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 5:7

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ⁵  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ⁶ 

2 Kings 5:22

5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. ⁷  My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. ⁸  Please give them a talent ⁹  of silver and two suits of clothes.’”

2 Kings 8:8-9

8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift ¹⁰  and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, ¹¹  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ¹²  He took along a gift, ¹³  as well as ¹⁴  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ¹⁵  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ¹⁶  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Kings 20:9

20:9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” ¹⁷ 

[1:2]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2]  ³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2]  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.

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

[5:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “peace.”

[5:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”

[5:22]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).

[8:8]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”

[8:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Inquire of the Lord through him, saying.”

[8:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

[8:9]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[8:9]  ²⁰ sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

[8:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[20:9]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew הָלַךְ (halakh, a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to הֲיֵלֵךְ (hayelekh, an imperfect with interrogative he [ה] prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”