Teks -- 2 Kings 1:1-18 (NET)

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders

1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.” 1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 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, he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, “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. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, “He was a hairy man and had a leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.” 1:9 The king sent a captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him, “Prophet, the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1:10 Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers. 1:11 The king sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 1:12 Elijah replied to them, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers. 1:13 The king sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours. 1:14 Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life.” 1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. 1:16 Elijah said to the king, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. 1:18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: 2Ki 1:1 - Moab

This had been subdued by David, as Edom was; and upon the division of his kingdom, Moab was adjoined to that of Israel, and Edom to that of Judah, each to that kingdom upon which it bordered. But when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were weak and forsaken by God, they took that opportunity to revolt from them; Moab here, and Edom a little after.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:2 - Chamber

In which, the lattess might be left to convey light into the lower room. But the words may be rendered, through the battlements (or through the lattess in the battlements) of the roof of the house. Where, standing and looking through, and leaning upon this lattess, it broke, and he fell down into the court or garden.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:2 - Baal

zebub - Properly, the god of flies; an idol so called, because it was supposed to deliver those people from flies; Jupiter and Hercules were called by a like name among the Grecians. And it is evident, both from sacred and prophane histories, That the idol - gods, did sometimes through God's permission, give the answers; though they were generally observed, even by the Heathens themselves, to be dark and doubtful.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:3 - And say

Dost thou not cast contempt on the God of Israel, as if he were either ignorant of the event of thy disease, or unable to give thee relief; and as if Baal - zebub had more skill and power than he?

Wesley: 2Ki 1:5 - Why, &c.

_Before you have been at Ekron: which he knew by their quick return.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:8 - An hairy man

His garment was rough and hairy, such as were worn by eminent persons in Greece, in ancient times; and were the proper habit of the prophets.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:8 - Girdle

As John the baptist also had. That by his very outward habit, he might represent Elijah, in whose spirit and power he came.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:9 - Man of God

So he calls him by way of scorn.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:9 - Come

The king commands thee to come to him: which if thou refuseth, I am to carry thee by force.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:10 - Let fire, &c.

_Elijah did this, not to secure himself, he could have done that some other way: nor to revenge himself, for it was not his own cause that he acted in: but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:11 - And said

He discovers more petulancy than the former; and shews, how little he was moved by the former example.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:13 - Besought

Expressing both reverence to his person, and a dread of God's judgments. There is nothing to be got by contending with God: if we would prevail with him, it must be by supplication. And those are wise who learn submission from the fatal consequences of obstinacy in others.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:16 - He said

To his very face. Nor durst the king lay hands upon him, being daunted with the prophet's presence, and confidence; and affrighted by the late dreadful evidence of his power with God.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:17 - Jehoram

His brother.

Wesley: 2Ki 1:17 - The son of Jehoshaphat

Jehoshaphat, in his seventeenth year, when he went to Ahab, and with him to Ramoth - Gilead, appointed his son Jehoram his vice - roy, and (in case of his death) his successor. In the second year from that time, when Jehoram was thus made vice - king in his father's stead; this Jehoram, Ahab's son, began to reign: and in the fifth year of the reign of this Jehoram son of Ahab, which was about the twenty - fourth year of Jehoshaphat's reign, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was made king of Judah, together with his father.

JFB: 2Ki 1:1 - Then Moab rebelled

Subdued by David (2Sa 8:2), they had, in the partition of Israel and Judah, fallen to the share of the former kingdom. But they took advantage of the death of Ahab to shake off the yoke (see on 2Ki 3:6). The casualty that befell Ahaziah [2Ki 1:2] prevented his taking active measures for suppressing this revolt, which was accomplished as a providential judgment on the house of Ahab for all these crimes.

JFB: 2Ki 1:2-8 - Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber

This lattice was either a part of the wooden parapet, or fence, which surrounds the flat roofs of houses, and over which the king was carelessly leaning when it gave way; or it might be an opening like a skylight in the roof itself, done over with lattice-work, which, being slender or rotten, the king stepped on and slipped through. This latter supposition is most probably the true one, as Ahaziah did not fall either into the street or the court, but "in his upper chamber."

JFB: 2Ki 1:2-8 - inquire of Baalzebub

Anxious to learn whether he should recover from the effects of this severe fall, he sent to consult Baalzebub, that is, the god of flies, who was considered the patron deity of medicine. A temple to that idol was erected at Ekron, which was resorted to far and wide, though it afterwards led to the destruction of the place (Zec 9:5; Amo 1:8; Zep 2:4). "After visiting Ekron, 'the god of flies' is a name that gives me no surprise. The flies there swarmed, in fact so innumerably, that I could hardly get any food without these troublesome insects getting into it" [VAN DE VELDE].

JFB: 2Ki 1:3 - the angel of the Lord

Not an angel, but the angel, who carried on all communications between the invisible God and His chosen people [HENGSTENBERG]. This angel commissioned Elijah to meet the king's messengers, to stop them peremptorily on the idolatrous errand, and convey by them to the king information of his approaching death. This consultation of an idol, being a breach of the fundamental law of the kingdom (Exo 20:3; Deu 5:7), was a daring and deliberate rejection of the national religion. The Lord, in making this announcement of his death, designed that he should see in that event a judgment for his idolatry.

JFB: 2Ki 1:4 - Thou shalt not come down from that bed

On being taken up, he had probably been laid on the divan--a raised frame, about three feet broad, extended along the sides of a room, covered with cushions and mattresses--serving, in short, as a sofa by day and a bed by night, and ascended by steps.

JFB: 2Ki 1:4 - Elijah departed

To his ordinary abode, which was then at Mount Carmel (2Ki 2:25; 1Ki 18:42).

JFB: 2Ki 1:5 - the messengers turned back

They did not know the stranger; but his authoritative tone, commanding attitude, and affecting message determined them at once to return.

JFB: 2Ki 1:8 - an hairy man

This was the description not of his person, as in the case of Esau, but of his dress, which consisted either of unwrought sheep or goatskins (Heb 11:37), or of camel's haircloth--the coarser manufacture of this material like our rough haircloth. The Dervishes and Bedouins are attired in this wild, uncouth manner, while their hair flows loose on the head, their shaggy cloak is thrown over their shoulders and tied in front on the breast, naked, except at the waist, round which is a skin girdle--a broad, rough leathern belt. Similar to this was the girdle of the prophets, as in keeping with their coarse garments and their stern, uncompromising office.

JFB: 2Ki 1:9 - Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty

Any appearance of cruelty that there is in the fate of the two captains and their men will be removed, on a full consideration of the circumstances. God being the King of Israel, Ahaziah was bound to govern the kingdom according to the divine law; to apprehend the Lord's prophet, for discharging a commanded duty, was that of an impious and notorious rebel. The captains abetted the king in his rebellion; and they exceeded their military duty by contemptuous insults.

JFB: 2Ki 1:9 - man of God

In using this term, they either spoke derisively, believing him to be no true prophet; or, if they regarded him as a true prophet, the summons to him to surrender himself bound to the king was a still more flagrant insult; the language of the second captain being worse than that of the first.

JFB: 2Ki 1:10 - let fire come down

Rather, "fire shall come down." Not to avenge a personal insult of Elijah, but an insult upon God in the person of His prophet; and the punishment was inflicted, not by the prophet, but by the direct hand of God.

JFB: 2Ki 1:15-16 - he arose, and went down with him

A marvellous instance of faith and obedience. Though he well knew how obnoxious his presence was to the king, yet, on receiving God's command, he goes unhesitatingly, and repeats, with his own lips, the unwelcome tidings conveyed by the messengers.

JFB: 2Ki 1:17 - Jehoram

The brother of Ahaziah (see on 2Ki 3:1).

Clarke: 2Ki 1:1 - Moab rebelled

Moab rebelled - The Moabites had been subdued by David, and laid under tribute, 2Ki 3:4, and 2Sa 8:2. After the division of the two kingdoms, the Moabites fell partly under the dominion of Israel, and partly under that of Judah, until the death of Ahab, when they arose and shook off this yoke. Jehoram confederated with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, in order to reduce them. See this war, 2Ki 3:5.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:2 - Fell down through a lattice

Fell down through a lattice - Perhaps either through the flat root of his house, or over or through the balustrades with which the roof was surrounded

Clarke: 2Ki 1:2 - Go, inquire of Baal-zebub

Go, inquire of Baal-zebub - Literally, the fly-god, or master of flies. The Septuagint has βααλ μυιαν, Baal the fly. He was the tutelary god of Ekron, and probably was used at first as a kind of telesm, to drive away flies. He became afterwards a very respectable devil, and was supposed to have great power and influence. In the New Testament Beelzebub is a common name for Satan himself, or the prince of devils. See my notes on Mat 10:25 (note).

Clarke: 2Ki 1:4 - But shalt surely die

But shalt surely die - The true God tells you this; he in whose hands are both life and death, who can kill and make alive. Baal-zebub can do nothing; God has determined that your master shall die.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:8 - He was a hairy man

He was a hairy man - That is, he wore a rough garment, either made of camels’ hair, as his successor John Baptist’ s was, or he wore a skin dressed with the hair on. Some think that the meaning is, he had very long hair and a long beard. The ancient prophets all wore rough garments, or upper coats made of the skins of beasts: They wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, says the apostle, Heb 11:37.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:9 - A captain of fifty with his fifty

A captain of fifty with his fifty - It is impossible that such a man as Ahaziah, in such circumstances, could have had any friendly designs in sending a captain and fifty soldiers for the prophet; and the manner in which they are treated shows plainly that they went with a hostile intent

Clarke: 2Ki 1:9 - And he spake unto him, Thou man of God

And he spake unto him, Thou man of God - Thou prophet of the Most High.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:10 - And there came down fire

And there came down fire - Some have blamed the prophet for destroying these men, by bringing down fire from heaven upon them. But they do not consider that it was no more possible for Elijah to bring down fire from heaven, than for them to do it. God alone could send the fire; and as he is just and good, he would not have destroyed these men had there not been a sufficient cause to justify the act. It was not to please Elijah, or to gratify any vindictive humor in him, that God thus acted; but to show his own power and justice. No entreaty of Elijah could have induced God to have performed an act that was wrong in itself. Elijah, personally, had no concern in the business. God led him simply to announce on these occasions what he himself had determined to do. If I be a man of God, i.e., as surely as I am a man of God, fire Shall come down from heaven, and Shall consume thee and thy fifty. This is the literal meaning of the original; and by it we see that Elijah’ s words were only declarative, and not imprecatory.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:15 - And the angel of the Lord said - Go down with him

And the angel of the Lord said - Go down with him - This is an additional proof that Elijah was then acting under particular inspirations: he had neither will nor design of his own. He waited to know the counsel, declare the will, and obey the command, of his God

Clarke: 2Ki 1:15 - And he arose, and went down

And he arose, and went down - He did not even regard his personal safety or his life; he goes without the least hesitation to the king, though he had reason to suppose he would be doubly irritated by his prediction, and the death of one hundred of his men. But with all these consequences he had nothing to do; he was the ambassador of the King eternal, and his honor and life were in the hands of his Master.

Clarke: 2Ki 1:17 - And Jehoram reigned in his stead

And Jehoram reigned in his stead - The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Syriac say, Jehoram His Brother reigned in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram. There were two Jehorams who were contemporary: the first, the son of Ahab, brother to Ahaziah, and his successor in the kingdom of Israel; the second, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who succeeded his father in Judah. But there is a difficulty here: "How is it that Jehoram the brother of Ahaziah began to reign in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, seeing that, according to 2Ki 3:1, he began his reign in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat; and, according to 2Ki 8:16, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began to reign in the fifth year of Jehoram king of Israel?"Calmet and others answer thus: "Jehoram king of Israel began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, which was the second year after this same Jehoshaphat had given the viceroyalty to his son Jehoram; and afterwards Jehoshaphat communicated the royalty to Jehoram his successor, two years before his death, and the fifth year of Jehoram, king of Israel."Dr. Lightfoot takes another method: -

"Observe,"says he, "these texts, 1Ki 22:51 : Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years; and 2Ki 1:17 : And Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken, and Jehoram reigned in his stead, in the second gear of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; and 2Ki 3:1 : Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. By these scriptures it is most plain, that both Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, and Ahaziah the son of Ahab, began to reign in the seventeenth of Jehoshaphat; for who sees not in these texts that Jehoshaphat’ s eighteenth, when Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign, is called the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat? Now Jehoshaphat’ s reign was not yet expired by eight or nine years, for this was in his seventeenth year, and he reigned twenty-five years, 1Ki 22:42; nor was Ahab’ s reign expired by two or three years, for this was in his twentieth year, and he reigned twenty-two years. 1Ki 16:29. But the reason why both their sons came thus into their thrones in their lifetime, and both in the same year, was because their fathers, Jehoshaphat and Ahab, were both engaged in the war against the Syrians about Ramoth-gilead: and while they were providing for it, and carrying it on, they made their sons viceroys, and set them to reign in their stead, while they were absent or employed upon that expedition.

This is very probable, and seems well supported by the above texts, and would solve all the difficulties with which many have been puzzled and not a few stumbled, had we sufficient evidence for the viceroyalty here mentioned.

Defender: 2Ki 1:3 - not a God in Israel

King Ahaziah, son of Ahab and Jezebel, reigned only two years and followed in the pagan idolatry of his parents. Although he certainly knew about the total defeat of the priests of Baal by Elijah at Carmel, as well as his father's death as predicted by the prophet Micaiah, he nevertheless chose to seek help from a heathen prophet instead of the God of Israel. The sin of modern Christendom is much greater even than this, as 2000 years of Christian witness are being everywhere rejected in deference to the evolutionism and occultism of the ancient pagan gods."

Defender: 2Ki 1:14 - fire down from heaven

The third captain recognized what the others had ignored - that the God of Elijah was the true God of heaven. This had been demonstrated ten years before on Mount Carmel (also with fire from heaven) but self-centered pagan pantheists forget easily. Whether these heavenly fires were providentially directed lightning or specially created fires for the occasion, the deadly effect was the same."

TSK: 2Ki 1:1 - Moab // after the

Moab : Num 24:7; 2Sa 8:2; 1Ch 18:2; Psa 60:8

after the : 2Ki 3:4, 2Ki 3:5, 2Ki 8:20, 2Ki 8:22

TSK: 2Ki 1:2 - a lattice // was sick // Baalzebub // god // whether

a lattice : The flat roofs of the eastern houses are generally surrounded by a parapet wall breast high; but instead of this, some terraces are guarded with balustrades only, or latticed work. Of the same kind, probably, was the lattice, or net, as the term shevacha seems to import, through which Ahaziah fell into the court. This incident proves the necessity of the law for the formation of battlements for roof (Deu 22:8), which God graciously dictated from Sinai, which furnishes a beautiful example of his paternal care and goodness; for the terrace was a place where many offices of the family were performed, and business frequently transacted. Jdg 5:28; Son 2:9; Act 20:9

was sick : 1Ki 22:34 *marg. 2Ch 21:14, 2Ch 21:15; Job 31:3

Baalzebub : 2Ki 1:3, 2Ki 1:6, 2Ki 1:16; Mat 10:25, Mat 12:24-27; Mar 3:22; Luk 11:15, Beelzebub

god : Jdg 11:24; 1Sa 5:10; 1Ki 11:33; Isa 37:12, Isa 37:19

whether : 2Ki 8:7-10; 1Ki 14:3

TSK: 2Ki 1:3 - angel // Elijah // Arise // it // ye go

angel : 2Ki 1:15; 1Ki 19:5, 1Ki 19:7; Act 8:26, Act 12:7-11

Elijah : 2Ki 1:8; 1Ki 17:1

Arise : 1Ki 18:1

it : 2Ki 1:6, 2Ki 1:16, 2Ki 5:8, 2Ki 5:15; 1Sa 17:46; 1Ki 18:36; Psa 76:1

ye go : Jer 2:11-13; Jon 2:8; Mar 3:22

TSK: 2Ki 1:4 - Thou shalt // but shalt

Thou shalt : etc. Heb. The bed whither thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it

but shalt : Gen 2:17, Gen 3:4; Num 26:65; 1Sa 28:19; 1Ki 14:12; Pro 11:19, Pro 14:32; Eze 18:4

TSK: 2Ki 1:6 - Thus saith // therefore

Thus saith : Isa 41:22, Isa 41:23

therefore : 2Ki 1:3, 2Ki 1:4; 1Ch 10:13, 1Ch 10:14; Psa 16:4

TSK: 2Ki 1:7 - What manner of man was he

What manner of man was he : Heb. What was the manner of the man, Jdg 8:18; 1Sa 28:14

TSK: 2Ki 1:8 - an hairy man

an hairy man : That is, he wore a rough garment, either made of camels’ hair, as that of John Baptist, or of a skin, dressed with the hair on. Sir J. Chardin informs us, in a manuscript note on this place, cited by Mr. Harmer, that the eastern dervishes and fakeers are clothed just as Elijah was, with a hairy garment, girded with a leathern girdle. Isa 20:2; Zec 13:4; Mat 3:4, Mat 11:8; Luk 1:17; Rev 11:3

TSK: 2Ki 1:9 - sent unto // he sat // Thou man

sent unto : 2Ki 6:13, 2Ki 6:14; 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:10, 1Ki 19:2, 1Ki 22:8, 1Ki 22:26, 1Ki 22:27; Mat 14:3

he sat : 1Ki 18:42; Luk 6:11, Luk 6:12

Thou man : Amo 7:12; Mat 26:68, Mat 27:29, Mat 27:41-43; Mar 15:29, Mar 15:32; Heb 11:36

TSK: 2Ki 1:10 - If I be a man // let fire // consumed

If I be a man : 2Ki 2:23, 2Ki 2:24; Num 16:28-30; 1Ki 18:36-38, 1Ki 22:28; 2Ch 36:16; Psa 105:15; Mat 21:41, Mat 23:34-37; Act 5:3-10

let fire : Or, rather, as the original literally imports, and the LXX render, καταβησεται πυρ , fire shall come down; Elijah’ s words being simply declarative, and not imprecatory. Num 11:1, Num 16:35; Job 1:16; Psa 106:18; Luk 9:54; Heb 12:29; Rev 11:5

consumed : Dan 3:22, Dan 3:25, Dan 6:24; Act 12:19

TSK: 2Ki 1:11 - Again // O man

Again : Num 16:41; 1Sa 6:9; Isa 26:11; Jer 5:3; Joh 18:5-12; Act 4:16, Act 4:17

O man : 1Sa 22:17-19; Pro 29:12; Isa 32:7; Mat 2:16; Luk 22:63, Luk 22:64

TSK: 2Ki 1:12

2Ki 1:9, 2Ki 1:10

TSK: 2Ki 1:13 - he sent again // fell on // besought // O man of God

he sent again : Job 15:25, Job 15:26; Pro 27:22; Ecc 9:3; Isa 1:5

fell on : Heb. bowed, Isa 66:2

besought : Exo 11:8; Num 12:11-13; 1Ki 13:6; Isa 60:14; Rev 3:9

O man of God : Psa 102:17; Jam 4:7

TSK: 2Ki 1:14 - Behold // let my life

Behold : 2Ki 1:10, 2Ki 1:11

let my life : 1Sa 26:21, 1Sa 26:24; Psa 49:8, Psa 72:14, Psa 116:15; Pro 6:26; Mat 16:25, Mat 16:26; Act 20:24

TSK: 2Ki 1:15 - be not afraid of him

be not afraid of him : Gen 15:1; 1Ki 18:15; Psa 27:1; Isa 51:12; Jer 1:17, Jer 15:20; Eze 2:6; Mat 10:28; Heb 11:27

TSK: 2Ki 1:16 - Forasmuch // Baalzebub // on which thou art gone up

Forasmuch : 2Ki 1:3, 2Ki 1:4, 2Ki 1:6; Exo 4:22, Exo 4:23; 1Ki 14:6-13, 1Ki 21:18-24, 1Ki 22:28

Baalzebub : Literally, ""the lord of flies;""or, as the LXX render, Βααλ μυεαν θεον , Baal the fly god. See note on Exo 8:24.

on which thou art gone up : In the East there is usually at the end of each chamber a little gallery, raised three or four feet above the floor, with a balustrade in front, to which they go up by a few stepscaps1 . hcaps0 ere they place their beds; an allusion to which situation is involved in this declaration of Elijah’ s, and frequently referred to in the Sacred Scriptures. See note on Gen 49:4. 2Ki 5:21; Psa 132:3

TSK: 2Ki 1:17 - Jehoram // in the second

Jehoram : As it is said in 2Ki 3:1, that he began his reign in the eighteenth of Jehoshaphat, it is supposed that Jehoshaphat admitted his son Jehoram to reign with him eight or nine years before his death. ""The second year that Jehoram was Prorex, and the eighteenth of Jehoshaphat."

in the second : 2Ki 3:1, 2Ki 8:16, 2Ki 8:17; 1Ki 22:51

TSK: 2Ki 1:18 - in the book

in the book : 1Ki 14:19, 1Ki 22:39

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: 2Ki 1:2 - In his upper chamber // Baal-zebub

In his upper chamber in which the lattice might be left to convey light into the lower room; which if it now seem to be absurd in a king’ s palace, we must not think it was so then, when the world was not arrived to that height of curiosity and art in which now it is. But the words may be, and are by some, rendered, through the battlements (or through the lattice in the battlements ) of the roof of the house ; where being first walking, after the manner, and then standing and looking through, and leaning upon this lattice, which was grown infirm, it broke, and he fell into the court or garden belonging to the house.

Baal-zebub properly, the god of flies ; an idol so called, because it was falsely supposed to deliver those people from flies, which were both vexatious and hurtful to them; as Jupiter and Hercules were called by a like name among the Grecians for thee same reason. And it is evident, both from sacred and profane histories, that the idol gods, being consulted by the heathens, did sometimes through God’ s permission and just judgment give them answers, though they were generally observed, even by the heathens themselves to be dark and doubtful.

Poole: 2Ki 1:3 - Is it not because there is not a God in Israel?

Is it not because there is not a God in Israel? Dost thou not by this action cast contempt upon the God of Israel, as if he were either ignorant of the event of thy disease, or un able to give thee any relief, and as if Baal-zebub had more skill and power than he?

Poole: 2Ki 1:4 - Now therefore // Elijah departed

Now therefore for this was a very heinous crime, to deny the perfections of God, and to transfer them to an idol. See Lev 19:31 20:6,27 De 18:10 .

Elijah departed the messengers not daring to apprehend him, as suspecting him to be more than man, because he knew the secret message which the king delivered to them in his bedchamber.

Poole: 2Ki 1:5

Before you have been at Ekron; which he easily knew by their quick return.

Poole: 2Ki 1:8 - An hairy man // With a girdle of leather about his loins

An hairy man either,

1. As to his body; the hair of his head and beard being through neglect grown long, and spread over much of his time. Or rather,

2. As to his outward garment, which was rough and hairy, such as were sometimes worn by eminent persons in Greece in ancient times, and were the proper habit of the prophets. See Isa 20:2 Zec 13:4 Mat 3:4 Heb 11:37 .

With a girdle of leather about his loins as John the Baptist also had, Mat 3:4 , that by his very outward habit he might represent Elias, in whose spirit and power he came.

Poole: 2Ki 1:9 - Thou man of God // The king hath said, Come down

Thou man of God so he calls him in way of scorn and contempt: q.d. Thou that vauntest as if thou wast more than a mere man.

The king hath said, Come down the king commands thee to come to him; which if thou refusest, I am here to carry thee to him by force.

Poole: 2Ki 1:10

Elijah’ s desire did not proceed from a carnal and malicious passion; but from a pure zeal to vindicate God’ s name and honour, which was so horribly abused; and from the motion of God’ s Spirit, as is evident from God’ s miraculous answer to his desire. And therefore Christ doth not condemn this fact of Elias, but only reproves his disciples for their perverse imitation of it from another spirit and principle, and in a more unseasonable time, Luk 9:54,55 .

Poole: 2Ki 1:11

Wherein he discovers more petulancy and impudence than the former, and shows how little he was moved or affrighted by the former example.

Poole: 2Ki 1:13 - Fell on his knees, and besought him

Fell on his knees, and besought him expressing both reverence to his person, and a belief of his power, and a dread of God’ s judgments.

Poole: 2Ki 1:15

Not fearing the rage of the king, nor of Jezebel, nor of all their forces; wherein he gives an eminent example of his faith and obedience; and withal, of his growth in grace since that time that he fled for fear of Jezebel, 1Ki 19:3 .

Poole: 2Ki 1:16 - And he said unto him

And he said unto him to his very face. Nor durst the king lay hands upon him, being daunted with the prophet’ s presence, and great courage, and confidence; and affrighted by the late dreadful evidence of his power with God and over men: and withal, struck with a Divine and extraordinary terror.

Poole: 2Ki 1:17 - Jehoram // In the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat // Answ // Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat

Jehoram Ahaziah’ s brother, 2Ki 3:1 , for he had no son to succeed him, as it here follows.

In the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat: other passages of Scripture seem to clash with this, as that Ahaziah, who reigned but two years, begun his reign in Jehoshaphat’ s seventeenth year , 1Ki 22:51 ; and therefore this Jehoram must begin his reign in Jehoshaphat’ s nineteenth year; and therefore before the reign of Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’ s son; and that Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign in the fifth year of Joram, Ahab’ s son , 2Ki 8:16 .

Answ These difficulties are easily resolved by this consideration, that it was a usual practice among kings in former ages, to make their sons sometimes their viceroys and deputies in the administration of the kingdom; and sometimes formally kings in conjunction with themselves, and whilst they lived; whereof there are instances, both in profane history, among the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and in the sacred Scripture, as in David, 1Ch 23:1 29:22 , in Uzziah, 2Ch 26:21 , and (to come close to the point) in Jehoshaphat, 2Ki 8:16 ; who in his seventeenth year, when he went to Ahab, and with him to Ramoth-gilead, appointed his son Jehoram his viceroy, and (in case of his death) his successor. In the second year from that time, when Jehoram was thus made vice-king in his father’ s stead and absence, this Jehoram, Ahab’ s son, began to reign; and in the fifth year of the reign of this Joram, son of Ahab , which was about the twenty-fourth year of Jehoshaphat’ s reign,

Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat was formally made king of Judah , together with his father; or whilst Jehoshaphat lived, and was king of Judah also. And so all the places agree. To which some add, that this verse, or this part of it, wherein the difficulty consists, is wanting in some ancient copies, and is omitted by the LXX. interpreters; which is far more prudent and pious to grant, than upon such chronological difficulties to question the truth and divinity of the Holy Scriptures.

Haydock: 2Ki 1:1 - Rebelled

Rebelled: literally, "prevaricated." (Haydock) ---

The kings of Israel kept some of the nations, which David had conquered, in subjection, while the kings of Juda ruled over the others. In consequence of the late disaster, these people began to throw off the yoke. (Tirinus) ---

Joram made war upon Moab, chap. iii. 5. God began to punish the house of Achab, by these means. (Calmet) ---

The Moabites refused to pay tribute, (Menochius) as the Israelites would not acknowledge the divine authority. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:2 - Lattices // Of // God // Accaron

Lattices, by a skylight, (Haydock) or trap-door, designed to give light to the room below, into which the king fell. The roofs are generally flat in the East, and covered with earth mixed with straw, with the light at the top, to prevent the excessive heats. ---

Of. Hebrew, &c., "into." (Calmet) ---

If the lattices be understood to mean the rails, which were ordered to be placed round the roof, (Deuteronomy xxii. 8.) Ochozias might fall into the street. (Menochius) ---

Josephus thinks he fell from the staircase. At any rate, he was much hurt, (Haydock) and thus was made to feel the indignation of God. (Tirinus) ---

God. Septuagint, "Baal, the god-fly;" (Calmet) the Jupiter of the Greeks, or their chief god; and the prince of devils, Matthew xii. ---

Accaron. Hence Pliny ([Natural History?] viii. 29.) styles the god Achor, (Tirinus) and Myiodis, (B. xxxvi.) which is the name given to him by Josephus, ix. 2. (Haydock) ---

He was supposed to free the people of the country from being infested with flies; or the many victims offered up to him, drew those insects together. (Vatable) ---

Grotius supposes that the Phœnicians styled their god, Beelsemen, ( Balssomin ) "God of heaven;" and that the Hebrews called him, Balzobub, "god of flies," out of contempt. But perhaps his is too favourable to the idolaters. (Du Hamel) ---

Selden is convinced that Ochozias gives the idol its real name. Scaliger rather thinks that Balzobeim, "the lord of victims," was the original title. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:4 - Away

Away; probably to his usual abode, at Carmel, where the king sent to seize him.

Haydock: 2Ki 1:5 - Messengers

Messengers. They were perhaps citizens of Accaron, who had extolled the sagacity of their god, but were totally unacquainted with Elias. Yet as he shewed his knowledge of secret things, by telling them what they were going about, (Salien) and spoke with such assurance, (Haydock) they thought proper to return, lest they should incur a similar punishment. (Menochius)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:8 - Man // Induitur // Elias

Man. Hebrew ish bahal sehar, "a man lord of hair," or all covered with it, having a long beard, like the ancient sages, (St. Jerome, in Ezechiel xxxv.) and clothed with a skin, (Bochart) as the first inhabitants of the earth, the heroes, prophets and St. John the Baptist, are described, Hebrews xi. 37., and Matthew iii. 4. So Statius (ii., and iv.) says: Tiresiæ vultus, voces et vellera nota

Induitur.

The monks imitated this poverty and simplicity of clothing; and it is still common among Arabs, who wear a sheep's skin, with the shorn side inwards in hot weather. (Calmet) ---

Elias. He was known by his long hair and distinct garment, from ordinary men. (Worthington) ---

Hence none ought to blame priests and monks, for wearing clothing which may designate their profession. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:9 - Under him // Of God // Down

Under him; his own guards. The captain was to request him to pray for the king's recovery; (Calmet) or rather, (Haydock) to punish him for what he had said to the messengers. (Calmet) ---

Of God. Procopius and others think that he spoke contemptuously, and was therefore punished. (Menochius) ---

Down. The prophets are not bound to obey kings, in the exercise of their ministry. (Grotius) ---

Elias complies as soon as he had orders from God. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:10 - Let fire

Let fire, &c. Elias was inspired to call down fire from heaven upon these captains, who came to apprehend him; not out of a desire to gratify any private passion, but to punish the insult offered to religion, to confirm his mission, and to shew how vain are the efforts of men against God and his servants, whom he has a mind to protect. (Challoner) ---

The Roman laws authorized a person, in authority, to punish those who refuse to obey. (Ulpin 1 D.) Si quis jus dicenti non obtemperaverit, omnibus concessum est suam jurisdictionem defendere pœnali judicio. Elias acted as God's envoy, and the insult reverted upon him. (St. Thomas Aquinas, [Summa Theologiae] 2. 2. q. 108, a. 2.) ---

The Manichees have blamed the conduct of the prophet: but the miracle justifies him, as God would never countenance the private revenge of any one; and the Holy Ghost places this transaction on a level with that when Elias shut up the heavens, Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 3. St. Peter was moved with the like zeal, Acts v. 5. The sons of Zebedee gave way to some private indignation, when they wished our Saviour to call down fire from heaven upon a city of Samaria, Luke ix. 54. But he reprimanded them for it; as the citizens might not be so well acquainted with him, as these soldiers must have been with Elias: and he came to display the spirit of mildness, (Calmet) to attract all to his holy religion; while Elias had manifested the severity of the divine judgments, conformably to the law of terror, under which he lived. (Haydock) ---

In zeal of justice, Elias procured fire to burn these wicked men, as he had done for the holocaust. (St. Augustine) (Worthington)

Haydock: 2Ki 1:11 - Another

Another, not knowing what was become of the first, or why he did not return; as Ochozias was eager to have the prophet in his power. (Menochius) ---

If he were acquainted with his fate, (Haydock) this second captain was guilty of greater insolence. But there are such generally to be found at courts; men who are ready to execute the king's orders, without considering whether they be contrary to God's law or not.

Haydock: 2Ki 1:13 - Again // Despise not

Again. This third captain is commonly supposed to be Abdias, (3 Kings xviii. 3.) though without much reason. (Calmet) ---

John of Jerus, (c. 15) says he left the court, and became a disciple of Elias, and a prophet. (Menochius) ---

But he is very different from the prophet, whose writings are still extant. (Calmet) ---

The report of the two miracles had come to his ears, and filled him with fear. (Menochius) ---

Despise not. Hebrew, "let my life....be precious in thy sight," 1 Kings xxvi. 21., and Psalm cxv. 15.

Haydock: 2Ki 1:17 - The second year of Joram // His brother

The second year of Joram, &c., counted from the time that he was associated to the throne of his father Josaphat; (Challoner) so that it is said that he reigned also in the 18th year of Josaphat, chap. iii. 1. See also chap. viii. 16. To obviate there apparent contradictions, chronologists suppose that Joram reigned over Israel in the 18th of Josaphat, king of Juda, and in the second year after the latter had appointed his son Joram viceroy. He was associated with his father on the throne two years before his death, and in the 5th of Joram, king of Israel. Examples of this kind are frequent among the Hebrews, and particularly among the Persians, whose chronology is thus rendered very difficult. Why should we allow that the numbers are erroneous, when this explanation will suffice? (Calmet) ---

Grotius leaves the matter undecided. (Du Hamel) ---

Capel (Crit. p. 414.) maintains that the numbers have been ill transcribed; and so does Houbigant, who asserts that such a mode of writing whould not be tolerated in a profane author; thus the mention of different dates, without intimating how they are to be reconciled. If we should read, that Heraclius began to reign "in the 18th year of Chosroes," and a little after, that he ascended the throne "in the second year of the son of Chosroes," without ever specifying how Heraclius began his reign at two different periods, who would not suspect a mistake? Is it not more rational to throw the blame on the transcriber, than on the author? The modern chronologists seem to have invented the idea of viceroys and simultaneous kings, among the Hebrews, merely to get over difficulties; though the Scripture be entirely silent on this head. Houbigant would therefore read, "in the 22d year of Josaphat," as the mention of Joram seems here improper, ( absurda ) his father reigning 25 years. Ochozias began to reign when Josaphat had almost completed his 17th year. See 3 Kings xxii. 52. (Haydock) ---

His brother is not specified in Hebrew, Chaldean, Arabic, and in some copies of the Septuagint, but it is in most others, as well as in the Syriac, (Calmet) Josephus, &c., (Haydock) and this is the common opinion. The Roman edition here inserts (Calmet) after Elias spoke, ( 18 ) "And the, &c....and Joram," &c., nearly as chap. iii. 1, 2, 3; only for father, it substitutes, "not like his brothers;" and adds, "the wrath of the Lord was enkindled against the house of Achab." No mention is made of the second year of Joram, &c., (Haydock) in any edition of the Septuagint. (Capel) ---

In the mean time Josaphat, being returned from the unfortunate expedition with Achab, set his kingdom in order, purifying it from all the vestiges of idolatry, as much as he was able, and appointing proper judges, 2 Paralipomenon xix.

Gill: 2Ki 1:1 - Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Which had been in subjection to them from the times of David, 2Sa 8:2 refusing to pay a tribute as they had done; taking advantage of Ahab's ill success with the king of Syria, and of his death, and the condition and circumstances of his successor.

Gill: 2Ki 1:2 - And Ahaziah fell down a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria // and was sick // and he sent messengers, and said unto them, go inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease

And Ahaziah fell down a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria,.... Which was either a window or lattice in the form of network, to let in light; or rather were the rails of a balcony or battlement on the roof of his palace, in this form, on which leaning, it broke down, and he fell into the garden or court yard; or walking on the roof of his house, and treading unawares on a sky light, which let in light into a room underneath, he fell through it into it:

and was sick; the fall perhaps threw him into a fever, and which seemed threatening, being violent:

and he sent messengers, and said unto them, go inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease; not to heal him of it, but to know the issue of it; a vain curiosity this! Ekron was one of the principalities of the Philistines, and this idol was the god they worshipped, which signifies a master fly: which some think was a large metallic fly; made under a planet that rules over flies; and the Heathens had deities they called Myiodes, Myagros, and απομυιος, which signifies a driver away of flies; as Jupiter and Hercules were called by the Eleans and Romans, and worshipped and sacrificed to by them on that account ^a; and so the Cyreneans, a people of Lybia, worshipped the god Achor, which seems to be a corruption of the word Ekron, because he freed them from flies, after they had been infested with a pestilence through them ^b; and Ekron being a place near the sea, and both hot and moist, might be much infested with those creatures. Within the haven of Ptolemais, or Acco, was formerly a temple of Baalzebub, called in later times "the tower of flies", and used as a Pharus ^c.

Gill: 2Ki 1:3 - But the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah // arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria // is it not because there is not a God in Israel // that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron

But the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah,.... One of the ministering spirits sent by the Lord to him:

arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria: that is, the king of Israel, whose capital city was Samaria:

is it not because there is not a God in Israel; known, acknowledged, and worshipped there, of whom there had been sufficient proof of his deity and divine perfections, as omniscience, omnipotence, &c.

that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? about future things, when they had God nigh unto them, fully acquainted with them, as this message shows.

Gill: 2Ki 1:4 - Now therefore thus saith the Lord // thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die // and Elijah departed

Now therefore thus saith the Lord,.... Jehovah, the only true God:

thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die; this sickness should be unto death, and the bed he had betaken himself to should be his deathbed. The phrases of going up to bed, and coming down, are used with great propriety; for in the eastern countries, in their bedchambers, they had a gallery raised four or five feet above the floor, with a balustrade on the front ^d, and steps leading up to it; or ladders, which had more or fewer rounds, according as the beds were higher or lower ^e:

and Elijah departed; having met the messengers, and delivered his message from the Lord unto them.

Gill: 2Ki 1:5 - And when the messengers turned back unto him // he said unto them, why are ye now turned back

And when the messengers turned back unto him,.... To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about:

he said unto them, why are ye now turned back? for, by the time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and returned.

Gill: 2Ki 1:6 - And they said unto him, there came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, go, turn again unto the king that sent you // and say unto him

And they said unto him, there came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, go, turn again unto the king that sent you,.... King Ahaziah:

and say unto him; and then they repeated all that is said by the angel to Elijah, and he had delivered to them, 2Ki 1:3 and which was a sufficient reason for their turning back, since they got a full answer from a man of God, of what they were to inquire of at Ekron; which was, whether the king would recover of this disease or not.

Gill: 2Ki 1:7 - And he said unto them, what manner of man was he // which came up to meet you, and told you these words

And he said unto them, what manner of man was he,.... What appearance or figure did he make? what his habit or clothing?

which came up to meet you, and told you these words? they had related to him.

Gill: 2Ki 1:8 - And they answered him, he was an hairy man // girt with a girdle of leather about his loins // and he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite

And they answered him, he was an hairy man,.... Either the hair of his head and beard were grown very long, having been much neglected for a great while; or he had an hairy garment on, either of goats' hair, such as the Chinese wear ^f, whose women spin it, see Exo 35:26 and of which garments are made; or of camels' hair, such as John the Baptist wore, who came in his spirit and power, and imitated him in his dress, being also, as Elijah here:

girt with a girdle of leather about his loins: for more expeditious travelling, not for warmth, the climate being hot:

and he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite; for he had seen him formerly in his father's court in this dress.

Gill: 2Ki 1:9 - Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty // and he went up to him, and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill // and he spake unto him // thou man of God // the king hath said, come down

Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty,.... Not in honour to him, but to bring him by force if he refused to come willingly:

and he went up to him, and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill; generally supposed to be Mount Carmel:

and he spake unto him; at the bottom of the hill, so loud that he might hear him:

thou man of God; or the prophet of the Lord, as the Targum, as thou callest thyself; for this was said in a sneering, flouting, manner:

the king hath said, come down; and in the king's name he ordered him to come down, signifying, if he would not, he would send his men to fetch him down.

Gill: 2Ki 1:10 - And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God // then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty // and there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty

And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God,.... As I am, and thou shalt know it by the following token, though thou callest me so jeeringly:

then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty; this he said not in a passion, and from a private spirit of revenge, but for the vindication of the honour and glory of God, and under the impulse of his spirit, who was abused through the insult on him as his prophet:

and there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty; a flash of lightning, which destroyed them at once; the Lord hearkening to the voice of his prophet, in vindication of him in his office, and of his own glory.

Gill: 2Ki 1:11 - Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty // and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, come down quickly

Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty,.... The king, not being at all terrified with the awful judgment upon the former, sends another:

and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, come down quickly; he flouts the prophet in the same manner as the former, and in the king's name commands him to come down, and that immediately; which the king added to his orders, or he himself, signifying he would not be trifled with, if he did not come down directly, he would force him.

Gill: 2Ki 1:12 - And Elijah answered and said unto them

And Elijah answered and said unto them,.... The same as he had to the first captain, and made the same request of fire from heaven; which accordingly came down, and destroyed this captain and his fifty also.

Gill: 2Ki 1:13 - And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty // and came and fell on his knees before Elijah // and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight

And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty,.... Which was most daring and insolent, and showed him to be dreadfully hardened, to persist in his messages after such rebuffs: and the third captain of fifty went up; instead of calling to the prophet at the bottom of the hill as the other did, he went up to the top of it:

and came and fell on his knees before Elijah: in reverence of him as a prophet of the Lord, and under a dread of the power he was possessed of, of calling for fire from heaven on him and his men, as the former instances showed:

and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight: he owns their lives lay at his mercy; he begs they might be spared, since it was not in contempt of him, and through ill will to him as the prophet of the Lord, but in obedience to the king's command, that they were come to him.

Gill: 2Ki 1:14 - Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties // therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight

Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties,.... He owns the facts, and ascribes the death of them to the true cause, and appears to have an awful sense of the judgment of God on them, fearing the same would befall him and his:

therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight; by sparing it, what is precious and valuable being spared.

Gill: 2Ki 1:15 - And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah // go down with him // and be not afraid of him // and he arose, and went down with him unto the king

And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, The same as in 2Ki 1:3 or "had said" ^g, as some render it, before this captain came:

go down with him; the captain and his men:

and be not afraid of him; of King Ahaziah, whom he might fear, because of the message he had sent him, that he should die of that sickness, and for turning back his messengers to the god of Ekron, and for destroying his two captains and their fifties; nor of his mother Jezebel, who had threatened his life for killing her prophets:

and he arose, and went down with him unto the king; boldly and courageously, not fearing his wrath; so that the captain not only had his life and the life of his men spared, but answered the end of his message also.

Gill: 2Ki 1:16 - And he said unto him

And he said unto him,.... Elijah to King Ahaziah when introduced into his chamber; and after some discourse passed between them, he confirmed what he had said to his messengers, and expressed it in the same language as in 2Ki 1:3; see Gill on 2Ki 1:3, 2Ki 1:4

Gill: 2Ki 1:17 - So he died, according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken // and Jehoram reigned in his stead // because he had no son

So he died, according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken,.... How long or how soon after this is not said; however, he died of the sickness, and on the bed to which he went up, as he said:

and Jehoram reigned in his stead: who was another son of Ahab, and brother of Ahaziah, 2Ki 3:1, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; but as he must begin his reign in the nineteenth, or in the latter end of the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, see 1Ki 22:51 and Jehoshaphat reigned in all twenty five years, 1Ki 22:42, he must live and reign after this six or seven years; this therefore is to be reconciled by observing, that this son of Jehoshaphat was made viceroy, or was taken into partnership in the throne by his father when he went with Ahab to Ramothgilead; and it was in the second year of this his reign with his father that the other Jehoram began his:

because he had no son; that is, Ahaziah, wherefore his brother reigned in his stead.

Gill: 2Ki 1:18 - Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did // are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel

Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did,.... During his two years' reign, which yet were imperfect, and his acts must be but few:

are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? in which were written his father Ahab's also, and his predecessors', see 1Ki 22:39.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:1

¹ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:2

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

⁴ sn 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:3

¹ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:5

¹ tn Heb “to him.”

sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:6

¹ tn Heb “said to him.”

² tn 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).

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:7

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

² tn Heb “What was the manner…?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:8

¹ tn Heb “said to him.”

² tn 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).

³ tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:9

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

² tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”

³ tn Heb “to him.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.

⁶ tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:10

¹ tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”

² tn 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:11

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

² tc 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.

³ sn 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:12

¹ tc Two medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta have the singular “to him.”

² tn Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:13

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

² tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:14

¹ tn Heb “look.”

² tn Heb “their fifty.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:15

¹ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:16

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

⁴ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:17

¹ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through Elijah.”

² tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.

NET Notes: 2Ki 1:18

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:1

Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

The Argument - This second book contains the acts of the kings of Judah and Israel: that is, of Israel, from the death of Ahab to the last king Hoshea, who was imprisoned by the king of Assyria, and his city Samaria taken, and the ten tribes led into captivity by the just plague of God for their idolatry and disobedience to God. Also of Judah, from the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat to Zedekiah, who for contemning the Lord's commandment by his prophets, and neglecting his many admonitions by famine and other means was taken by his enemies, saw his sons most cruelly slain before his face, and his own eyes put out, as the Lord had declared to him before by his prophet Jeremiah. By the just vengeance of God for contempt of his word Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple burnt, and he and all his people were led away captives into Babylon. In this book are notable examples of God's favour toward those rulers and people who obey his prophets, and embrace his word: and contrariwise of his plagues on those who neglect his ministers, and do not obey his commandments.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:2

And ^{( a )} Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that [was] in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of ^{( b )} Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

^{( a )} So that he was punished for his idolatry in two ways: for the Moabites which were wont to pay him tribute rebelled and he fell out a window which was high in his house to give light beneath.

^{( b )} The Philistines who lived at Ekron worshipped this idol, the god of flies, thinking that he could preserve them from the biting of flies: or else he was so called, because flies were drawn in great abundance by the blood of the sacrifices that were offered to that idol.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:3

But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, ^{( c )} [Is it] not because [there is] not a God in Israel, [that] ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?

^{( c )} He shows that idolaters do not have the true God, or else they would seek none but him alone.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:6

And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, ^{( d )} [Is it] not because [there is] not a God in Israel, [that] thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

^{( d )} Ignorance is the mother of error and idolatry.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:8

And they answered him, [He was] an ^{( e )} hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It [is] Elijah the Tishbite.

^{( e )} Some think that this meant his garments, which were rough and made of hair.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:9

Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top ^{( f )} of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

^{( f )} That is, Carmel.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:10

And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I [be] a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. ^{( g )} And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

^{( g )} He declares the power God's word has in the mouth of his servants, when they threaten God's judgments against the wicked.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:11

Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, ^{( h )} O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.

^{( h )} He spoke this in mockery, and therefore provoked God's wrath so much more.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:12

And Elijah answered and said unto them, ^{( i )} If I [be] a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

^{( i )} Meaning, that God would show by effect whether he was a true prophet or not.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:13

And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my ^{( k )} life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be ^{( l )} precious in thy sight.

^{( k )} Which humble myself before God and his servant.

^{( l )} That is, spare my life, and do not let me die as the other two.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:15

And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be ^{( m )} not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

^{( m )} Thus the Lord gives boldness to his, that they fear not the threatenings of tyrants, who otherwise of themselves are afraid to do God's message.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 1:17

So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And ^{( n )} Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.

^{( n )} Jehoshaphat going to battle against the Syrians, made his son Jehoram king in the 17th year of his reign: and in the 18th year which was the second year of his son, Jehoram the son of Ahab reigned in Israel: and in the fifth year of this Jehoram Jehoshaphat died, and the kingdom of Judah was confirmed to his son.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

MHCC: 2Ki 1:1-8

When Ahaziah rebelled against the Lord, Moab revolted from him. Sin weakens and impoverishes us. Man's revolt from God is often punished by the rebellion of those who owe subjection to him. Ahaziah fell through a lattice, or railing. Wherever we go, there is but a step between us and death. A man's house is his castle, but not to secure him against God's judgments. The whole creation, which groans under the burden of man's sin, will, at length, sink and break under the weight like this lattice. He is never safe that has God for his enemy. Those that will not inquire of the word of God for their comfort, shall hear it to their terror, whether they will or no.

MHCC: 2Ki 1:9-18

Elijah called for fire from heaven, to consume the haughty, daring sinners; not to secure himself, but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven, against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Elijah did this by a Divine impulse, yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to do the like, Luk 9:54. The dispensation of the Spirit and of grace by no means allowed it. Elijah was concerned for God's glory, those for their own reputation. The Lord judges men's practices by their principles, and his judgment is according to truth. The third captain humbled himself, and cast himself upon the mercy of God and Elijah. There is nothing to be got by contending with God; and those are wise for themselves, who learn submission from the fatal end of obstinacy in others. The courage of faith has often struck terror into the heart of the proudest sinner. So thunderstruck is Ahaziah with the prophet's words, that neither he, nor any about him, offer him violence. Who can harm those whom God shelters? Many who think to prosper in sin, are called hence like Ahaziah, when they do not expect it. All warns us to seek the Lord while he may be found.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 1:1-8

We have here Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, under God's rebukes both by his providence and by his prophet, by his rod and by his word.

I. He is crossed in his affairs. How can those expect to prosper that do evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoke him to anger? When he rebelled against God, and revolted from his allegiance to him, Moab rebelled against Israel, and revolted from the subjection that had long paid to the kings of Israel, 2Ki 1:1. The Edomites that bordered on Judah, and were tributaries to the kings of Judah, still continued so, as we find in the chapter before (v. 47), till, in the wicked reign of Joram, they broke that yoke (2Ki 8:22) as the Moabites did now. If men break their covenants with us, and neglect their duty, we must reflect upon our breach of covenant with God, and the neglect of our duty to him. Sin weakens and impoverishes us. We shall hear of the Moabites, 2Ki 3:5.

II. He is seized with sickness in body, not from any inward cause, but by a severe accident. He fell down through a lattice, and was much bruised with the fall; perhaps it threw him into a fever, 2Ki 3:2. Whatever we go, there is but a step between us and death. A man's house is his castle, but not to secure him against the judgments of God. The cracked lattice is a fatal to the son, when God pleases to make it so, as the bow drawn at a venture was to the father. Ahaziah would not attempt to reduce the Moabites, lest he should perish in the field of battle: but he is not safe, though he tarry at home. Royal palaces do not always yield firm footing. The snare is laid for the sinner in the ground where he thinks least of it, Job 18:9, Job 18:10. The whole creation, which groans under the man's sin, will at length sink and break under the weight, like this lattice. He is never safe that has God for his enemy.

III. In his distress he sends messengers to enquire of the god Ekron whether he should recover or no, 2Ki 1:2. And here, 1. His enquiry was very foolish: Shall I recover? Even nature itself would rather have asked, "What means may I use that I may recover?"But as one solicitous only to know his fortune, not to know his duty, his question is only this, Shall I recover? to which a little time would give an answer. We should be more thoughtful what will become of us after death than how, or when, or where, we shall die, and more desirous to be told how we may conduct ourselves well in our sickness, and get good to our souls by it, than whether we shall recover from it. 2. His sending to Baal-zebub was very wicked; to make a dead and dumb idol, perhaps newly erected (for idolaters were fond of new gods), his oracle, was not less a reproach to his reason than to his religion. Baal-zebub, which signifies the lord of a fly, was one of their Baals that perhaps gave his answers either by the power of the demons or the craft of the priests, with a humming noise, like that of a great fly, or that had (as they fancied) rid their country of the swarms of flies wherewith it was infested, or of some pestilential disease brought among them by flies. Perhaps this dunghill-deity was as famous then as the oracle of Delphos was, long afterwards, in Greece. In the New Testament the prince of the devils is called Beel-zebub (Mat 12:24), for the gods of the Gentiles were devils, and this perhaps grew to be one of the most famous.

IV. Elijah, by direction from God, meets the messengers, and turns them back with an answer that shall save them the labour of going to Ekron. Had Ahaziah sent for Elijah, humbled himself, and begged his prayers, he might have had an answer of peace; but if he send to the god of Ekron, instead of the God of Israel, this, like Saul's consulting the witch, shall fill the measure of his iniquity, and bring upon him a sentence of death. Those that will not enquire of the word of God for their comfort shall be made to hear it, whether they will or not, to their amazement.

1. He faithfully reproves his sin (2Ki 1:3): Is it not because there is not (that is, because you think there is not) a God in Israel ( because there is no God, none in Israel, so it may be read), that you go to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, a despicable town of the Philistines (Zec 9:7), long since vanquished by Israel? Here, (1.) The sin was bad enough, giving that honour to the devil which is due to God alone, which was done as much by their enquiries as by their sacrifices. Note, It is a very wicked thing, upon any occasion or pretence whatsoever, to consult with the devil. This wickedness reigned in the heathen world (Isa 47:12, Isa 47:13) and remains too much even in the Christian world, and the devil's kingdom is supported by it. (2.) The construction which Elijah, in God's name, puts upon it, makes it much worse: "It is because you think not only that the God of Israel is not able to tell you, but that there is no God at all in Israel, else you would not send so far for a divine answer."Note, A practical and constructive atheism is the cause and malignity of our departures from God. Surely we think there is no God in Israel when we live at large, make flesh our arm, and seek a portion in the things of this world.

2. He plainly reads his doom: Go, tell him he shall surely die, 2Ki 1:4. "Since he is so anxious to know his fate, this is it; let him make the best of it."The certain fearful looking for of judgment and indignation which this message must needs cause cannot but cut him to the heart.

V. The message being delivered to him by his servants, he enquires of them by whom it was sent to him, and concludes, by their description of him, that it must be Elijah, 2Ki 1:7, 2Ki 1:8. For, 1. His dress was the same that he had seen him in, in his father's court. He was clad in a hairy garment, and had a leathern girdle about him, was plain and homely in his garb. John Baptist, the Elias of the New Testament, herein resembled him, for his clothes were made of hair cloth, and he was girt with a leathern girdle, Mat 3:4. He that was clothed with the Spirit despised all rich and gay clothing. 2. His message was such as he used to deliver to his father, to whom he never prophesied good, but evil. Elijah is one of those witnesses that still torment the inhabitants of the earth, Rev 11:10. He that was a thorn in Ahab's eyes will be so in the eyes of his son while he treads in the steps of his father's wickedness; and he is ready to cry out, as his father did, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? Let sinners consider that the word which took hold of their fathers is still as quick and powerful as ever. See Zec 1:6; Heb 4:12.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 1:9-18

Here, I. The king issues out a warrant for the apprehending of Elijah. If the God of Ekron had told him he should die, it is probable he would have taken it quietly; but now that a prophet of the Lord tells him so, reproving him for his sin and reminding him of the God of Israel, he cannot bear it. So far is he from making any good improvement of the warning given him that he is enraged against the prophet; neither his sickness, nor the thoughts of death, made any good impressions upon him, nor possessed him with any fear of God. No external alarms will startle and soften secure sinners, but rather exasperate them. Did the king think Elijah a prophet, a true prophet? Why then durst he persecute him? Did he think him a common person? What occasion was there to send such a force, in order to seize him? Thus a band of men must take our Lord Jesus.

II. The captain that was sent with his fifty soldiers found Elijah on the top of a hill (some think Carmel), and commanded him, in the king's name, to surrender himself, 2Ki 1:9. Elijah was now so far from absconding, as formerly, into the close recesses of a cave, that he makes a bold appearance on the top of a hill; experience of God's protection makes him more bold. The captain calls him a man of God, not that he believed him to be so, or reverenced him a such a one, but because he was commonly called so. Had he really looked upon him as a prophet, he would not have attempted to make him his prisoner; and, had he thought him entrusted with the word of God, he would not have pretended to command him with the word of a king.

III. Elijah calls for fire from heaven, to consume this haughty daring sinner, not to secure himself (he could have done that some other way), nor to avenge himself (for it was not his own cause that he appeared and acted in), but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This captain had, in scorn, called him a man of God: "If I be so,"says Elijah, "thou shalt pay dearly for making a jest of it."He valued himself upon his commission (the king has said, Come down ), but Elijah will let him know that the God of Israel is superior to the king of Israel and has a greater power to enforce his commands. It was not long since Elijah had fetched fire from heaven, to consume the sacrifice (1Ki 18:38), in token of God's acceptance of that sacrifice as an atonement for the sins of the people; but, they having slighted that, now the fire falls, not on the sacrifice, but on the sinners themselves, 2Ki 1:10. See here, 1. What an interest the prophets had in heaven; what the Spirit of God in them demanded the power of God effected. Elijah did but speak, and it was done. He that formerly had fetched water from heaven now fetches fire. O the power of prayer! Concerning the work of my hands, command you me, Isa 14:11. 2. What an interest heaven had in the prophets! God was always ready to plead their cause, and avenge the injuries done to them; kings shall still be rebuked for their sakes, and charged to do his prophets no harm; one Elijah is more to God than 10,000 captains and their fifties. Doubtless Elijah did this by a divine impulse, and yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to draw it into a precedent, Luk 9:54. They were now not far from the place where Elias did this act of justice upon provoking Israelites, and would needs, in like manner, call for fire upon those provoking Samaritans. "No,"says Christ, "by no means, you know not what manner of spirit you are of, "that is, (1.) "You do not consider what manner of spirit, as disciples, you are called to, and how different from that of the Old Testament dispensation; it was agreeable enough to that dispensation of terror, and of the letter, for Elias to call for fire, but the dispensation of the Spirit and of grace will by no means allow it."(2.) "You are not aware what manner of spirit you are, upon this occasion, actuated by, and how different from that of Elias: he did it in holy zeal, you in passion; he was concerned for God's glory, you for your own reputation only."God judges men's practices by their principles, and his judgment is according to truth.

IV. This is repeated a second time; would one think it? 1. Ahaziah sends, a second time, to apprehend Elijah (2Ki 1:11), as if he were resolved not to be baffled by omnipotence itself. Obstinate sinners must be convinced and conquered, at last, by the fire of hell, for fire from heaven, it seems, will not subdue them. 2. Another captain is ready with his fifty, who, in his blind rage against the prophet, and his blind obedience to the king, dares engage in that service which had been fatal to the last undertakers. This is as impudent and imperious as the last, and more in haste; not only, " Come down quietly, and do not struggle,"but without taking any notice of what had been done, he says, " Come down quickly, and do not trifle, the king's business requires haste; come down, or I will fetch thee down."3. Elijah relents not, but calls for another flash of lightning, which instantly lays this captain and his fifty dead upon the spot. Those that will sin like others must expect to suffer like them; God is inflexibly just.

V. The third captain humbled himself and cast himself upon the mercy of God and Elijah. It does not appear that Ahaziah ordered him to do so (his stubborn heart is as hard as ever; so regardless is he of the terrors of the Lord, so little affected with the manifestations of his wrath, and withal so prodigal of the lives of his subjects, that he sends a third with the same provoking message to Elijah), but he took warning by the fate of his predecessors, who, perhaps, lay dead before his eyes; and, instead of summoning the prophet down, fell down before him, and begged for his life and the lives of his soldiers, acknowledging their own evil deserts and the prophet's power (2Ki 1:13, 2Ki 1:14): Let my life be precious in thy sight. Note, There is nothing to be got by contending with God: if we would prevail with him, it must be by supplication; if we would not fall before God, we must bow before him; and those are wise for themselves who learn submission from the fatal consequences of the obstinacy of others.

VI. Elijah does more than grant the request of this third captain. God is not so severe with those that stand it out against him but he is as ready to show mercy to those that repent and submit to him; never any found it in vain to cast themselves upon the mercy of God. This captain, not only has his life spared, but is permitted to carry his point: Elijah, being so commanded by the angel, goes down with him to the king, 2Ki 1:15. Thus he shows that he before refused to come, not because he feared the king or court, but because he would not be imperiously compelled, which would lessen the honour of his master; he magnifies his office. He comes boldly to the king, and tells him to his face (let him take it as he may) what he had before sent to him (2Ki 1:16), that he shall surely and shortly die; he mitigates not the sentence, either for fear of the king's displeasure or in pity to his misery. The God of Israel has condemned him, let him send to see whether the god of Ekron can deliver him. So thunder-struck is Ahaziah with this message, when it comes from the prophet's own mouth, that neither he nor any of those about him durst offer him any violence, nor so much as give him an affront; but out of that den of lions he comes unhurt, like Daniel. Who can harm those whom God will shelter?

Lastly, The prediction is accomplished in a few days. Ahaziah died (v. 17), and, dying childless, left his kingdom to his brother Jehoram. His father reigned wickedly twenty-two years, he not two. Sometimes the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power; but those who therefore promise themselves prosperity in impiety may perhaps find themselves deceived; for (as bishop Hall observes here), "Some sinners live long, to aggravate their judgment, others die soon, to hasten it;"but it is certain that evil pursues sinners, and, sooner or later, it will overtake them; nor will any thing fill the measure sooner than that complicated iniquity of Ahaziah - honouring the devil's oracles and hating God's oracles.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:1-8

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel (2Ki 1:1). The Moabites, who had been subjugated by David (2Sa 8:2), had remained tributary to the kingdom of the ten tribes after the division of the kingdom. but when Israel was defeated by the Syrians at Ramoth in the time of Ahab, they took advantage of this defeat and the weakening of the Israelitish power in the country to the east of the Jordan to shake off the yoke of the Israelites, and very soon afterwards attempted an invasion of the kingdom of Judah, in alliance with the Edomite and other tribes of the desert, which terminated, however, in a great defeat, though it contributed to the maintenance of their independence. For further remarks, see at 2Ki 3:4.

2Ki 1:2

Ahaziah could not do anything to subjugate the Moabites any further, since he was very soon afterwards taken grievously ill. He fell through the grating in his upper room at Samaria. השּׂבכה , the grating, is either a window furnished with a shutter of lattice-work, or a door of lattice-work in the upper room of the palace, but hardly a grating in the floor of the Aliyah for the purpose of letting light into the lower rooms, as the Rabbins supposed. On account of this misfortune, Ahaziah resorted to the Ekronitish Baalzebub to obtain an oracle concerning the result of his illness. בּעל־זבוּב , i.e., Fly-Baal, was not merely the "averter of swarms of insects,"like the Ζεὺς ἀπομυῖος, μυίαγρος of Elis (Ges., Winer, Movers, Phöniz . i. p. 175), since "the Fly-God cannot have received his name as the enemy of flies, like lucus a non lucendo ,"but was Μυῖα θεός (lxx, Joseph.), i.e., God represented as a fly, as a fly-idol, to which the name Myiodes , gnat-like, in Plin. h. n. xxix. 6, clearly points, and as a god of the sun and of summer must have stood in a similar relation to the flies to that of the oracle-god Apollo, who both sent diseases and took them away (vid., J. G. Müller, Art. Beelzebub in Herzog's Cycl . i. p. 768, and Stark, Gaza , pp. 260,261). The latter observes that "these (the flies), which are governed in their coming and going by all the conditions of the weather, are apparently endowed with prophetic power themselves."This explains the fact that a special power of prophecy was attributed to this god.

(Note: The later Jews altered the name Beelzebub into Βεελζεβούλ , i.e., probably lord of the (heavenly) dwelling, as a name given to the ἄρχων τῶν δαιμονίων (Mat 10:25, etc.); and the later Rabbins finally, by changing זבוּל בּעל into זבל בּעל , made a fly-god into a dung-god, to express in the most intense form their abomination of idolatry (see Lightfoot, Horae hebr. et talm. in Mat 12:24, and my Bibl. Archäol. i. pp. 440,441).)

Ekron , now Akir , the most northerly of the five Philistine capitals (see at Jos 13:3).

2Ki 1:3-4

But the angel of the Lord, the mediator of the revelations made by the invisible God to the covenant nation (see Comm. on the Pentateuch , vol. i. pp. 185-191, transl.), had spoken to Elijah to go and meet the king's messengers, who were going to inquire of Baalzebub, and to ask them whether it was from the want of a God in Israel ( אין מבּלי as in Exo 14:11; see Ewald, §323, a .) that they turned to Baalzebub, and to announce to them the word of Jehovah, that Ahaziah would not rise up from his bed again, but would die. "And Elijah went,"sc. to carry out the divine commission.

2Ki 1:5-8

The messengers did not recognise Elijah, but yet they turned back and reported the occurrence to the king, who knew at once, from the description they gave of the habitus of the man in reply to his question, that it was Elijah the Tishbite . האישׁ משׁפּט מה : "what was the manner of the man?" משׁפּט is used here to denote the peculiarity of a person, that which in a certain sense constitutes the vital law and right of the individual personality; figura et habitus (Vulg.). The servants described the prophet according to his outward appearance, which in a man of character is a reflection of his inner man, as שׂער בּעל אישׁ , vir pilosus, hirsutus . This does not mean a man with a luxuriant growth of hair, but refers to the hairy dress, i.e., the garment made of sheep-skin or goat-skin or coarse camel-hair, which was wrapped round his body; the אדּרת (2Ki 2:8; 1Ki 19:13), or שׂער אדּרת (Zec 13:4, cf. Mat 3:4; Heb 11:37), which was worn by the prophets, not as mere ascetics, but as preachers of repentance, the rough garment denoting the severity of the divine judgments upon the effeminate nation, which revelled in luxuriance and worldly lust. And this was also in keeping with "the leather girdle," עור אזור , ζώνη δερματίνη (Mat 3:4), whereas the ordinary girdle was of cotton or linen, and often very costly.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:9-10

After having executed the divine command, Elijah returned to the summit of the mountain, on which he dwelt. Most of the commentators suppose it to have been one of the peaks of Carmel, from 2Ki 2:25 and 1Ki 18:42, which is no doubt very probable, though it cannot be raised into certainty. Elijah's place of abode was known to the king; he therefore sent a captain with fifty men to fetch the prophet. To the demand of the captain, "Man of God, the king has said, Come down,"Elijah replied, "And if I am a man of God, let fire fall from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty."(The expression ואם , and if, shows that Elijah's words followed immediately upon those of the captain.) This judicial miracle was immediately fulfilled.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:11-12

The same fate befell a second captain, whom the king sent after the death of the first. He was more insolent than the first, "both because he was not brought to his senses by hearing of his punishment, and because he increased his impudence by adding make haste ( מהרה )."- C. a Lap. For וידבּר ויּען the lxx ( Cod. Alex .) have καὶ ἀνέβη καὶ ἐλάλησε , so that they read ויּעל . The correctness of this reading, according to which ויּען would be an error of the pen, is favoured not only by ויּעל in 2Ki 1:9 and 2Ki 1:13, but also by וידבּר which follows; for, as a general rule, ויּען would be followed by ויּאמר . The repetition of this judicial miracle was meant to show in the most striking manner not only the authority which rightfully belonged to the prophet, but also the help and protection which the Lord gave to His servants. At the same time, the question as to the "morality of the miracle,"about which some have had grave doubts, is not set at rest by the remark of Thenius, that "the soldiers who were sent come into consideration here purely as instruments of a will acting in opposition to Jehovah."The third captain also carried out he ungodly command of the king, and he was not slain (2Ki 1:13.). The first two must therefore have been guilty of some crime, which they and their people had to expiate with their death. This crime did not consist merely in their addressing him as "man of God,"for the third addressed Elijah in the same way (2Ki 1:13), but in their saying "Man of God, come down."This summons to the prophet, to allow himself to be led as a prisoner before the king, involved a contempt not only of the prophetic office in the person of Elijah, but also of the Lord, who had accredited him by miracles as His servant. The two captains who were first sent not only did what they were bound to do as servants of the king, but participated in the ungodly disposition of their lord ( συμβαίνοντες τῷ σκοπῷ τοῦ πεπομφότος - Theodoret); they attacked the Lord with reckless daring in the person of the prophet, and the second captain, with his "Come down quickly,"did it even more strongly than the first. This sin was punished, and that not by the prophet, but by the Lord Himself, who fulfilled the word of His servant.

(Note: Οἱ τοῦ προφήτου κατηγοροῦντες κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ προφήτου κινοῦσι τὰς γλώττας , as Theodoret very aptly observes.)

What Elijah here did was an act of holy zeal for the honour of the Lord, in the spirit of the old covenant, under which God destroyed the insolent despisers of His name with fire and sword, to manifest the energy of His holy majesty by the side of the dead idols of the heathen. But this act cannot be transferred to the times of the new covenant, as is clearly shown in Luk 9:54-55, where Christ does not blame Elijah for what he did, but admonishes His disciples, who overlooked the difference between the economy of the law and that of the gospel, and in their carnal zeal wanted to imitate what Elijah had done in divine zeal for the honour of the Lord, which had been injured in his own person.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:13-14

The king, disregarding the punishing hand of the Lord, which, even if it might possibly have been overlooked in the calamity that befell the captain who was first sent and his company, could not be misunderstood when a similar fate befell the second captain with his fifty men, sent a third company, in his defiant obduracy, to fetch the prophet. ( שׁלשׁים after חמשּׁים is apparently an error of the pen for שׁלישׁי , as the following word השּׁלישׁי shows). But the third captain was better than his king, and wiser than his two predecessors. He obeyed the command of the king so far as to go to the prophet; but instead of haughtily summoning him to follow him, he bent his knee before the man of God, and prayed that his own life and the lives of his soldiers might be spared.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:15-16

Then Elijah followed him to the king ( מפּניו , before him, i.e., before the king, not before the captain; and אתו for ?????? , see Ewald, §264, b .), having been directed to do so by the angel of the Lord, and repeated to him the word of the Lord, which he had also conveyed to him through his messengers (see 2Ki 1:4 and 2Ki 1:6).

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 1:17-18

When Ahaziah died, according to the word of the Lord through Elijah, as he had no son, he was followed upon the throne by his brother Joram, "in the second year of Joram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah."This statement is at variance both with that in 2Ki 3:1, to the effect that Joram began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, and with that in 1Ki 22:52, viz., that Ahaziah ascended the throne in the seventeenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, which lasted twenty-five years, and also with the statement in 2Ki 8:16, that Joram of Judah became king over Judah in the fifth year of Joram of Israel. If, for example, Ahaziah of Israel died after a reign of not quite two years, at the most a year and a half, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat; as Jehoshaphat himself reigned twenty-five years, he cannot have died till the seventh year of Joram of Israel, and his son Joram followed him upon the throne. The last of these discrepancies may be solved very simply, from the fact that, according to 2Ki 8:16, Jehoshaphat was still king when his son Joram began to reign so that Jehoshaphat abdicated in favour of his son about two years before his death. And the first discrepancy (that between 2Ki 1:17 and 1Ki 3:1) is removed by Usher ( Annales M. ad a.m. 3106 and 3112), Lightfoot, and others, after the example of the Seder Olam , by the assumption of the co-regency. According to this, when Jehoshaphat went with Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead to war against the Syrians, in the eighteenth year of his reign, which runs parallel to the twenty-second year of the reign of Ahab, he appointed his son Joram to the co-regency, and transferred to him the administration of the kingdom. It is from this co-regency that the statement in 2Ki 1:17 is dated, to the effect that Joram of Israel became king in the second year of Joram of Judah. This second year of the co-regency of Joram corresponds to the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat (2Ki 3:1). And in the fifth year of his co-regency Jehoshaphat gave up the reins of government entirely to him. It is from this point in time, i.e., from the twenty-third year of Jehoshaphat, that we are to reckon the eight years of the reign of Joram (of Judah), so that he only reigned six years more after his father's death.

(Note: Wolff indeed boldly declares that "the co-regency of Joram is a pure fiction, and the biblical historians do not furnish the slightest warrant for any such supposition"(see p. 628 of the treatise mentioned at p. 187); but he cannot think of any other way of reconciling the differences than by making several alterations in the text, and inventing a co-regency in the case of the Israelitish king Ahaziah. The synchronism of the reigns of the Israelitish kings necessarily requires the solution adopted in the text. For if Joram of Israel, who began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat and reigned twelve years (2Ki 3:1), was slain at the same time as Ahaziah of Judah (2Ki 9:24-27), and Ahaziah of Judah reigned about one year and his predecessor Joram about eight years, so that the two together certainly reigned fully eight years; Joram of Judah must have ascended the throne four years after Joram of Israel, i.e., in the twenty-third year of Jehoshaphat, which runs parallel to the fifty year of Joram of Israel. Consequently the twenty-five years of Jehoshaphat are to be reduced to twenty-three in reckoning the sum-total of the years embraced by the period of the kings. It is true that there is no analogy for this combination of the years of the reigns of two kings, since the other reductions of which different chronologists are fond are perfectly arbitrary, and the case before us stands quite alone; but this exception to the rule is indicated clearly enough in the statement in 2Ki 8:16, that Joram began to reign while Jehoshaphat was (still) king. When, however, Thenius objects to this mode of reconciling the differences, which even Winer adopts in the third edition of his bibl. Real-Wörterbuch , i. p. 539, on the ground that the reign of Joram is dated most precisely in 1Ki 22:51 and 2Ch 21:1, 2Ch 21:5,2Ch 21:20, from the death of Jehoshaphat, and that an actual co-regency, viz., that of Jotham, is expressly mentioned in 2Ki 15:5, which does not render it at all necessary to carry the years of his reign into those of his father's, this appeal to the case of Jotham cannot prove anything, for the simple reason that the biblical text knows nothing of any co-regency of Jotham and Uzziah, but simply states that when Uzziah was smitten with leprosy, his son Jotham judged the people of the land, but that he did not become king till after his father's death (2Ki 15:5, 2Ki 15:7; 2Ch 26:21, 2Ch 26:23). It is indeed stated in 1Ki 22:51 and 2Ch 26:1, 2Ch 26:5,2Ch 26:20, that Jehoshaphat died and his son Joram became king, which may be understood as meaning that he did not become king till after the death of Jehoshaphat; but there is no necessity to understand it so, and therefore it can be very easily reconciled with the more precise statement in 2Ki 8:16, that Joram ascended the throne during the reign of Jehoshaphat, whereas the assertion of Thenius, that the circumstantial clause יהוּדה מלך ויהושׁפט in 2Ki 8:16 is a gloss, is not critically established by the absence of these words from the lxx, Syr., and Arabic, and to expunge them from the text is nothing but an act of critical violence.)

We have no information as to the reason which induced Jehoshaphat to abdicate in favour of his son two years before his death; for there is very little probability in the conjecture of Lightfoot ( Opp . i. p. 85), that Jehoshaphat did this when he commenced the war with the Moabites in alliance with Joram of Israel, for the simple reason that the Moabites revolted after the death of Ahab, and Joram made preparations for attacking them immediately after their rebellion (2Ki 3:5-7), so that he must have commenced this expedition before the fifth year of his reign.

Constable: 2Ki 1:1-18

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel 1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:1-18 (continued)

Second Kings begins with Ahaziah's reign that fell during the 33-year period of Israel and Judah's alliance (874-841 B.C.; -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29). This period in turn fits within the larger context of the divided kingdom (931-722 B.C.; -1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17).²

"The typical Syrian upper balcony was enclosed with a jointed wood lattice-work that, while suitable for privacy, could easily be broken."³

One of the results of Ahaziah's decision to follow his father Ahab's idolatrous example (1 Kings 22:52-53) was that during his tenure Israel lost some of its control of Moab (v. 1; 3:5). It had held this since Omri's reign at least.⁴ King Mesha of Moab's rebellion was not completely effective at first, but later it proved successful.

We can see Ahaziah's failure to acknowledge his position under Yahweh, Israel's true King, in his seeking advice from a false god (v. 2; cf. 1 Kings 22:8). Ekron was on the Philistine border southwest of Samaria. Why would Ahaziah send to Philistia to inquire of Baal since Baalism was rampant in Israel? He may have done so to keep his illness a secret from his political enemies. Furthermore the Baal religious center had a reputation for divination and soothsaying (cf. 1 Sam. 6:2, Isa. 2:6). In addition, Ekron was not far from Samaria.

The angel of the Lord here (v. 3) was perhaps the preincarnate Christ (Gen. 16:9; 1 Kings 19:7; 2 Kings 19:35; et al.). Premature death was God's punishment for the king's insubordination (v. 4; cf. Saul). The people in the courts of Samaria knew Elijah well, of course (v. 8).

Ahaziah showed complete contempt for God's prophet and Yahweh, whom he represented, by sending soldiers to arrest Elijah. He apparently wanted to get a reversal of the prophecy against him and resorted to massive force to secure it.⁵ "Man of God" means prophet (v. 9; et al.). Elijah replied that he was indeed a servant of God. For this reason the king should have submitted to him. The issue in this thrice-repeated confrontation was, who is in charge and has more power, Yahweh or Ahaziah (cf. 1 Kings 18)? Fire from heaven settled the controversy (v. 10; et al.; cf. 1 Kings 18:38; Luke 9:54-56). The third captain took the proper humble approach to God's prophet (vv. 13-14).

It is probable that Baal-zebub means "lord of the flies" bringing pestilence to mind.⁶ However it may mean "lord of the flame.⁷ If it means the latter, God may have been demonstrating His superiority to Baal as He had done previously on Mt. Carmel by sending fire from heaven. This time He did so to consume the soldiers (1 Kings 18:38).

"The issue is still the same as at Carmel."⁸

Ahaziah died as Elijah had announced as punishment for his failure to submit to Yahweh's authority over His people (v. 17). Since he had no son to succeed him--note the fertility motif--his brother Jehoram became Israel's next king (v. 18). There was also a contemporary king of Judah named Jehoram. The NIV translators have kept these two men distinct by spelling the Israelite king's name "Joram," a variant spelling, and the Judahite king's name "Jehoram."

God judged Ahaziah for his idolatry economically (1 Kings 22:47-48; cf. 2 Chron. 20:36-37), politically (v. 1), and personally (v. 2).

Guzik: 2Ki 1:1-18 - Ahaziah and Elijah

2 Kings 1 - Ahaziah and Elijah

A. Ahaziah's injury.

1. (1-2) Ahaziah seeks Baal-Zebub.

Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury."

a. Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab: The reign of Ahab was a spiritual disaster for the northern kingdom, but it was a time of political security and economic prosperity. After his death the kingdom of Moab found a good opportunity to remove their nation from the domination of Israel.

i. "Their land was immediately east of the Dead Sea and shared an indefinite border with Israel to the north at approximately the point where the Jordan River enters the Dead Sea." (Dilday)

ii. Moab had been under Israelite domination since the days of David (2 Samuel 8:2 and 8:11-12). This rebellion of Moab in the days of Ahaziah is significant of the decline of Israel's power and the judgment of God.

b. Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria: This was surely an unexpected crisis. Such accidents happen to kings and peasants both.

i. "The king apparently leaned against the wooden screen and fell through from the second-floor balcony to the ground below." (Dilday)

c. Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury: Ahaziah showed that he was a true worshipper of the pagan god Baal-Zebub because he turned to this god in his time of trouble.

i. "This could suggest that Baal-Zebub was a god who warded off plagues that were brought on by flies. There are numerous references to 'fly gods' in classical literature." (Dilday)

ii. "He was the local god of Ekron, and probably was used at first to drive away flies. Afterwards, he became a very respectable devil, and was supposed to have great power and influence. In the New Testament, Beelzebub is a common name for Satan himself, or the prince of devils" (Adam Clarke)

iii. "Men love the gods that are most like unto themselves, so it is not surprising to see Ahaziah sending to this miserable Philistine god." (Knapp)

2. (3-4) Elijah's message to Ahaziah.

But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' Now therefore, thus says the LORD: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah departed.

a. Is it because there is no God in Israel: There is little doubt that King Ahaziah believed that Yahweh lived, but he lived as if there were no God in Israel. He was a practical atheist, and the way he sought Baal-Zebub instead of the LORD demonstrated this.

b. You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die: Ahaziah did not seek help from the real God; therefore he will get no real help. Instead this will be an occasion for the real God to send a message of judgment to King Ahaziah.

i. According to Wiseman, when ancients sought their gods about medical issues, "The result was usually given in medical prognostic texts is 'he will live/die' as in verses 6, 16 (you will certainly die)." This means that Elijah's words but you shall surely die were phrased as a medical diagnosis. It was as if Elijah said, "Here's your diagnosis Ahaziah: You condition is fatal and irreversible."

ii. In fact, this was a mercy to Ahaziah. God told him something that few people know - that his death was imminent and that he had time to repent and prepare to meet God.

iii. This prophetic announcement might also explain why Ahaziah did not want to seek an answer from the LORD: he knew what the answer would be. In seeking Baal-Zebub for an answer, Ahaziah may have wanted to find a god to tell him what he wanted to hear.

3. (5-8) The messengers return to Ahaziah.

And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?" So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " ' " Then he said to them, "What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?" So they answered him, "A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."

a. A man came up to meet us: Though they were sent to seek a word from the pagan priests of Baal-Zebub, the word from Elijah persuaded them so much that they didn't follow through on their original mission.

i. "This official delegation from the king would certainly not have turned back from their royal assignment just because some anonymous wayfarer asked them to. There must have been an irresistible quality to Elijah's personality, a forceful spiritual presence, that compelled them to obey this stranger even though they didn't know who he was." (Dilday)

b. What kind of man was it who came up to meet you: Ahaziah clearly suspected it was the Prophet Elijah who spoke this word. His suspicion was confirmed when the man was described as a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.

i. The Hebrew words translated hairy man literally mean, "possessor of hair." "This description more than likely refers to the hairy animal skins he wore clinched around his waist with a leather belt." (Dilday)

ii. Identifying Elijah by his clothes also connected him to the ministry of John the Baptist, who dressed in hairy skins from animals (Matthew 3:4). When the priests and Levites saw him they asked, "Are you Elijah?" (John 1:19-21)

iii. "Either because Elijah had much hair on his dead and face, or because, as a prophet, he wore a rough garment (Zechariah 13:4), as a pattern of repentance." (Trapp)

B. Elijah appears before Ahaziah.

1. (9-10) Judgment comes upon the arresting soldiers.

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!'" So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

a. The king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men: This should have been plenty of men to capture one prophet. Clearly, Ahaziah sent more men than were normally required.

b. Man of God, the king has said, "Come down!": The captain here admitted the righteousness of Elijah when he called him "Man of God." Therefore they were wrong in doing this, even though they were on orders from their king.

i. The Bible clearly teaches that we owe submission to the government and governing authorities (Romans 13:1-2). Yet in the human sphere, the Biblical command to submit is never absolute, but always conditioned by the greater responsibility to submit to God (Acts 5:29). This commander should have resisted the ungodly and immoral command from King Ahaziah and obeyed God instead. His fifty men should have refused to obey the ungodly and immoral command of their captain.

c. If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven: Elijah put the issue in stark contrast. If he really were a man of God, then the captain and his men were on an ungodly and immoral mission. Since Elijah could not bring down fire from heaven without Divine approval, he asked God to evaluate these men and their rightness of their actions against God's prophet.

i. "Either they did not hold him to be a prophet, or they gloried in putting the power of their master above that of Jehovah. In any case, the insult was less against Elijah than Elijah's God." (Meyer)

ii. Elijah did not say, "You bet I am a man of God." Instead, he answered If I am a man of God. Essentially Elijah said, "You say I am a man of God even though you are not acting like it. Maybe I am and maybe I am not. Let's let God decide by fire."

iii. "Some have blamed the prophet for destroying these men, by bringing down fire from heaven upon them. But they do not consider that it was no more possible for Elijah to bring down fire from heaven, than for them to do it. God alone could send the fire; and as he is just and good, he would not have destroyed these men had there not been a sufficient cause to justify the act." (Clarke)

d. Fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty: God brought judgment on these men who acted as if Yahweh was not a real God and as if Elijah was not truly His servant.

i. The captain commanded Elijah to "Come down!" The man of God didn't come down, but the fire of God did.

ii. "It must be noted that the demand made of Elijah were wrong. A king had no right to ask such allegiance and his actions should always be subordinate to God's word. God was protecting his word and his servant." (Wiseman)

2. (11-12) Judgment also comes upon a second captain.

Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: "Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!' " So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

a. Man of God, thus has the king said: The second captain repeated the same error as the first captain, but with even more guilt because he knew what happened to the first captain. The judgment upon the first group should have warned this second captain and his fifty men.

i. The specific request of the second captain (Come down quickly!) shows that the second captain made his request even more bold and demanding.

ii. The people and leaders of Israel had gone after pagan gods so long that they could not distinguish between the imaginary, impotent gods of the pagan world and Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel. They thought that Yahweh was just as powerless as their own useless gods.

b. If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men: Elijah left the matter in God's hands, and God again responded in dramatic judgment.

3. (13-15) The third captain comes in humility and Elijah goes with him.

Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: "Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight." And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king.

a. Fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him: The third captain approached his mission in a completely different manner. He came to Elijah humbly, recognizing that he really was a Man of God. Perhaps the third captain looked at the two blackened spots of scorched earth nearby before he spoke to Elijah.

b. Go down with him; do not be afraid of him: It wasn't that God did not want Elijah to go to King Ahaziah; it was that Ahaziah, his captains, and their soldiers all acted as if there were no God in Israel. When the request was made wisely and humbly, Elijah went.

i. There were many reasons why Ahaziah wanted to arrest Elijah, even though he already heard the prophecy through Elijah. Perhaps he wanted Elijah to reverse his word of doom and would use force to compel him to do it. Perhaps he just wanted to show his rage against this prophet who had troubled him and his father Ahab for so long. Perhaps he wanted to dramatically silence Elijah to discourage future prophets from speaking boldly against the King of Israel. God assured Elijah that he had nothing to fear from Ahaziah.

4. (16) Elijah delivers the same message to Ahaziah.

Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'"

a. Is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? This was the same message Elijah gave to the men Ahaziah sent to inquire of Baal-Zebub. The message from God did not change just because Ahaziah didn't want to hear it the first time.

5. (17-18) Ahaziah dies and leaves no successor.

So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

a. So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken: The proof was in the result. Elijah was demonstrated to be a man of God because his prophecy was fulfilled just as spoken. Ahaziah did not recover from his fall through the lattice.

i. "Everything he did was weak, faithless, and miserable; he achieved nothing but ruin and failure. He let Moab rebel. He hurt himself in a clumsy accident. He foolishly attempted to use military force against Elijah. And worse, he sought help in the wrong place - in Philistia at the altar of a pagan god." (Dilday)

b. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king: This Jehoram was also the son of Ahab (2 Kings 3:1) and therefore the brother of Ahaziah. Ahaziah had no descendent to pass the kingdom to, so the throne went to his brother after the brief reign of Ahaziah.

i. The account becomes a little confusing here, because there the King of Judah at that time was also named Jehoram (the son of Jehoshaphat).

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 2 Kings (Garis Besar)

• MOAB REBELS. (2Ki 1:1)
• AHAZIAH'S JUDGMENT BY ELIJAH. (2Ki 1:2-8)
• ELIJAH BRINGS FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON AHAZIAH'S MESSENGERS. (2Ki 1:9-16)
• AHAZIAH DIES, AND IS SUCCEEDED BY JEHORAM. (2Ki 1:17-18)
• ELIJAH DIVINES JORDAN. (2Ki 2:1-10)
• HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (2Ki 2:11-18)
• ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2Ki 2:19-25)
• JEHORAM'S EVIL REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 3:1-3)
• MESHA, KING OF MOAB, REBELS. (2Ki 3:4-5)
• ELISHA PROMISES WATER AND VICTORY OVER MOAB. (2Ki. 3:6-24)
• ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (2Ki 4:1-7)
• PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (2Ki 4:8-17)
• RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
• PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (2Ki 4:38-41)
• SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (2Ki 4:42-44)
• NAAMAN'S LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:1-7)
• ELISHA SENDS HIM TO JORDAN, AND HE IS HEALED. (2Ki 5:8-15)
• ELISHA REFUSES NAAMAN'S GIFTS. (2Ki 5:15-19)
• GEHAZI, BY A LIE, OBTAINS A PRESENT, BUT IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:20-27)
• ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (2Ki 6:1-7)
• DISCLOSES THE KING OF SYRIA'S COUNSEL. (2Ki 6:8-17)
• HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (2Ki 6:18-23)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (2Ki 6:24-33)
• ELISHA PROPHESIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA. (2Ki. 7:1-16)
• THE UNBELIEVING LORD TRODDEN TO DEATH. (2Ki 7:17-20)
• THE SHUNAMMITE'S LAND RESTORED. (2Ki 8:1-6)
• HAZAEL KILLS HIS MASTER, AND SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:7-15)
• JEHORAM'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 8:16-23)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:24)
• JEHU IS ANOINTED. (2Ki. 9:1-23)
• AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (2Ki 9:27-35)
• JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. (2Ki 9:36-37)
• JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
• HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Ki 10:18-29)
• JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (2Ki 11:1-3)
• HE IS MADE KING. (2Ki 11:4-12)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ki 11:13-16)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (2Ki 11:17-20)
• JEHOASH REIGNS WELL WHILE JEHOIADA LIVED. (2Ki. 12:1-18)
• HE IS SLAIN. (2Ki 12:19-21)
• JEHOAHAZ'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 13:1-7)
• JOASH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki. 13:8-25)
• AMAZIAH'S GOOD REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 14:1-6)
• HE SMITES EDOM. (2Ki 14:7)
• JOASH DEFEATS HIM. (2Ki 14:8-16)
• HE IS SLAIN BY A CONSPIRACY. (2Ki 14:17-20)
• AZARIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 14:21-22)
• JEROBOAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 14:23-29)
• AZARIAH'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:1-7)
• ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 15:8-16)
• MENAHEM'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:17-21)
• PEKAHIAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:22-24)
• PEKAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:27-31)
• JOTHAM'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:32-38)
• AHAZ' WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki. 16:1-16)
• HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 16:17-19)
• HOSHEA'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 17:1-6)
• SAMARIA TAKEN, AND ISRAEL FOR THEIR SINS CARRIED CAPTIVE. (2Ki. 17:7-41)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 18:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37)
• SENNACHERIB BESIEGES JERUSALEM. (2Ki. 18:17-37)
• HEZEKIAH IN DEEP AFFLICTION. (2Ki 19:1-5)
• COMFORTED BY ISAIAH. (2Ki 19:6-7)
• SENNACHERIB SENDS A BLASPHEMOUS LETTER TO HEZEKIAH. (2Ki 19:8-13)
• HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. (2Ki. 19:14-34)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ki 19:35-36)
• SENNACHERIB SLAIN. (2Ki 19:37)
• HEZEKIAH'S LIFE LENGTHENED. (2Ki 20:1-7)
• THE SUN GOES TEN DEGREES BACKWARD. (2Ki 20:8-20)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)
• AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 21:19-26)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 22:1-2)
• HE PROVIDES FOR THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 22:3-7)
• HILKIAH FINDS THE BOOK OF THE LAW. (2Ki 22:8-15)
• JOSIAH CAUSES THE LAW TO BE READ. (2Ki 23:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
• JEHOIAKIM PROCURES HIS OWN RUIN. (2Ki 24:1-7)
• JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 24:8-9)
• JERUSALEM TAKEN. (2Ki 24:10-16)
• ZEDEKIAH'S EVIL REIGN. (2Ki 24:17-20)
• JERUSALEM AGAIN BESIEGED. (2Ki 25:1-3)
• ZEDEKIAH TAKEN. (2Ki. 25:4-30)

TSK: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The events detailed in these books (Kings) are highly interesting and important. The account of the wisdom, magnificence, and extended commerce of Solomon; the rash and impolitic conduct of Rehoboam; the disobedient prophet; the widow of Zarephath; Elijah and the prophets of Baal; Ben-hadad’s pride and defeat; Elijah’s assumption into heaven; Elisha’s succession to his ministry, and the series of illustrious miracles he performed; the panic flight of the Syrians; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael; and the predicted death of Ahab and Jezebel, and their children, are all pregnant with instruction, and have furnished themes for frequent dissertation. We perceive in these impressive histories the characters and qualities of men painted with the utmost fidelity, and the attributes of God displayed with great effect. we contemplate the exact accomplishment of God’s promises and threatenings, the wisdom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of his government. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with pleasure in filling up the striking outlines presented to our view. The authenticity of these books is attested by the prophecies they contain, which were subsequently fulfilled; by the citation of our Saviour and his Apostles; by their universal reception by the Jewish and Christian churches; and by the corresponding testimonies of profane authors and ancient sculptures.

TSK: 2 Kings 1 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

2Ki 1:1, Moab rebels; 2Ki 1:2, Ahaziah, sending to Baal-zebub, hath his judgment by Elijah; 2Ki 1:5, Elijah twice brings fire from heaven upon them whom Ahaziah sent to apprehend him; 2Ki 1:13, He pities the third captain, and, encouraged by an angel, tells the king of his death; 2Ki 1:17, Jehoram succeeds Ahaziah.

Poole: 2 Kings 1 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS COMMONLY CALLED ,

THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE KINGS

2 KINGS CHAPTER 1

Moab rebelleth against Israel, 2Ki 1:1 . Ahaziah being sick sendeth to Baal-zebub; Elijah foretelleth his death, 2Ki 1:2-4 . Ahaziah hearing it, sendeth twice captains of fifty, to bring Elijah to him; upon whom he bringeth fire from heaven, 2Ki 1:5-12 . The third captain entreateth Elijah; who, encouraged by an angel, goeth and telleth the king of his death, 2Ki 1:13-16 . Jehoram succeedeth him, 2Ki 1:17,18 .

Moab which had been subdued by David, 2Sa 8:2 , as Edom was; and upon the division of this kingdom into two Moab was adjoined to that of Israel, and Edom to that of Judah, each to that kingdom upon which it bordered. And when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were weak and forsaken by God, they took that opportunity to revolt from them; Moab here, and Edom a little after it.

MHCC: 2 Kings 1 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(2Ki 1:1-8) The revolt of Moab-Sickness of Ahaziah, king of Israel.

(2Ki 1:9-18) Fire called from heaven by Elijah-Death of Ahaziah.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Kings

This second book of the Kings (which the Septuagint, numbering from Samuel, called the fourth ) is a continuation of the former book; and, some think, might better have been made to begin with the fifty-first verse of the foregoing chapter, where the reign of Ahaziah begins. The former book had an illustrious beginning, in the glories of the kingdom of Israel, when it was entire; this has a melancholy conclusion, in the desolations of the kingdoms of Israel first, and then of Judah, after they had been long broken into two: for a kingdom divided against itself cometh to destruction. But, as Elijah's mighty works were very much the glory of the former book, towards the latter end of it, so were Elisha's the glory of this, towards the beginning of it. These prophets out-shone their princes; and therefore, as far as they go, the history shall be accounted for in them. Here is, I. Elijah fetching fire from heaven and ascending in fire to heaven, ch. 1 and 2. II. Elisha working many miracles, both for prince and people, Israelites and foreigners, ch. 3-7. III. Hazael and Jehu anointed, the former for the correction of Israel, the latter for the destruction of the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, ch. 8-10. IV. The reign of several of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, ch. 11-16. V. The captivity of the ten tribes, ch. 17. VI. The good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, ch. 18-20. VII. Manassah's wicked reign, and Josiah's good one, ch. 21-23. VIII. The destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, ch. 24 and 25. This history, in the several passages of it, confirms that observation of Solomon, That righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings 1 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

We here find Ahaziah, the genuine son and successor of Ahab, on the throne of Israel. His reign continued not two years; he died by a fall in his own house, of which, after the mention of the revolt of Moab (2Ki 1:1), we have here an account. I. The message which, on that occasion, he sent to the god of Ekron (2Ki 1:2). II. The message he received from the God of Israel (2Ki 1:3-8). III. The destruction of the messengers he sent to seize the prophet, once and again (2Ki 1:9-12). IV. His compassion to, and compliance with, the third messenger, upon his submission, and the delivery of the message to the king himself (2Ki 1:13-16). IV. The death of Ahaziah (2Ki 1:17, 2Ki 1:18). In the story we may observe how great the prophet looks and how little the prince.

Constable: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Second Kings continues the narrative begun in 1 Kings. It opens with the translation of godly Elijah to heaven and closes with the transportation of the ungodly Jews to Babylon. For discussion of title, writer, date, and scope of 2 Kings, see the introductory section in my notes on 1 Kings.

Message¹

Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.

First Kings emphasizes the facts of these thrones. The earthly throne consistently failed, but the heavenly throne consistently prevailed. Second Kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of God.

The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of God comes through the pre-exilic prophets who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 Kings. These prophets were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah in Israel. In Judah they were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Notice first the revelation of this book concerning human failure.

The reason the nations failed was the people lost their vision of Yahweh. We can see this quite clearly in the attitudes and actions of the kings. Most of the kings were evil because they had no vision of the throne in heaven. They did not appreciate their position under God. A few of them were good, but even these fell short of the standard of devotion to God that David had set. Some of them conducted reforms, but none of them removed the places of pagan worship in the land (the "high places"). Essentially they conducted state business with little concern for God. Idolatry and foreign alliances are the evidence that the people lacked a vision of God. Another evidence of this is the people's inability to perceive their national setbacks as divine discipline. The prophets were constantly trying to help the people see this.

The method by which the nations failed was the people forgot their national vocation. They developed, on the one hand, an improper exclusiveness. They did not believe God could have any pity or mercy on any other people but themselves. Jonah demonstrated this attitude. On the other hand, they failed to be exclusive as God meant them to be. They formed alliances with other nations contrary to God's will. God intended His people to be a blessing to all other people and to trust in Him alone. The people not only lost their vision of God, they also lost their vision of their own vocation as a unique nation in the world (Exod. 19:5).

The evidence that the nations failed was the people lost their spiritual sensitivity. It is amazing but true that the ministry of the writing prophets that occupies so much space in the Old Testament was very ineffective in their own day (e.g., Isa. 53:1). The religious reformations that did take place were fairly superficial (cf. 2 Kings 22:8-20). When Hezekiah began his reform it took 16 days simply to carry the accumulated rubbish out of the temple (2 Chron. 29:17). In Josiah's day not even one copy of the Law was available until someone discovered one among the debris in the temple. When the people heard it read they were completely unfamiliar with it (2 Chron. 34:14-21).

Notice too in this book the revelation concerning the victory of God. There is much evidence of this as well.

The reason for God's victory is traceable to His promise, with an oath, to bless Abraham's descendants (Gen. 22:16-18). He will allow nothing to keep Him from fulfilling that promise. His covenant with Abraham underlies all of His dealings with the Israelites that this book documents. Remember that the Davidic Covenant grew out of the Abrahamic Covenant. God's covenants rested on His love.

The method by which God accomplished victory was by using the prophets as His messengers to communicate with His people and by using direct intervention to control their history.

The evidence of God's victory is the continued existence of the physical seed of Abraham. The Jews still exist today. Arnold Toynbe, the historian, called the Jews a fossil race. God has preserved them to fulfill His purposes on the earth. So even though they failed Him, He has not failed them.

I would summarize the message of 2 Kings, therefore, as follows. Though people fail God, God will not fail people. This is foundational to the doctrine of eternal security that the New Testament expounds more fully.

The main reason the Israelites failed God was they lost sight of Him. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision (of God) the people cast off restraint." When people lose sight of God their ideals deteriorate. They turn to idolatry to fill the vacuum left by God's absence. Also, their purposes suffer defeat. They do not achieve fulfillment or realize their destiny. Furthermore their consciences become dead. They become unresponsive to the Word of God. You have a high calling. Point people to God.

On the other hand, God will never fail humanity (Isa. 42:1, 4). The man who said this, Isaiah, could do so because He did not lose sight of God. His vision of God was clear and great (Isa. 1:1; 6:1). It enabled him to maintain confidence in the throne in heaven when the throne on earth was failing terribly (Isa. 40:27-31). Is your confidence in God? Many evangelicals are wringing their hand in distress because the Christian cause seems to be suffering in America. God is still on His throne.

If we are to serve our generation faithfully, we must see God. When we do, we will find inspiration in the certainty of His ultimate victory. How can we keep God in our view? Read the Word daily. Pray. Bring Him into all your decisions, your worries, your fears. Do not lose sight of Him for one day. Do not forget your vocation in life (Matt. 28:19-20). Ask God to keep you spiritually sensitive.

Constable: 2 Kings (Garis Besar)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Kings)

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

4. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:15

5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24

6. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29

C. The second period of antagonism 9:30-17:41

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

2. Athaliah's evil reign in Judah 11:1-20

3. Jehoash's good reign in Judah 11:21-12:21

4. Jehoahaz's evil reign in Israel 13:1-9

5. Jehoash's evil reign in Israel 13:10-25

6. Amaziah's good reign in Judah 14:1-22

7. Jeroboam II's evil reign in Israel 14:23-29

8. Azariah's good reign in Judah 15:1-7

9. Zechariah's evil reign in Israel 15:8-12

10. Shallum's evil reign in Israel 15:13-16

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

15. Ahaz's evil reign in Judah ch. 16

16. Hoshea's evil reign in Israel 17:1-6

17. The captivity of the Northern Kingdom 17:7-41

III. The surviving kingdom chs. 18-25

A. Hezekiah's good reign chs. 18-20

1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12

2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37

3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13

4. Hezekiah's prayer 19:14-19

5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37

6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11

7. The prophecy of Babylonian captivity 20:12-19

8. Hezekiah's death 20:20-21

B. Manasseh's evil reign 21:1-18

C. Amon's evil reign 21:19-26

D. Josiah's good reign 22:1-23:30

1. Josiah's goodness 22:1-2

2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27

3. Josiah's death 23:28-30

E. Jehoahaz's evil reign 23:31-35

F. Jehoiakim's evil reign 23:36-24:7

G. Jehoiachin's evil reign 24:8-17

H. Zedekiah's evil reign 24:18-25:7

I. The captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Constable: 2 Kings

2 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book brings us to the conclusion of the kingdom of Israel, (chap. xvii.) and to the captivity of Juda, at Babylon, chap. xxv. We behold some virtuous princes reigning over the two tribes [of Juda and Benjamin], while the ten were uniformly governed by men of perverse morals. (Worthington) --- Yet there were some who adhered to the Lord in both kingdoms. David and his descendants (Haydock) occupy the throne near 480 years; and, after the captivity, continue in some degree of honour till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) --- But various families rule over Israel; some by usurpation, (Haydock) others by God's appointment: who thus chooses to chastise the wicked. He still watches over his Church, and sends his prophets for the instruction of all. (Worthington) --- We have enquired in the preface of the former Book, who composed this. (Haydock) --- The kingdom of Israel subsists about 250, (Worthignton) or 254 years. This Book contains the transactions of 308 years. (Calmet) --- But the chronology is extremely perplexed. To the sixth year of Ezechias, when Israel was led away captive, the kingdom of Juda seems to have lasted 260, and that of Israel only 241 years, though they both commenced at the same period. The errors regard the kings of Isreal, according to Houbigant, who would assign the following years to the respective kings of Juda and Israel. 1. Of Juda: Solomon, 40; Roboam, 17; Abiam, 3; Asa, 41, Josaphat, 25; Joram, 8; Ochozias, 1; (the same is said to have begun to reign in the preceding year, the 11th of Joram, 4 Kings ix. 29, incorrectly) Athalia, 6; Joas, 40; Amasias, 29p; (he reigns 15 after the death of Joas, king of Isreal) Azarias, 52; Joatham, 16; Achaz, 16; Ezechias, 6; in which year, the three hundredth from the commencement of Solomon's reign, and the two hundred and sixtieth of the kingdom of Juda, Samaria was taken. 2. The kings of Israel: Jeroboam, 22; Nadab, 2; Baasa, 24; Ela, 2; Zambri, 7 days; Amri, 12; Achab, 22; Ochozias, 2; Joram, 12; Jehu, 28; Joachaz, 17; Joas, 16; Jeroboam, 41; Zacharias, 10½; (in the text 10 is omitted.; Haydock) Sellum, 1 month; Manahem, 10; Phaceia, 2; Phacee, 30; (in the text, 20.; Haydock) Osee, 9; in all, 261½ years, (Houbigant, Chron. Sac.) or 261 years and 7 months. The variation of 19 months, which still appears, may be owing to some of the years being incomplete. (Haydock) --- 3. After a reign of 28 years over Juda, Ezechias is succeeded by Manasses, who reigns 55: Amon, 2; Josias, 31; Joachaz, a few months; Eliacim, or Joakim, 11; Joachin, Conias, or Jechonias, had reigned ten years with his father. After three months and ten days reigning alone, he is led away to Babylon with part of the people. Matthanias, or Sedecias, is appointed in his stead; but proving refractory, is also, after nine years, deprived of his sight, and conducted with 832 of his subjects to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor had already led away 3023, under Joachin. After the death of Godolias, who was left to govern the miserable remains of the people, the year of the world 3417, he made 745 more captives, and thus an end was put to the kingdom of Juda. The scourge had been retarded for some time, by the repentance of Manasses, and the prayers of the prophets. (Calmet)

Gill: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

Gill: 2 Kings 1 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 1

This chapter begins with the rebellion of Moab against Israel, 2Ki 1:1, relates a fall of the king of Israel in his house, which brought on him a sickness, about which he sent messengers to inquire of the god of Ekron, who were stopped by Elijah, and bid to return, as they did; and upon the king's examination of them about the cause of their return, he perceived it was Elijah that forbad them, 2Ki 1:2, upon which the king sent to him two captains, with fifty men each, one after another, to bring him to him, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 2Ki 1:9, but a third with fifty men sent to him were spared, and he is bid to go along with them with a message to the king, as he did, 2Ki 1:13 and the chapter is closed with the death of Ahaziah, 2Ki 1:17.