2 Kings 22:4

Context
22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down¹ the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door.

2 Kings 22:2

Context
22:2 He did what the Lord approved² and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps;³ he did not deviate to the right or the left.

2 Kings 1:4-11

Context
1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.

1:5 When the messengers returned to the king,⁴ he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied,⁵ “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.⁶ Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king⁷ asked them, “Describe the appearance⁸ of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied,⁹ “He was a hairy man¹⁰ and had a leather belt¹¹ tied around his waist.” The king¹² said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”

1:9 The king¹³ sent a captain and his fifty soldiers¹⁴ to retrieve Elijah.¹⁵ The captain¹⁶ went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill.¹⁷ He told him, “Prophet,¹⁸ the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1:10 Elijah replied to the captain,¹⁹ “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down²⁰ from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.

1:11 The king²¹ sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him,²² “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”²³

2 Kings 1:2

Context
1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria²⁴ and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders,²⁵ “Go, ask²⁶ Baal Zebub,²⁷ the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

[22:4] ¹tc The MT has וְיַתֵּם (vÿyattem), “and let them add up” (Hiphil of תָּמָם [tammam], “be complete”), but the appearance of הִתִּיכוּ (hitikhu), “they melted down” (Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh], “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form should be emended to וְיַתֵּךְ (vÿyattekh), “and let him melt down” (a Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh]). For a discussion of this and other options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 281.

[22:2] ²tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”

[22:2] ³tn Heb “and walked in all the way of David his father.”

[1:5] ⁴tn Heb “to him.”

[1:6] ⁵tn Heb “said to him.”

[1:6] ⁶tn 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).

[1:7] ⁷tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:7] ⁸tn Heb “What was the manner…?”

[1:8] ⁹tn Heb “said to him.”

[1:8] ¹⁰tn 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).

[1:8] ¹¹tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).

[1:8] ¹²tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9] ¹³tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9] ¹⁴tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”

[1:9] ¹⁵tn Heb “to him.”

[1:9] ¹⁶tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9] ¹⁷sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.

[1:9] ¹⁸tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).

[1:10] ¹⁹tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”

[1:10] ²⁰tn Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew יָרַד, yarad), but Elijah calls fire down (יָרַד) on the arrogant king’s officer.

[1:11] ²¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:11] ²²tc The MT reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.

[1:11] ²³sn In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.

[1:2] ²⁴map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2] ²⁵tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2] ²⁶tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2] ²⁷sn 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.