2 Kings 8:7

7 Elisha went to Damascus. King Benhadad of Aram, who was sick, was told, "The man of God has come here."

2 Kings 8:7 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:7

And Elisha came to Damascus
On what account, and when, is not certain, whether to convert Gehazi, as say the Jews ^F4; or to confirm Naaman in the true religion he professed, for which he might be dismissed from his office, since another man was made general of the Syrian army; or on account of the famine; or rather it may be to anoint, or, however, to declare that Hazael would be king of Syria; see ( 1 Kings 19:15 ) ,

and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick;
at the time he came thither, where his palace was, and now a Mahometan temple; a very extraordinary building, according to Benjamin the Jew ^F5:

and it was told him, saying, the man of God is come hither;
the famous prophet in Israel, Elisha, through whom Naaman his general had been cured of his leprosy, of whom he had heard so much.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 47. 1.
F5 Itinerar. p. 55.

2 Kings 8:7 In-Context

5 While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha brought a dead child back to life, the mother [came to] make an appeal to the king about her house and land. Gehazi said, "Your Majesty, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life."

6 When the king asked the woman [about this], she told him the story. So the king assigned to her an attendant to whom he said, "Restore all that is hers, including whatever her property produced from the day she left the country until now."

7 Elisha went to Damascus. King Benhadad of Aram, who was sick, was told, "The man of God has come here."

8 The king told Hazael, "Take a present, and meet the man of God. Ask the LORD through him, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

9 Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a present and all kinds of goods from Damascus. He had loaded the goods on 40 camels. He stood in front of Elisha and said, "Your humble servant King Benhadad of Aram has sent me to you. He asks whether he will recover from this illness."