEN YEARS’ END. — Omit _the._ SHE WENT FORTH. — From Shunem to Samaria. FOR HER HOUSE AND FOR HER LAND. — Literally, _with regard to her house,_ &c. She found them in the possession of strangers. The State may have occupied the property as abandoned by its owner; or, as is more likely, so... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE KING TALKED. — _And the king was speaking unto._ GEHAZI. — He, therefore, was not yet a leper (2 Kings 5:27). So Keil and some earlier expositors. But lepers, though excluded from the city, were not excluded from _conversation_ with others. (Comp. Matthew 8:2; Luke 17:12.) Naaman was apparen... [ Continue Reading ]
A DEAD BODY. — _The dead._ CRIED. — _Was crying._ Literally, the Hebrew runs, _And it came to pass, he_ (emphatic) _was telling_... _and behold the woman was crying,_ &c. The woman came in, and began her prayer to the king, while he was talking with Gehazi about her and her son. THIS IS HER SON. —... [ Continue Reading ]
TOLD. — _Related to him, i.e._, the story. So in 2 Kings 8:4. OFFICER. — Literally, _eunuch_ (_sârîs_). (Comp. Note on Genesis 37:36; 1 Chronicles 28:1.) FRUITS. — Literally, _revenues, produce_ in kind, which must have been paid out of the royal stores. This seems to imply that her land had been... [ Continue Reading ]
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 1 Kings 2:39, _seq_. Keil and others think the prophet went with the intention of anointing H... [ Continue Reading ]
(7-15) Elisha’s visit to Damascus, and its consequences.... [ Continue Reading ]
HAZAEL. — See Note on 2 Kings 8:15. In 1 Kings 19:15; 1 Kings 19:17 the name is written _Hăzâh’êl_; here it is spelt with an etymological allusion, _Hăzâh’êl, 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... [ Continue Reading ]
A PRESENT WITH HIM — _i.e._, in money. (Comp. 2 Kings 5:5, and see the margin here.) EVEN OF EVERY GOOD THING. — Rather, _and every kind of good thing_; in addition to the present of money. Damascus was a great centre of traffic between Eastern and Western Asia. (Comp. Ezekiel 27:18; Amos 3:12.) _D... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO HIM. — The reading of some Hebrew MSS., of the Hebrew margin, and of all the versions, as well as of Josephus. The ordinary Hebrew text has “not” (_lô_’, instead of _lô_), so that the meaning would be, “Thou shalt not recover.” But (1) the position of the negative before the adverbial infiniti... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SETTLED HIS COUNTENANCE STEDFASTLY. — Literally, _and he_ (Elisha) _made his face stand, and set_ (it upon Hazael). UNTIL HE WAS ASHAMED. — Literally, _unto being ashamed_. This may mean either _in shameless fashion or until Hazael was disconcerted_. We prefer the latter. Hazael, conscious t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EVIL THAT THOU WILT DO UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. — Fulfilled in 2 Kings 10:32; 2 Kings 13:3. The cruelties enumerated here were the ordinary concomitants of warfare in that age. (Comp. Amos 1:3; Amos 1:13; Hosea 10:14; Hosea 13:16; 2 Kings 15:16.) SET ON FIRE. — Literally, _send into the fire... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHAT, IS THY SERVANT A DOG, THAT HE SHOULD DO THIS GREAT THING? — Rather, (_Thou canst not mean it;_) _for what is the dog thy servant that he should do, &c._ Hazael answers in a tone of pretended amazement and self-depreciation. The exaggerated humility of his language betrays the hypocrite. T... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT THOU SHOULDEST SURELY RECOVER. — Rather, _Thou wilt certainly live_, repeating Elisha’s actual words, but _not_ the tone and gesture which accompanied them.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE TOOK — _i.e._, Hazael, the nearest subject. Ewald objects that if Hazael were meant, his name would not occur where it does at the end of the verse. But the objection does not hold, for in relating who succeeded to the throne, it was natural to give the name of the new king. Further, a considerab... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FIFTH YEAR OF JORAM THE SON OF AHAB. — See Note on 2 Kings 1:17. The name Joram is an easy contraction of Jehoram. In this verse and in 2 Kings 8:29 the king of Israel is called Joram, and the king of Judah Jehoram; in 2 Kings 8:21; 2 Kings 8:23 Joram is the name of the king of Judah. In 2 K... [ Continue Reading ]
(16-24) The reign of Jehoram, king of Judah. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 21)... [ Continue Reading ]
THIRTY AND TWO YEARS OLD... IN JERUSALEM. — Comp. the similar notices in 2 Kings 12 and the succeeding Chapter s. How different are these short annalistic summaries, the work of the Judæan compiler, from the rich and flowing narratives about Elijah and Elisha!... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE WAY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. — This is further explained by the following clause, “As did the house of Ahab,” or rather, _to wit, as the house of Ahab acted, i.e._, Jehoram, as son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, lent his countenance to the _cultus_ of the Tyrian Baal. Under the influence of his w... [ Continue Reading ]
TO GIVE HIM ALWAY A LIGHT. — Comp. 1 Kings 15:4; 1 Kings 11:36; and for the promise to David, 2 Samuel 7:12. AND TO HIS CHILDREN. — The reading of many Heb. MSS., the LXX., Vulg., and Targum. Thenius calls this a reading devised for the removal of a difficulty, and asserts that the promise was made... [ Continue Reading ]
IN HIS DAYS EDOM REVOLTED. — The connection of ideas is this: Although Jehovah was not willing to extirpate Judah, yet He suffered it to be seriously weakened by the defections recorded in 2 Kings 8:20. MADE A KING OVER THEMSELVES. — Josephus says they slew the vassal king appointed over them by Je... [ Continue Reading ]
SO JORAM WENT OVER TO ZAIR. — No town called Zair is otherwise known. Hitzig and Ewald would read Zoar, but Zoar lay in Moab, not in Edom. (Jeremiah 48:34; Isaiah 15:5; Genesis 19:30; Genesis 19:37.) The Vulg. has _Seira_, and the Arabic _Sâ‘îra,_ which suggest an original reading, “to Seir,” the we... [ Continue Reading ]
YET. — Rather, _and_ (_i.e._, so). UNTO THIS DAY. — Down to the time of composition of the original account from which this epitome is extracted. This notice is borne out by the Assyrian monuments. Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal mention _Qa’us-gabrî_ king of _Udumu_ (Edom), along with Manasseh of Juda... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REST OF THE ACTS. — Or, _history_. (See especially 2 Chronicles 21:11, and the Notes there.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS BURIED WITH HIS FATHERS IN THE CITY OF DAVID. — But not in the royal tombs (2 Chronicles 21:20).... [ Continue Reading ]
(25-29) The reign of Ahaziah king of Judah. His expedition with Joram of Israel against Hazael at Ramoth-gilead. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 22:1.) TWO-AND-TWENTY YEARS OLD. — He was Jehoram’a youngest son (2 Chronicles 21:17; 2 Chronicles 22:1), and, as his father died at the age of thirty-nine or forty (2... [ Continue Reading ]
AHAZIAH. — Called Jehoahaz (2 Chronicles 21:17). Ewald thinks he assumed the name of Ahaziah on his accession. THE DAUGHTER OF OMRI — _i.e._, granddaughter. Omri is mentioned rather than Ahab as the founder of the dynasty, and the notorious example of its wickedness. (Comp. Micah 6:16 : “The statut... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SON-IN-LAW OF THE HOUSE OF AHAB. — Comp. 2 Chronicles 22:4, “his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly;” and notice the threefold repetition of the words “the house of Ahab.”... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE WENT WITH JORAM. — By the persuasion of his mother and her family (2 Chronicles 22:4). Ewald would omit the preposition _with_, on the assumption that Ahaziah took no part in the war at Ramoth, but only, as 2 Kings 8:29 relates, visited Jehoram wheu lying ill of his wounds at Jezreel. But (1)... [ Continue Reading ]
JORAM WENT BACK. — With a few personal attendants. He left the army at Ramoth (2 Kings 9:14) under the command of the generals, and perhaps of Ahaziah. IN JEZREEL. — The seat of the court at this time. (Comp. 2 Kings 10:11; 2 Kings 10:13.) To reach _Samaria,_ moreover, Joram would have had to cross... [ Continue Reading ]