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2 KINGS 6

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:1-7
  ¹Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. ²Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live." So he said, "Go." ³Then one said, "Please be willing to go with your servants." And he answered, "I shall go." ⁴So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, my master! For it was borrowed." ⁶Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. ⁷He said, "Take it up for yourself." So he put out his hand and took it.

6:1 "the sons of the prophets" See full note at 2 Kgs. 2:3.

6:2 The meeting place or communal living place was too small for their number. As a group they went to the lowland forest near the Jordan River to harvest beams of wood for construction.

6:5 While chopping down a beam, one of the sons of the prophets lost the head of his borrowed axe.

▣ "it was borrowed" This is the VERB (BDB 981, KB 1371, Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE) which usually means "to ask" or "to beg," but in this rare context, it connotes "borrow" (i.e., strongly request something to use).

6:6 It is possible

1. that Elisha put a wooden pole in the water and caught the axe head on the piece of wood (Peshitta). The VERB (BDB 897, KB 1012, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw) basically means "to overflow" (i.e., Deut. 11:4; Lam. 3:54). Only here is it translated "float."
2. this miracle is similar to the cleansing of
   1. Exod. 15:23-26 (a tree used to cleanse water)
   2. 2 Kgs. 2:15-22 (some salt to purify a spring)
   3. 2 Kgs. 4:38-41 (some meal to purify stew)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:8-10
  ⁸Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp." ⁹The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, "Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there." ¹⁰The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice.

6:8-14 This paragraph describes the frustration the king of Syria had in trying to attack the king of Israel. Every time he set an ambush, the king of Israel did not show up.

The king of Syria thought there was an Israeli spy in his inner circle! But they respond that it was not one of them but the prophet Elisha.

It is humorous to me that the king of Syria thought he could take the prophet, who continually warned the king of Israel, by a secret night raid!

The MT has "my camp" but the UBS Text Project, p. 340, gives it only a "C" rating (considerable doubt).

The NET Bible, p. 601, suggests an emendation that follows the NJB and REB.

6:10 "more than once or twice" The king of Syria had attempted many times to ambush the king of Israel.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:11-14
  ¹¹Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?" ¹²One of his servants said, "No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom." ¹³So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him." And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." ¹⁴He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

The NASB follows the MT. The UBS Text Project, p. 341, gives this reading a "B" rating (some doubt).

6:13 "Dothan" This small village was located on a low hill about 10-12 miles north of Samaria.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:15-19
  ¹⁵Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" ¹⁶So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." ¹⁷Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria.

6:15 "the attendant of the man of God" This would have been a new servant because Gehazi had leprosy (2 Kgs. 5:20-27).

Elisha had been an attendant to Elijah (i.e., 2 Kgs. 3:11).

▣ "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" The Syrian army had surrounded the village by night to capture one man!

6:16-17 I just love this text! Wow, how many times we as believers face circumstances and evil intentions with "fear"! Elisha prays that YHWH will open the attendant's spiritual eyes that he might see the spiritual realm (notice Gen. 21:19; 32:1-2; and Num. 22:31; also note Ps. 37:7; 91). Elisha had seen these very things in 2 Kgs. 2:10-11. I think what happened in 2 Kgs. 7:6 is related to these spiritual armies of the Lord of hosts. Our wonderful hymn "Open My Eyes" comes from this text.

There is one passage where opening one's spiritual eyes is a disaster (i.e., Gen. 3:5,7)!

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANGELS AND DEMONS

SPECIAL TOPIC: LORD OF HOSTS

6:18 There is irony here. The attendant's eyes are opened but the Syrian army's eyes are closed. YHWH is the provider of both (v. 20).

The NOUN "blindness" (BDB 703, KB 760) is used here (twice) and also Gen. 18:11.

6:19 YHWH not only sent blindness but also confusion.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:20-23
  ²⁰When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?" ²²He answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." ²³So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

6:21-23 The king of Israel and Elisha had drastically different ideas of what to do with these captured soldiers.

Elisha's plan caused the tension between these two neighboring countries to cease for a period.

6:21 "My father" This was a title of respect and acknowledgment of leadership

1. of a priest ‒ Jdgs. 17:10; 18:19
2. of a king ‒ 1 Sam. 24:11
3. of a servant of his lord ‒ 2 Kgs. 2:12; 5:13
4. of a prophet ‒ 2 Kgs. 2:12; 5:13; 6:21; 13:14
5. of a teacher ‒ Pro. 1:8; 4:1,3
6. of a governor ‒ Isa. 22:20-21

It was most often used of a parent or of YHWH.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD

SPECIAL TOPIC: FATHER

6:22 "with sword and bow" This was an idiom for the use of any kind of weapon in warfare.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:24-31
  ²⁴Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!" ²⁷He said, "If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?" ²⁸And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' ²⁹So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son." ³⁰When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. ³¹Then he said, "May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today."

6:24 "Ben-hadad" This is the first time in this context that a king of Israel or Syria is named. It is still hard to date these events because there were two known kings of Syria by this name at this time. It meant "son of Hadad," a royal title.

6:25 "famine" A besieged city had several problems.

1. no food
2. no water
3. rampant disease

In the paragraph this terrible situation is characterized as

1. the high cost of a poor piece of meat (even an unclean and unusual piece of meat)
2. the high cost of cooking fuel (dung)
   1. the JPSOA's footnote says it refers to "carob pods" (Akkadian), which were normally not eaten by humans
   2. Roland deVauz, Ancient Israel, p. 200 calls it "wild onions"
   3. during sieges humans even ate dung and drank urine (cf. Isa. 36:12)
3. the cannibalism (vv. 28-29)

For a good brief discussion of "siege warfare," see Roland DeVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 236-238.

6:30 "tore his clothes. . .sackcloth" See SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES.

6:31 "May God do so to me and more also, if. . ." This was an oath formula (i.e., Ruth 1:17; 1 Kgs. 19:2; 20:10).

The king of Israel blamed Elisha for the siege and the problems connected to it.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:32-33
  ³²Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?" ³³While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, "Behold, this evil is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"

6:32 "a man from his presence" This person is called "the messenger" in v. 32, twice and once in v. 33. When verse 33 says "he said," it must refer to this messenger.

The exact meaning of the message from the king is difficult to understand. The king is attributing the problem to YHWH. The king implies he has waited for YHWH to act, but no more.

2 Kings 7:1-2 should go with chapter 6. Chapters 6-7 form a literary unit.

▣ "this son of a murderer" This is an idiom not directed at the parents but at the king of Israel himself.

BDB 119 uses "son" as a member of a group (i.e., 1 Sam. 20:30).

SPECIAL TOPIC: "SONS OF. . ."

6:33 AB, p. 80, along with other commentaries, thinks the person speaking in v. 33 is not the messenger of the king, but the king himself. Probably the messenger sent to assassinate Elisha came with the king right behind him.

Josephus (Antiq. 9.4.4) states that the king had changed his mind about killing Elisha and hurried to the meeting to stop his messenger!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What was the purpose of the miracle of vv. 1-7?
2. What is the significance of v. 17?
3. Explain the pronouns of vv. 32-33 (esp. the "he" of v. 33).

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