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Texts -- 2 Kings 6:1-19 (NET)

Context
Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float
6:1 Some of the prophets said to Elisha , “Look , the place where we meet with you is too cramped for us. 6:2 Let’s go to the Jordan . Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there .” He said , “Go .” 6:3 One of them said , “Please come along with your servants .” He replied , “All right, I’ll come .” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan , they started cutting down trees . 6:5 As one of them was felling a log , the ax head dropped into the water . He shouted , “Oh no , my master ! It was borrowed !” 6:6 The prophet asked , “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot , Elisha cut off a branch , threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float . 6:7 He said , “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.
Elisha Defeats an Army
6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel . He consulted his advisers , who said , “Invade at such and such a place .” 6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel , “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there .” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out , warning it to be on its guard . This happened on several occasions . 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset . So he summoned his advisers and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel .” 6:12 One of his advisers said , “No , my master , O king . The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom .” 6:13 The king ordered , “Go , find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” The king was told , “He is in Dothan .” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there , along with a good-sized army . They arrived during the night and surrounded the city . 6:15 The prophet’s attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city , along with horses and chariots . He said to Elisha, “Oh no, my master ! What will we do ?” 6:16 He replied , “Don’t be afraid , for our side outnumbers them.” 6:17 Then Elisha prayed , “O Lord , open his eyes so he can see .” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha . 6:18 As they approached him, Elisha prayed to the Lord , “Strike these people with blindness .” The Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha requested . 6:19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the right road or city . Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for .” He led them to Samaria .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Tirza

    [ebd] pleasantness. (1.) An old royal city of the Canaanites, which was destroyed by Joshua (Josh. 12:24). Jeroboam chose it for his residence, and he removed to it from Shechem, which at first he made the capital of his kingdom. ...

  • Samaria

    [nave] SAMARIA 1. City of, built by Omri, 1 Kin. 16:24. Capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes, 1 Kin. 16:29; 22:51; 2 Kin. 13:1, 10; 15:8. Besieged by Ben-hadad, 1 Kin. 20; 2 Kin. 6:24-33; 7. The king of Syria is led into, by...

  • Prophets

    [nave] PROPHETS Called Seers, 1 Sam. 9:19; 2 Sam. 15:27; 24:11; 2 Kin. 17:13; 1 Chr. 9:22; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 29:30; Isa. 30:10; Mic. 3:7. Schools of, 1 Kin. 20:35; 2 Kin. 2:3-15; 4:1, 38; 9:1. Kept the chronicles, 1 Chr....

  • Joram

    [nave] JORAM 1. A son of Toi, 2 Sam. 8:9, 10. Called Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10. 2. Called also Jehoram. King of Israel, 2 Kin. 1:17; 3:1. King of Syria sends Naaman to, that he may be healed of his leprosy, 2 Kin. 5:1-27. Has war w...

  • JEHOASH; JOASH

    [isbe] JEHOASH; JOASH - je-ho'-ash, the uncontracted form of (yeho'ash, yo'ash, "Yahweh has bestowed"; compare 2 Ki 11:2,21; 12:1,19; 2 Ch 24:1, etc.; Ioas): (1) The 9th king of Judah; son of Ahaziah and Zibiah, a woman of Beersheb...

  • JEHOAHAZ

    [isbe] JEHOAHAZ - je-ho'-a-haz, je-ho-a'-haz (yeho'achaz, "Yah has grasped"; Ioachas; 2 Ki 13:1-9): (1) Son of Jehu, and 11th king of Israel. He is stated to have reigned 17 years. 1. Chronology of Reign: Josephus was already aware...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • INTERCESSION

    [isbe] INTERCESSION - in-ter-sesh'-un (pagha`, "to make intercession"; originally "to strike upon," or "against"; then in a good sense, "to assail anyone with petitions," "to urge," and when on behalf of another, "to intercede" (Ru...

  • IMMANUEL

    [isbe] IMMANUEL - i-man'-u-el (`immanu'el): The name occurs but 3 times, twice in the Old Testament (Isa 7:14; 8:8), and once in the New Testament (Mt 1:23). It is a Hebrew word signifying "God is with us." The form "Emmanuel" appe...

  • HEAD

    [isbe] HEAD - hed (ro'-sh, Aramaic re'sh, and in special sense gulgoleth, literally, "skull," "cut-off head" (1 Ch 10:10), whence Golgotha (Mt 27:33; Mk 15:22; Jn 19:17); mera'ashah, literally, "head-rest," "pillow," "bolster" (1 K...

  • FIRE

    [isbe] FIRE - fir ('esh; pur): These are the common words for fire, occurring very frequently. 'Ur, "light" (Isa 24:15 the King James Version; compare the Revised Version (British and American); 31:9, and see FIRES), nur (Aramaic) ...

  • EKRON; EKRONITE

    [isbe] EKRON; EKRONITE - ek'-ron, ek'-ron-it 'eqron, "migration," "rooting out"; Akkaron): The most northerly of the chief cities of the Philistines. It was not subdued by Joshua (13:3) but was allotted, in the division of the land...

  • Dothan

    [ebd] two wells, a famous pasture-ground where Joseph found his brethren watching their flocks. Here, at the suggestion of Judah, they sold him to the Ishmaelite merchants (Gen. 37:17). It is mentioned on monuments in B.C. 1600. I...
    [isbe] DOTHAN - do'-than (dothayin, dothan, "two wells," "double feast"; Dothaeim): A place to the North of Shechem whither Jacob's sons went for pasture for the flocks; where Joseph who followed them was sold to the Ishmaelites, a...
    [smith] (two wells), a place first mentioned (Genesis 37:17) in connection with the history of Joseph, and apparently as in the neighborhood of Shechem. It next appears as the residence of Elisha. (2 Kings 6:13) It was known to Eu...
    [nave] DOTHAN A district and town in Palestine, Gen. 37:17. Syrian army made blind at, 2 Kin. 6:13-19.

  • DISCIPLE

    [isbe] DISCIPLE - di-si'-p'-l: (1) Usually a substantive (mathetes, "a learner," from manthano, "to learn"; Latin discipulus, "a scholar"): The word is found in the Bible only in the Gospels and Acts. But it is good Greek, in use f...

  • Ben-hadad

    [nave] BEN-HADAD 1. King of Syria, 1 Kin. 15:18-20; 2 Chr. 16:2-4. 2. A king of Syria, who reigned in the time of Ahab, son of Ben-hadad I, 1 Kin. 20; 2 Kin. 5; 6; 7; 8:7-15. 3. Son of Hazael and king of Syria, 2 Kin. 13:3, 24, 2...

  • Bed-chamber

    [ebd] an apartment in Eastern houses, furnished with a slightly elevated platform at the upper end and sometimes along the sides, on which were laid mattresses. This was the general arrangement of the public sleeping-room for the ...

  • BENHADAD

    [isbe] BENHADAD - ben-ha'-dad (ben-hadhadh; Septuagint huios Hader): The Name I. BENHADAD I 1. The Kingdom of Syria Founded 2. Syria and Judah 3. Shortsightedness of Asa II. BENHADAD II 1. Hadad-'idri of the Monuments 2. Expedition...

  • BEAM

    [ebd] occurs in the Authorized Version as the rendering of various Hebrew words. In 1 Sam. 17:7, it means a weaver's frame or principal beam; in Hab. 2:11, a crossbeam or girder; 2 Kings 6:2, 5, a cross-piece or rafter of a house;...
    [isbe] BEAM - bem: The word is used to translate various Old Testament terms: (1) gebh (1 Ki 6:9), tsela`, "a rib" (1 Ki 7:3), qurah (2 Ch 3:7; 34:11; Song 1:17), all refer to constructional beams used in buildings for roofing and ...

  • Axe

    [ebd] used in the Authorized Version of Deut. 19:5; 20:19; 1 Kings 6:7, as the translation of a Hebrew word which means "chopping." It was used for felling trees (Isa. 10:34) and hewing timber for building. It is the rendering of ...

  • AX (AXE); AX-HEAD

    [isbe] AX (AXE); AX-HEAD - aks; aks'hed: Nine different Hebrew words have been rendered "ax": (1) garzen. This unquestionably was one of the larger chopping instruments, as the uses to which it was put would imply (Dt 19:5; 20:19; ...

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  • [2Ki 6:17] Jerusalem

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 5:13-15 "Despite Joshua's long military experience he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Palestine, Jericho was probably the most invincible. T...
  • The gate of cities like Bethlehem was the place where people transacted official business (cf. Gen. 19:1; 2 Sam. 15:2-6; 1 Kings 22:10; Amos 5:10, 12, 15)."In ancient cities the gate' was a short passageway through the thick ...
  • An angelic messenger from God again brought death to many people throughout all Israel (cf. Exod. 12:23). The Angel of the Lord may have been the preincarnate Christ, but he could have simply been an angelic messenger whom Go...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Kings)3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:184. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:155. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-246. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29C. The ...
  • The Gilgal in view may have been the one between Jericho and the Jordan, or it may have been one about seven miles north of Bethel since Elijah and Elisha went down to Bethel (v. 2).10This account presupposes previous revelat...
  • The king of Aram was probably Ben-Hadad II though the writer did not mention him by name (v. 8). Perhaps since he only identified Elisha and Yahweh by name, he wished to focus attention on them as the main characters in this ...
  • Aram's cessation of hostilities resumed after some time (v. 24; cf. v. 23), perhaps between 845 and 841 B.C.43The famine in Samaria resulted from the siege that was a punishment from the Lord for Israel's apostasy (cf. Lev. 2...
  • Hazael was the governor of Damascus.50The Gentile King of Aram had more interest in inquiring of Yahweh than Jehoram's predecessor did (v. 8; cf. 1:2). It was customary in the Near East to make a great show of giving gifts. I...
  • Jehoash (Joash) had respect and affection for Elisha. He anticipated the loss that the death of God's spiritual warrior would be to Israel (v. 14). He recognized that Israel's real defense lay in Yahweh's angelic army and in ...
  • How would the Judeans respond to this blasphemous challenge? How they did determined their destiny not only at that moment but for years to come.36:21 The people listening to this invitation did not respond out loud because H...
  • This pericope contains one of Jeremiah's "confessions,"a self-revelation of the prophet's own struggles to cope with God's actions (cf. 10:23-24; 15:10-12, 15-21; 17:9-11, 14-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18).219The heart of this on...
  • This pericope contains a call to the nations to prepare for war (vv. 9-11), a statement by the Lord (vv. 12-13), and a description of the battle site (vv. 14-16).3:9-11 The Lord issued a call to war. The nations should prepar...
  • 7:14 Amos replied that he was not a prophet by his own choosing; he did not decide to pursue prophesying as a career. Neither had he become a prophet because his father had been one. In Amos' culture it was common and expecte...
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