2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:1 After the long narrative about the siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:24), the Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4:8 reappears. In 2 Kings 4:13, the woman declined Elisha’s offer of help, saying that she could get help from her own people. In 2 Kings 8:1, however, she is no longer wit... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:2 The LAND OF THE PHILISTINES was a natural place to seek refuge during a famine in Israel (compare Genesis 26:1). It was also close to Egypt, the breadbasket of the ancient world (e.g., Genesis 12:10; Genesis 47:4). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:3 HER HOUSE AND HER LAND. Someone has taken the woman’s property in her absence—perhaps Jehoram himself, showing the same land-grabbing tendencies as his parents (see 1 Kings 21:1). In Israel the end of the seventh year was a time for restoration of property and cancellatio... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:6 ALL THE PRODUCE. The king also provides her with all the income from her land that she would have received had she stayed. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:7 The house of Omri has now held the throne of Israel since 1 Kings 16:23, and in spite of Elijah’s prophecy about its end (1 Kings 21:21), one now reads of Ahab’s second apostate son holding on to his kingdom with the help of Elisha. Did Elijah sabotage God’s plan by faili... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:8 MEET THE MAN OF GOD. It appears to have been customary when consulting prophets to offer some payment, in this case an extravagant gift of FORTY CAMELS’ LOADS of GOODS (see 1 Samuel 9:1; 1 Kings 14:1; 2 Kings 5:1). The messenger HAZAEL enters the narrative without details... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:10 SAY TO HIM, “YOU SHALL CERTAINLY RECOVER.” Verses 2 Kings 8:11 indicate that Elisha knows that whatever Hazael says, he intends to kill the king. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:11 HE FIXED HIS GAZE. The text does not identify “he” and “him” in this verse. Most interpreters understand the first “he” to be Elisha, who “fixed his gaze” on Hazael, staring at him but also seeing with prophetic vision what Hazael would do in the future. Hazael does not... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:15 HAZAEL BECAME KING. Hazael came to power in Syria sometime between 845 B.C., when it is known that Ben-hadad was still on the throne, and 841. He reigned for about 40 years and was one of Israel’s most bitter enemies. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("im... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:16 Judah was last mentioned in ch. 2 Kings 3:1, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Another Judean king has come and gone in the meantime, however, and the reader must be told about him and be introduced to his successor in order to understand chs. 2 Kings 9:1. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var i... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:18 Jehoram WALKED IN THE WAY OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. His father, Jehoshaphat, had made peace with the king of Israel (1 Kings 22:44). From Jehoshaphat’s reign onward, the fortunes of the house of Omri and the house of David were closely interconnected. Jehoram had married t... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:19 HE PROMISED TO GIVE A LAMP TO HIM. See 1 Kings 11:36; 1 Kings 15:4. Sins in David’s family are to be punished with the “rod of men” (2 Samuel 7:14), not with the destruction of his dynasty. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:20 IN HIS DAYS EDOM REVOLTED. The punishment of David’s house in this case (see note on v. 19) comes in Jehoram’s failure to subdue a rebellion by Edom, a country ruled by a KING appointed by Judah (1 Kings 22:47; see note on 2 Kings 3:7–9). A city within Judah was also reb... [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:23 CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS. See note on 1 Kings 14:19. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
2 KINGS—NOTE ON 2 KINGS 8:28 WAR AGAINST HAZAEL KING OF SYRIA. Another joint battle against the Syrians at RAMOTH-GILEAD (see 1 Kings 22:1) is followed by withdrawal to the stronghold of JEZREEL, so that the Israelite king can recover from his wounds. Ramoth-gilead is apparently back in Israelite ha... [ Continue Reading ]