2 Kings 8

1 And Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Rise up and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn; for Jehovah has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land for seven years.

2 And the woman rose up, and did according to the saying of the man of God, and went, she and 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 to the king for her house and for her land.

4 And the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has 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 the king asked the woman, and she told him. And the king appointed a certain chamberlain, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the revenue of the land since the day that she left the country even until now.

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

8 And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

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

10 And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou wilt certainly recover. But Jehovah has shewn me that he shall certainly die.

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

12 And Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? And he said, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou kill with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces 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 said, Jehovah has shewn me that thou wilt be king over Syria.

14 And he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to thee? And he said, He told me [that] thou wouldest certainly recover.

15 And it came to pass the next day, that he took the coverlet and dipped [it] in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his stead.

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 He was thirty-two years old 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 Jehovah.

19 But Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him to give him always a lamp for his sons.

20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they set a king over themselves.

21 And Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled into their tents.

22 But the Edomites 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.

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

26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old 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 Jehovah, like 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 the king of Syria at Ramoth-Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

29 And king Joram returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab at Jizreel, for he was sick.

2 Kings 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

A famine in Israel, The Shunammite obtains her land. (1-6) Elisha consulted by Hazael, Death of Benhadad. (7-15) Jehoram's wicked reign in Judah. (16-24) Ahaziah's wicked reign in Judah. (25-29)

Verses 1-6 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.

Verses 7-15 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.

Verses 16-24 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.

Verses 25-29 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. See Ruth 1.1.
• [b]. Lit. 'young man' as elsewhere.
• [c]. Or 'eunuch.'
• [d]. Lit. 'all the days.'

Chapter Summary

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.