Kings II 2:19

19 And Asael followed after Abenner, and turned not to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abenner.

Kings II 2:19 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 2:19

And the men of the city said unto Elisha
The inhabitants of Jericho, perceiving him to be a prophet, and endowed with a power of working miracles:

behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
seeth;
in a plain, surrounded with gardens and orchards, with vineyards, oliveyards, and groves of palm trees, and other odoriferous ones:

but the water is naught, and the ground barren;
that is, that part of it where this water was, or ran, for from thence it became barren; or "caused to miscarry", as the word signifies ^F17; not only trees cast their fruit, which it watered, but women became abortive that drank of it, as Josephus says ^F18, and so cattle. Abarbinel thinks it was so from the times of Joshua, being cursed by him; but, if so, it would not have been inhabited again; rather this was owing to a new curse, upon its being rebuilt; though this might affect only a small part of the ground, not the whole, as before observed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (tlkvm) "orbans", Montanus, Vatablus; "facit abortum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F18 De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 3.

Kings II 2:19 In-Context

17 And the battle was very severe on that day; and Abenner and the men of Israel were worsted before the servants of David.

18 And there were there the three sons of Saruia, Joab, and Abessa, and Asael: and Asael was swift in his feet as a roe in the field.

19 And Asael followed after Abenner, and turned not to go to the right hand or to the left from following Abenner.

20 And Abenner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asael himself? and he said, I am.

21 And Abenner said to him, Turn thou to the right hand or to the left, and lay hold for thyself on one of the young men, and take to thyself his armour: but Asel would not turn back from following him.