2 Kings 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Kings 8:8-9

8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift ⁵  and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ⁶  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ⁷  He took along a gift, ⁸  as well as ⁹  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ¹⁰  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ¹¹  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

¹ map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

⁴ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

⁵ tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”

⁶ tn Heb “Inquire of the Lord through him, saying.”

⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”

¹² sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

¹³ tn Heb “saying.”