Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 2 Kings · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Verſ. 1. THe Lord hath called for a famine, and it ſhall alſo come upon the land ſeven years.] And thus the people continuing in their ſinnes, the judgements of God were doubled upon them. In Elijahs time, God ſent a famine amongſt them, but that laſted onelyonly three yeares and a half, James 5.17. Elijah was a man ſubject to the like infirmities, and he prayed, and it rained not for the ſpace of three years and a half, but now this continued full ſeven years.
Verſ. 2. And ſhe went with her houſhold and ſojourned in the land of the Philiſtines ſeven years.] Becauſe it is ſaid of this good Shunamite, that ſhe went with her houſhold, &c. it is probably conceived, that her husband being dead, ſhe was at preſent a widow; and a notable diſcovery it was of the Lords high diſpleaſure againſt his people, that in the neighbour countrey of the Philiſtines there was no want, and yet in the kingdome of Iſrael a ſore famine prevailed, yea and in Judah too: for it is not likely this good woman would have ſought the preſervation of her life amongſt the Philiſtines, if ſhe might have done it amongſt her brethren of Judah: though the Philiſtines were a wicked people, yet they had not the means of grace as Gods people had; and therefore it is no wonder, though God was moſt provoked with the idolatry and other wickedneſſe of his own people.
Verſ. 4. And the king talked with Gehazi the ſervant of the man of God, &c.] When the Shunamite came to cry unto the king for her houſe and her land, (which in the time of her abſence was ſeiſed upon by her kindred, or by the officers of ſtate for the kings uſe) ſhe found the king talking with Gehazi, concerning the miracles which Eliſha had wrought, and ſo by that means found favour with the king, and recovered her eſtate. Some Expoſitours conceive that this was before Gehazi was ſtricken with leproſie, though that be inſerted in the hiſtory before this, chap. 5.21. elſe they think the king would not have talked with him: But without very evident grounds, it is not fit to recede from the order of the hiſtory, I conceive not that lepers were ever ſo ſecluded from cohabitation with others, but that they might upon occaſion have ſome conference with them; eſpecially it might be ſo here, when the king had ſo great a deſire to heare a true relation of all the wonders that Eliſha had wrought; onelyonly indeed, if this were after Gehazi was a leper, obſervable it is, that notwithſtanding Gehazi did here ſpeak ſo honourably of his maſter, upon whoſe word ſo ſore a judgement had ſeized upon him.
Verſ. 6. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, ſaying, Reſtore all that was hers, &c] The word tranſlated officer ſignifies an eunuch, as it is in the margin of our bibles: kings it ſeems in former times had eunuchs to be the chief officers in their courts, whereupon in proceſſe of time all their chief officers were called Eunuchs. As we ſee Potiphar to whom Joſeph was ſold, though he were a married man, is termed an Eunuch. Gen. 37.36.
Verſ. 7. And Eliſha came to Damaſcus, and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was ſick, &c.] The moſt received opinion is, that Eliſha went now to Damaſcus, according to a charge given him by Elijah, purpoſely to anoint Hazael king; but why was Elijah ſent from mount Horeb to Damaſcus, if God meant not that he himſelf ſhould anoint Hazael, 1. Kings 19.15. And the Lord ſaid unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderneſſe of Damaſcus, and when thou comest anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: rather therefore I conceive that Eliſha went now by the ſpeciall inſtinct of Gods Spirit, to confirm that to Hazael, by a ſecond prediction, which formerly upon Elijahs anointing, he did not much believe: and that the rather becauſe of the preſent famine in Iſrael, and ſo coming thither found Ben-hadad ſick; whether his ſickneſſe was occaſioned through grief (as Joſephus ſaith) for the ſhamefull flight of his armie from the ſiege of Samaria, chap. 7.6. eſpecially when he heard it was occaſioned by a cauſeleſſe feare, the Scripture expreſſeth not; but onelyonly notes how in his ſickneſſe he was glad to conſult with the Prophet concerning his recovery, whom ere while he ſent to apprehend in Dothan, chap. 6.13, 14. encouraged happely thereto alſo, by the miraculous cure that he had wrought upon the leproſie of his ſervant Naaman.
Verſ. 10. Go, ſay unto him, Thou mayeſt certainly recover, &c.] That is, thy diſeaſe is not mortall, Thou mayest certainly recover of thy ſickneſſe; that therefore which the Prophet addes concerning his death, howbeit the Lord hath ſhewed me that he ſhall ſurely die, doth not contradict this which he ſaid concerning his ſickneſſe. The queſtion was whether he ſhould recover of that ſickneſſe wherewith he was viſited; to this a direct anſwer is given, that he might well recover, notwithſtanding his ſickneſſe; but withall an intimation is given to the meſſenger that he ſhould ſurely die, to wit, by another means, though not by his ſickneſſe.
Verſ. 11. And he ſettled his countenance stedfaſtly, till he was aſhamed.] That is, Eliſha did fix his eyes ſtedfaſtly upon Hazael, untill he began to be aſhamed, becauſe he ſaw he could not forbear weeping; or rather, untill Hazael began to bluſh, and to be aſhamed, becauſe he ſaw the Prophet look ſo earneſtly upon him.
Verſ. 13. And Eliſha anſwered, The Lord hath ſhewed me that thou ſhalt be king over Syria.] Intimating, that in this regard it was likely enough he would exerciſe thoſe cruelties upon the Iſraelites, which now he made ſo ſtrange of; and that becauſe he ſhould then have power to do it, and withall, when once he ſate in the throne of Syria, he would bear the ſame deadly hatred againſt Gods people, which his predeceſſours had done before him, and thence is Damaſcus threatned under thoſe terms, Amos 1.4. I will ſend a fire into the houſe of Hazael, which ſhall devoure the palaces of Ben-hadad.
Verſ. 15. He took a thick cloth, and dipt it in water, and spread it on his face, &c.] And thus Ben-hadad was ſtrangled by Hazael, and that ſo, that no ſigne or token could be ſeen in his dead body of any violence that was offered him, and perhaps too under a pretence of allaying the diſtemper of heat he was in, by reaſon of his ſickneſſe.
Verſ. 16. And in the fifth yeare of Joram the ſonne of Ahab king of Iſrael, &c.] Jehoſhaphat had deſigned his ſonne Jehoram to be king, and appointed him to govern the kingdome in his abſence in the ſeventeenth yeare of his reigne, a little before he went with Ahab againſt Ramoth Gilead (and thence the yeare of Jehoram king of Iſrael his beginning to reigne, is counted to be both the eighteenth yeare of Jehoſhaphat, 2. Kings 3.1. and the ſecond yeare of Jehoram the ſonne of Jehoſhaphat, 2. Kings 1.17.) but at his return he reſumed the royall power wholly to himſelf, not communicating the ſame again to his ſonne, untill the fifth yeare of Joram king of Iſrael, which was the two and twentieth of Jehoſhaphat: and then this old king took unto him this his eldeſt ſonne, as partner in the government, himſelf yet living; the cauſe whereof, in all probabilitie, was ſome diſcord and differences which brake out even then between him and his younger brethren, which as they moved Jehoſhaphat to commit to his younger ſonnes the cuſtody of ſtrong fenced cities in Judah, 2. Chron. 21.3. the better to aſſure them, if it might have been, againſt the power of their elder brother; ſo alſo on the other ſide, it cauſed him, to put this his eldeſt ſonne in poſſeſſion of the kingdome, whileſt himſelf was living, for fear of tumult after his death.
Verſ. 17. And he reigned eight years in Jeruſalem.] To wit, foure years together with his father, and foure years himſelf alone.
Verſ. 18. For the daughter of Ahab was his wife.] To wit, Athaliah, verſ. 26.
Verſ. 19. Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for David his ſervants ſake, as he promiſed him to give him alway a light, &c.] That is, one of his ſeed, in whom the ſoveraigntie of Judah ſhould be continued, though farre ſhort of the glory that formerly they enjoyed, before the revolt of the ten tribes.
Verſ. 20. In his dayes Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, &c.] The Edomites ever ſince Davids time, 2. Sam. 8.14. had been tributaries to the kings of Judah, and had been governed by a Viceroy whom they ſet over them, 1. Kings 22.47. There was no king in Edom, a deputy was king. But now they caſt off this yoke, and ſo the prophecie of Iſaac began to take effect, Gen. 27.40. that Eſau ſhould break the yoke of his brother Jacob from off his neck. 2. Chron. 21.2, we reade, firſt, that ſo ſoon as his father was dead, he preſently made uſe of his power againſt his ſix younger brethren; and having gotten them into his hands ſlew them, and, together with them for company, many of the great men of the land, ſuch belike, as either formerly or then had taken their part, & that withall he took upon him to make innovations in Religion, erecting high places in the mountains of Judah, and forcing the people to embrace that idolatry which himſelf had learned from the houſe of Ahab, verſ. 10.11. And theſe combuſtions in the land of Judah, we may well think gave encouragement to the Edomites to revolt at this time, and ſo God puniſhed theſe his abominable courſes.
Verſ. 22. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day.] That is, though Joram overthrew the Edomites in that forementioned battel, verſ. 21. yet they retiring into their places of advantage, perſiſted reſolutely in their revolt, and ſo he was forced to return again into his own land; which indeed is not ſo ſtrange, if we conſider, that he might perhaps heare of the revolt of Libnah, a citie in his own countrey, and then no wonder though he ſtayed not to proſecute his victory in the land of Edom.
Then Libnah revolted at the ſame time.] Libnah was a great citie within Judah, one of the royall cities of Canaan when Joſhua entred it, Joſh. 10.29, 30, It was by him given to the prieſts the ſonnes of Aaron, Joſh. 21.13. and now it rebelled againſt Joram, becauſe he had made ſuch innovations in Religion, and forced the people to idolatry, as is expreſſed, 2. Chron. 21.10, 11. which no marvell though the Levites were leaſt able to endure. It is much indeed that one citie alone ſhould venture upon ſuch an attempt; but perhaps the kings abſence whileſt he was in Edom, and the diſcontent of the people; yea perhaps ſome correſpondence they might have with the Philiſtines (who ere long invaded the land, 2. Chron. 21.16, 17.) gave them hope of abettors, and how they ſped in the concluſion, the Scripture expreſſeth not.
Verſ. 24. And Joram ſlept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the citie of David.] Before his death there was a propheſie in writing delivered him from Elijah the Prophet, 2. Chron. 21.12. which threatned both his people, his children, his wives, and his own body, and immediatly what was threatned came to paſſe: for, firſt, the Philiſtines and Arabians brake into Judea, took the kings houſe, made ſpoil of his goods, and ſlew or carried away all his children, ſave the youngeſt onelyonly; and then afterwards the Lord ſmote him with a grievous diſeaſe in his bowels, which left him not till his guts fell out, and being dead, he was obſcurely buried in the citie of David, but not in the ſepulchres of his Anceſtours the kings of Judah; and that without the lamentations and ſolemnities that had been uſed in other princes funeralls, 2. Chron. 21.16. All the time of this kings reigne another king of the ſame name reigned in Iſrael, to wit, Joram the ſonne of Ahab his brother in law.
And Ahaziah his ſonne reigned in his ſtead.] He is elſwhere called Jehoahaz 2. Chron. 21.17. and Azariah, 2. Chron. 22.6. He was the youngeſt ſonne of Joram, for all the elder ſonnes were ſlain, or carried away by the Philiſtines, 2: Chron. 21.17. In S. Matthews catalogue of the kings of Judah, it is ſaid, Matth. 1.8. that Jehoſhapoat begat Joram, and Joram begat Ozias, and ſo this Ahaziah who ſucceeded Joram, and Joaſh who ſucceeded Ahaziah, 2, Kings 11.2. and Amaziah, who ſucceeded Joaſh, 2. Kings 12.21. and was the father of Ozias are quite left out; but this I conceive was onelyonly, becauſe the Evangeliſt reſolving to diſtribute the Anceſtours of Chriſt into three ſeverall ranks (according to the three great changes that had happened in the ſtate, and finding juſt fourteen in the firſt rank from Abraham to David, he laboured to reduce the other ranks to the ſame number too, as knowing that equall numbers are a help to the memory, and ſo to make juſt fourteen generations in that rank; alſo from David to the captivitie he leaves out Ahaziah, Joaſh, and Amaziah, and them perhaps rather then others, becauſe they were the next from Ahab, by Athaliah the daughter of Ahab and wife of Joram.
Verſ. 25. In the twelfth yeare of Joram the ſonne of Ahab king of Iſrael, &c.] Yet chap. 9.29. it is ſaid, that he began to reigne in the eleventh yeare of Joram king of Iſrael, which is, becauſe the yeare of Ahaziahs reigne did concurre with the latter end of the eleventh, and the beginning of the twelfth yeare of Joram king of Iſrael.
Verſ. 26. Two and twentie years old was Ahaziah when he began to reigne, &c.] In the 2. Chron. 22.2. it is ſaid, that he was two and fourty years old when he began to reigne; we may reconcile this thus, that he was two and fourty years old when he began to reigne alone by himſelf, but that he was made king alſo when he was but two & twenty years old, his father yet living; but then that muſt be granted which is before noted upon 1. Kings 22.42. to wit, that Aſa alſo was made king in his fathers life time; and indeed, becauſe this anſwer may have ſome ſtrong objections made againſt it, therefore others do rather reconcile theſe two places thus, to wit, that thoſe words in 2. Chron. 22.2. Fourty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reigne, muſt be underſtood of the continuance of Omries pedigree, who was great grandfather to this Ahaziah. Omri reigned as ſole king ſix years, 1. Kings 16.23. Ahab two and twenty, 1. Kings 16.29. Ahaziah his ſonne two, 1. Kings 22.51. Joram twelve, 2. Kings 3.1. And thus Omries ſtock continued fourty and two years; and therefore it is ſaid, that Ahaziah (who was of that ſtock by his mother Athaliah) in his two and fourtieth yeare began his reigne. But this anſwer methinks is more unſatisfactory then the other; the words in 2. Chron. 22.2. will hardly bear ſuch an interpretation.
And his mothers name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Iſrael.] That is, the grandchild of Omri, the daughter of Ahab, the ſonne of Omri, verſ. 18.
Verſ. 27. He was the ſonne in law of the houſe of Ahab.] That is, the ſonne of Ahabs ſonne in law, to wit, the ſonne of Joram by Athaliah Ahabs daughter; yet perhaps even he alſo by his mother Athaliahs perſwaſion married a daughter of the houſe of Ahab, though by another wife Joaſh was born, who ſucceeded him in the throne, chap. 12.1.
Verſ. 28. And he went with Joram the ſonne of Ahab, to the warre againſt Hazael the king of Syria in Ramoth Gilead.] Toward the latter end of his reigne Joram king of Iſrael undertook the recovery of Ramoth Gilead out of the hands of Hazael then king of Syria (which Ahab his father had formerly attempted with ill ſucceſſe) and Ahaziah the king of Judah his ſiſters ſonne joyned with him in that expedition, as Jehoſhaphat had formerly done with Ahab.
Verſ. 29. And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel, of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at▪ Ramoth, &c.] That is, Ramoth Gilead: having wonne the town, and then manned it ſtrongly, leaving the chief of his army there behind him with his captains (of whom Jehu was the chief) he withdrew himſelf to Jezreel to be cured of the wounds which he received in this ſiege of Ramoth Gilead. See the note, chap. 9.14.