2 Kings 8 commentary

The kindness of the good Shunammite to Elisha, was rewarded by the care taken of her in famine. It is well to foresee an evil, and wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves if we lawfully may do so. When the famine was over, she returned out of the land of the Philistines; that was no proper place for an Israelite, any longer than there was necessity for it. Time was when she dwelt so securely among her own people, that she had no occasion to be spoken for to the king; but there is much uncertainty in this life, so that things or persons may fail us which we most depend upon, and those befriend us which we think we shall never need. Sometimes events, small in themselves, prove of consequence, as here; for they made the king ready to believe Gehazi's narrative, when thus confirmed. It made him ready to grant her request, and to support a life which was given once and again by miracle.

Among other changes of men's minds by affliction, it often gives other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they have hated and despised. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God revealed it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes: the more foresight men have, the more grief they are liable to. It is possible for a man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet afterwards to be reconciled to it. Those that are little and low in the world, cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, which, if ever they arrive at, they will find how deceitful their hearts are, how much worse than they suspected. The devil ruins men, by saying they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security. Hazael's false account was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of the prophet's warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. It is not certain that Hazael murdered his master, or if he caused his death it may have been without any design. But he was a dissembler, and afterwards proved a persecutor to Israel.

A general idea is given of Jehoram's badness. His father, no doubt, had him taught the true knowledge of the Lord, but did ill to marry him to the daughter of Ahab; no good could come of union with an idolatrous family.

Names do not make natures, but it was bad for Jehoshaphat's family to borrow names from Ahab's. Ahaziah's relation to Ahab's family was the occasion of his wickedness and of his fall. When men choose wives for themselves, let them remember they are choosing mothers for their children. Providence so ordered it, that Ahaziah might be cut off with the house of Ahab, when the measure of their iniquity was full. Those who partake with sinners in their sin, must expect to partake with them in their plagues. May all the changes, troubles, and wickedness of the world, make us more earnest to obtain an interest in the salvation of Christ.

CHAPTER 8

2Ki 8:1-6. The Shunammite's Land Restored.

1. Then spake Elisha unto the woman--rather "had spoken." The repetition of Elisha's direction to the Shunammite is merely given as an introduction to the following narrative; and it probably took place before the events recorded in chapters 5 and 6.

the Lord hath called for a famine--All such calamities are chastisements inflicted by the hand of God; and this famine was to be of double duration to that one which happened in the time of Elijah (Jas 5:17)--a just increase of severity, since the Israelites still continued obdurate and incorrigible under the ministry and miracles of Elisha (Le 26:21, 24, 28).

2. she ... sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years--Their territory was recommended to her from its contiguity to her usual residence; and now that this state had been so greatly reduced, there was less risk than formerly from the seductions of idolatry; and many of the Jews and Israelites were residing there. Besides, an emigration thither was less offensive to the king of Israel than going to sojourn in Judah.

3. she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land--In consequence of her long-continued absence from the country, her possessions were occupied by her kindred, or had been confiscated by the crown. No statute in the law of Moses ordained that alienation. But the innovation seems to have been adopted in Israel.

4-6. the king talked with Gehazi--Ceremonial pollution being conveyed by contact alone, there was nothing to prevent a conference being held with this leper at a distance; and although he was excluded from the town of Samaria, this reported conversation may have taken place at the gate or in one of the royal gardens. The providence of God so ordained that King Jehoram had been led to inquire, with great interest, into the miraculous deeds of Elisha, and that the prophet's servant was in the act of relating the marvellous incident of the restoration of the Shunammite's son when she made her appearance to prefer her request. The king was pleased to grant it; and a state officer was charged to afford her every facility in the recovery of her family possession out of the hands of the occupier.

2Ki 8:7-15. Hazael Kills His Master, and Succeeds Him.

7-8. Elisha came to Damascus--He was directed thither by the Spirit of God, in pursuance of the mission formerly given to his master in Horeb (1Ki 19:15), to anoint Hazael king of Syria. On the arrival of the prophet being known, Ben-hadad, who was sick, sent to inquire the issue of his disease, and, according to the practice of the heathens in consulting their soothsayers, ordered a liberal present in remuneration for the service.

9. forty camels' burden--The present, consisting of the rarest and most valuable produce of the land, would be liberal and magnificent. But it must not be supposed it was actually so large as to require forty camels to carry it. The Orientals are fond of display, and would, ostentatiously, lay upon forty beasts what might very easily have been borne by four.

Thy son Ben-hadad--so called from the established usage of designating the prophet "father." This was the same Syrian monarch who had formerly persecuted him (see 2Ki 6:13, 14).

10. Go, say ... Thou mayest certainly recover--There was no contradiction in this message. This part was properly the answer to Ben-hadad's inquiry [2Ki 8:9]. The second part was intended for Hazael, who, like an artful and ambitious courtier, reported only as much of the prophet's statement as suited his own views (compare 2Ki 8:14).

11. he settled his countenance stedfastly until he was ashamed--that is, Hazael. The steadfast, penetrating look of the prophet seemed to have convinced Hazael that his secret designs were known. The deep emotions of Elisha were justified by the horrible atrocities which, too common in ancient warfare, that successful usurper committed in Israel (2Ki 10:32; 13:3, 4, 22).

15. took a thick cloth, &c.--a coverlet. In the East, this article of bedding is generally a thick quilt of wool or cotton, so that, with its great weight, when steeped in water, it would be a fit instrument for accomplishing the murderous purpose, without leaving any marks of violence. It has been supposed by many doubtful that Hazael purposely murdered the king. But it is common for Eastern people to sleep with their faces covered with a mosquito net; and, in some cases of fever, they dampen the bedclothes. Hazael, aware of those chilling remedies being usually resorted to, might have, with an honest intention, spread a refreshing cover over him. The rapid occurrence of the king's death and immediate burial were favorable to his instant elevation to the throne.

2Ki 8:16-23. Jehoram's Wicked Reign.

16. Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat ... began to reign--(See on 2Ki 3:1). His father resigned the throne to him two years before his death.

18. daughter of Ahab--Athaliah, through whose influence Jehoram introduced the worship of Baal and many other evils into the kingdom of Judah (see 2Ch 21:2-20). This apostasy would have led to the total extinction of the royal family in that kingdom, had it not been for the divine promise to David (2Sa 7:16). A national chastisement, however, was inflicted on Judah by the revolt of Edom, which, being hitherto governed by a tributary ruler (2Ki 3:9; 1Ki 22:47), erected the standard of independence (2Ch 21:9).

2Ki 8:24. Ahaziah Succeeds Him.

24. Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead--(See on 2Ch 22:1).

Then spake Elisha - As this is the relation of an event far past, the words should be translated, "But Elisha had spoken unto the woman whose son he had restored unto life; and the woman had arisen, and acted according to the saying of the man of God, and had gone with her family, and had sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years." What is mentioned in these two verses happened several years before the time specified in the third verse. See the observations at the end of the preceding chapter, 2Kgs 7:17 (note).

The king talked with Gehazi - This is supposed to have happened before the cleansing of Naaman, for is it likely that the king would hold conversation with a leprous man; or that, knowing Gehazi had been dismissed with the highest disgrace from the prophet's service, he could hold any conversation with him concerning his late master, relative to whom he could not expect him to give either a true or impartial account?

Some think that this conversation might have taken place after Gehazi became leprous; the king having an insatiable curiosity to know the private history of a man who had done such astonishing things: and from whom could he get this information, except from the prophet's own confidential servant? It agrees better with the chronology to consider what is here related as having taken place after the cure of Naaman. As to the circumstance of Gehazi's disease, he might overlook that, and converse with him, keeping at a reasonable distance, as nothing but actual contact could defile.

This is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life - This was a very providential occurrence in behalf of the Shunammite. The relation given by Gehazi was now corroborated by the woman herself; the king was duly affected, and gave immediate orders for the restoration of her land.

Elisha came to Damascus - That he might lead Gehazi to repentance; according to Jarchi and some others.

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.

Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die - That is, God has not determined thy death, nor will it be a necessary consequence of the disease by which thou art now afflicted; but this wicked man will abuse the power and trust thou hast reposed in him, and take away thy life. Even when God has not designed nor appointed the death of a person, he may nevertheless die, though not without the permission of God. This is a farther proof of the doctrine of contingent events: he might live for all his sickness, but thou wilt put an end to his life.

He settled his countenance steadfastly - Of whom does the author speak? Of Hazael, or of Elisha? Several apply this action to the prophet: he had a murderer before him and he saw the bloody acts he was about to commit, and was greatly distressed; but he endeavored to conceal his feelings: at last his face reddened with anguish, his feelings overcame him, and he burst out and wept.

The Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots, makes the text very plain: Και ἑστη Αζαηλ κατα πρωσοπον αυτου, και παρεθηκεν ενωπιον αυτου δωρα, ἑως ῃσχυνετο· και εκλαυσεν ὁ ανθρωπος του Θεου, And Hazael stood before his face, and he presented before him gifts till he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.

The Codex Vaticanus, and the Codex Alexandrinus, are nearly as the Hebrew. The Aldine edition agrees in some respects with the Complutensian; but all the versions follow the Hebrew.

I know the evil that thou wilt do - We may see something of the accomplishment of this prediction, 2Kgs 10:32, 2Kgs 10:33; 2Kgs 13:3, 2Kgs 13:7.

But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great things - I believe this verse to be wrongly interpreted by the general run of commentators. It is generally understood that Hazael was struck with horror at the prediction; that these cruelties were most alien from his mind; that he then felt distressed and offended at the imputation of such evils to him; and yet, so little did he know his own heart, that when he got power, and had opportunity, he did the whole with a willing heart and a ready hand. On the contrary, I think he was delighted at the prospect; and his question rather implies a doubt whether a person so inconsiderable as he is shall ever have it in his power to do such great, not such evil things; for, in his sight, they had no turpitude. The Hebrew text stands thus: כי מה עבדך הכלב כי יעשה הדבר הגדול הזה ki mah abdecha hakkeleb, ki yaaseh haddabar haggadol hazzeh? "But, what! thy servant, this dog! that he should do this great work!" Or, "Can such a poor, worthless fellow, such a dead dog, [ὁ κυων ὁ τεθνηκως, Sept.], perform such mighty actions? thou fillest me with surprise." And that this is the true sense, his immediate murder of his master on his return fully proves. "Our common version of these words of Hazael," as Mr. Patten observes, "has stood in the front of many a fine declamation utterly wide of his real sentiment. His exclamation was not the result of horror; his expression has no tincture of it; but of the unexpected glimpse of a crown! The prophet's answer is plainly calculated to satisfy the astonishment he had excited. A dog bears not, in Scripture, the character of a cruel, but of a despicable animal; nor does he who is shocked with its barbarity call it a Great deed." - David Vindicated.

A thick cloth - The versions, in general, understand this of a hairy or woollen cloth.

So that he died - He was smothered, or suffocated.

In the fifth year of Joram - This verse, as it stands in the present Hebrew text, may be thus read: "And in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, [and of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah], reigned Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah." The three Hebrew words, ויהושפט מלך יהודה, and of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, greatly disturb the chronology in this place. It is certain that Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years, and that Jehoram his son reigned but eight; 1Kgs 22:42; 2Kgs 8:17; 2Chr 20:31; 2Chr 21:5. So that he could not have reigned during his father's life without being king twenty years, and eight years! These words are wanting in three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. in the Complutensian and Aldine editions of the Septuagint, in the Peshito Syriac, in the Parisian Heptapler Syriac, the Arabic, and in many copies of the Vulgate, collated by Dr. Kennicott and De Rossi, both printed and manuscript; to which may be added two MSS. in my own library, one of the fourteenth, the other of the eleventh century, and in what I judge to be the Editio Princeps of the Vulgate. And it is worthy of remark that in this latter work, after the fifteenth verse, ending with Quo mortuo regnavit Azahel pro eo, the following words are in a smaller character, Anno quinto Joram filii Achab regis Israhel, regnavit Joram filius Josaphat rex Juda. Triginta, etc. We have already seen that it is supposed that Jehoshaphat associated his son with him in the kingdom; and that the fifth year in this place only regards Joram king of Israel, and not Jehoshaphat king of Judah. See the notes on 2Kgs 1:17.

He reigned eight years in Jerusalem - Beginning with the fifth year of Joram, king of Israel. He reigned three years with Jehoshaphat his father, and five years alone; i.e., from A.M. 3112 to 3119, according to Archbishop Usher.

The daughter of Ahab was his wife - This was the infamous Athaliah; and through this marriage Jehoshaphat and Ahab were confederates; and this friendship was continued after Ahab's death.

To give him alway a light - To give him a successor in his own family.

Joram went over to Zair - This is the same as Seir, a chief city of Idumea. So Isa 21:11 : The burden of Dumah (Idumea). He calleth to me out of Seir.

Smote the Edomites - It appears that the Israelites were surrounded by the Idumeans; and that in the night Joram and his men cut their way through them, and so got every man to his tent, for they were not able to make any farther head against these enemies; and therefore it is said, that Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.

Are they not written in the book of the chronicles - Several remarkable particulars relative to Joram may be found in 2 Chron. 21.

Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign - In 2Chr 22:2, it is said, forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; this is a heavy difficulty, to remove which several expedients have been used. It is most evident that, if we follow the reading in Chronicles, it makes the son two years older than his own father! for his father began to reign when he was thirty-two years old, and reigned eight years, and so died, being forty years old; see 2Kgs 8:17. Dr. Lightfoot says, "The original meaneth thus: Ahaziah was the son of two and forty years; namely, of the house of Omri, of whose seed he was by the mother's side; and he walked in the ways of that house, and came to ruin at the same time with it. This the text directs us to look after, when it calleth his mother the daughter of Omri, who was indeed the daughter of Ahab. Now, these forty-two years are easily reckoned by any that will count back in the Chronicle to the second of Omri. Such another reckoning there is about Jechoniah, or Jehoiachin, 2Kgs 24:8 : Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign. But, 2Chr 36:9, Jehoiachin was the son of the eight years; that is, the beginning of his reign fell in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar, and of Judah's first captivity." - Works, vol. i., p. 87.

After all, here is a most manifest contradiction, that cannot be removed but by having recourse to violent modes of solution. I am satisfied the reading in 2Chr 22:2 (note), is a mistake; and that we should read there, as here, twenty-two instead of forty-two years; see the note there. And may we not say with Calmet, Which is most dangerous, to acknowledge that transcribers have made some mistakes in copying the sacred books, or to acknowledge that there are contradictions in them, and then to have recourse to solutions that can yield no satisfaction to any unprejudiced mind? I add, that no mode of solution yet found out has succeeded in removing the difficulty; and of all the MSS. which have been collated, and they amount to several hundred, not one confirms the reading of twenty-two years. And to it all the ancient versions are equally unfriendly.

The Syrians wounded Joram - Ahaziah went with Joram to endeavor to wrest Ramoth-gilead out of the hands of the Syrians, which belonged to Israel and Judah. Ahab had endeavored to do this before, and was slain there; see 1Kgs 22:3 (note), etc., and the notes there.

Went back to be healed in Jezreel - And there he continued till Jehu conspired against and slew him there. And thus the blood of the innocents, which had been shed by Ahab and his wife Jezebel, was visited on them in the total extinction of their family. See the following chapters, where the bloody tale of Jehu's conspiracy is told at large.

I Have already had to remark on the chronological difficulties which occur in the historical books; difficulties for which copyists alone are responsible. To remove them by the plan of reconciliation, is in many cases impracticable; to conjectural criticism we must have recourse. And is there a single ancient author of any kind, but particularly those who have written on matters of history and chronology, whose works have been transmitted to us free of similar errors, owing to the negligence of transcribers?

Sojourn - In any convenient place out of the land of Israel. The Lord, &c. - Hath appointed to bring a famine. This expression intimates, that all afflictions are sent by God, and come at his call or command. Seven years - A double time to the former famine under Elijah, which is but just, because they were still incorrigible under all the judgments of God, and the powerful ministry of Elisha.

Her house - Which having been forsaken by her, were possessed by her kindred.

Gehazi the servant - Formerly his servant. The law did not forbid conversing with lepers, but only dwelling with them.

Enquire of the Lord, &c - In his health he bowed down in the house of Rimmon; but now he tends to enquire of the God of Israel. Among other instances of the change of mens minds by affliction or sickness, this is one; that it often gives them other thoughts of God's ministers, and teacheth them to value those whom they before hated and despised.

Thy son - He who before persecuted him as an enemy, now in his extremity honours him like a father.

Howbeit - Here is no contradiction: for the first words contain an answer to Benhadad's question, shall I recover? To which the answer is, thou mayest, notwithstanding thy disease, which is not mortal. The latter words contain the prophet's addition to that answer, which is, that he should die, not by the power of his disease, but by some other cause.

He settled - The prophet fixed his eyes upon Hazael. Until - 'Till Hazael was ashamed, as apprehending the prophet discerned something of an evil and shameful nature in him.

A dog - So fierce, barbarous, and inhuman. King - And when thou shalt have power in thy hand, thou wilt discover that bloody disposition, and that hatred against God's people, which now lies hid from others, and possibly from thyself.

Spread it - So closely, that he choaked him therewith.

Jehoram - Jehoram was first made king or vice - roy, by his father divers years before this time, at his expedition to Ramoth - Gilead, which dominion of his, ended at his father's return. But now Jehoshaphat, being not far from his death, and having divers sons and fearing some competition among them, makes Jehoram king the second time, as David did Solomon upon the like occasion.

He walked - After his father's death. The daughter - Athaliah. This unequal marriage, though Jehoshaphat possibly designed it as a means of uniting the two kingdoms under one head, is here and elsewhere noted, as the cause both of the great wickedness of his posterity, and of those sore calamities which befel them. No good could be reasonably expected from such an union. Those that are ill matched are already half - ruined.

Alway - Until the coming of the Messiah: for so long, and not longer, this succession might seem necessary for the making good of God's promise and covenant made with David. But when the Messiah, was once come, there was no more need of any succession, and the scepter might and did without any inconvenience depart from Judah, and from all the succeeding branches of David's family, because the Messiah was to hold the kingdom forever in his own person, though not in so gross a way as the carnal Jews imagined. A light - A son and successor.

Ramah - The same place with Ramoth, or Ramoth - Gilead.

THen spake Elisha unto the woman ( whose son he had restored to life) saying, Arise, and go thou and thine houshold, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn : for the LORD hath called for a famine , and it shall also come upon the land seven years .

This Particle of time may be understood, either, particularly and definitely of the time next following the former History: or, more generally and indefinitely (as it is frequently used) of the time in which Elisha and this Shunamitish Woman lived. Possibly this might happen before the History of Naaman, chap. 5. or at least, before the Siege of Samaria, chap. 6. But this is not certain.

Expressing his gratitude for her former kindnesses, by taking special care for her preservation.

In any convenient place out of the Land of Israel.

i. e. Hath appointed to bring a Famine, or a great scarcity of Provisions. This expression intimates, that all afflictions are sent by God, and come at his Call or Command.

A double time to the former Famin under Elijah, Iam. 5. 17. which is but just and reasonable, because they were still obstinate and incorrigible under all the severe and succeeding Judgments of God, and under the powerful Ministry of Elisha, who confirmed his Doctrine by Glorious Miracles. See Levit. 26. 21, 24, 28.

Marginal references: Chap. 4[illegible: 1+ letters].; Psal. [illegible: 1 word] Hag. 1. [illegible: 1 word].

2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her houshold, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

Either, because that was near her Lands and Dwelling, which she thought she might have an eye to, when occasion required: or, because there was more plenty than in Iudah: or, because she knew that her going to dwell in Iudah would be very displeasing to the King of Israel, whose favour she was like to need hereafter. Nor was there now that danger of Idolatry from the Philistines, as the[illegible: 1+ letters]e had been formerly, because their power and influence was now grown inconsiderable, and probably many of the Iews and Israelites lived among them. And this Land, though bordering upon Israel, was free from this Famine, that it might appear that this was a special Hand and Judgment of God upon the Israelites for their Idolatry, and for their unprofitableness under all the means of Grace which now they plentifully enjoyed by Elisha and many other Prophets; which the Philistines not enjoying, their sin was much less, and therefore their present condition was better.

3 And it came to pass at the seven years end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went [illegible: 1+ letters]orth to cry unto the king for her house, and for her land .

Which having been forsaken by her, were possessed by her Kindred, or others, who had obtained them from the King, and now intended to keep the possession of them.

4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God , saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

Quest. How could the King speak with Gehazi who was a Leper? Ans. Either, the King might speak with him at a convenient distance, it being usual for others to discourse with Lepers, as 2 King. 7. 8. Matth. 8. 2. Luk. 17. 12. or, his Leprosy might be of that sort which was not infectious: or, if his Leprosy was such as made him yet to be unclean, the Kings great Curiosity might easily prevail with him to break a Ceremonial Law, who made no scruple of violating Gods Moral Law.

5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house, and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

By Gods wonderful and Gracious Providence brought thither in the most advantageous season.

6 And when the king asked the woman , she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field, since the day that she left the land, even till now.

Concerning the truth of Gehazi's relation.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word].

7 ¶ And Elisha came to Damascus ; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick, and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

Either to the City; or rather, to the Kingdom of Damascus; by comparing v. 9. as Samaria, which properly was the name of the City, is sometimes the name of the Kingdom; of which see on 1 King. 13. 32. Hither he came by the special direction of the Spirit, and under Gods protection, upon the Errand here following.

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?

By which he thought to purchase his favour, and the healing of his Disease.

9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels burden , and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

Hazael carried the more noble Present, hoping, as his Master did, to get some interest in the Prophet, and advantage to himself by it. Whether the Prophet received it or not, is not here mentioned; but it is most probable he did not, from his former practise, chap. 5. and because the reasons which then swayed him, were still of the same force.

He who before persecuted him as an Enemy, chap. 6. 13, 14. now in his extremity honours him like a Father.

Marginal references: Heb. in his hand.; Heb. live. Chap. 1. 2.

10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit, the LORD hath shewed me, that he shall surely die .

Here is no contradiction: for the first words contain an answer to Benhadad's question, ver. 8. Shall I recover this disease? To which the answer is, th[illegible: 1+ letters]u mayest or shalt recover, i. e. notwithstanding thy Disease, which is not mor [illegible: 1+ letters]l, and shall not take away thy life. The later words contain the Prophets explication of, or addition to that answer, which is, that he should die, not by the power of his Disease, but by some other cause. But it is observable, that in the Hebrew Text it is, lo, the Adverb, which signifies not; which though most affirm to be put for lo, the Pronoun, signifying to him; yet others take it as it lies, and Translate the words thus, Say, thou shalt not recover: for the Lord hath shewed me, that he shall surely die. Or, according to the former reading, the first words may be taken Interrogatively, say unto him, Shalt thou indeed recover? (as thou dost flatter thy self): no: (which negation is implied in the very question, and gathered from the following words) for the Lord hath shewed me, that he shall surely die.

11 And he setled his countenance stedfastly , until he was ashamed : and the man of God wept.

The Prophet fixed his eyes upon Hazael.

Either, till the Prophet was ashamed to look any longer upon him: or, till Hazael was ashamed, as apprehending that the Prophet suspected or discerned something extraordinary, and of an evil and shameful nature in him. The Hebrew words are ambiguous, and may indifferently [illegible: 1+ letters]e referred to either of them: but they seem more properly to belong to Hazael, because it follows by way of distinction, the man of God wept.

Marginal references: Heb. and [illegible: 1+ letters]et it.

12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel : their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

So here was a double cause of his Grief and Tears, the evil of sin in Hazael: and the evil of suffering upon Israel.

Marginal references: Chap. 10. 32. and 13. 3. Amos 1. 3.; Chap. 15. 16. Hos. 13. 16. Amos 1. 13.

13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog , that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria .

Either, so vile and unworthy, as this expression is used, 2 Sam. 3. 8. and 9. 8. or so impudent, for which Dogs are noted: or, so fierce, and barbarous, and inhumane. Compare Psal. 22. 16, 20. and 59. 6.

And when thou shalt have power in thy hand, thou wiltst discover that bloody disposition, and that hatred against Gods People, which now lies hid from others, and possibly from thy self; and therefore with the Kingdom thou wiltst inherit their cruel [illegible: 1+ letters] ons.

14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover .

He represents the Prophets answer by halves, that by his Masters security he might have the fitter opportunity to execute his Treasonable design.

15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipt it in water, and spread it on his face , so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead .

Pretending it may be to cool his immoderate heat with it, but applying it so closely, that he choaked him therewith: by which Artifice his Death seemed to be Natural, there being no signs of a violent Death upon his Body. And this he the more boldly attempted, because the Prophets Prediction made him confident of the success.

Having the favour of the People, and of the Men of War.

16 ¶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign .

Iehoram was first made King or Vice-Roy by his Father divers Years before this time, to wit, at his expedition to Ramoth-Gilead, as was noted before: which Dominion of his ended at his Fathers return. But now Iehoshaphat, being not far from his Death, and having divers Sons, and fearing some competition and dissention among them, makes Iehoram King the second time, as David did Solomon upon the like occasion, 1 Chron. 29. 22. which is the thing here related. But of this see more in the Notes on 2 King. 1. 17. and 3. 1.

Marginal references: 2 Chr. 21. 4.; Heb. reigned.

17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

Part with his Father, and part by himself alone.

18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel , as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

After his Fathers Death.

Athaliah, ver. 26. This unequal Marriage, though Iehoshaphat possibly designed it as a mean of Uniting the two Kingdoms under one Head, and in the True Religion, is here and elsewhere noted, as the cause both of the great wickedness of his Posterity, and of those sore Calamities which befel them.

Marginal references: Ver. 26.

19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servants sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light , and to his children.

Heb. all days, until the coming of the Messiah, as it is elsewhere limited and explained: for so long, and not longer, this Succession might seem necessary for the making good of Gods Promise and Covenant made with David. But when the Messiah was once come, there was no more need of any Succession, and the Scepter might and did without any inconvenience depart from Iudah, and from all the succeeding Branches of David's Family, because the Messiah was to hold the Kingdom for ever in his own Person, though not in so gross a way as the carnal Iews imagined, but in a Spiritual manner.

i. e. A Son and Successor. Of this Phrase see on 1 King. 11. 36.

Marginal references: 2 Sam. 7. 13.; Heb. candle, or, lamp.

20 ¶ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Iudah , and made a king over themselves.

[illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] they had been from David's time, 2 Sam. [illegible: 1 word] ▪ [illegible: 1 word] ▪ [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters] King. 22. 47.

21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him, and he rose by night and smote the Edomites which compassed him about: and the captains of the chariots, and the people fled into their tents.

i. e. The common Soldiers of the Edomites, herein following the example of their Captains.

22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah until this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

For though Ioram had given them a defeat, yet it may seem to have been no great slaughter, but onely a putting them to flight; and therefore they might easily rally again. And Iehoram could not pursue the Victory, because he was recalled by the revolt of his own Subjects, which had took the occasion of his absence, and probably feared that others would follow their example, if they had the like occasion.

A considerable City in Iudah, belonging to the Priests, Ios. 15. 42. and 21. 13.

Why, see 2 Chron. 21. 10, 11. It is probable they returned to their obedience, because those words, unto this day, which are added to the former clause, are omitted here.

23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ?

Of which see on 1 King. 14. 19.

25 ¶ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

Obj. It was in the eleventh year of Ioram, chap. 9. 29. Ans. Either, First, He began to Reign in the confines of Ioram's 11th and 12th Year, in the very end of his 11th Year, or towards the beginning of the 12th, whence it is indifferently ascribed to the one or the other. Or, Secondly, The one Year of Ahaziah did concur with the later half of Ioram's 11th Year, and the former half of his 12th Year: and if he could not be said to begin to reign in both these Years, yet he might unquestionably be said to reign in both of them; and the Hebrew word, both here and chap. 9. 29. properly signifies he reigned, and not, he began to reign, as it is Translated. Or, Thirdly, Ahaziah began to [illegible: 1 word] with h[illegible: 1+ letters]s Father, and during his Life, according to the late examples both in Iudah and Israel, there being also special occasion for it, by reason of Ioram's cruel and long sickness, 2 Chron. 21. 18, &c. and this was in Ioram's 11th Year, and then his Father died, and he began his single Reign in Ioram's 12th Year.

Called also Iehoahaz, 2 C[illegible: 1+ letters]ro. 21. 17. and Azariah, 2 Chron. 22. 6.

26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and his mothers name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

How this agrees with 2 Chron. 22. 2. see on that place.

i. e. His Grand-Daughter. See above on ver. 18.

27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab .

He was the proper Son of Athaliah, Daughter of Ahab, and the Grand-Son-in-law of Ahab, because his Father was Ahab's Son-in-law, ver. 18.

29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah , when he fought against Hazael king of Syria: and Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

The same place with Ramoth, or Ramoth-Gilead.

Marginal references: Chap. 9. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] with the [illegible: 1+ letters] ans had wounded.; Heb. wounded▪

2Ki 8:1-2

Elisha’s Influence Helps the Shunammite to the Possession of her House and Field. - 2Ki 8:1, 2Ki 8:2. By the advice of Elisha, the woman whose son the prophet had restored to life (2Ki 4:33) had gone with her family into the land of the Philistines during a seven years’ famine, and had remained there seven years. The two verses are rendered by most commentators in the pluperfect, and that with perfect correctness, for they are circumstantial clauses, and ותּקם is merely a continuation of דּבּר, the two together preparing the way for, and introducing the following event. The object is not to relate a prophecy of Elisha of the seven years’ famine, but what afterwards occurred, namely, how king Joram was induced by the account of Elisha’s miraculous works to have the property of the Shunammite restored to her upon her application. The seven years’ famine occurred in the middle of Joram’s reign, and the event related here took place before the curing of Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5), as is evident from the fact that Gehazi talked with the king (2Ki 8:4), and therefore had not yet been punished with leprosy. But it cannot have originally stood between 2Ki 4:37 and 2Ki 4:38, as Thenius supposes, because the incidents related in 2Ki 4:38-44 belong to the time of this famine (cf. 2Ki 4:38), and therefore precede the occurrence mentioned here. By the words, “the Lord called the famine, and it came seven years” (sc., lasting that time), the famine is described as a divine judgment for the idolatry of the nation.

2Ki 8:3

When the woman returned to her home at the end of the seven years, she went to the king to cry, i.e., to invoke his help, with regard to her house and her field, of which, as is evident from the context, another had taken possession during her absence.

2Ki 8:4

And just at that time the king was asking Gehazi to relate to him the great things that Elisha had done; and among these he was giving an account of the restoration of the Shunammite’s son to life.

2Ki 8:5-6

While he was relating this, the woman herself came into invoke the help of the king to recover her property, and was pointed out to the king by Gehazi as the very woman of whom he was speaking, which caused the king to be so interested in her favour, that after hearing her complaint he sent a chamberlain with her (saris as in 1Ki 22:9), with instructions to procure for her not only the whole of her property, but the produce of the land during her absence. - For עזבה without mappiq, see Ewald, §247, d.

2Ki 8:7-9

Elisha Predicts to Hazael at Damascus the Possession of the Throne. - 2Ki 8:7. Elisha then came to Damascus at the instigation of the Spirit of God, to carry out the commission which Elijah had received at Horeb with regard to Hazael (1Ki 19:15). Benhadad king of Syria was sick at that time, and when Elisha’s arrival was announced to him, sent Hazael with a considerable present to the man of God, to inquire of Jehovah through him concerning his illness. The form of the name חזהאל (here and 2Ki 8:15) is etymologically correct; but afterwards it is always written without .ה דם וכל־טוּב (“and that all kinds of good of Damascus”) follows with a more precise description of the minchah - “a burden of forty camels.” The present consisted of produce or wares of the rich commercial city of Damascus, and was no doubt very considerable; at the same time, it was not so large that forty camels were required to carry it. The affair must be judged according to the Oriental custom, of making a grand display with the sending of presents, and employing as many men or beasts of burden as possible to carry them, every one carrying only a single article (cf. Harmar, Beobb. ii. p. 29, iii. p. 43, and Rosenmüller, A. u. N. Morgenl. iii. p. 17).

2Ki 8:10

According to the Chethîb חיה לא, Elisha’s answer was, “Thou wilt not live, and (for) Jehovah has shown me that he will die;” according to the Keri חיה לו, “tell him: Thou wilt live, but Jehovah,” etc. Most of the commentators follow the ancient versions, and the Masoretes, who reckon our לא among the fifteen passages of the O.T. in which it stands for the pronoun לו (vid., Hilleri Arcan. Keri, p. 62f.), and some of the codices, and decide in favour of the Keri. (1) because the conjecture that לו was altered into לא in order that Elisha might not be made to utter an untruth, is a very natural one; and (2) on account of the extreme rarity with which a negative stands before the inf. abs. with the finite verb following. But there is not much force in either argument. The rarity of the position of לא before the inf. abs. followed by a finite verb, in connection with the omission of the pronoun לו after אמר, might be the very reason why לא was taken as a pronoun; and the confirmation of this opinion might be found in the fact that Hazael brought back this answer to the king: “Thou wilt live” (2Ki 8:14). The reading in the text לא (non) is favoured by the circumstance that it is the more difficult of the two, partly because of the unusual position of the negative, and partly because of the contradiction to 2Ki 8:14. But the לא is found in the same position in other passages (Gen 3:4; Psa 49:8, and Amo 9:8), where the emphasis lies upon the negation; and the contradiction to 2Ki 8:14 may be explained very simply, from the fact that Hazael did not tell his king the truth, because he wanted to put him to death and usurp the throne. We therefore prefer the reading in the text, since it is not in harmony with the character of the prophets to utter an untruth; and the explanation, “thou wilt not die of thine illness, but come to a violent death,” puts into the words a meaning which they do not possess. For even if Benhadad did not die of his illness, he did not recover from it.

2Ki 8:11

Elisha then fixed Hazael for a long time with his eye, and wept. וגו ויּעמד literally, he made his face stand fast, and directed it (upon Hazael) to shaming. עד־בּשׁ as in Jdg 3:25; not in a shameless manner (Thenius), but till Hazael was embarrassed by it.

2Ki 8:12

When Hazael asked him the cause of his weeping, Elisha replied: “I know the evil which thou wilt do to the sons of Israel: their fortresses wilt thou set on fire (בּאשׁ שׁלּח, see at Jdg 1:8), their youths wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children to pieces, and cut asunder their women with child” (בּקּע, split, cut open the womb). This cruel conduct towards Israel which is here predicted of Hazael, was only a special elaboration of the brief statement made by the Lord to Elijah concerning Hazael (1Ki 19:17). The fulfilment of this prediction is indicated generally in 2Ki 10:32-33, and 2Ki 13:3.; and we may infer with certainty from Hos 10:14 and Hos 14:1, that Hazael really practised the cruelties mentioned.

2Ki 8:13-15

But when Hazael replied in feigned humility, What is thy servant, the dog (i.e., so base a fellow: for כּלב see at 1Sa 24:15), that he should do such great things? Elisha said to him, “Jehovah has shown thee to me as king over Aram;” whereupon Hazael returned to his lord, brought him the pretended answer of Elisha that he would live (recover), and the next day suffocated him with a cloth dipped in water. מכבּר, from כּבר, to plait or twist, literally, anything twisted; not, however, a net for gnats or flies (Joseph., J. D. Mich., etc.), but a twisted thick cloth, which when dipped in water became so thick, that when it was spread over the face of the sick man it was sufficient to suffocate him.

2Ki 8:16-17

Reign of Joram of Judah (cf. 2 Chron 21:2-20). - Joram became king in the fifth year of Joram of Israel, while Jehoshaphat his father was (still) king, the latter handing over the government to him two years before his death (see at 2Ki 1:17), and reigned eight years, namely, two years to the death of Jehoshaphat and six years afterwards.The words יהוּדה מלך ויהושׁפט have been improperly omitted by the Arabic and Syriac, and by Luther, Dathe, and De Wette from their translations; whilst Schulz, Maurer, Thenius, and others pronounce it a gloss. The genuineness of the words is attested by the lxx (the Edit. Complut. being alone in omitting them) and by the Chaldee: and the rejection of them is just as arbitrary as the interpolation of מת, which is proposed by Kimchi and Ewald (“when Jehoshaphat was dead”). Compare J. Meyer, annotatt. ad Seder Olam, p. 916f.

The Chethîb שׁנה שׁמנה is not to be altered, since the rule that the numbers two to ten take the noun in the plural is not without exception (cf. Ewald, §287, i.).

2Ki 8:18-19

Joram had married a daughter of Ahab, namely Athaliah (2Ki 8:26), and walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, transplanting the worship of Baal into his kingdom. Immediately after the death of Jehoshaphat he murdered his brothers, apparently with no other object than to obtain possession of the treasures which his father had left them (2Ch 21:2-4). This wickedness of Joram would have been followed by the destruction of Judah, had not the Lord preserved a shoot to the royal house for David’s sake. For ניר לו לתת see 1Ki 11:36. The following word לבניו serves as an explanation of ניר לו, “a light with regard to his sons,” i.e., by the fact that he kept sons (descendants) upon the throne.

2Ki 8:20-22

Nevertheless the divine chastisement was not omitted. The ungodliness of Joram was punished partly by the revolt of the Edomites and of the city of Libnah from his rule, and partly by a horrible sickness of which he died (2Ch 21:12-15). Edom, which had hitherto had only a vicegerent with the title of king (see 2Ki 3:9 and 1Ki 22:48), threw off the authority of Judah, and appointed its own king, under whom it acquired independence, as the attempt of Joram to bring it back again under his control completely failed. The account of this attempt in 2Ki 8:21 and 2Ch 21:9 is very obscure. “Joram went over to Zair, and all his chariots of war with him; and it came to pass that he rose up by night and smote the Edomites round about, and indeed the captains of the war-chariots, and the people fled (i.e., the Judaean men of war, not the Edomites) to their tents.” It is evident from this, that Joram had advanced to Zair in Idumaea; but there he appears to have been surrounded and shut in, so that in the night he fought his way through, and had reason to be glad that he had escaped utter destruction, since his army fled to their homes. צעירה is an unknown place in Idumaea, which Movers, Hitzig, and Ewald take to be Zoar, but without considering that Zoar was in the land of Moab, not in Edom. The Chronicles have instead שׂריו עם, “with his captains,” from a mere conjecture; whilst Thenius regards צעירה as altered by mistake from שׂעירה (“to Seir”), which is very improbable in the case of so well-known a name as שׂעיר. הסּביב is a later mode of writing for הסּובב, probably occasioned by the frequently occurring word סביב. “To this day,” i.e., to the time when the original sources of our books were composed. For the Edomites were subjugated again by Amaziah and Uzziah (2Ki 14:7 and 2Ki 14:22), though under Ahaz they made incursions into Judah again (2Ch 28:17). - At that time Libnah also revolted. This was a royal city of the early Canaanites, and at a later period it was still a considerable fortress (2Ki 19:8). It is probably to be sought for in the ruins of Arak el Menshiyeh, two hours to the west of Beit-Jibrin (see the Comm. on Jos 10:29). This city probably revolted from Judah on the occurrence of an invasion of the land by the Philistines, when the sons of Joram were carried off, with the exception of the youngest, Jehoahaz (Ahaziah: 2Ch 21:16-17).

2Ki 8:23-24

According to 2Ch 21:18., Joram died of a terrible disease, in which his bowels fell out, and was buried in the city of David, though not in the family sepulchre of the kings.“The building of Carthage, Dido, her husband Sichaeus, her brother Pygmalion king of Tyre (scelere ante alios immanior omnes), all coincide with the reign of Joram. This synchronism of the history of Tyre is not without significance here. The Tyrian, Israelitish, and Judaean histories are closely connected at this time. Jezebel, a Tyrian princess, was Ahab’s wife, and again her daughter Athaliah was the wife of Joram, and after his death the murderess of the heirs of the kingdom, and sole occupant of the throne. Tyre, through these marriages, introduced its own spirit and great calamity into both the Israelitish kingdoms.” - J. D. Michaelis on 2Ki 8:24.

2Ki 8:25-26

Reign of Ahaziah of Judah (cf. 2Ch 22:1-6). - Ahaziah, the youngest son of Joram, ascended the throne in the twenty-second year of his age. The statement in 2Ch 22:2, that he was forty-two years old when he became king, rests upon a copyist’s error, namely, a confusion of כ twenty with מ forty. Now, since his father became king at the age of thirty-two, and reigned eight years, Ahaziah must have been born in the nineteenth year of his age. Consequently it may appear strange that Ahaziah had brothers still older than himself (2Ch 21:17); but as early marriages are common in the East, and the royal princes had generally concubines along with their wife of the first rank, as is expressly stated of Joram in 2Ch 21:17, he might have had some sons in his nineteenth year. His mother was called Athaliah, and was a daughter of the idolatrous Jezebel. In 2Ki 8:26 and 2Ch 22:2 she is called the daughter, i.e., grand-daughter, of Omri; for, according to 2Ki 8:18, she was a daughter of Ahab. Omri, the grand-father, is mentioned in 2Ki 8:26 as the founder of the dynasty which brought so much trouble upon Israel and Judah through its idolatry.

2Ki 8:27

Ahaziah, like his father, reigned in the spirit of Ahab, because he allowed his mother to act as his adviser (2Ch 22:3-4).

2Ki 8:28

Ahaziah went with Joram of Israel, his mother’s brother, to the war with the Syrians at Ramoth. The contest for this city, which had already cost Ahab his life (1 Kings), was to furnish the occasion, according to the overruling providence of God, for the extermination of the whole of Omri’s family. Being wounded in the battle with the Syrians, Joram king of Israel returned to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. His nephew Ahaziah visited him there, and there he met with his death at the same time as Joram at the hands of Jehu, who had conspired against Joram (see 2Ki 9:14. and 2Ch 22:7-9). Whether the war with Hazael at Ramoth was for the recapture of this city, which had been taken by the Syrians, or simply for holding it against the Syrians, it is impossible to determine. All that we can gather from 2Ki 9:14 is, that at that time Ramoth was in the possession of the Israelites, whether it had come into their possession again after the disgraceful rout of the Syrians before Samaria (2 Kings 7), or whether, perhaps, it was not recovered till this war. For ארמּים without the article see Ewald, §277, c.

2Ki 8:29 בּרמה = בּלעד בּרמת, 2Ki 8:28; see at 1Ki 22:4. Anointing of Jehu by Command of Elisha. - While the Israelitish army was at Ramoth, Elisha executed the last of the commissions which Elijah had received at Horeb (1Ki 19:16), by sending a pupil of the prophets into the camp to anoint Jehu the commander-in-chief of the army as king, and to announce to him, in the name of Jehovah, that he would be king over Israel; and to charge him to exterminate the house of Ahab.

A Famine in Israel; the Shunammite's Possessions Restored. (b. c. 886.)

1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. 2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. 4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. 5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

Here we have,

I. The wickedness of Israel punished with a long famine, one of God's sore judgments often threatened in the law. Canaan, that fruitful land, was turned into barrenness, for the iniquity of those that dwelt therein. The famine in Samaria was soon relieved by the raising of that siege, but neither that judgment nor that mercy had a due influence upon them, and therefore the Lord called for another famine; for when he judgeth he will overcome. If less judgments do not prevail to bring men to repentance, he will send greater and longer; they are at his beck, and will come when he calls for them. He does, by his ministers, call for reformation and obedience, and, if those calls be not regarded, we may expect he will call for some plague or other, for he will be heard. This famine continued seven years, as long again as that in Elijah's time; for if men will walk contrary to him, he will heat the furnace yet hotter.

II. The kindness of the good Shunammite to the prophet rewarded by the care that was taken of her in that famine; she was not indeed fed by miracle, as the widow of Sarepta was, but, 1. She had notice given her of this famine before it came, that she might provide accordingly, and was directed to remove to some other country; any where but in Israel she would find plenty. It was a great advantage to Egypt in Joseph's time that they had notice of the famine before it came, so it was to this Shunammite; others would be forced to remove at last, after they had long borne the grievances of the famine, and had wasted their substance, and could not settle elsewhere upon such good terms as she might that went early, before the crowd, and took her stock with her unbroken. It is our happiness to foresee an evil, and our wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves. 2. Providence gave her a comfortable settlement in the land of the Philistines, who, though subdued by David, yet were not wholly rooted out. It seems the famine was peculiar to the land of Israel, and other countries that joined close to them had plenty at the same time, which plainly showed the immediate hand of God in it (as in the plagues of Egypt, when they distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians) and that the sins of Israel, against whom this judgment was directly levelled, were more provoking to God than the sins of their neighbours, because of their profession of relation to God. You only have I known, therefore will I punish you, Amos iii. 2. Other countries had rain when they had none, were free from locusts and caterpillars when they were eaten up with them; for some think this was the famine spoken of, Joel i. 3, 4. It is strange that when there was plenty in the neighbouring countries there were not those that made it their business to import corn into the land of Israel, which might have prevented the inhabitants from removing; but, as they were befooled with their idolatries, so they were infatuated even in the matters of their civil interest.

III. Her petition to the king at her return, favoured by the seasonableness of her application to him. 1. When the famine was over she returned out of the land of the Philistines; that was no proper place for an Israelite to dwell any longer than there was a necessity for so doing, for there she could not keep her new moons and her sabbaths as she used to do in her own country, among the schools of the prophets, ch. iv. 23. 2. At her return she found herself kept out of the possession of her own estate, it being either confiscated to the exchequer, seized by the lord, or usurped in her absence by some of the neighbours; or perhaps the person she had entrusted with the management of it proved false, and would neither resign it to her nor come to an account with her for the profits: so hard is it to find a person that one can put a confidence in in a time of trouble, Prov. xxv. 19; Mic. vii. 5. 3. She made her application to the king himself for redress; for, it seems (be it observed to his praise), he was easy of access, and did himself take cognizance of the complaint of his injured subjects. Time was when she dwelt so securely among her own people that she had no occasion to be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host (ch. iv. 13); but now her own familiar friends, in whom she trusted, proved so unjust and unkind that she was glad to appeal to the king against them. Such uncertainty there is in the creature that that may fail us which we most depend upon and that befriend us which we think we shall never need. 4. She found the king talking with Gehazi about Elisha's miracles, v. 4. It was his shame that he needed now to be informed concerning them, when he might have acquainted himself with them as they were done from Elisha himself, if he had not been willing to shut his eyes against the convincing evidence of his mission; yet it was his praise that he was now better disposed, and would rather talk with a leper that was capable of giving a good account of them than continue ignorant of them. The law did not forbid all conversation with lepers, but only dwelling with them. There being then no priests in Israel, perhaps the king, or some one appointed by him, had the inspection of lepers, and passed the judgment upon them, which might bring him acquainted with Gehazi. 5. This happy coincidence befriended both Gehazi's narrative and her petition. Providence is to be acknowledged in ordering the circumstances of events, for sometimes those that are minute in themselves prove of great consequence, as this did, for, (1.) It made the king ready to believe Gehazi's narrative when it was thus confirmed by the persons most nearly concerned: "This is the woman, and this her son; let them speak for themselves," v. 5. Thus did God even force him to believe what he might have had some colour to question if he had only had Gehazi's word for it, because he was branded for a liar, witness his leprosy. (2.) It made him ready to grant her request; for who would not be ready to favour one whom heaven had thus favoured, and to support a life which was given once and again by miracle? In consideration of this the king gave orders that her land should be restored to her and all the profits that were made of it in her absence. If it was to himself that the land and profits had escheated, it was generous and kind to make so full a restitution; he would not (as Pharaoh did in Joseph's time) enrich the crown by the calamities of his subjects. If it was by some other person that her property was invaded, it was an act of justice in the king, and part of the duty of his place, to give her redress, Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4; Prov. xxxi. 9. It is not enough for those in authority that they do no wrong themselves, but they must support the right of those that are wronged.

Hazael's Barbarity Predicted. (b. c. 885.)

7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. 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? 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. 15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

Here, I. We may enquire what brought Elisha to Damascus, the chief city of Syria. Was he sent to any but the lost sheep of the house of Israel? It seems he was. Perhaps he went to pay a visit to Naaman his convert, and to confirm him in his choice of the true religion, which was the more needful now because, it should seem, he was not out of his place (for Hazael is supposed to be captain of that host); either he resigned it or was turned out of it, because he would not bow, or not bow heartily, in the house of Rimmon. Some think he went to Damascus upon account of the famine, or rather he went thither in obedience to the orders God gave Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 15, "Go to Damascus to anoint Hazael, thou, or thy successor."

II. We may observe that Ben-hadad, a great king, rich and mighty, lay sick. No honour, wealth, or power, will secure men from the common diseases and disasters of human life; palaces and thrones lie as open to the arrests of sickness and death as the meanest cottage.

III. We may wonder that the king of Syria, in his sickness, should make Elisha his oracle.

1. Notice was soon brought him that the man of God (for by that title he was well known in Syria since he cured Naaman) had come to Damascus, v. 7. "Never in better time," says Ben-hadad. "Go, and enquire of the Lord by him." In his health he bowed in the house of Rimmon, but now that he is sick he distrusts his idol, and sends to enquire of the God of Israel. Affliction brings those to God who in their prosperity had made light of him; sometimes sickness opens men's eyes and rectifies their mistakes. This is the more observable, (1.) Because it was not long since a king of Israel had, in his sickness, sent to enquire of the god of Ekron (ch. i. 2), as if there had been no God in Israel. Note, God sometimes fetches to himself that honour from strangers which is denied him and alienated from him by his own professing people. (2.) Because it was not long since this Ben-hadad had sent a great force to treat Elisha as an enemy (ch. vi. 14), yet now he courts him as a prophet. Note, Among other instances of the change of men's minds by sickness and affliction, this is one, that it often gives them other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches them to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they had hated and despised.

2. To put an honour upon the prophet, (1.) He sends to him, and does not send for him, as if, with the centurion, he thought himself not worthy that the man of God should come under his roof. (2.) He sends to him by Hazael, his prime-minister of state, and not by a common messenger. It is no disparagement to the greatest of men to attend the prophets of the Lord. Hazael must go and meet him at a place where he had appointed a meeting with his friends. (3.) He sends him a noble present, of every good thing of Damascus, as much as loaded forty camels (v. 9), testifying hereby his affection to the prophet, bidding him welcome to Damascus, and providing for his sustenance while he sojourned there. It is probable that Elisha accepted it (why should he not?), though he refused Naaman's. (4.) He orders Hazael to call him his son Ben-hadad, conforming to the language of Israel, who called the prophets fathers. (5.) He puts an honour upon him as one acquainted with the secrets of heaven, when he enquires of him, Shall I recover? It is natural to us to desire to know things to come in time, while things to come in eternity are little thought of or enquired after.

IV. What passed between Hazael and Elisha is especially remarkable.

1. Elisha answered his enquiry concerning the king, that he might recover, the disease was not mortal, but that he should die another way (v. 10), not a natural but a violent death. There are many ways out of the world, and sometimes, while men think to avoid one, they fall by another.

2. He looked Hazael in the face with an unusual concern, till he made Hazael blush and himself weep, v. 11. The man of God could outface the man of war. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God did, at this time, reveal it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes. The more foresight men have the more grief they are liable to.

3. When Hazael asked him why he wept he told him what a great deal of mischief he foresaw he would do to the Israel of God (v. 12), what desolations he would make of their strong-holds, and barbarous destruction of their men, women, and children. The sins of Israel provoked God to give them up into the hands of their cruel enemies, yet Elisha wept to think that ever Israelites should be thus abused; for, though he foretold, he did not desire the woeful day. See what havock war makes, what havock sin makes, and how the nature of man is changed by the fall, and stripped even of humanity itself.

4. Hazael was greatly surprised at this prediction (v. 13): What, says he, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? This great thing he looks upon to be, (1.) An act of great power, not to be done but by a crowned head. "It must be some mighty potentate that can think to prevail thus against Israel, and therefore not I." Many are raised to that dominion which they never thought of and it often proves to their own hurt, Eccl. viii. 9. (2.) An act of great barbarity, which could not be done but by one lost to all honour and virtue: "Therefore," says he, "it is what I shall never find in my heart to be guilty of: Is thy servant a dog, to rend, and tear, and devour? Unless I were a dog, I could not do it." See here, [1.] What a bad opinion he had of the sin; he looked upon it to be great wickedness, fitter for a brute, for a beast of prey, to do than a man. Note, It is possible for a wicked man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, and yet afterwards to be well reconciled to it. [2.] What a good opinion he had of himself, how much better than he deserved; he thought it impossible he should do such barbarous things as the prophet foresaw. Note, We are apt to think ourselves sufficiently armed against those sins which yet we are afterwards overcome by, as Peter, Matt. xxvi. 35.

5. In answer to this Elisha only told him he should be king over Syria; then he would have power to do it, and then he would find in his heart to do it. Honours change men's tempers and manners, and seldom for the better: "Thou knowest not what thou wilt do when thou comest to be king, but I tell thee this thou wilt do." Those that are little and low in the world cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, and, if ever they arrive at them, they will find how deceitful their hearts were and how much worse than they suspected.

V. What mischief Hazael did to his master hereupon. If he took any occasion to do it from what Elisha had said the fault was in him, not in the word. 1. He basely cheated his master, and belied the prophet (v. 14): He told me thou shouldst certainly recover. This was abominably false; he told him he should die (v. 10), but he unfairly and unfaithfully concealed that, either because he was loth to put the king out of humour with bad news or because hereby he might the more effectually carry on that bloody design which he conceived when he was told he should be his successor. The devil ruins men by telling them they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security, than which nothing is more fatal. This was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of this warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. 2. He barbarously murdered his master, and so made good the prophet's word, v. 15. He dipped a thick cloth in cold water, and spread it upon his face, under pretence of cooling and refreshing him, but so that it stopped his breath, and stifled him presently, he being weak (and not able to help himself) or perhaps asleep: such a bubble is the life of the greatest of men, and so much exposed are princes to violence. Hazael, who was Ben-hadad's confidant, was his murderer, and some think, was not suspected, nor did the truth ever come out but by the pen of this inspired historian. We found this haughty monarch (1 Kings xx.) the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, but he goes down slain to the pit with his iniquity upon his bones, Ezek. xxxii. 27.

The Reign of Jehoram. (b. c. 884.)

16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. 17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord . 19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children. 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. 21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. 22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

We have here a brief account of the life and reign of Jehoram (or Joram), one of the worst of the kings of Judah, but the son and successor of Jehoshaphat, one of the best. Note, 1. Parents cannot give grace to their children. Many that have themselves been godly have had the grief and shame of seeing those that came forth out of their bowels wicked and vile. Let not the families that are thus afflicted think it strange. 2. If the children of good parents prove wicked, commonly they are worse than others. The unclean spirit brings in seven others more wicked than himself, Luke xi. 26. 3. A nation is sometimes justly punished with the miseries of a bad reign for not improving the blessings and advantages of a good one.

Concerning this Jehoram observe,

I. The general idea here given of his wickedness (v. 18): He did as the house of Ahab, and worse he could not do. His character is taken from the bad example he followed, for men are according to the company they converse with and the copies they write after. No mistake is more fatal to young people than a mistake in the choice of those whom they would recommend themselves to and take their measures from, and whose good opinion they value themselves by. Jehoram chose the house of Ahab for his pattern rather than his father's house, and this choice was his ruin. We have a particular account of his wickedness (2 Chron. xxi.), murder, idolatry, persecution, everything that was bad.

II. The occasions of his wickedness. His father was a very good man, and no doubt took care to have him taught the good knowledge of the Lord, but, 1. It is certain he did ill to marry him to the daughter of Ahab; no good could come of an alliance with an idolatrous family, but all mischief with such a daughter of such a mother as Athaliah the daughter of Jezebel. The degeneracy of the old world took rise from the unequal yoking of professors with profane. Those that are ill-matched are already half-ruined. 2. I doubt he did not do well to make him king in his own life-time. It is said here (v. 16) that he began to reign, Jehoshaphat being then king; hereby he gratified his pride (than which nothing is more pernicious to young people), indulged him in his ambition, in hopes to reform him by humouring him, and so brought a curse upon his family, as Eli did, whose sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not. Jehoshaphat had made this wicked son of his viceroy once when he went with Ahab to Ramoth-Gilead, from which Jehoshaphat's seventeenth year (1 Kings xxii. 51) is made Jehoram's second (2 Kings i. 17), but afterwards, in his twenty-second year, he made him partner in his government, and thence Joram's eight years are to be dated, three years before his father's death. It has been hurtful to many young men to come too soon to their estates. Samuel got nothing by making his sons judges.

III. The rebukes of Providence which he was under for his wickedness. 1. The Edomites revolted, who had been under the government of the kings of Judah ever since David's time, about 150 years, v. 20. He attempted to reduce them, and gave them a defeat (v. 21), but he could not improve the advantage he had got, so as to recover his dominion over them: Yet Edom revolted (v. 22), and the Edomites were, after this, bitter enemies to the Jews, as appears by the prophecy of Obadiah and Ps. cxxxvii. 7. Now Isaac's prophecy was fulfilled, that this Esau the elder should serve Jacob the younger; yet, in process of time, he should break that yoke from off his neck, Gen. xxvii. 40. 2. Libnah revolted. This was a city in Judah, in the heart of his country, a priests' city; the inhabitants of this city shook off his government because he had forsaken God, and would have compelled them to do so too, 2 Chron. xxi. 10, 11. In order that they might preserve their religion they set up for a free state. Perhaps other cities did the same. 3. His reign was short. God cut him off in the midst of his days, when he was but forty years old, and had reigned but eight years. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.

IV. The gracious care of Providence for the keeping up of the kingdom of Judah, and the house of David, notwithstanding the apostasies and calamities of Jehoram's reign (v. 19): Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah. He could easily have done it; he might justly have done it; it would have been no loss to him to have done it; yet he would not do it, for David's sake, not for the sake of any merit of his which could challenge this favour to his family as a debt, but for the sake of a promise made to him that he should always have a lamp (that is, a succession of kings from one generation to another, by which his name should be kept bright and illustrious, as a lamp is kept burning by a constant fresh supply of oil), that his family should never be extinct till it terminated in the Messiah, that Son of David on whom was to be hung all the glory of his Father's house and in whose everlasting kingdom that promise to David is fulfilled (Ps. cxxxii. 17), I have ordained a lamp for my anointed.

V. The conclusion of this impious and inglorious reign, v. 23, 24. Nothing peculiar is here said of him; but we are told (2 Chron. xxi. 19, 20) that he died of sore diseases and died without being desired.

The Reign of Ahaziah. (b. c. 884.)

25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. 26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord , as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab. 28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

As among common persons there are some that we call little men, who make no figure, are little regarded, as less valued, so among kings there are some whom, in comparison with others, we may call little kings. This Ahaziah was one of these; he looks mean in the history, and in God's account vile, because wicked. It is too plain an evidence of the affinity between Jehoshaphat and Ahab that they had the same names in their families at the same time, in which, we may suppose, they designed to compliment one another. Ahab had two sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram, who reigned successively; Jehoshaphat had a son and grandson named Jehoram and Ahaziah, who, in like manner, reigned successively. Names indeed do not make natures, but it was a bad omen to Jehoshaphat's family to borrow names from Ahab's; or, if he lent the names to that wretched family, he could not communicate with them the devotion of their significations, Ahaziah—Taking hold of the Lord, and Jehoram—The Lord exalted. Ahaziah king of Israel had reigned but two years, Ahaziah king of Judah reigned but one. We are here told that his relation to Ahab's family was the occasion, 1. Of his wickedness (v. 27): He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, that idolatrous bloody house; for his mother was Ahab's daughter (v. 26), so that he sucked in wickedness with his milk. Partus sequitur ventrem—The child may be expected to resemble the mother. When men choose wives for themselves they must remember they are choosing mothers for their children, and are concerned to choose accordingly. 2. Of his fall. Joram, his mother's brother, courted him to join with him for the recovery of Ramoth-Gilead, an attempt fatal to Ahab; so it was to Joram his son, for in that expedition he was wounded (v. 28), and returned to Jezreel to be cured, leaving his army there in possession of the place. Ahaziah likewise returned, but went to Jezreel to see how Jehoram did, v. 29. Providence so ordered it, that he who had been debauched by the house of Ahab might be cut off with them, when the measure of their iniquity was full, as we shall find in the next chapter. Those who partake with sinners in their sins must expect to partake with them in their plagues.