2 Kings 8:13-23

13 Hazael replied, "How could your servant, who is nothing but a dog, do such mighty things?" Elisha said, "The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram."
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. "What did Elisha say to you?" Ben-hadad asked. "He told me that you will certainly live," Hazael replied.
15 But the next day he took a blanket, soaked it in water, and put it over Ben-hadad's face until he died. Hazael succeeded him as king.

Jehoram rules Judah

16 In the fifth year of Israel's King Joram, Ahab's son Jehoram, the son of Judah's King Jehoshaphat, became king.
17 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem.
18 He walked in the ways of Israel's kings, just as Ahab's dynasty had done, because he married Ahab's daughter. He did what was evil in the LORD's eyes.
19 Nevertheless, because of his servant David, the LORD wasn't willing to destroy Judah. The LORD had promised to preserve a lamp for David and his sons forever.
20 During Jehoram's rule Edom rebelled against Judah's power and appointed their own king.
21 Jehoram along with all his chariots crossed over to Zair. He got up at night to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but his army fled back home.
22 So Edom has been independent of Judah to this day. Libnah rebelled at the same time.
23 The rest of Jehoram's deeds and all that he accomplished, aren't they written in the official records of Judah's kings?

2 Kings 8:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 8

This chapter gives an account of some advice Elisha had formerly given to the Shunammite woman, and of the success of it, 2Ki 8:1-6 and of the sickness of the king of Syria, who sent to Elisha, then being at Damascus, by Hazael, to know whether he should recover; by whom a message was returned, and Hazael was told by the prophet he should be king of Syria, and exercise great cruelty in Israel, 2Ki 8:7-15 and of the bad reign of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, over Judah, 2Ki 8:16-24 and of the reign of his son Ahaziah, 2Ki 8:25-29.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. LXX, Syr; MT includes Jehoshaphat had been Judah’s king.
  • [b]. Heb Joram (also in 8:23-24); the king’s name is usually spelled in its long form Jehoram (cf 2 Chron 21:9).
  • [c]. Heb uncertain
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible