2 Kings 8:9

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."

2 Kings 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:9

So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him
As was usual when a prophet or seer was consulted, see ( 1 Samuel 9:7 )

even of every good thing of Damascus;
which was a very fruitful place, and had abundance of gardens and orchards in it, which yielded excellent fruit, and of such it is probable the present consisted, and which was large:

even forty camels' burden:
which, as they are strong creatures, will bear a great deal. Abarbinel thinks, bread, flesh, and wine, and fowls, were in the present, but not gold, silver, and raiment, which the prophet had refused to take of Naaman; the Jews have a fable, that there was a precious stone in it, worth all the good things of Damascus:

and came and stood before him, and said, thy son Benhadad, king of
Syria, hath sent me to thee, saying, shall I recover of this disease?
he calls him his son, in veneration of the prophet as a father, as such men were called.

2 Kings 8:9 In-Context

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."

10 Elisha replied, "Tell him that he will get better, although the LORD has shown me that he is actually going to die."

11 He stared at him until he became embarrassed. Then the man of God began to cry.