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Commentary on 2 Kings 8 verses 7–15
Here, I. We may enquire what brought Elisha to Damascus, the chief city of Syria. Was he sent to any but the lost sheep of the house of Israel? It seems he was. Perhaps he went to pay a visit to Naaman his convert, and to confirm him in his choice of the true religion, which was the more needful now because, it should seem, he was not out of his place (for Hazael is supposed to be captain of that host); either he resigned it or was turned out of it, because he would not bow, or not bow heartily, in the house of Rimmon. Some think he went to Damascus upon account of the famine, or rather he went thither in obedience to the orders God gave Elijah, Kg1 19:15, "Go to Damascus to anoint Hazael, thou, or thy successor."
II. We may observe that Ben-hadad, a great king, rich and mighty, lay sick. No honour, wealth, or power, will secure men from the common diseases and disasters of human life; palaces and thrones lie as open to the arrests of sickness and death as the meanest cottage.
III. We may wonder that the king of Syria, in his sickness, should make Elisha his oracle.
1.Notice was soon brought him that the man of God (for by that title he was well known in Syria since he cured Naaman) had come to Damascus, Kg2 8:7. "Never in better time," says Ben-hadad. "Go, and enquire of the Lord by him." In his health he bowed in the house of Rimmon, but now that he is sick he distrusts his idol, and sends to enquire of the God of Israel. Affliction brings those to God who in their prosperity had made light of him; sometimes sickness opens men's eyes and rectifies their mistakes. This is the more observable, (1.) Because it was not long since a king of Israel had, in his sickness, sent to enquire of the god of Ekron (Kg2 1:2), as if there had been no God in Israel. Note, God sometimes fetches to himself that honour from strangers which is denied him and alienated from him by his own professing people. (2.) Because it was not long since this Ben-hadad had sent a great force to treat Elisha as an enemy (Kg2 6:14), yet now he courts him as a prophet. Note, Among other instances of the change of men's minds by sickness and affliction, this is one, that it often gives them other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches them to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they had hated and despised.
2.To put an honour upon the prophet, (1.) He sends to him, and does not send for him, as if, with the centurion, he thought himself not worthy that the man of God should come under his roof. (2.) He sends to him by Hazael, his prime-minister of state, and not by a common messenger. It is no disparagement to the greatest of men to attend the prophets of the Lord. Hazael must go and meet him at a place where he had appointed a meeting with his friends. (3.) He sends him a noble present, of every good thing of Damascus, as much as loaded forty camels (Kg2 8:9), testifying hereby his affection to the prophet, bidding him welcome to Damascus, and providing for his sustenance while he sojourned there. It is probable that Elisha accepted it (why should he not?), though he refused Naaman's. (4.) He orders Hazael to call him his son Ben-hadad, conforming to the language of Israel, who called the prophets fathers. (5.) He puts an honour upon him as one acquainted with the secrets of heaven, when he enquires of him, Shall I recover? It is natural to us to desire to know things to come in time, while things to come in eternity are little thought of or enquired after.
IV. What passed between Hazael and Elisha is especially remarkable.
1.Elisha answered his enquiry concerning the king, that he might recover, the disease was not mortal, but that he should die another way (Kg2 8:10), not a natural but a violent death. There are many ways out of the world, and sometimes, while men think to avoid one, they fall by another.
2.He looked Hazael in the face with an unusual concern, till he made Hazael blush and himself weep, Kg2 8:11. The man of God could outface the man of war. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God did, at this time, reveal it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes. The more foresight men have the more grief they are liable to.
3.When Hazael asked him why he wept he told him what a great deal of mischief he foresaw he would do to the Israel of God (Kg2 8:12), what desolations he would make of their strong-holds, and barbarous destruction of their men, women, and children. The sins of Israel provoked God to give them up into the hands of their cruel enemies, yet Elisha wept to think that ever Israelites should be thus abused; for, though he foretold, he did not desire the woeful day. See what havock war makes, what havock sin makes, and how the nature of man is changed by the fall, and stripped even of humanity itself.
4.Hazael was greatly surprised at this prediction (Kg2 8:13): What, says he, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? This great thing he looks upon to be, (1.) An act of great power, not to be done but by a crowned head. "It must be some mighty potentate that can think to prevail thus against Israel, and therefore not I." Many are raised to that dominion which they never thought of and it often proves to their own hurt, Ecc 8:9. (2.) An act of great barbarity, which could not be done but by one lost to all honour and virtue: "Therefore," says he, "it is what I shall never find in my heart to be guilty of: Is thy servant a dog, to rend, and tear, and devour? Unless I were a dog, I could not do it." See here, [1.] What a bad opinion he had of the sin; he looked upon it to be great wickedness, fitter for a brute, for a beast of prey, to do than a man. Note, It is possible for a wicked man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, and yet afterwards to be well reconciled to it. [2.] What a good opinion he had of himself, how much better than he deserved; he thought it impossible he should do such barbarous things as the prophet foresaw. Note, We are apt to think ourselves sufficiently armed against those sins which yet we are afterwards overcome by, as Peter, Mat 26:35.
5.In answer to this Elisha only told him he should be king over Syria; then he would have power to do it, and then he would find in his heart to do it. Honours change men's tempers and manners, and seldom for the better: "Thou knowest not what thou wilt do when thou comest to be king, but I tell thee this thou wilt do." Those that are little and low in the world cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, and, if ever they arrive at them, they will find how deceitful their hearts were and how much worse than they suspected.
V. What mischief Hazael did to his master hereupon. If he took any occasion to do it from what Elisha had said the fault was in him, not in the word. 1. He basely cheated his master, and belied the prophet (Kg2 8:14): He told me thou shouldst certainly recover. This was abominably false; he told him he should die (Kg2 8:10), but he unfairly and unfaithfully concealed that, either because he was loth to put the king out of humour with bad news or because hereby he might the more effectually carry on that bloody design which he conceived when he was told he should be his successor. The devil ruins men by telling them they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security, than which nothing is more fatal. This was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of this warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. 2. He barbarously murdered his master, and so made good the prophet's word, Kg2 8:15. He dipped a thick cloth in cold water, and spread it upon his face, under pretence of cooling and refreshing him, but so that it stopped his breath, and stifled him presently, he being weak (and not able to help himself) or perhaps asleep: such a bubble is the life of the greatest of men, and so much exposed are princes to violence. Hazael, who was Ben-hadad's confidant, was his murderer, and some think, was not suspected, nor did the truth ever come out but by the pen of this inspired historian. We found this haughty monarch (1 Kings 20) the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, but he goes down slain to the pit with his iniquity upon his bones, Eze 32:27.
“Elisha went to Damascus while King Ben-hadad was ill.” His illness had derived from his unhappiness. For he had been deeply afflicted by the fact that, in the war of Samaria, his armies had been defeated and that, at the same time, his people had been chased from the city when he had hoped that his victory would occur immediately. His entire army had fled and sunk into shame and dishonor, and he was troubled in his mind because of this. In addition, the anguish of his thoughts was due to something that was not responsible for his fall: he had been deceived in believing that a countless and powerful army would march against him, whereas it was later shown that there was no army at all to oppress him.Therefore the king, when he heard of the coming of Elisha, sent Hazael, one of his noble men, to meet him. He ordered him to persuade the prophet to take care of his healing, and since he thought that this request must be accompanied with gifts and offerings, according to secular customs, he sent him, through his ambassador, all sorts of goods from Damascus and forty camels. But certainly the prophets refused, just as Elisha had refused and had not accepted the offerings of Naaman, the Aramean.
“Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover;’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” These were the words of Elisha to the king, who asked him, “Will I live after this illness?” But it seems that they do not agree with the truth of the events, and not even with each other. However, after the words reported above in the story of the prophet Micah, it is evident that they do not cancel each other out or contradict each other. In fact, both prophets answer in the same manner, and the words of their reply pursue the same aim in the fact that they announce to their interlocutor good and death at the same time. But in the reply of Micah a particular aspect must be considered, that is, the fact that Ahab could not escape from death, because he so ardently and savagely wanted to go to the war, which was the real cause of his fall.But the case of Ben-hadad is quite different: it would have been easy for him to get rid of his illness, because it was not serious or fatal. He would have recovered from his illness, as Elisha had said to him and as Ben-Hadad had asked him by saying, “Will I live after my illness?” However, he died in a natural course but by a hostile means: he was misled by Hazael, his ambassador, the one who spread the bed cover on his master, killed him and reigned in his place, as Elisha had predicted.
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SUMMARY
Second Kings 8:15 vividly recounts the swift and brutal fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy regarding King Ben-hadad of Aram (Syria) and his ambitious servant, Hazael. On the very next day after the prophet's pronouncement, Hazael commits regicide by suffocating his master with a water-soaked cloth, immediately seizing the throne. This pivotal act not only establishes Hazael's reign, as foretold, but also sets the stage for his subsequent reign of terror against Israel, underscoring the immediate and often harsh outworking of divine decree within the intricate tapestry of human history.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The narrative in 2 Kings 8:15 employs several potent literary devices to heighten its impact and underscore its theological significance. Foreshadowing is central, as Elisha's tearful prophecy in 2 Kings 8:13 explicitly stated that Hazael would become king and inflict great harm upon Israel, meticulously preparing the reader for this very event. The swiftness of the murder, occurring "on the morrow," provides a stark sense of dramatic irony, as the reader is fully aware of Hazael's murderous intent and the divine decree, while King Ben-hadad remains tragically oblivious to his servant's treachery. The seemingly innocuous "thick cloth dipped in water" functions as a chilling symbol of insidious betrayal and silent, calculated violence, contrasting sharply with conventional methods of warfare or open rebellion. Finally, the concise, almost clinical description of the act—"spread [it] on his face, so that he died"—creates a sense of stark realism and emphasizes the cold, calculated nature of Hazael's ambition, devoid of any emotional embellishment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The account of Hazael's usurpation of the Aramean throne serves as a powerful and sobering reminder of God's absolute sovereignty over all nations and His profound ability to use even the wicked actions of human agents to accomplish His divine purposes. While Hazael's murder of Ben-hadad was undeniably a heinous sin, it simultaneously fulfilled the precise prophetic word spoken by Elisha, demonstrating that no human will or power, no matter how ambitious or malevolent, can ultimately thwart God's overarching plans. This narrative highlights the complex and often perplexing interplay between divine foreknowledge and human responsibility, asserting that God's knowledge of future events does not in any way negate human moral culpability for their choices. It underscores that God's kingdom and His redemptive purposes are not limited by human political structures or the morality of earthly rulers; rather, He orchestrates history, often through unexpected and even disturbing means, to achieve His ultimate and righteous ends.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The chilling narrative of Hazael's ascent to power challenges us to deeply consider the nature of ambition and the pursuit of power within our own lives and in the broader world. Hazael's actions, though fulfilling a divine prophecy, were undeniably wicked, driven by unbridled self-interest and a willingness to commit cold-blooded murder. This serves as a profound and sober warning against unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power, forcefully reminding us that the end can never justify morally reprehensible means. We are called to pursue influence and leadership with unwavering integrity, profound humility, and a genuine heart for selfless service, rather than through manipulation, treachery, or violence. Furthermore, recognizing God's unwavering sovereignty even amidst dark and chaotic events should cultivate within us a deep and abiding trust in His ultimate control, even when human actions seem to defy all moral order. This passage compels us to earnestly pray for those in authority, remembering that their hearts are ultimately in the Lord's hand, and to diligently seek justice and righteousness in our own spheres of influence, thereby reflecting God's holy character in a fallen world.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Hazael's act of killing Ben-hadad justifiable, given that it fulfilled Elisha's prophecy?
Answer: No, Hazael's act was absolutely not justifiable from a moral or ethical standpoint. While the murder of Ben-hadad did indeed fulfill a prophecy spoken by Elisha, this divine foreknowledge does not in any way excuse Hazael's heinous sin. The Bible consistently and unequivocally condemns murder and treachery. God's ability to foresee and even orchestrate human actions to accomplish His will does not negate human responsibility or moral culpability for those actions. Hazael acted out of his own deep-seated ambition and inherent wickedness, not out of obedience to a divine command. The prophecy merely revealed what God knew would happen and what He would permit to occur, not what He commanded Hazael to do. This is a crucial distinction in understanding the complex interplay between divine sovereignty and human free will, a principle seen in other biblical examples where God uses wicked nations or individuals as instruments to achieve His purposes, without condoning their sin (e.g., Isaiah 10:5-7).
What was the significance of dipping the cloth in water before using it to suffocate Ben-hadad?
Answer: Dipping the thick cloth in water likely served several strategic and practical purposes for Hazael. First, it would have made the cloth heavier and more pliable, thereby increasing its effectiveness in blocking airflow and ensuring a swift and complete suffocation. A wet cloth would cling more tightly to the face, making it harder for the victim to dislodge or breathe around. Second, and perhaps more subtly, a wet cloth could have been intended to make Ben-hadad's death appear more like a natural consequence of his existing illness, perhaps a sudden fever or respiratory distress, rather than an obvious murder. In ancient sickrooms, wet cloths were commonly used to cool a feverish patient. This deceptive maneuver would have helped Hazael avoid immediate suspicion, consolidate his power more smoothly, and prevent an outcry or struggle that might have alerted others to his treacherous act. It was a calculated move to mask the regicide.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The dark narrative of Hazael's violent usurpation of the throne of Aram, though a chilling chapter of human ambition and treachery, ultimately serves as a profound contrast and pointer to the superior, righteous, and redemptive kingship of Jesus Christ. Hazael's reign, precisely foretold by Elisha, was tragically marked by brutal oppression and relentless violence against God's people, Israel, fulfilling the prophet's tearful lament over the future atrocities (2 Kings 8:12). This stands in stark and glorious contrast to the reign of Christ. While Hazael seized a temporal throne through an act of cold-blooded murder, Jesus, the true and eternal King, willingly and selflessly laid down His own life, enduring the ultimate act of violence on the cross, not to grasp power, but to graciously save His people from their sins (Philippians 2:8). His kingdom is not established by human might, political maneuvering, or bloodshed, but by self-sacrificial love, divine grace, and spiritual transformation within the hearts of humanity (John 18:36). The undeniable fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy concerning Hazael powerfully demonstrates God's sovereign control over all earthly rulers and nations, even those hostile to His divine purposes. This divine orchestration of history finds its ultimate and most glorious purpose in the advent of Christ, through whom all of God's magnificent promises find their resounding "Yes" and "Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Unlike Hazael, whose reign brought immense suffering and destruction, Christ's reign brings eternal peace, perfect justice, and everlasting salvation to all who believe, culminating in His future return to establish His perfect and everlasting kingdom over all creation (Revelation 11:15).