15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1 15:7 Azariah passed away 2 and was buried 3 with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 5 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 6 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 7 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 8 asked them, “Describe the appearance 9 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, 10 “He was a hairy man 11 and had a leather belt 12 tied around his waist.” The king 13 said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9 The king 14 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 15 to retrieve Elijah. 16 The captain 17 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 18 He told him, “Prophet, 19 the king says, ‘Come down!’”
1 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Azariah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
2 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
3 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “to him.”
6 tn Heb “said to him.”
7 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
10 tn Heb “said to him.”
11 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
12 tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
16 tn Heb “to him.”
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
19 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).