A r¹ 3-11. Discovery by lepers. r² 12-15. Confirmation by scouts.
r¹ s¹ t 3,4. Consultation. u 5-8. Discovery made. s² t 9. Conclusion. u 10,11. Discovery. Reported.
3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate (1 of 9 cases of affliction with leprosy. See Ex. 4:6. Men = ’enõsh, used of men in a bad sense): and they said one to another, “Why sit we here until we die?
4 If we say, ‘We will enter into the city,’ then the famine [is] in the city (cp.6:25), and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the camp of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.”
5 And they rose up in the darkness (homonym, see 1 Sam.30:17), to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, [there was] no man there.
6 For Yehovah had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, [and a] noise of a great host: and they said one to another, “Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites (the Hittites were divided into several tribes, each with its king or chief. Their empire extended from the Euphrates to Asia Minor. Cp 1 Sam.26:6. The Assyrian monuments speak of a confederacy of twelve existing at this time.), and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”
7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the darkness, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it [was], and fled for their soul.
8 And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried from that place silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid [it]; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried from that place [also], and went and hid [it].
9 Then they said one to another, “We do not well (the application of this is full of instructions to others in like circumstances, for all time.): this day [is] a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some punishment will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.”
10 So they came and called to the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, [there was] no man there, neither voice of humans, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they [were].”
11 And he called the porters (the Sept. and a special reading called the Sevîr, read "the porters called"); and they told [it] to the king's house within.
12 And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we [be] hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ”
13 And one of his servants answered and said, “Let [some] take, I pray you, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, {behold, they [are] as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, [I say], they [are] even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:} (these words are repeated by fig. Homœoteleutun [instead of omitted, as is usually the case with this fig. They are not in many codices. This accounts for the parenthesis in the A.V.) and let us send and see.”
14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”
15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way [was] full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yehovah.
17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of Elohim had said, who spoke when the king came down to him (see 6:33).
18 And it came to pass as the man of Elohim had spoken to the king, saying, “Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:”
19 And that lord answered the man of Elohim, and said, “Now, behold, [if] Yehovah should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” (the current Hebrew text reads "could it be according to this word?") And he said, “Behold, you shalt see it with your eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.”
20 And so it fell out to him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
8)
1 Then spoke Elisha to the woman, whose son he had restored to life (cp. 4:35), saying, “Arise, and go you and your household, and sojourn wheresoever you can sojourn: for Yehovah has called for the famine [which already had begun] (probably the same as 4:38. Ocassion is not determined by the text, but v.3 takes up the history at the end of the 7 years); and it is come upon the land seven years” (i.e. to last 7 years. #7 = spiritual perfection, completeness,).
2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of Elohim: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry to the king for [to recover] her house and for [to recover] her field (Heb. ’el. Not same word as v.5. "Field", i.e. estate).
4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of Elohim, saying, “Tell me, I pray you, all the great things that Elisha has done” (see 2:15).
5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life (cp. 4:35), that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for [to call attention to] her house and for [to call attention to her land (Heb. ’ãl). And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this [is] the woman, and this [is] her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that [was] hers, and all the produce of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.”
7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of Elohim is come to this place.”
8 And the king said to Hazael (= whom God sees. One of Ben-hadad's servants), “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of Elohim, and enquire of Yehovah by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover of this disease?’ ” (it does not say that Elisha accepted it)
9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every kind of thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover of this disease?’ ”
10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You may certainly recover: however Yehovah has showed me that he shall surely die”. (= "so far as recovering goes, you will recover. And yet Yehovah has made me plainly see that he will surely die" See notes on Gen.2:17 and 26:28).
11 And he (i.e. Hazael) settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed (the thought of murder came into his mind): and the man of Elohim wept.
12 And Hazael said, “Why weep my lord?” And he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel (described in 10:32; 12:17; 13:3,22. Hos.10:14. Amos 1:3,4): their strong holds will you set on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and will dash their little ones, and rip up their women with child.”
13 And Hazael said, “But what, [is] you servant a dog (cp. 1 Sam.17:43; 24:14. 2 Sam.9:8), that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “Yehovah has showed me that you [shall be] king over Syria.”
14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, “What said Elisha to you?” And he answered, “He told me [that] you should surely recover” (see v.10. A false report).
15 And it came to pass on the next day (the inscriptions of Shalmanezer II agree with this. The name Jehu appears on them with Hazael's), that he took a thick cloth, and dipped [it] in water, and spread [it] on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
F³ C¹ 8:16-24. Jehoram. C² 8:25-9:24. Ahaziah.
C¹ v 16,17. Introduction. w 18,19. Evil-doing. Personal. w 20-22. Evil-doing. Political. v 23,24. Conclusion.
16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel (#5 = grace), Jehoshaphat [being] then king of Judah (Jehoram associated with him in Joram's 5th year, and reigned soley in Joram's 6th year. Cp. 9:29. Joram [of Ahab] began in Jehoshaphat's 11th year [2 kings 3:1. #11=disorder,defective administration] . His 5th year is therefore Jehoshaphat's 18th year [#18 = bondage]. His 5th year is therefore Jehoshaphat's 23rd year, when Jehoram is associated with him as king, in the 3rd year before his death [#23 = death]), Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign (i.e. in consort with his father).
17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign (#32 = covenant); and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem (#8 = new beginnings).
18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, acording as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife (cp. v.26. See 2 Kings 11:1 [The Dynasty of Omri]): and he did evil in the sight of Yehovah (cp. Chron.21:2-4).
19 Yet Yehovah would not destroy Judah for David His servant's sake, as He promised him (cp. 2 Sam.7:13) to give him alway a light (cp. 1 Kings 11:36. See Gen.15:17. Heb. nêr. Found only 4 times, and always of David [2 Sam.21:17, 1 Kings 11:1. Here. 2 Chron.21:7), [and] to his sons (many codices read "and for his sons").
20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah (cp. 2 Chron. 21:8 with 1 Kings 22:47, and see 2 Kings 3:9), and made a king over themselves.
21 So Joram went over to Zair (= small), and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people (i.e. of Judah) fled into their tents.
22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day (the success of Edom accounted for from the end of v.21, and Gen.27:40. written therefore before the captivity of Judah). Then Libnah revolted at the same time (Libnah = whiteness. Cp. 2 Chron.21:10. Libnah was a city of the priests [Josh.21:13], and Jehoram with his wife and sons had "broken up" the Temple worship [2 Chron.24:7], led this revolt, and were afterwards active in repairing the house of the Lord [2 Chron.24:1-14]).
23 And the rest of the acts of Jehoram, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (Cp. 2 Chron.21)
24 And Jehoram slept with his fathers (see Deut.31:16), and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead (i.e. his youngest son; all the rest being slain. See 2 Chron.21:17; 22:1. 1 Kings 11:1).
C² x 8:25-27. Introduction. y z 8:28,29. Jehoram, Ramoth-gilead, and Hazael. a 9:1-14-. Conspiracy of Jehu. y z 9:-14,15-. Jehoram, Ramoth-gilead, and Hazael. a 9:-15-26. Conspiracy of Jehu. x 9:27-29. Conclusion.
789 to 788 B.C.
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah (= sustained by Yah [the Lord]) the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.
26 Two and twenty years old [was] Ahaziah when he began to reign (#22 = light [which kind? true or false?]. see 2 Chron.22:2. Note that Ahaziah. Joash, and Amaziah, omitted in Matt.1:8, all died violent deaths [9:27; 12:20; 14:19] ); and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Athaliah (= afflicted of Yah), the grand-daughter of (and even used for successors not in descent of blood) Omri king of Israel (= pupil of the Lord).
27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of Yehovah, as [did] the house of Ahab: for he [was] the son in law of the house of Ahab.
28 And he went with Joram (his uncle) the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead (it was then in the hands of Israel, but threatened by Syria. Cp. 9:14); and the Syrians wounded Joram.
29 And king Jehoram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramoth-gilead, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
9)
1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Gird up thy loins, and take this oil flask in your hand (for its use in consecration see 1 Sam.10:11; 16:13), and go to Ramoth-gilead (Israelite army on guard here. Cp. v.14):
2 And when you come to that place, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi (Jehu = the living. In the Assyrian inscriptions he is called the son of Omri), and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;
3 Then take the oil flask, and pour [it] on his head, and say, ‘Thus says Yehovah, “I have anointed you to be king to Israel.” ’ Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.”
4 So the young man, [even] the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host [were] sitting; and he said, “I have an errand to you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “To which of all us?” And he said, “To you, O captain.”
6 And he arose (i.e. Jehu arose), and went into the house; and he poured (i.e. the prophet poured) the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says Yehovah Elohim of Israel, ‘I have anointed you to be king over the People of Yehovah, [even] over Israel.
7 And you shall smite the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yehovah, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall (i.e. every mle), and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah (both these houses had been exterminated [1 Kings 15:29; 16:11]):
10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and [there shall be] none to bury [her].’ ” And he opened the door, and fled.
11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and [they] said to him, “[Is] all well? (Heb. Is it peace) wherefore came this mad [fellow] to you?” And he said to them, “Ye all know the man, and his communication” (= "Why, you all are in secret, or you all know all about the man).
12 And they said, “[It is] false; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, ‘Thus says Yehovah, ‘I have anointed thee king over Israel.’ ’ ”
13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put [it] under him on the top of the steps (see Acts 21:35,40), and blew with trumpets, saying, “Jehu reigns.”
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.
{Now Joram had been keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him (cp. 8:29), when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.}
And Jehu said, “If it be your minds (= souls. Heb. nehesh. The parenthesis in vv.14,15 is so placed by the Structure [see above]), [then] let none go forth [nor] escape out of the city to go to tell [it] in Jezreel.”
16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take an horseman (or charioteer), and send to meet them, and let him say, [Is it] peace?”
18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king, ‘[Is it] peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me.” And the watchman told, saying, “The messenger came to them, but he comes not again.”
19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, “Thus says the king, ‘[Is it] peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me.”
20 And the watchman told, saying, “He came even to them, and comes not again: and the driving [is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.”
21 And Joram said, “Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “[Is it] peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the whoredoms (= idolatry) of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts (= spiritism. Both joined together. Cp. Num.24:1; 25:1; 31:16) [are so] many?”
23 And Joram turned his hands (i.e. to wheel his chariot around), and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “[There is] treachery, O Ahaziah.”
24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms (i.e. between his shoulders), and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
25 Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar (= son of stabbing, i.e. one who stabs) his captain, “Take up, [and] cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and you rode together after Ahab his father, Yehovah laid this burden upon him (cp. 1 Kings 21:29. Burden = a prophetic pronouncement of doom. Cp. Isa.13:1; 15:1; 17:1. Nah.1:1. Hab.1:1);
26 ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons’ (additional information here given to that of 1 Kings 21:13), says Yehovah (=is Yehovah's oracle); ‘and I will requite you in this portion,’ (cp. v.21) says Yehovah. Now therefore take [and] cast him into the portion [of ground], according to the word of Yehovah.”
27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw [this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, “Smite him also in the chariot.” [And they did so, and they smote him] at the going up to Gur (= abode), which [is] by Ibleam (= devouring the people). And he fled to Megiddo (= place of crowds), and died there.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem (the Sept. reads "and brought hi to Jerusalem"), and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
789 B.C.
29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
E4 D 9:30-10:28. Events. Public. C 10:29-31. Personal character. D 10:32,33. Events. Political. C 10:34-36. Personal.
D F¹ 9:30-37. End of Jezebel. F² 10:1-11. End of Ahab's house. F³ 10:12-14. End of Ahaziah's brethren. F4 10:15-17. End of Ahab's seed in Samaria. F5 10:18-28. End of Baal-worship.
F¹ b 30-32. Exclamation of Jezebel. c 33. Jezebel's death. c 34,35. Jezebel's carcase. b 36,37. Exclamation of Jehu.
788 B.C.
30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard [of it] (i.e. of the murder of her grandson); and she painted her eyebrows and eyelids, and adorned her head, and looked out at the lattice.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “[Had] Zimri peace, who slew his lord?” (see 1 Kings 16:9-20. Suggesting the widom of coming to terms with her)
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, “Who [is] on my side? who?” And there looked out to him two [or] three eunuchs.
33 And he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down: and [some] of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, “Go, see now this cursed [woman], and bury her: for she [is] a king's daughter” ( a daughter of Eth-baal [= with Baal],king of Zidon [1 Kings 16:31]).
35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of [her] hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, “This [is] the word of Yehovah, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite (cp. 1 Kings 21:23), saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field (some codices read "ground") in the portion of Jezreel; [so] that they shall not say (= [something] of which they shall not sa, &c.), This [is] Jezebel.’ ”