part of the Elisha cycle
II Kings 2 - 13
II Kings 8 : 7 - 15
"Elisha, Ben-Hadad, Hazael"
Who will survive? For whom
does Elisha weep? Will
Ben-Hadad survive after asking
'Will I recover?'
Elisha came to Damascus at a time
when Ben-Hadad the king of Aram/Syria
was _ill. It was reported to the king,
"The man of God has arrived here."
The king said to Hazael [son of a nobody]
Take a gift with you and go meet the
man of God; inquire of YHWH through
him, "Will I recover from the/my illness?"
Hazael went to meet Elisha and took with
him a gift of all the best of Damascus, 40
camel loads! Hazael came and stood
before Elisha and said, "Your son Ben-hadad
[courtly etiquette to place himself into Elisha's
grace/favor], king of Aram/Syria, has sent me
to you to ask, 'Will I recover from illness?'"
Elisha said to Hazael, "GO, tell him,
You will surely recover."
BUT. . .YHWH has shown me that he will surely
die.
VERSE 11 : he kept his face motionless
for a long while; then the man of God
wept
[compare John 11:35 : Jesus wept ]
verses 12 - 15
Hazael said, "Why does my Lord weep?"
Elisha : Because I know the harm that you will bring upon
the Israelites : you will set their fortresses on fire; you
will put their young men to the sword; you will dash their
little ones in pieces and rip open their pregnant women."
Hazael said, "Who is your servant, (but) a dog (Greek:
dead dog) that he should do such a great thing?"
Elisha : YHWH has shown me you as king of Aram/Syria."
Hazael left Elisha and returned to his Lord (Ben-hadad),
who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?"
Hazael said, "He said to me, 'You will surely recover.'"
The next day, Hazael took a cloth [hapax legomena
only time this word used in Bible "bed cover / mesh-
netted work"] and dipped it in water; he spread it over
Ben-hadad's face and he died. So Hazael (son of
nobody) succeeded him.
Translation and notes/explanatory observations in
II Kings (Anchor Bible, Vol. 11)
pages 89-93 by Mordechai Cogan
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