2 Kings 8:1-11

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite's Land

1 Now ¹Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the ²LORD has called for a famine, and ³it will even come on the land for seven years."

2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

3 At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field.

4 Now the king was talking with ⁴Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done."

5 As he was relating to the king ⁵how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."

6 When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, "Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now."

Elisha Predicts Evil from Hazael

7 Then Elisha came to ⁶Damascus. Now ⁷Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, saying, "⁸The man of God has come here *."

8 The king said to ⁹Hazael, "¹⁰Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and ¹¹inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' "

9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels' loads; and he came and stood before him and said, "¹²Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' "

10 Then Elisha said to him, "¹³Go, say to him, 'You will surely recover,' but the ¹⁴LORD has shown me that he will certainly die."

11 He fixed his gaze steadily on him ¹⁵until he was ashamed, and ¹⁶the man of God wept.

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2 Kings 8:1-11 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 16

1. 2 Kin 4:18, 31-35
2. Psalms 105:16; Haggai 1:11
3. Genesis 41:27, 54
4. 2 Kings 4:12; 2 Kings 5:20-27
5. 2 Kings 4:35
6. 1 Kings 11:24
7. 2 Kings 6:24
8. 2 Kings 5:20
9. 1 Kings 19:15, 17
10. 1 Kings 14:3
11. 2 Kings 1:2
12. 2 Kings 5:13
13. 2 Kings 8:14
14. 2 Kings 8:15
15. 2 Kings 2:17
16. Luke 19:41

Footnotes 4

[a]. Lit "you and your"
[b]. Lit "cry out"
[c]. Lit "cried out"
[d]. Lit "made his face stand fast and he set"