Elisha Foretells Hazael’s Rise
2 Kings 8:7-15
2 K.8.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דמשק: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ובן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויגד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- עד: PREP
- הנה: PART
Parallels
- 1 Kgs 19:15-17 (allusion): God’s earlier commission to Elijah to anoint Hazael king of Aram and to send Elisha to Damascus anticipates Elisha’s presence in Damascus and the political turn in Aram (background to 2 Kgs 8:7–15).
- 2 Kgs 6:8-23 (thematic): Another episode of Aramean kings seeking or confronting Elisha (the king of Aram sending troops to seize the ‘man of God’); parallels the motif of Aramean rulers’ awareness of and reactions to Elisha’s prophetic activity.
- 2 Kgs 5:1-19 (thematic): Elisha’s earlier interaction with an Aramean (Naaman, commander of the king of Aram) shows Elisha’s influence on Aramean affairs and explains why Aramean courts would take note when ‘the man of God’ appears.
- 2 Kgs 8:8-15 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same narrative: Elisha’s meeting with Ben‑Hadad, the anointing of Hazael as king and the political outcome—directly linked to the report that ‘the man of God has come here.’
Alternative generated candidates
- Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben‑Hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, “The man of God has come here.”
- Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben‑Hadad, king of Aram, was sick. It was told him, 'A man of God has come here.'
2 K.8.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- חזהאל: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- בידך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff,2,m,sg
- מנחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולך: CONJ+PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לקראת: PREP
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ודרשת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאותו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- האחיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מחלי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRONSUF,1,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 22:8 (thematic): A royal request to consult a prophet about national affairs — Jehoshaphat urges Ahab to inquire of a prophet, reflecting the motif of kings seeking prophetic counsel for state matters.
- 1 Samuel 9:6-10 (thematic): Saul (or those around him) goes to a seer to obtain a divine word; parallels the action of sending a person to a man of God to inquire of the LORD.
- 2 Kings 5:15 (verbal): Language and practice of bringing a 'present' to a man of God: Naaman offers gifts in connection with his healing, echoing the king's instruction to Hazael to take a gift to the prophet.
- 1 Samuel 28:6 (thematic): Illustrates the expectation that kings seek the LORD (often through prophets) for decisive matters; here Saul 'inquired of the LORD' but received no answer, highlighting the risks and dependency involved in royal prophetic consultation.
Alternative generated candidates
- The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God; inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this disease?’ ”
- The king said to Hazael, 'Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God; inquire of the LORD about him, saying,
2 K.8.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- חזאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לקראתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מנחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בידו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- דמשק: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- משא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארבעים: NUM,m,pl
- גמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ויעמד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לפניו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בנך: NOUN,m,sg,cstr+poss,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלחני: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- האחיה: INT+NOUN,m,sg,2ms
- מחלי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRONSUF,1,sg
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 8:10-15 (structural): Immediate continuation: Elisha's interrogation and prophecy about Hazael's future cruelty and Hazael's subsequent murder of Ben‑Hadad and accession to the Aramean throne, directly following the envoy scene.
- 1 Kings 19:15-17 (allusion): Earlier prophetic commission: Elijah is told to anoint Hazael as king over Aram (alongside Jehu over Israel), foreshadowing Hazael's rise mentioned in 2 Kings.
- 2 Kings 13:22 (thematic): Later historical summary: records that Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel during Jehoahaz’s reign, fulfilling the hostile role predicted/implied when Hazael appears as envoy and later becomes king.
- Amos 1:3-5 (esp. v.4) (verbal): Prophetic oracle against Damascus names Hazael explicitly as the ruler associated with Damascus' violence; the book presumes the historical personage whose rise is narrated in 2 Kings 8.
Alternative generated candidates
- So Hazael went to meet him, taking a present in his hand—every valuable thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden. He stood before him and said, “Ben‑Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this disease?’ ”
2 K.8.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- חיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- תחיה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- והראני: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- מות: VERB,qal,infabs
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 4:32-35 (structural): Elisha restores a dead boy to life; parallels here in Elisha’s involvement in life/death pronouncements and his prophetic authority over life (contrast between speaking life and the reality of death).
- 1 Kings 17:17-24 (thematic): Elijah (Elisha’s predecessor) revives the widow’s son; thematically related as another prophetic miracle of restoring life, highlighting the prophet’s role vis‑à‑vis death and deliverance.
- Ezekiel 37:3-5 (verbal): Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD... I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live’ — the explicit verb ‘live’ (חיה/חיו) and the prophetic formula to speak life echo the verbal motif of ‘say, Live!’ in 2 Kgs 8:10.
- Isaiah 38:1-5 (thematic): Isaiah first pronounces imminent death to King Hezekiah (‘Set your house in order, for you shall die’), later announcing extended life after prayer; parallels the tension in 2 Kgs 8:10 between a spoken assurance of life and the divine verdict of death.
Alternative generated candidates
- Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall surely live.’ Yet the LORD has shown me that he will surely die.”
2 K.8.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעמד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- פניו: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3,m,sg
- וישם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עד: PREP
- בש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויבך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Kings 8:12 (structural): Immediate continuation of the scene: Elisha explains and weeps over the evil Hazael will do to Israel—directly clarifies why the prophet wept in 8:11.
- 2 Kings 13:14 (thematic): Another instance of Elisha on his deathbed interacting with the king of Israel and expressing strong emotion about Israel's fate—parallels prophetic grief and concern for the nation.
- 2 Kings 2:12 (verbal): Elisha's earlier passionate lament ('My father, my father, the chariots of Israel')—another emotive outcry by Elisha that highlights his prophetic/Messianic zeal and emotional intensity.
- Luke 19:41 (thematic): Jesus weeps over Jerusalem on seeing its future judgment—parallels the prophetic motif of compassion and tears in face of impending calamity for the people.
- Jeremiah 9:1 (thematic): Jeremiah's lamenting desire to weep day and night for the slain of Israel—a prophetic motif of sustained mourning over national disaster, like Elisha's tears for Israel under Hazael.
Alternative generated candidates
- He turned his face away, set his face toward the wall, and wept.
2 K.8.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חזאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מדוע: ADV
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- בכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- לבני: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מבצריהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- תשלח: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובחריהם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תהרג: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ועלליהם: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- תרטש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- והרתיהם: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- תבקע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kgs 19:15-17 (allusion): God tells Elijah to anoint Hazael king over Aram and predicts that Hazael will do harm to Israel—an earlier prophecy alluded to here about Hazael’s violent role toward Israel.
- 2 Kgs 8:11-13 (structural): Immediate context of the same scene: the king’s question and Hazael’s departure; verse 12 is part of this unit describing the predicted atrocities Hazael will commit.
- 2 Kgs 13:22 (thematic): Summarizes Hazael’s historical role—‘Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel’—confirming the fulfillment of the hostile deeds prophesied in 8:12.
- Hosea 13:16 (verbal): Uses nearly identical violent imagery—children dashed and pregnant women ripped open—applied to Samaria’s judgment, echoing the language of 2 Kgs 8:12.
- Isaiah 13:16 (verbal): Prophetic oracle against Babylon that employs the same grisly formula (‘their children shall be dashed in pieces; their houses shall be plundered’), paralleling the graphic motifs of massacre and maternity violence in 2 Kgs 8:12.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel: from their strongholds you will send fire; with their young men you will cut them down by the sword; you will dash their children, and rip open their pregnant women.”
2 K.8.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חזהאל: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- כי: CONJ
- מה: PRON,int
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- הכלב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הראני: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg,obj:1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- על: PREP
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 8:11-12 (verbal): Immediate context: the same exchange appears in the preceding verses where Hazael asks, 'What is your servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing?' — virtually identical wording and scene.
- 2 Kings 8:14-15 (structural): Fulfillment and continuation: Elisha predicts Hazael will be king over Aram, and the following verses record Hazael's rise to the throne, showing the prophecy's outcome.
- 1 Kings 19:15-16 (structural): Earlier prophetic program: God instructs Elijah to anoint Hazael as king over Aram (alongside Jehu over Israel and Elisha as prophet), linking Elisha's encounter with Hazael to a wider divine plan for leadership changes.
- Amos 1:3-4 (thematic): Judgment on Aram/Hazael: Amos pronounces punishment on Damascus and names 'the house of Hazael' as a target of divine wrath, echoing Elisha's grim prophecy about the violence and suffering associated with Hazael's rule.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hazael said, “But what—am I a dog, that I should do this great thing?” Elisha said, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
2 K.8.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מאת: PREP
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- אדניו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+POSS,3,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- חיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- תחיה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 4:34-35 (verbal): Elisha's revival of the Shunammite's son includes the prophet's physical command and action to restore life — parallels the reported wording and theme of 'live' in 2 Kgs 8:14.
- 1 Kings 17:21-22 (thematic): Elijah's raising of the widow's son at Zarephath shows the broader prophetic pattern of a prophet speaking life into the dead, thematically matching the report that Elisha said 'live.'
- Ezekiel 37:5 (verbal): God's command to the dry bones, 'I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live,' echoes the imperative and life-restoring language reported in 2 Kgs 8:14.
- Luke 7:14 (thematic): Jesus' command to the young man at Nain, 'Young man, I say to you, arise,' parallels the New Testament fulfillment of the prophetic motif of a spoken command that restores life.
Alternative generated candidates
- So he went from Elisha and came to his master. The king said to him, “What did Elisha tell you?” He said, “He told me, ‘You shall surely live.’ ”
2 K.8.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ממחרת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- המכבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויטבל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- ויפרש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- פניו: NOUN,m,pl,cons+3,m,sg
- וימת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וימלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חזהאל: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- תחתיו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kgs 8:12-13 (quotation): Elisha's direct prophecy to Hazael that he will become king — the verbal prediction whose fulfillment is recorded in 8:15.
- 2 Kgs 8:7-14 (structural): The full episode of Hazael's visit to Elisha (context and narrative lead‑up) that sets up the change of kingship described in 8:15.
- 2 Kgs 13:3 (thematic): Reports that Israel was delivered into the hand of Hazael — shows one immediate political consequence of Hazael's rise to power.
- 2 Kgs 13:22-25 (thematic): Later summary of Hazael's military actions and oppression of Israel — continuation and consequence of Hazael's reign mentioned in 8:15.
- 1 Kgs 19:15-17 (thematic): Elijah's prophetic commissioning of successors (anointing leaders) — a broader prophetic motif of prophets effecting or announcing changes of rulership, parallel to Elisha’s role regarding Hazael.
Alternative generated candidates
- And on the morrow he took a cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king's face—and he died. Hazael reigned in his place.
And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick. It was told him, "The man of God has come here."
The king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand and go meet the man of God; inquire of the LORD for me, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'" So Hazael went to meet him, bearing a present in his hand—every good thing of Damascus, a burden for forty camels. He came and stood before him and said, "Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"
Elisha said to him, "Go, tell him, 'You shall recover'; yet the LORD has shown me that he will surely die."
Hazael stood before him; he fixed his gaze and wept, and the man of God wept.
Hazael asked, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel: you will set their strongholds on fire, cut down their young men with the sword, dash their infants in pieces, and rip open their pregnant women."
Hazael said, "What is your servant—a dog—that he should do such a great thing?" Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you shall be king over Aram."
Hazael went away from Elisha and returned to his master. He said to him, "What did Elisha tell you?" He replied, "He told me, 'You shall surely live.'" And it came about the next day that he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water, and spread it over the king's face; he died, and Hazael reigned in his place.