2 Kings 8

1 And Elisha spake unto the woman whose son he had revived, saying, `Rise and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn where thou dost sojourn, for Jehovah hath called for a famine, and also, it is coming unto the land seven years.'

2 And the woman riseth, and doth according to the word of the man of God, and goeth, she and her household, and sojourneth in the land of the Philistines seven years.

3 And it cometh to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman turneth back from the land of the Philistines, and goeth out to cry unto the king, for her house, and for her field.

4 And the king is speaking unto Gehazi, servant of the man of God, saying, `Recount, I pray thee, to me, the whole of the great things that Elisha hath done.'

5 And it cometh to pass, he is recounting to the king how he had revived the dead, and lo, the woman whose son he had revived is crying unto the king, for her house and for her field, and Gehazi saith, `My lord, O king, this [is] the woman, and this her son, whom Elisha revived.'

6 And the king asketh at the woman, and she recounteth to him, and the king appointeth to her a certain eunuch, saying, `Give back all that she hath, and all the increase of the field from the day of her leaving the land even till now.'

7 And Elisha cometh in to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram is sick, and it is declared to him, saying, `The man of God hath come hither.'

8 And the king saith unto Hazael, `Take in thy hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, and thou hast sought Jehovah by him, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?'

9 And Hazael goeth to meet him, and taketh a present in his hand, even of every good thing of Damascus, a burden of forty camels, and he cometh in and standeth before him, and saith, `Thy son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?'

10 And Elisha saith unto him, `Go, say, Thou dost certainly not revive, seeing Jehovah hath shewed me that he doth surely die.'

11 And he setteth his face, yea, he setteth [it] till he is ashamed, and the man of God weepeth.

12 And Hazael saith, `Wherefore is my lord weeping?' and he saith, `Because I have known the evil that thou dost to the sons of Israel -- their fenced places thou dost send into fire, and their young men with sword thou dost slay, and their sucklings thou dost dash to pieces, and their pregnant women thou dost rip up.'

13 And Hazael saith, `But what, [is] thy servant the dog, that he doth this great thing?' And Elisha saith, `Jehovah hath shewed me thee -- king of Aram.'

14 And he goeth from Elisha, and cometh in unto his lord, and he saith unto him, `What said Elisha to thee?' and he saith, `He said to me, Thou dost certainly recover.'

15 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that he taketh the coarse cloth, and dippeth in water, and spreadeth on his face, and he dieth, and Hazael reigneth in his stead.

16 And in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel -- and Jehoshaphat [is] king of Judah -- hath Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah reigned;

17 a son of thirty and two years was he in his reigning, and eight years he hath reigned in Jerusalem.

18 And he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for a daughter of Ahab was to him for a wife, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah,

19 and Jehovah was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, as He said to him, to give to him a lamp -- to his sons all the days.

20 In his days hath Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they cause a king to reign over them,

21 and Joram passeth over to Zair, and all the chariots with him, and he himself hath risen by night, and smiteth Edom, that is coming round about unto him, and the heads of the chariots, and the people fleeth to its tents;

22 and Edom revolteth from under the hand of Judah till this day; then doth Libnah revolt at that time.

23 And the rest of the matters of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

24 And Joram lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers in the city of David, and reign doth Ahaziah his son in his stead.

25 In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel reigned hath Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah;

26 a son of twenty and two years [is] Ahaziah in his reigning, and one year he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Athaliah daughter of Omri king of Israel,

27 and he walketh in the way of the house of Ahab, and doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab, for he [is] son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

28 And he goeth with Joram son of Ahab to battle with Hazael king of Aram in Ramoth-Gilead, and the Aramaeans smite Joram,

29 and Joram the king turneth back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds with which the Arameans smite him in Ramah, in his fighting with Hazael king of Aram, and Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah hath gone down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he is sick.

2 Kings 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

A famine in Israel, The Shunammite obtains her land. (1-6) Elisha consulted by Hazael, Death of Benhadad. (7-15) Jehoram's wicked reign in Judah. (16-24) Ahaziah's wicked reign in Judah. (25-29)

Verses 1-6 The kindness of the good Shunammite to Elisha, was rewarded by the care taken of her in famine. It is well to foresee an evil, and wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves if we lawfully may do so. When the famine was over, she returned out of the land of the Philistines; that was no proper place for an Israelite, any longer than there was necessity for it. Time was when she dwelt so securely among her own people, that she had no occasion to be spoken for to the king; but there is much uncertainty in this life, so that things or persons may fail us which we most depend upon, and those befriend us which we think we shall never need. Sometimes events, small in themselves, prove of consequence, as here; for they made the king ready to believe Gehazi's narrative, when thus confirmed. It made him ready to grant her request, and to support a life which was given once and again by miracle.

Verses 7-15 Among other changes of men's minds by affliction, it often gives other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they have hated and despised. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God revealed it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes: the more foresight men have, the more grief they are liable to. It is possible for a man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet afterwards to be reconciled to it. Those that are little and low in the world, cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, which, if ever they arrive at, they will find how deceitful their hearts are, how much worse than they suspected. The devil ruins men, by saying they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security. Hazael's false account was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of the prophet's warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. It is not certain that Hazael murdered his master, or if he caused his death it may have been without any design. But he was a dissembler, and afterwards proved a persecutor to Israel.

Verses 16-24 A general idea is given of Jehoram's badness. His father, no doubt, had him taught the true knowledge of the Lord, but did ill to marry him to the daughter of Ahab; no good could come of union with an idolatrous family.

Verses 25-29 Names do not make natures, but it was bad for Jehoshaphat's family to borrow names from Ahab's. Ahaziah's relation to Ahab's family was the occasion of his wickedness and of his fall. When men choose wives for themselves, let them remember they are choosing mothers for their children. Providence so ordered it, that Ahaziah might be cut off with the house of Ahab, when the measure of their iniquity was full. Those who partake with sinners in their sin, must expect to partake with them in their plagues. May all the changes, troubles, and wickedness of the world, make us more earnest to obtain an interest in the salvation of Christ.

Chapter Summary

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.