2 Kings 8:7-15

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

7 Now Elisha came to ¹Damascus. ²Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, "The man of God has come here,"

8 the king said to ³Hazael, ⁴"Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, ⁵and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"

9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, ⁶"Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"

10 And Elisha said to him, ⁷"Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that ⁸he shall certainly die."

11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, ⁹until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.

12 And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know ¹⁰the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword ¹¹and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women."

13 And Hazael said, "What is your servant, ¹²who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, ¹³"The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria."

14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered, "He told me ¹⁴that you would certainly recover."

15 But the next day he took the bed cloth^[a] and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

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2 Kings 8:7-15 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 14

1. [1 Kings 11:24]
2. 2 Kings 6:24; 1 Kings 20:1
3. 1 Kings 19:15, 17
4. See 1 Samuel 9:7
5. [2 Kings 1:2]
6. [2 Kings 5:13]
7. ver. 14
8. ver. 15
9. 2 Kings 2:17
10. 2 Kings 10:32; 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Kings 13:3, 7, 22; Amos 1:3, 4
11. Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10; [Psalms 137:9; Hosea 10:14]
12. See 1 Samuel 17:43
13. [1 Kings 19:15]
14. ver. 10

Footnotes 1

[a]. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.