Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

2 Kings 6

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Introduction

1  Elisha, giving leave to the young prophets to enlarge their dwellings, causes iron to swim.
8  He discloses the king of Syria's counsel.
13  The army which was sent to Dothan to apprehend Elisha, is smitten with blindness.
19  Being brought into Samaria, they are dismissed in peace.
24  The famine in Samaria causes women to eat their own children.
30  The king sends to slay Elisha.
Verse 1

And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
the sons
2:3, 4:1, 1 Kings 20:35
the place
4:38, 1 Samuel 19:20
too strait for us
Joshua 17:14, 19:47, Job 36:16, Isaiah 49:19,20, 54:2,3
Verse 2

Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
and take thence
John 21:3, Acts 18:3, 20:34,35, 1 Corinthians 9:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:8, 1 Timothy 6:6
Verse 3

And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
Be content
5:23, Judges 19:6, Job 6:28
go with thy
Judges 4:8
Verse 4

So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
they cut down wood
Deuteronomy 19:5, 29:11
Verse 5

But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
axe head
Heb. iron.
Ecclesiastes 10:10, Isaiah 10:34
Alas, master
15, 3:10, Revelation 18:10,16,19
for it was borrowed
4:7, Exodus 22:14,15, Psalms 37:21
Verse 6

And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
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.
2:21, 4:41, Exodus 15:25, Mark 7:33,34, 8:23-25, John 9:6,7
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.
Verse 7

Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
Take it up
4:7,36, Luke 7:15, Acts 9:41
put out
Exodus 4:4
Verse 8

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
the king
24, 1 Kings 20:1,34, 22:31
took
1 Kings 20:23, Job 5:12,13, Proverbs 20:18, 21:30, Isaiah 7:5-7, 8:10
camp
or, encamping.
Verse 9

And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
Beware
3:17-19, 1 Kings 20:13,28
thither the Syrians
4:27, Amos 3:7, Revelation 1:1
Verse 10

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
sent to the place
To see if it were so. But the Vulgate renders, misit rex Israel ad locum, et præoccupavit eum; "the king of Israel sent to the place, and pre-occupied it;" which is very likely, though not expressed in the Hebrew text.
5:14, Exodus 9:20,21, 1 Kings 20:15, Proverbs 27:12, Matthew 24:15-17
warned him
Ezekiel 3:18-21, Matthew 2:12, 3:7, Hebrews 11:7
saved
2:12, 13:14, 2 Chronicles 20:20, Amos 7:1-6, Acts 27:24
Verse 11

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
Therefore
1 Samuel 28:21, Job 18:7-11, Psalms 48:4,5, Isaiah 57:20,21, Matthew 2:3-12
Will ye not
1 Samuel 22:8
Verse 12

And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
None
Heb. No. Elisha.
5:3,8,13-15, Amos 3:7
telleth
9,10, Isaiah 29:15, Jeremiah 23:23,24, Daniel 2:22,23,28-30,47, 4:9-18
thy bed chamber
Psalms 139:1-4, Ecclesiastes 10:20
Verse 13

And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
spy where
1 Samuel 23:22,23, Psalms 10:8-10, 37:12-14,32,33, Jeremiah 36:26, Matthew 2:4-8, John 11:47-53, Acts 23:12-27
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.
Genesis 37:17
Verse 14

Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
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.
1:9-13, 1 Samuel 23:26, 24:2, Matthew 26:47,55, John 18:3-6
great
Heb. heavy.
18:17; *marg:
Verse 15

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
servant
or, minister.
3:11, 5:20,27, Exodus 24:13, 1 Kings 19:21, Matthew 20:26-28, Acts 13:5
Alas
5, 2 Chronicles 20:12, Psalms 53:5, Matthew 8:26
Verse 16

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Fear not
Exodus 14:13, Psalms 3:6, 11:1, 27:3, 118:11,12, Isaiah 8:12,13, 41:10-14, Mark 16:6, Acts 18:9,10, Philippians 1:28
they that be
2 Chronicles 16:9, 32:7,8, Psalms 46:7,11, 55:18, Isaiah 8:10, Matthew 26:53, Romans 8:31, 1 John 4:4
Verse 17

And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
prayed
Psalms 91:15, James 5:16-18
open his eyes
18-20, Psalms 119:18, Isaiah 42:7, Acts 26:18, Ephesians 1:18, Revelation 3:7
full of horses
2:11, Psalms 34:7, 68:17, 91:11, 104:3, Ezekiel 1:13-16, Zechariah 1:8, 6:1-7, Matthew 26:53, Hebrews 1:14, Revelation 19:11,14
Verse 18

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
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.
Deuteronomy 28:28, Job 5:14, Zechariah 12:4, John 9:39, 12:40, Acts 13:11, Romans 11:7
Verse 19

And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
follow me
Heb. come ye after me.
Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23
I will bring
2 Samuel 16:18,19, Luke 24:16
Verse 20

And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
open the eyes
17, Luke 24:31
opened
Judges 20:40-42, Luke 16:23
Verse 21

And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
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.
2:12, 5:13, 8:9, 13:14
shall
1 Samuel 24:4,19, 26:8, Luke 9:54-56, 22:49
Verse 22

And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
wouldest
Deuteronomy 20:11-16, 2 Chronicles 28:8-13
thy sword
Genesis 48:22, Joshua 24:12, Psalms 44:6, Hosea 1:7, 2:18
set bread
Proverbs 25:21,22, Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:20,21
Verse 23

And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
he prepared
1 Samuel 24:17,18, 2 Chronicles 28:15, Proverbs 25:21,22, Matthew 5:47, Luke 6:35, 10:29-37
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.
8,9, 5:2, 24:2
Verse 24

And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
gathered
17:5, 18:9, 25:1, Deuteronomy 28:52, 1 Kings 20:1, 22:31, Ecclesiastes 9:14
Verse 25

And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
a great famine
28,29, 7:4, 25:3, 1 Kings 18:2, Jeremiah 14:13-15,18, 32:24, 52:6
an ass's head
If the pieces of silver were drachms, the whole would amount to about 2£. 9s.; which was a great price for so mean a part of this unclean animal.
Ezekiel 4:13-16
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.
Verse 26

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
Help, my lord
2 Samuel 14:4, Isaiah 10:3, Luke 18:3, Acts 21:28
Verse 27

And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
If the Lord, etc
or, Let not the Lord save thee. whence.
Psalms 60:11, 62:8, 118:8,9, 124:1-3, 127:1, 146:3, Isaiah 2:2, Jeremiah 17:5
Verse 28

And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
What aileth thee
Genesis 21:17, Judges 18:23, 1 Samuel 1:8, 2 Samuel 14:5, Psalms 114:5, Isaiah 22:1
Give thy son
Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53-57, Isaiah 9:20,21, 49:15, Lamentations 4:10, Ezekiel 5:10, Matthew 24:18-21, Luke 23:29
Verse 29

So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
next
Heb. other. she hath hid.
1 Kings 3:26, Isaiah 49:15, 66:13
Verse 30

And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
he rent his clothes
5:7, 19:1, 1 Kings 21:27, Isaiah 58:5-7
Verse 31

Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
God do so
Ruth 1:17, 1 Samuel 3:17, 14:44, 25:22, 2 Samuel 3:9,35, 19:13, 1 Kings 2:23
if the head
1 Kings 18:17, 19:2, 22:8, Jeremiah 37:15,16, 38:4, John 11:50, Acts 23:12,13
Verse 32

But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
the elders
Ezekiel 8:1, 14:1, 20:1, 33:31
ere the messenger
12, 5:26
See ye how
Luke 13:32
son of a murderer
1 Kings 18:4,13,14, 21:10
the sound
1 Kings 14:6
Verse 33

And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
this evil is of the Lord
Genesis 4:13, Exodus 16:6-8, 1 Samuel 28:6-8, 31:4, Job 1:11,21, 2:5,9, Proverbs 19:3, Isaiah 8:21, Jeremiah 2:25, Ezekiel 33:10, Matthew 27:4,5, 2 Corinthians 2:7,11, Revelation 16:9-11
wait for the
Psalms 27:14, 37:7,9, 62:5, Isaiah 8:17, 26:3, 50:10, Lamentations 3:25,26, Habakkuk 2:3, Luke 18:1

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