2 Kings 2:1--8:15
up <05927> [take up.]
windstorm <05591> [by a whirlwind.]
Elisha <0477> [Elisha.]
Gilgal <01537> [Gilgal.]
Stay ..... Lord .............. Lord <03427 03068> [Tarry here.]
Lord .............. Lord <03068> [As the Lord.]
leave <05800> [I will not.]
Bethel ......................... Bethel <01008> [Beth-el.]
members <01121> [And the sons.]
master <0113> [thy master.]
Jericho ........................ Jericho <03405> [Jericho.]
Lord .............. Lord <03068> [As the Lord.]
members <01121> [the sons. i.e., as the Targumist renders, {talmeedey neveeya,} "disciples of the prophets." thy master. See on ver.]
know .................. know ... quiet <03045 02814> [Yea, I know it.]
fifty <0376 02572> [fifty men.]
opposite ..... distance <05048 07350> [to view afar off. Heb. in sight, or over against.]
cloak <0155> [his mantle.]
[Ten meloten autou,] his sheep skin, says the Septuagint; the skins of sheep being formerly worn by prophets as the simple insignia of their office: see Note on ch. 1:8.
divided <02673> [were.]
do ........................ energizes <07592 06213> [Ask what.]
said ... Elisha ............... Elisha answered <0559 0477> [Elisha said.]
double <06310 08147> [a double portion.]
This probably refers to the law respecting the first-born, who had a double portion of the property of his father. As Elisha may have considered himself as the first-born of Elijah, so he requested a double portion of his spiritual influence.
request <07592> [Thou hast.]
difficult request <07185 07592> [asked a hard thing. Heb. done hard in asking. if thou see.]
windstorm <05591> [by a whirlwind.]
heaven <08064> [into heaven.]
watching .... crying out ................. see <07200 06817> [saw it.]
father ... father <01> [My father.]
watching ..................... see .... grabbed <07200 02388> [he saw him.]
tore .... two <07167 08147> [rent them.]
cloak <0155> [the mantle.]
shore <08193> [bank. Heb. lip.]
hit .................. hit <05221> [smote.]
Lord <03068> [Where is.]
Jericho <03405> [to view.]
spirit <07307> [The spirit.]
bowed <07812> [bowed.]
capable <02428 01121> [strong men. Heb. sons of strength. the Spirit.]
[some mountain. Heb. one of the mountains.]
insistent <06484> [they urged.]
find <04672> [found him not.]
master ... see <07200 0113> [my Lord seeth.]
water <04325> [the water.]
crops <07921> [barren. Heb. causing to miscarry.]
Get ......... salt .... So ... got <04417 03947> [salt therein.]
threw <07993> [cast.]
purified <07495> [I have healed.]
death <04194> [there shall.]
Bethel <01008> [Beth-el.]
young boys <06996 05288> [little children.]
The words {n‰ƒrim ketannim} not only signify little children but young men; for {katon} signifies not only little, but young, in opposition to old; and {n„ƒr} signifies not only a child, but a young man grown to years of maturity: thus Isaac is called {n„ƒr} when twenty-eight years old, Joseph when thirty-nine, and Rehoboam when forty. These idolatrous young men, having heard of the ascension of Elijah, without believing it, blasphemously bade Elisha to follow him. The venerable prophet, from a Divine impulse, pronounced a curse "in the name of the Lord," which was immediately followed by the most terrible judgment; thus evincing the Source from which it flowed.
made fun <07046> [mocked.]
went up ......... traveling up .................. Go on up ... Go on up <05927> [Go up.]
called ... judgment <07043 08034> [cursed them.]
bears <01677> [she bears.]
boys <03206> [children of them.]
Mount Carmel <03760 02022> [mount Carmel.]
Jehoram <03088> [Jehoram.]
[Joram.]
did ................................ made <06213> [wrought.]
[See on]
father .............. father <01> [but not.]
mother <0517> [and like.]
sacred pillar <04676> [image. Heb. statue. Baal.]
sin <01692> [he cleaved.]
[See on]
Israel <03478> [which made.]
turn <05493> [he departed.]
sheep breeder <05349> [a sheepmaster.]
send as tribute <07725> [rendered.]
male lambs <03733> [lambs.]
assembled <06485> [A.M. 3109. B.C. 895. numbered.]
<03212> [wilt thou go.]
Desert ... Edom <0123 04057> [the wilderness of Edom.]
The wilderness of Edom was probably the same as that of Zin or Kadesh, through which the children of Israel passed; extending southward from the Dead Sea, to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. See Note on Nu 13:21.
Edom <0123> [Edom.]
water <04325> [no water.]
<07272> [that followed them. Heb. at their feet.]
<03068> [the Lord.]
prophet <05030> [Is there not here.]
seek <01875> [that we may.]
That is, was his constant and confidential servant. Mr. Hanway, speaking of a Persian supper, says, "Supper being now brought in, a servant presented a basin of water, and a napkin hung over his shoulders; he went to every one in the company, and poured water on their hands to wash."
<01697> [The word.]
Israel <03478> [Israel.]
<03212> [What.]
<03212> [get.]
prophets ..... prophets <05030> [the prophets.]
Lord <03068> [Nay.]
Lord <03068> [As the Lord.]
<05375> [I regard.]
acknowledge <05027> [I would not look.]
get .... musician .... musician ..... energized him <03947 05059> [bring me.]
This was evidently intended to soothe and tranquillize the prophet's mind, which had been agitated and discomposed with holy indignation by the presence of the idolatrous king, and the recollection of his abomination. The soothing influence of music is generally acknowledged in every civilized nation.
energized <03027> [the hand.]
Make ...... valley <06213 05158> [Make this valley.]
feel ..... see <07200> [Ye shall not.]
drink <08354> [that ye may.]
easy <07043> [And this.]
easy <07043> [a light.]
will ... hand <05414> [he will.]
defeat <05221> [And ye.]
chop down <05307> [fell.]
cover <03510> [mar. Heb. grieve.]
sacrifice <04503> [when the meat.]
water came <04325 0935> [there came water.]
This supply was altogether miraculous; for there was neither wind nor rain, nor any other natural means to furnish it.
filled <04390> [filled.]
mustered <06817> [gathered. Heb. were cried together. put on armour. Heb. gird himself with a girdle.]
blood <01818> [This is blood.]
It's ...... totally destroyed <02717> [slain. Heb. destroyed. now therefore.]
struck down ... Moabites .......... defeated Moab <05221 04124> [smote the.]
struck down ............ defeated <05221> [went forward. or, smote in it even.]
tore down <02040> [beat down.]
stopped up <05640> [stopped.]
chopped down <05307> [and felled.]
Kir Hareseth <07025> [only in, etc. Heb. until he left the stones thereof in]
Kir-haraseth. Kir-haraseth. Supposed to be the same as Ar, or Areopolis, the capital of Moab.
[Kir-heres.]
king ..................... king ... Edom <0123 04428> [unto the king of Edom.]
offered ... up .... burnt sacrifice <05927 05930> [offered him.]
In cases of great extremity, it was customary in various heathen nations, to offer human sacrifices, and even their own children. This was frequent among the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Scythians, Gauls, Africans, and others; and was the natural fruit of a religious system, which had for the objects of its worship cruel and merciless divinities. The king of Moab, in this case, sacrificed his son to obtain the favour of Chemosh his god, who, being a devil, delighted in blood and murder, and the destruction of mankind. The dearer any thing was to them, the more acceptable those idolaters thought the sacrifice, and therefore burnt their children in the fire to their honour.
broke off <05265> [they departed.]
boys <01121 03206> [A.M. 3110. B.C. 894. sons.]
servant .......... servant ....................... servants <05650 03373> [thy servant did fear.]
creditor <05383> [the creditor.]
do <06213> [What shall I.]
jar ... olive oil <0610 08081> [save a pot of oil.]
empty containers <03627 07386> [empty vessels.]
<04591> [borrow not a few. Heb. scant not.]
close <05462> [thou shalt shut.]
Pour <03332> [and shalt pour.]
<03212> [she went.]
containers .............. container <03627> [when the vessels.]
olive oil <08081> [And the oil.]
Repay <07999> [pay.]
creditor <05386> [debt. or, creditor.]
day <03117> [it fell on. Heb. there was.]
Shunem <07766> [Shunem.]
This city was situated in the tribe of Issachar, five miles south from mount Tabor, according to Eusebius; and is probably the place which he calls Sanim, in Acrabatene, in the neighbourhood of Samaria or Sebaste.
prominent woman <0802 01419> [a great woman.]
insisted ....... meal ............... meal <02388 0398> [she constrained him. Heb. she laid hold on him.]
said <0559> [she said.]
special <06918> [this is.]
husband ................. prophet <0376 0430> [man of God.]
make ........ furnish <06213 07760> [Let us.]
small ... upper room <06996 05944> [a little chamber.]
An {ƒleeyah,} or {ole„h,} as the Arabs call it; a small back house annexed to the principal dwelling, in which the prophet could live in a great privacy as in his own house, and to which he could retire at pleasure, without breaking in upon the private affairs of the family, or being in his turn interrupted by them in his devotions. See the notes on Jud 3:20.
Gehazi <01522> [Gehazi.]
servant <05288> [servant.]
treated <02729> [thou hast.]
king <04428> [to the king.]
commander <08269> [to the captain.]
secure <03427> [I dwell.]
army ...... secure <08432 05971> [among mine.]
son <01121> [she hath no child.]
next year <04150> [About this.]
next year <04150> [season. Heb. set time. thou shalt.]
master <0113> [my lord.]
lie <03576> [do not lie.]
harvest <07114> [to the reapers.]
head ... head <07218> [My head.]
From this peculiar exclamation, and the season of the year, it is probable he was affected by the {coup de soleil,} or stroke of the sun, which is by no means uncommon in hot climates, and often proves fatal.
mother <0517> [his mother.]
died <04191> [and then died.]
bed <04296> [the bed.]
so ..... see .... quickly <07323> [I may run.]
new moon <02320> [new moon.]
fine <07965> [well. Heb. peace.]
saddled <02280> [Then she.]
donkey <0860> [an ass.]
These animals were not anciently, as now, used only by the lower classes, but were in general use among the noble and chief personages of the East, and it was not unusual for even the husband to walk by the side of his wife while thus riding; the driver, as was the custom, following. The Shunammite, when she went to the prophet, did not desire so much attendance; but only requested her husband to send her an ass and its driver.
Lead <05090> [Drive.]
<06113 07392> [slack not thy riding for me. Heb. restrain not for me to ride.]
Mount <02022> [to mount.]
run ... meet <07323 07125> [Run now.]
well ........ well ...... fine <07965> [Is it well with thee.]
well ........ well ...... fine <07965> [It is well.]
feet <07272> [him by the feet. Heb. by his feet.]
push ... away <01920> [thrust.]
Leave ... alone <07503> [Let her alone.]
very upset <04843> [vexed. Heb. bitter.]
hidden ...... tell <05956 05046> [hid it from me.]
ask <07592> [Did I desire.]
mislead <07952> [Do not.]
Tuck ...... belt <02296 04975> [Gird up thy loins.]
take ... staff ............. staff <03947 04938> [take my.]
Tuck .................. anyone <01288 0376> [salute him not.]
staff ........... Place ... staff <04938 07760> [lay my staff.]
Lord <03068> [As the Lord.]
leave <05800> [I will not.]
sound <06963> [neither voice.]
response <07182> [hearing. Heb. attention.]
wake up <06974> [not awaked.]
child <05288> [the child.]
closed ... door <01817 05462> [shut the door.]
prayed <06419> [prayed.]
[to and fro. Heb. once hither and once thither. and the child opened.]
called ........ Shunammite <07121 07767> [Call this Shunammite.]
Take <05375> [Take up.]
fell .... feet <07272 05307> [fell at his feet.]
Elisha <0477> [Elisha.]
famine <07458> [a dearth.]
<01121> [the sons.]
visiting <03427> [were sitting.]
Put ... big pot on <08239 01419 05518> [Set on the great pot.]
field ......... wild vine ....... fruit <07704 01612> [a wild vine.]
field ......... wild ........ fruit <06498 07704> [wild gourds.]
The word {pakk“th,} from {peka,} in Chaldee, to burst, and in Syriac, to crack, thunder, is generally supposed to be the fruits of the coloquintida, or colocynth; whose leaves are large, placed alternately, very much like those of the vine, whence it might be called a wild vine: the flowers are white, and the fruit of the gourd kind, of the size of a large apple, and when ripe, of a yellow colour, and a pleasant and inviting appearance. It ranks among vegetable poisons, as all intense bitters do; but, judiciously employed, it is of considerable use in medicine. It is said that the fruit, when ripe, is so full of wind that it bursts, and throws its liquor and seeds to a great distance: and if touched, before it breaks of itself, it flies open with an explosion, and discharges its foetid contents in the face of him who touched it.
men .................... prophet <0376> [O thou.]
Death <04194> [death.]
threw <07993> [he cast.]
anything <01697> [there.]
anything <01697> [harm. Heb. evil thing.]
Baal Shalisha <01190> [Baal-shalisha.]
food ...... loaves of bread <03899> [bread.]
barley <08184> [of barley.]
said <06861 0559> [the husk thereof. or, his scrip, or garment.]
Note: Parched corn, or corn to be parched; full ears before they are ripe, parched on the fire: a very frequent food in the East. The loaves were probably extremely small, as their loaves of bread still are in eastern countries. But small as this may appear, it would be a considerable present in the time of famine; though very inadequate to the number of persons. Baal-shalisha, of which the person who made this seasonable present was an inhabitant, was situated, according to Eusebius and Jerome, fifteen miles north of Diospolis, or Lydda.
attendant <08334> [his servitor.]
I .......... Set it <05414> [What.]
eat ........... eat <0398> [They shall eat.]
Naaman <05283> [A.M. 3110. B.C. 894. Naaman.]
esteemed <01419> [a great.]
esteemed ... respected <06440> [with. Heb. before. honourable. or, gracious. Heb. lifted up, or accepted in countenance. by him.]
victories <08668> [deliverance. or, victory. a leper.]
Raiding parties <01416> [by companies.]
became a servant <06440> [waited on. Heb. was before.]
If only ... master <0305 0113> [Would God.]
presence <06440> [with. Heb. before. he would.]
cure ..... skin disease <0622 06883> [recover him of. Heb. gather in.]
told ... master <05046 0113> [and told his lord.]
taking <03947> [and took.]
<03027> [with him. Heb. in his hand. ten talents of silver.]
This, at 353œ. 11s. 10«d. the talent, would amount to 3,535œ. 18s. 9d.
six thousand <0505 08337> [six thousand.]
If shekels are meant, as the Arabic reads, then this, at 1Å“. 16s. 5d. each, will amount to 10,925Å“.; and the whole to 14,464Å“. 18s. 9d.: besides the value of the ten changes of raiment.
ten ........... ten suits <06235 02487> [ten changes.]
tore <07167> [that he rent.]
God <0430> [Am I God.]
looking for ... excuse <07200 0579> [see how.]
torn ... clothes ............ tear ... clothes <0899 07167> [rent his clothes.]
<0935> [let him come.]
know <03045> [and he shall.]
sent .... messenger <07971 04397> [sent a messenger.]
wash <07364> [wash.]
seven times <07651 06471> [seven times.]
skin <01320> [thy flesh.]
Naaman <05283> [Naaman.]
<03212> [went away.]
said .... thought <0559> [Behold.]
said .... thought <0559> [I thought, etc. Heb. I said, etc. or, I said with myself,]
He will surely come out, etc. strike. Heb. move up and down.
Abana ... Pharpar <06554 071> [Abana and Pharpar. or, Amana.]
This river is evidently the Barrada, or Barda, as the Arabic renders, the Chrysorrhoas of the Greeks, which taking its rise in Antilibanus, runs eastward towards Damascus, where it is divided into three streams, one of which passes through the city, and the other two through the gardens; which reuniting at the east of the city, forms a lake about five or six leagues to the south-east, called Behairat el Marj, or, Lake of the Meadow. Pharpar was probably one of the branches.
better <02896> [better.]
servants <05650> [his servants.]
master <01> [My father.]
<0637> [how much rather.]
Wash <07364> [Wash.]
went down <03381> [went he down.]
instructed <01697> [according to.]
skin .... smooth <01320> [his flesh.]
healed <02891> [and he was clean.]
returned <07725> [he returned.]
know <03045> [now I know.]
gift <01293> [a blessing.]
Lord <03068> [As the Lord.]
take ......... take <03947> [I will receive.]
dirt <0127> [of earth.]
carry <06213> [will henceforth.]
leans <08172> [and he leaneth.]
This verse should probably, as many learned men have supposed, be read in the past, and not in the future tense: "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master went into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaned on my hand, and I worshipped in the house of Rimmon; in that I have worshipped in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing." Rimmon is supposed by Selden to the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the Elyon of the Hebrews, one of the names of God.
worship .......... bow down <07812> [and I bow.]
Lord forgive ................................... Lord forgive <03068 05545> [the Lord pardon.]
said <0559> [he said.]
peace <07965 03212> [Go in peace.]
short distance <0776 03530> [little way. Heb. a little piece of ground.]
Gehazi <01522> [Gehazi.]
master <0113> [my master.]
Lord lives <02416 03068> [as the Lord liveth.]
accept .................... accept <03947> [and take.]
down <05307> [he lighted.]
all right <07965> [Is all well. Heb. Is there peace?]
master <0113> [My master.]
<01121> [the sons.]
give .... talent <05414 03603> [give them.]
talent <03603> [a talent.]
Please <02974> [Be content.]
insisted <06555 06696> [And he urged him.]
<06696> [bound.]
carried <05375> [and they bare.]
hill <06076> [tower. or, secret place. and bestowed.]
stood .... master <05975 0113> [stood before.]
<0370> [Whence.]
servant <05650> [Thy servant.]
Where ............ anywhere <0575> [no whither. Heb. not hither or thither.]
replied <0559> [he said.]
<01980> [Went.]
time <06256> [Is it a time.]
skin disease <06883> [leprosy.]
descendants <02233> [unto thy seed.]
skin <06879> [a leper.]
<01121> [the sons.]
place <04725> [the place.]
cramped <06862> [too strait for us.]
Each ..... get .... from <03947 0376> [and take thence.]
Please <02974> [Be content.]
servants <03212 05650> [go with thy.]
cutting down trees <01504 06086> [they cut down wood.]
ax head <01270> [axe head. Heb. iron.]
Oh .... master <0162 0113> [Alas, master.]
borrowed <07592> [for it was borrowed.]
cut off <07094> [he cut down.]
This could have no natural tendency to raise the iron and cause it to swim: it was only a sign, or ceremony, which the prophet chose to employ on the occasion.
ax head <01270> [the iron.]
This was the real miracle; for the gravity of the metal must otherwise still have kept it at the bottom of the river.
Lift <07311> [Take it up.]
reached <07971> [put out.]
king <04428> [the king.]
consulted <03289> [took.]
Invade <08466> [camp. or, encamping.]
sure <08104> [Beware.]
Syria <0758> [thither the Syrians.]
sent ...... place <07971 04725> [sent to the place.]
To see if it were so. But the Vulgate renders, {misit rex Israel ad locum, et pr‘occupavit eum;} "the king of Israel sent to the place, and pre-occupied it;" which is very likely, though not expressed in the Hebrew text.
warning ....... guard <02094 08104> [warned him.]
guard <08104> [saved.]
upset <03820> [Therefore.]
helping <05046> [Will ye not.]
master <0113> [None. Heb. No. Elisha.]
telling <05046> [telleth.]
[thy bed chamber.]
find out where <0351 07200> [spy where.]
Dothan <01886> [Dothan.]
This is supposed to be the same place where Joseph was sold by his brethren; and it is placed by Eusebius 12 miles north of Samaria.
sent horses <05483 07971> [sent he thither horses.]
It is strange the Syrian monarch did not think, that he who could penetrate his secrets with respect to the Israelitish army, could inform himself of all the machinations against his own life.
good-sized <03515> [great. Heb. heavy.]
attendant <08334 05288> [servant. or, minister.]
Oh <0162> [Alas.]
afraid <03372 07227> [Fear not.]
<07227> [they that be.]
prayed <06419> [prayed.]
open ... eyes ........ opened .... eyes <05869 06491> [open his eyes.]
full ... horses <05483 04390> [full of horses.]
Strike ... people ...... struck <05221 01471> [Smite this people.]
Confound their sight, so that they may not know what they see; and so mistake one place for another. The word {sanverim,} rendered blindness, occurs only here and in Ge 19:11, on which see the Note.
<03212> [follow me. Heb. come ye after me.]
<03212> [I will bring.]
open ... eyes .... can ..... opened ... eyes <06491 05869> [open the eyes.]
open .......... opened <06491> [opened.]
master <01> [My father.]
This was dastardly: the utmost he ought to have done with these men, when thus brought into his hand, was to make them prisoners of war.
strike ... down <05221> [shall.]
strike ..................... strike <05221> [wouldest.]
sword <02719> [thy sword.]
Give .... food <07760 03899> [set bread.]
threw <03739> [he prepared.]
raiding parties <01416> [So the bands.]
That is, for a considerable time. What is mentioned in the next verse was more than a year afterwards. See on ver.
assembled <06908> [gathered.]
food supply ran out <07458 01419> [a great famine.]
donkey's head <07218 02543> [an ass's head.]
If the pieces of silver were {drachms,} the whole would amount to about 2Å“. 9s.; which was a great price for so mean a part of this unclean animal.
<01686> [dove's dung.]
This probably denotes, as Bochart, Scheuchzer, and others suppose, a kind of {pulse,} or {vetches,} which the Arabs still call pigeon's dung. "They never," says Dr. Shaw, (Travels, p. 140), "constitute a dish by themselves, but are strewed singly as a garnish over {cuscasowe, pillowe,} and other dishes. They are besides in the greatest repute after they are parched in pans and ovens; then assuming the name {leblebby;}" and he thinks they were so called from being pointed at one end, and acquiring an ash colour in parching.
Help .... master <03467 0113> [Help, my lord.]
Lord <03068> [If the Lord, etc. or, Let not the Lord save thee. whence.]
answered .... said <0559> [What aileth thee.]
Hand .... son .......... son <01121 05414> [Give thy son.]
next <0312> [next. Heb. other. she hath hid.]
tore ... clothes <0899 07167> [he rent his clothes.]
May God <0430 06213> [God do so.]
head <07218> [if the head.]
leaders ................. leaders <02205> [the elders.]
messenger ........................... messenger <04397> [ere the messenger.]
realize ... assassin ........ Look <07200 01121> [See ye how.]
assassin <07523 01121> [son of a murderer.]
<06963> [the sound.]
Lord ...... disaster .......... Lord <03068 07451> [this evil is of the Lord.]
Lord ............ wait .... Lord <03176 03068> [wait for the.]
Elisha replied ............. says <0559 0477> [Elisha said. See on ch.]
tomorrow <04279> [To-morrow.]
seah ... finely milled flour ......... seahs <05560 05429> [a measure of fine flour.]
A {seah} of flour: the {seah} was about two gallons and a half; the shekel 2s. 4d. at the lowest computation: a wide difference between this and the price of the ass's head.
barley <08184> [of barley.]
gate ... Samaria <08179 08111> [in the gate of Samaria.]
From this it appears that the gates were not only used as courts of judicature, but as market-places. So Mr. Morier observes: "In our rides we usually went out of the town at the {Derwazeh Shah Abdul Azeem,} or the gate leading to the village of Shah Abdul Azeem, where a market was held every morning, particularly of horses, mules, asses, and camels. At about sun-rise, the owners of the animals assemble and exhibit them for sale. But besides, here were sellers of all sorts of goods, in temporary shops and tents: and this, perhaps, will explain the custom alluded to in 2 Ki 7:18."
officer <07991> [a lord, etc. or, a lord which belonged to the king, leaning on his hand.]
Lord <03068> [if the Lord.]
opening holes <0699> [windows.]
see ....... eyes <07200 05869> [thou shalt see it.]
four ...... disease <06879 0702> [four leprous.]
sitting <03427> [Why.]
go <0935> [we will enter.]
defect <05307> [let us fall.]
spare .... live <02421> [if they save us.]
die ...... we ..... die ................... kill ........ die <04191> [we shall but die.]
dusk <05399> [in the twilight.]
one <0376> [behold.]
Lord <0136> [the Lord.]
king ....... kings .... Hittites <02850 04428> [the kings of the Hittites.]
king ....... kings ...... Egypt <04714 04428> [the kings of the Egyptians.]
got <06965> [they arose.]
horses <05483> [their horses.]
fled ................... ran .... lives <05127 05315> [and fled for their life.]
hid ...... went back ............ hid <02934 07725> [hid it.]
said ... one <0376 0559> [they said one.]
day <03117> [this day.]
punished <05771 04672> [some mischief will come upon us. Heb. we shall find punishment.]
gatekeepers <07778> [the porter.]
one ......... voice <0376 06963> [no man there.]
advisers <05650> [unto his servants.]
tell <05046> [I will now.]
know .... starving <07457 03045> [They know that we be hungry.]
This was a very natural conclusion; and, in history of the revolt of Ali Bey, we have an account of a stratagem very similar to that supposed to have been practised by the Syrians. The pasha of Damascus having approached the Sea of Tiberias, found sheik Daher encamped there; but the sheik, deferring the engagement till the next morning, during the night divided his army into three parts, and left the camp with great fires blazing, all sorts of provisions, and a large quantity of spiritous liquors. In the middle of the night, the pasha, thinking to surprise the sheik, marched in silence to the camp, which, to his astonishment, he found entirely abandoned; and imagining the sheik had fled with so much precipitation that he could not carry off his baggage and stores, he stopped in the camp to refresh his soldiers. They soon fell to plunder, and drank so freely of the spirits, that, overcome with its fumes, they sunk into a deep lethargy. At that time, two sheiks came silently to the camp, and being rejoined by Daher, rushed upon the sleeping foe, 8,000 of whom were slain; the pasha and a few soldiers barely escaping with their lives.
hid .... field <02247 07704> [hide themselves.]
One <0259> [one.]
<01995> [in the city. Heb. in it. they are even.]
equipment <03627> [vessels.]
discarded <07993> [had cast away.]
looted .... camp <04264 0962> [spoiled the tents.]
said <01697> [according to.]
officer <07991> [the lord.]
people ..... trampled <07429 05971> [the people trode upon him.]
prophet <0376> [as the man.]
son <01121> [A.M. 3113. B.C. 891. whose son.]
live somewhere <01481> [sojourn.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
famine <07458 07121> [called for a famine.]
seven years <07651 08141> [seven years.]
family <01004> [with.]
land <0776> [land.]
[A.M. 3119. B.C. 885.]
king <04428> [the king.]
As it appears not likely that the king would hold conversation with a leprous man; or, that, knowing Gehazi had been dismissed with the highest disgrace from the prophet's service, he would talk with him concerning his late master; some have supposed that this happened before the cleansing of Naaman. But it agrees better with the chronology to consider it as having taken place after that event; the king, probably, having an insatiable curiosity to know the private history of a man who had done such astonishing things. As to the circumstances of Gehazi's disease, he might overlook that, and converse with him, keeping at a reasonable distance, as nothing but actual contact could defile.
Gehazi <01522> [Gehazi.]
Tell <05608> [Tell.]
great <01419> [all the great.]
Elisha ........ life ........................................... life <02421> [he had restored.]
woman .............................. woman <0802> [behold, the woman.]
master <0113> [My lord.]
eunuch <05631> [officer. or, eunuch.]
back ........... crops <07725 08393> [Restore all.]
Damascus <01834> [Damascus.]
Ben Hadad <01130> [Ben-hadad.]
prophet <0376 0430> [The man of God.]
[See on]
traveled <0935> [is come.]
Hazael <02371> [Hazael.]
Take <03947> [Take.]
oracle <01875> [enquire.]
Hazael <02371> [Hazael.]
<03027> [with him. Heb. in his hand.]
son ... Ben Hadad <01121 01130> [Thy son Ben-hadad.]
surely recover <02421> [Thou mayest.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
surely die <04191> [he shall surely die.]
Hazael <07760> [stedfastly. Heb. and set it. wept.]
master <0113> [my Lord.]
trouble <07451> [the evil.]
bits <07376> [dash.]
dog <03611> [a dog.]
accomplish <06213> [he should do.]
Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
asked ...... tell .... replied ... told .... would surely recover <0559 02421> [He told me.]
next day <04283> [And it came.]
next day <04283> [on the morrow.]
took ... piece of cloth <03947 04346> [that he took a thick cloth.]
There is a considerable degree of ambiguity in this passage. The pronoun he is generally referred to Hazael; but Dr. Geddes and others are decidedly of the opinion, that we should understand by it Ben-hadad; who, encouraged by the favourable answer of Elisha, as reported by Hazael, adopted a violent remedy to allay the heat of his fever, and put over his face the {keever,} or fly-net, (See Note on 1 Sa 19:13,) dipped in water, which suddenly checked the perspiration, and occasioned his death.
died <04191> [so that he died.]
Hazael <02371> [Hazael.]
