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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>2 Kings 8 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/2_kings/8.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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and it shall also come upon the land seven years.</div><span class= "bld">VIII.</span><p>(1-6) How the kindness of the Shunammite woman to Elisha was further rewarded through the prophet’s influence with the king.<p>(1) <span class= "bld">Then spake Elisha.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">Now Elisha had spoken</span>. The time is not defined by the phrase. It was <span class= "ital">after the</span> raising of the Shunammite’s son (<a href="/2_kings/8-1.htm" title="Then spoke Elisha to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go you and your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn: for the LORD has called for a famine; and it shall also come on the land seven years.">2Kings 8:1</a>), and <span class= "ital">before</span> the healing of Naaman the Syrian, inasmuch as the king still talks with Gehazi (<a href="/2_kings/8-5.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:5</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Go thou.</span>—The peculiar form of the pronoun points to the identity of the original author of this account with the writer of 2 Kings 4. Moreover, the famine here foretold appears to be that of <a href="/2_kings/4-38.htm" title="And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.">2Kings 4:38</a>, <span class= "ital">seq</span>., so that the present section must in the original document have preceded 2 Kings 5. Thenius thinks the compiler transferred the present account to this place, because he wished to proceed chronologically, and supposed that the seven years’ famine came to an end with the raising of the siege of Samaria.<p><span class= "bld">For a famine.</span>—<span class= "ital">To the famine</span>. The sword, the famine, the noisome beasts, and the pestilence were Jehovah’s “four sore judgments,” as we find in <a href="/ezekiel/14-21.htm" title="For thus said the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?">Ezekiel 14:21</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And it shall also come upon.</span>—<span class= "ital">And, moreover, it cometh into</span>.<p><span class= "bld">Seven Years.</span>—Perhaps not to be understood literally, any more than Dante’s<p>“O caro Duca mio che <span class= "ital">più di sette<p>Volte</span> m’hai sicurtà. renduta.”—Inferno 8. 97.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-2.htm">2 Kings 8:2</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">After the saying.</span>—<span class= "ital">According to the word.</span><span class= "bld"><p>In the land of the Philistines.</span>—The lowlands of the coast were not so subject to droughts as the limestone highlands of Israel. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/12-10.htm" title="And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.">Genesis 12:10</a>; <a href="/genesis/26-1.htm" title="And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar.">Genesis 26:1</a>.) The Philistines, besides, dealt with foreign traders who put in to their shores. (Comp. <a href="/context/joel/3-4.htm" title="Yes, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will you render me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense on your own head;">Joel 3:4-6</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-3.htm">2 Kings 8:3</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">At the seven years’ end.</span>—Omit <span class= "ital">the.</span><p><span class= "bld">She went forth.</span>—From Shunem to Samaria.<p><span class= "bld">For her house and for her land.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">with regard to her house,</span> &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, some neighbouring landowner may have encroached upon her rights. She therefore appealed to the king.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-4.htm">2 Kings 8:4</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">And the king talked.</span>—<span class= "ital">And the king was speaking unto.</span><p><span class= "bld">Gehazi.</span>—He, therefore, was not yet a leper (<a href="/2_kings/5-27.htm" title="The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall stick to you, and to your seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.">2Kings 5:27</a>). So Keil and some earlier expositors. But lepers, though excluded from the city, were not excluded from <span class= "ital">conversation</span> with others. (Comp. <a href="/matthew/8-2.htm" title="And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.">Matthew 8:2</a>; <a href="/luke/17-12.htm" title="And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:">Luke 17:12</a>.) Naaman was apparently admitted into the royal palace (<a href="/2_kings/5-6.htm" title="And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come to you, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may recover him of his leprosy.">2Kings 5:6</a>). The way, however, in which Gehazi is spoken of as “the servant of the man of God” (comp. <a href="/2_kings/5-20.htm" title="But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD lives, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.">2Kings 5:20</a>) seems to imply the priority of the present narrative to that of 2 Kings 5.<p><span class= "bld">Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things.</span>—“The history of Elijah and Elisha has a distinctly popular character; it reads like a story told by word of mouth, full of the dramatic touches and vivid presentations of detail which characterise all Semitic history that closely follows oral narration. The king of Israel of whom we read in <a href="/2_kings/8-4.htm" title="And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray you, all the great things that Elisha has done.">2Kings 8:4</a>, was, we may be sure, not the only man who talked with Gehazi, saying, ‘Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.’ By many repetitions the history of the prophets took a fixed shape long before it was committed to writing, and the written record preserves all the essential features of the narratives that passed from mouth to mouth, and were handed down orally from father to child.” (Prof. Robertson Smith, <span class= "ital">The Prophets of Israel</span>, p. 116.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-5.htm">2 Kings 8:5</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>is</i> the woman, and this <i>is</i> her son, whom Elisha restored to life.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">A dead body.</span>—<span class= "ital">The dead.</span><p><span class= "bld">Cried.</span>—<span class= "ital">Was crying.</span> Literally, the Hebrew runs, <span class= "ital">And it came to pass, he </span>(emphatic) <span class= "ital">was telling</span> . . . <span class= "ital">and behold the woman was crying,</span> &c. The woman came in, and began her prayer to the king, while he was talking with Gehazi about her and her son.<p><span class= "bld">This is her son.</span>—Who was now grown up, and came as his mother’s escort.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-6.htm">2 Kings 8:6</a></div><div class="verse">And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that <i>was</i> hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">Told.</span>—<span class= "ital">Related to him, i.e.</span>, the story. So in <a href="/context/2_kings/8-4.htm" title="And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray you, all the great things that Elisha has done.">2Kings 8:4-5</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Officer.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">eunuch</span> (<span class= "ital">sārîs</span>). (Comp. Note on <a href="/genesis/37-36.htm" title="And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.">Genesis 37:36</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/28-1.htm" title="And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, to Jerusalem.">1Chronicles 28:1</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Fruits.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">revenues, produce</span> in kind, which must have been paid out of the royal stores. This seems to imply that her land had been annexed to the royal domains.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-7.htm">2 Kings 8:7</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(7-15) Elisha’s visit to Damascus, and its consequences.<p>(7) <span class= "bld">And Elisha came to Damascus.</span>—In the fragmentary condition of the narrative, <span class= "ital">why</span> he came is not clear. Rashi suggests that it was to fetch back Gehazi, who had fled to the Syrians (!), an idea based upon <a href="/1_kings/2-39.htm" title="And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, your servants be in Gath.">1Kings 2:39</a>, <span class= "ital">seq</span>. Keil and others think the prophet went with the intention of anointing Hazael, in accordance with a supposed charge of Elijah’s. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/19-15.htm" title="And the LORD said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:">1Kings 19:15</a>, where Elijah himself is bidden to anoint Hazael). Ewald believes that Elisha retreated to Damascene territory, in consequence of the strained relations existing between him and Jehoram, owing to the latter’s toleration of idolatry. Obviously all this rests upon pure conjecture. It is clear from <a href="/2_kings/8-7.htm" title="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 here.">2Kings 8:7</a> that Elisha’s visit was not expected in Damascus, and further, that there was peace at the time between Damascus and Samaria. We do not know how much of Elisha’s history has been omitted between <a href="/2_kings/7-20.htm" title="And so it fell out to him: for the people stepped on him in the gate, and he died.">2Kings 7:20</a> and <a href="/2_kings/8-7.htm" title="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 here.">2Kings 8:7</a>; but we may fairly assume that a <span class= "ital">divine impulse</span> led the prophet to Damascus. The revelation, of which he speaks in <a href="/2_kings/8-10.htm" title="And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You may certainly recover: however, the LORD has showed me that he shall surely die.">2Kings 8:10</a>; <a href="/2_kings/8-13.htm" title="And Hazael said, But what, is your servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD has showed me that you shall be king over Syria.">2Kings 8:13</a>, probably came to him at the time, and so was not the occasion of his journey.<p><span class= "bld">Ben-hadad . . . was sick.</span>—According to Josephus, on account of the failure of his expedition against Samaria (?).<p><span class= "bld">The man of God.</span>—As if Elisha were well known and highly esteemed in Syria.<p><span class= "bld">Is come hither.</span>—This certainly implies that Elisha had entered Damascus itself.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-8.htm">2 Kings 8:8</a></div><div class="verse">And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?</div>(8) <span class= "bld">Hazael.</span>—See Note on <a href="/2_kings/8-15.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:15</a>. In <a href="/1_kings/19-15.htm" title="And the LORD said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:">1Kings 19:15</a>; <a href="/1_kings/19-17.htm" title="And it shall come to pass, that him that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.">1Kings 19:17</a> the name is written <span class= "ital">Hăzāh’êl</span>; here it is spelt with an etymological allusion, <span class= "ital">Hăzāh’êl, i.e.</span>, “El hath seen” (foreseen). Hazael appears to have been the highest officer in Ben-hadad s court; Josephus says, “the trustiest of his domestics.”<p><span class= "bld">Take a present in thine hand.</span>—Comp. <a href="/numbers/22-7.htm" title="And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.">Numbers 22:7</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/9-7.htm" title="Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?">1Samuel 9:7</a>; <a href="/2_kings/5-5.htm" title="And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.">2Kings 5:5</a>; <a href="/1_kings/14-3.htm" title="And take with you ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell you what shall become of the child.">1Kings 14:3</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Go, meet the man of God.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">go to meet him</span>. This does not imply, as some have supposed, that Elisha was still on the road to Damascus, nor even that he happened to be at the time on his way to the palace, for how could Ben-hadad know that? What is meant is “Go to the place where the prophet is to be found; seek an interview with him.”<p><span class= "bld">Enquire of the Lord by him.</span>—A different construction is used in 2 Kings 1, 2.<p><span class= "bld">By him.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">from with him.</span> (Comp. Note on <a href="/2_kings/1-15.htm" title="And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him to the king.">2Kings 1:15</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Shall I recover of this disease?—</span>Comp. <a href="/2_kings/1-2.htm" title="And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.">2Kings 1:2</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-9.htm">2 Kings 8:9</a></div><div class="verse">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?</div>(9) <span class= "bld">A present with him</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, in money. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/5-5.htm" title="And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.">2Kings 5:5</a>, and see the margin here.)<p><span class= "bld">Even of every good thing.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">and every kind of good thing</span>; in addition to the present of money. Damascus was a great centre of traffic between Eastern and Western Asia. (Comp. <a href="/ezekiel/27-18.htm" title="Damascus was your merchant in the multitude of the wares of your making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.">Ezekiel 27:18</a>; <a href="/amos/3-12.htm" title="Thus said the LORD; As the shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.">Amos 3:12</a>.) <span class= "ital">Damask</span> silk was originally imported from Damascus, and the Damascene sword-blades were famous in mediæval Europe.<p><span class= "bld">Forty camels’ burden.</span>—To be understood of an actual train of forty camels, carrying the presents of Ben-hadad. The Orientals are fond of making the most of a gift in this way. Chardin remarks, that “fifty persons often carry what a single one could very well carry” (Voyage, 3:21).<p><span class= "bld">Came.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">went in, i.e.</span>, into the house where Elisha was.<p><span class= "bld">Thy son Ben-hadad.</span>—Comp. <a href="/2_kings/13-14.htm" title="Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.">2Kings 13:14</a>; <a href="/2_kings/5-13.htm" title="And his servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid you do some great thing, would you not have done it? how much rather then, when he said to you, Wash, and be clean?">2Kings 5:13</a>; <a href="/2_kings/4-12.htm" title="And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.">2Kings 4:12</a>; <a href="/2_kings/6-21.htm" title="And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?">2Kings 6:21</a>. “Father” was a respectful mode of addressing the prophet.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-10.htm">2 Kings 8:10</a></div><div class="verse">And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">Unto him.</span>—The reading of some Hebrew MSS., of the Hebrew margin, and of all the versions, as well as of Josephus.<p>The ordinary Hebrew text has “not” (<span class= "ital">lô</span>’, instead of <span class= "ital">lô</span>), so that the meaning would be, “Thou shalt not recover.” But (1) the position of the negative before the adverbial infinitive is anomalous; and (2) Hazaeľs report of Elisha’s words, in <a href="/2_kings/8-14.htm" title="So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to you? And he answered, He told me that you should surely recover.">2Kings 8:14</a>, is without the negative particle. (See the Note there.) The Authorised Version is, therefore, right.<p><span class= "bld">Thou mayest certainly recover.</span>—Rather. <span class= "ital">Thou wilt certainly live</span>. Elisha sees through Hazaeľs character and designs, and answers him in the tone of irony which he used to Gehazi in <a href="/2_kings/5-26.htm" title="And he said to him, Went not my heart with you, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?">2Kings 5:26</a>, “Go, tell thy lord—as thou, the supple and unscrupulous courtier wilt be sure to do—he will certainly recover. I know, however, that he will assuredly die, and by thy hand.” Others interpret, “<span class= "ital">Thou mightest</span> recover” (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, thy disease is not mortal); and make the rest of the propheťs reply a confidential communication to Hazael. But this is to represent the prophet as deceiving Benhadad, and guilty of complicity with Hazael, which agrees neither with Elisha’s character nor with what follows in <a href="/context/2_kings/8-11.htm" title="And he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.">2Kings 8:11-12</a>. The Syriac and Arabic, with some MSS., read, “<span class= "ital">thou</span> wilt die” for “<span class= "ital">he</span> will die.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-11.htm">2 Kings 8:11</a></div><div class="verse">And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">And he settled his countenance stedfastly.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">and he</span> (Elisha) <span class= "ital">made his face stand, and set</span> (it upon Hazael).<p><span class= "bld">Until he was ashamed.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">unto being ashamed</span>. This may mean either <span class= "ital">in shameless fashion or until Hazael was disconcerted</span>. We prefer the latter. Hazael, conscious that Elisha had read his; thoughts aright, shrank from that piercing gaze. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/2-17.htm" title="And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.">2Kings 2:17</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-12.htm">2 Kings 8:12</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">The evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel.</span>—Fulfilled in <a href="/context/2_kings/10-32.htm" title="In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;">2Kings 10:32-33</a>; <a href="/context/2_kings/13-3.htm" title="And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.">2Kings 13:3-4</a>. The cruelties enumerated here were the ordinary concomitants of warfare in that age. (Comp. <a href="/context/amos/1-3.htm" title="Thus said the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:">Amos 1:3-4</a>; <a href="/amos/1-13.htm" title="Thus said the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:">Amos 1:13</a>; <a href="/hosea/10-14.htm" title="Therefore shall a tumult arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces on her children.">Hosea 10:14</a>; <a href="/hosea/13-16.htm" title="Samaria shall become desolate; for she has rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.">Hosea 13:16</a>; <a href="/2_kings/15-16.htm" title="Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.">2Kings 15:16</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Set on fire.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">send into the fire</span> (<a href="/judges/1-8.htm" title="Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.">Judges 1:8</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Young men.</span>—<span class= "ital">Chosen warriors.</span><span class= "bld"><p>Dash.</span>—<span class= "ital">Dash in pieces.</span><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-13.htm">2 Kings 8:13</a></div><div class="verse">And Hazael said, But what, <i>is</i> thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou <i>shalt be</i> king over Syria.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?</span>—Rather, (<span class= "ital">Thou canst not mean it;</span>) <span class= "ital">for what is the dog thy servant that he should do, &c.</span> Hazael answers in a tone of pretended amazement and self-depreciation. The exaggerated humility of his language betrays the hypocrite.<p><span class= "bld">The Lord hath shewed me.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/19-15.htm" title="And the LORD said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:">1Kings 19:15</a>, where this same fact was revealed to Elijah. Literally, <span class= "ital">Jehovah hath made me see thee king.</span> How Hazael took this announcement we are not told. Bähr says, “Startled by the revelation of his secret plans, Hazael turned away without answering the earnest words of the prophet.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-14.htm">2 Kings 8:14</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>that</i> thou shouldest surely recover.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">That thou shouldest surely recover.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">Thou wilt certainly live</span>, repeating Elisha’s actual words, but <span class= "ital">not</span> the tone and gesture which accompanied them.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-15.htm">2 Kings 8:15</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped <i>it</i> in water, and spread <i>it</i> on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">He took</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, 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 considerable pause must be understood at “he died.” The Judæan editor of Kings then appropriately concludes: “So Hazael reigned in his stead.” The mention of the name significantly reminds us that Elisha had designated Hazael as the future king. Besides, after the words “and he died,” it would have been more ambiguous than usual to add, “and <span class= "ital">he</span> reigned in his stead.”<p><span class= "bld">A thick cloth.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">the quilt</span>, or <span class= "ital">coverlet.</span> So the LXX., Vulg., Targum, and Arabic. The Syriac renders “curtain;” and, accordingly, Gesenius and others translate, “mosquito net.” The Hebrew term (<span class= "ital">makbēr</span>) means, etymologically, something <span class= "ital">plaited</span> or <span class= "ital">interwoven</span>. It is not found elsewhere, but a word of the same root occurs in <a href="/1_samuel/19-13.htm" title="And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.">1Samuel 19:13</a>. It is clear from the context that the <span class= "ital">makbēr</span> must have been something which when soaked in water, and laid on the face, would prevent respiration.<p>Josephus says Hazael <span class= "ital">strangled</span> his master with a mosquito net. But this and other explanations, such as that of Ewald, do not suit the words of the text. The old commentator, Clericus, may be right when he states Hazaeľs <span class= "ital">motive</span> to have been <span class= "ital">ut hominem facilius suffocaret, ne vi interemptus videretur</span>. And, perhaps, as Thenius supposes, the crown was offered to Hazael as a successful warrior. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/10-32.htm" title="In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;">2Kings 10:32</a>, seq.) When Duncker (Hist. of Antiq., 1:413) ventures to state that Elisha incited Hazael to the murder of Ben-hadad, and afterwards renewed the war against Israel, not without encouragement from the prophet as a persistent enemy of Jehoram and his dynasty, he simply betrays an utter incapacity for understanding the character and function of Hebrew prophecy. The writer of Kings, at all events, did not intend to represent Elisha as a deceiver of foreign sovereigns and a traitor to his own; and this narrative is the only surviving record of the events described.<p><span class= "bld">Hazael reigned in his stead.</span>—On the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II. (B.C. 860-825), now in the British Museum, we read: “In my 18th regnal year for the 16th time I crossed the Euphrates. Haza’ilu of the land of Damascus came on to the battle: 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his horsemen, with his stores, I took from him.” And again: “In my 21st year for the 21st time I crossed the Euphrates: to the cities of Haza’ilu of the land of Damascus I marched, whose towns I took. Tribute of the land of the Tyrians, Sidonians, Giblites, I received.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-16.htm">2 Kings 8:16</a></div><div class="verse">And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat <i>being</i> then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.</div>(16-24) The reign of Jehoram, king of Judah. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 21)<p>(16) <span class= "bld">In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab.</span>—See Note on <a href="/2_kings/1-17.htm" title="So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.">2Kings 1:17</a>.<p>The name Joram is an easy contraction of Jehoram. In this verse and in <a href="/2_kings/8-29.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:29</a> the king of Israel is called Joram, and the king of Judah Jehoram; in <a href="/2_kings/8-21.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:21</a>; <a href="/context/2_kings/8-23.htm" title="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?">2Kings 8:23-24</a> Joram is the name of the king of Judah. In <a href="/2_kings/1-17.htm" title="So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.">2Kings 1:17</a> and <a href="/2_chronicles/22-6.htm" title="And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.">2Chronicles 22:6</a>, both kings are called Jehoram.<p><span class= "bld">Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">and Jehoshaphat king of Judah;</span> so that the meaning is, “In the fifth year of Joram . . . and of Jehoshaphat.” Were the reading correct, it would be implied that Jehoram was for some reason or other made king or co-regent in the lifetime of his father, just as Esarhaddon united his heir Assurbanipal with himself in the government of Assyria. But the clause should be omitted as a spurious anticipation of the same words in the next line. So some Hebrew MSS., the Complut., LXX., the Syriac, and Arabic, and many MSS. of the Vulg. The clause as it stands is an unparalleled insertion in a common formula of the compiler, and there is no trace elsewhere of a co-regency of Jehoram with his father. Ewald, after Kimchi, would turn the clause into a sentence, by adding the word <span class= "ital">mêth</span>, “had died:” “Now Jehoshaphat the king of Judah had died,” an utterly superfluous remark.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-17.htm">2 Kings 8:17</a></div><div class="verse">Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">Thirty and two years old . . . in Jerusalem.</span>—Comp. the similar notices in 2 Kings 12 and the succeeding chapters. How different are these short annalistic summaries, the work of the Judæan compiler, from the rich and flowing narratives about Elijah and Elisha!<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-18.htm">2 Kings 8:18</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(18) <span class= "bld">In the way of the kings of Israel.</span>—This is further explained by the following clause, “As did the house of Ahab,” or rather, <span class= "ital">to wit, as the house of Ahab acted, i.e.</span>, Jehoram, as son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, lent his countenance to the <span class= "ital">cultus</span> of the Tyrian Baal. Under the influence of his wife Athaliah, as it may be surmised, Jehoram slew his six brothers directly after his accession to the throne (<a href="/2_chronicles/21-4.htm" title="Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brothers with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.">2Chronicles 21:4</a>). In this connection the remarks of Michaelis are interesting: “In the reign of Jehoram falls the building of Carthage; Dido, her husband Sichæus, her brother Pygmalion, king of Tyre, and murderer of Sichæus. By marriage Tyre brought its then prevalent spirit, and a vast amount of evil,into the two Israelitish kingdoms.” (The Syriac, Arabic, and Vulg. read “in the ways.”) The reason why the details added in Chronicles are here omitted is to be found in the studied brevity of the compiler in the case of less important characters.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-19.htm">2 Kings 8:19</a></div><div class="verse">Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, <i>and</i> to his children.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">To give him alway a light.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/15-4.htm" title="Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:">1Kings 15:4</a>; <a href="/1_kings/11-36.htm" title="And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.">1Kings 11:36</a>; and for the promise to David, <a href="/context/2_samuel/7-12.htm" title="And when your days be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.">2Samuel 7:12-16</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And to his children.</span>—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 to <span class= "ital">David alone</span>. He would omit the conjunction, and render, “To give him alway a lamp in respect of (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, through) his sons.” (See <a href="/2_chronicles/21-7.htm" title="However, the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.">2Chronicles 21:7</a>, Note.) Keil adopts the same reading, but translates, “To give him, that is, his sons, a lamp,” making “to his sons” an explanatory apposition.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-20.htm">2 Kings 8:20</a></div><div class="verse">In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">In his days Edom revolted.</span>—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 <a href="/context/2_kings/8-20.htm" title="In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.">2Kings 8:20-22</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Made a king over themselves.</span>—Josephus says they slew the vassal king appointed over them by Jehoshaphat (<a href="/1_kings/22-48.htm" title="Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.">1Kings 22:48</a>). Edom appears to have been subject to the hegemony of Judah from the time of the disruption under Rehoboam.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-21.htm">2 Kings 8:21</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">So Joram went over to Zair.</span>—No town called Zair is otherwise known. Hitzig and Ewald would read Zoar, but Zoar lay in Moab, not in Edom. (<a href="/jeremiah/48-34.htm" title="From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, and even to Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.">Jeremiah 48:34</a>; <a href="/isaiah/15-5.htm" title="My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee to Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.">Isaiah 15:5</a>; <a href="/genesis/19-30.htm" title="And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelled in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelled in a cave, he and his two daughters.">Genesis 19:30</a>; <a href="/genesis/19-37.htm" title="And the first born bore a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites to this day.">Genesis 19:37</a>.) The Vulg. has <span class= "ital">Seira</span>, and the Arabic <span class= "ital">Sâ‘îra,</span> which suggest an original reading, “to Seir,” the well-known mountain chain which was the headquarters of the Edomite people. Perhaps the reading of the text <span class= "ital">Çā‘îrāh</span> represents a dialectic pronunciation. (Comp. the forms <span class= "ital">Yishāq</span> and <span class= "ital">Yiçhāq</span> for Isaac.)<p><span class= "bld">And he rose by night.</span>—There may be a <span class= "ital">lacuna</span> of a few lines in the text here, or the compiler, in his desire to be brief, may have become obscure. Jehoram appears to have been hemmed in by the Edomites in the mountains, and to have attempted escape under cover of night.<p><span class= "bld">Smote the Edomites which compassed him about.</span>—Cut his way through their ranks.<p><span class= "bld">And the captains of the chariots.</span>—Part of the object of the verb “smote.” Jehoram smote (cut his way through) the Edomites—that is to say, the captains of the Edomite war-chariots which hemmed him and his army in.<p><span class= "bld">And the people fled into (<span class= "ital">unto</span>) their tents.</span>—That is to say, the army of Jehoram was glad to escape from the scene of its ill success, and made its way homeward as best it could. (Comp. for the proverbial expression, “to their tents,” <a href="/1_samuel/20-1.htm" title="And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?">1Samuel 20:1</a>; <a href="/1_kings/8-66.htm" title="On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.">1Kings 8:66</a>.) From <a href="/joel/3-19.htm" title="Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.">Joel 3:19</a> (“Edom shall be a desolate wilderness for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land”) it has been conjectured that when the Edomites revolted they massacred the Jews who had settled in the country in the time of subjection. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/27-40.htm" title="And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck.">Genesis 27:40</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-22.htm">2 Kings 8:22</a></div><div class="verse">Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">Yet.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">and</span> (<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, so).<p><span class= "bld">Unto this day.</span>—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 <span class= "ital">Qa’us-gabrî</span> king of <span class= "ital">Udumu</span> (Edom), along with Manasseh of Judah, among their tributaries. Esarhaddon also states that his father Sennacherib had reduced “<span class= "ital">Adumû</span>, a fortified city of Arabia.”<p><span class= "bld">Then Libnah revolted at the same time.</span>—The point of the statement is that the success of Edom encouraged Libnah to throw off the Judæan supremacy. For the locality see <a href="/joshua/10-29.htm" title="Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah:">Joshua 10:29</a> <span class= "ital">seq.,</span> <a href="/joshua/15-42.htm" title="Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,">Joshua 15:42</a>; <a href="/joshua/21-13.htm" title="Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,">Joshua 21:13</a>. Keil thinks the revolt of Libnah coincided with (it was probably supported by) the Philistine invasion recorded in <a href="/2_chronicles/21-16.htm" title="Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians:">2Chronicles 21:16</a>, and continued until Uzziah reduced the Philistines (<a href="/2_chronicles/26-6.htm" title="And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.">2Chronicles 26:6</a> <span class= "ital">seq.</span>). From the time of Hezekiah, Libnah again belonged to Judah (<a href="/2_kings/19-8.htm" title="So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.">2Kings 19:8</a>; <a href="/2_kings/23-31.htm" title="Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.">2Kings 23:31</a>; <a href="/2_kings/24-18.htm" title="Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.">2Kings 24:18</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-23.htm">2 Kings 8:23</a></div><div class="verse">And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, <i>are</i> they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?</div>(23) <span class= "bld">The rest of the acts.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">history</span>. (See especially <a href="/context/2_chronicles/21-11.htm" title="Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.">2Chronicles 21:11-19</a>, and the Notes there.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-24.htm">2 Kings 8:24</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Was buried with his fathers in the city of David.</span>—But not in the royal tombs (<a href="/2_chronicles/21-20.htm" title="Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. However, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.">2Chronicles 21:20</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-25.htm">2 Kings 8:25</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(25-29) The reign of Ahaziah king of Judah. His expedition with Joram of Israel against Hazael at Ramoth-gilead. (Comp. <a href="/context/2_chronicles/22-1.htm" title="And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the oldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.">2Chronicles 22:1-6</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Two-and-twenty years old.</span>—He was Jehoram’a youngest son (<a href="/2_chronicles/21-17.htm" title="And they came up into Judah, and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.">2Chronicles 21:17</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/22-1.htm" title="And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the oldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.">2Chronicles 22:1</a>), and, as his father died at the age of thirty-nine or forty (<a href="/2_kings/8-17.htm" title="Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.">2Kings 8:17</a>), he must have been begotten in Jehoram’s seventeenth or eighteenth year. There is no difficulty in this, nor even in the supposition that Jehoram had begotten sons before Ahaziah, as Thenius seems to imagine. He may have become a father at thirteen or fourteen, and Athaliah was certainly not his only wife.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-26.htm">2 Kings 8:26</a></div><div class="verse">Two and twenty years old <i>was</i> Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name <i>was</i> Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">Ahaziah.</span>—Called Jehoahaz (<a href="/2_chronicles/21-17.htm" title="And they came up into Judah, and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.">2Chronicles 21:17</a>). Ewald thinks he assumed the name of Ahaziah on his accession.<p><span class= "bld">The daughter of Omri</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, granddaughter. Omri is mentioned rather than Ahab as the founder of the dynasty, and the notorious example of its wickedness. (Comp. <a href="/micah/6-16.htm" title="For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you walk in their counsels; that I should make you a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore you shall bear the reproach of my people.">Micah 6:16</a> : “The statutes of Omri are kept.”)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-27.htm">2 Kings 8:27</a></div><div class="verse">And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as <i>did</i> the house of Ahab: for he <i>was</i> the son in law of the house of Ahab.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">The son-in-law of the house of Ahab.</span>—Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/22-4.htm" title="Why he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.">2Chronicles 22:4</a>, “his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly;” and notice the threefold repetition of the words “the house of Ahab.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-28.htm">2 Kings 8:28</a></div><div class="verse">And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.</div>(28) <span class= "bld">And he went with Joram.</span>—By the persuasion of his mother and her family (<a href="/2_chronicles/22-4.htm" title="Why he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.">2Chronicles 22:4</a>). Ewald would omit the preposition <span class= "ital">with</span>, on the assumption that Ahaziah took no part in the war at Ramoth, but only, as <a href="/2_kings/8-29.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:29</a> relates, visited Jehoram wheu lying ill of his wounds at Jezreel. But (1) all the MSS. and versions have the preposition; (2) if this verse related only to Joram king of Israel we should expect at the end of the verse, and the Syrians wounded <span class= "ital">him</span>,” rather than “wounded Joram;” and in <a href="/2_kings/8-29.htm" title="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.">2Kings 8:29</a>, “and he went back,” rather than “and king Joram went back;” (3) the chronicler (<a href="/2_chronicles/22-5.htm" title="He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.">2Chronicles 22:5</a>) expressly states that Ahaziah accompanied Joram to Ramoth.<p><span class= "bld">Against Hazael . . . in Ramoth-gilead.</span>—Which strong fortress Ahab had vainly tried to wrest from Ben-hadad (<a href="/1_kings/22-6.htm" title="Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.">1Kings 22:6</a> seqq.).<p><span class= "bld">Wounded.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">smote</span>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_kings/8-29.htm">2 Kings 8:29</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">Joram went back.</span>—With a few personal attendants. He left the army at Ramoth (<a href="/2_kings/9-14.htm" title="So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.">2Kings 9:14</a>) under the command of the generals, and perhaps of Ahaziah.<p><span class= "bld">In Jezreel.</span>—The seat of the court at this time. (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/10-11.htm" title="So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.">2Kings 10:11</a>; <a href="/2_kings/10-13.htm" title="Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.">2Kings 10:13</a>.) To reach <span class= "ital">Samaria,</span> moreover, Joram would have had to cross a mountainous country, while he could be carried to Jezreel by an easier route through the valley of the Jordan.<p><span class= "bld">Which the Syrians had gıven.</span>—The verb is imperfect. Ewald suggests that the Hebrew letters may indicate a dialectic pronunciation of the perfect. It is more likely that the imperfect is here used in the sense of repetition, implying that Joram was wounded on more than one occasion.<p><span class= "bld">Ramah.</span>—Height. The same as Ramoth, heights.<p><span class= "bld">And Ahaziah . . . went down.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">now Ahaziah had gone down—scil</span>., when the following events happened. The Hebrew construction indicates the beginning of a new paragraph. The division of chapters is again at fault, there being no real break in the narrative between this verse and what follows in chapter 9.<p>Ahaziah went down either from Ramoth or from Jerusalem; probably from the former, as no mention is made of his having left the seat of war and returned to Jerusalem.<p><span class= "bld">Because he was sick.</span>—The same verb as in <a href="/2_kings/1-2.htm" title="And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.">2Kings 1:2</a>. The margin here is wrong.<p><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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