King James Version
2 Kings 17
41 verses with commentary
Hoshea's Reign in Israel
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XVII.
THE REIGN OF HOSHEA, THE LAST KING OF SAMARIA. THE FALL OF SAMARIA. CAPTIVITY OF ISRAEL, AND RE-PEOPLING OF THE LAND BY FOREIGNERS.
(1) **In the twelfth year of Ahaz.**—If Pekah reigned thirty years (see Note on 2Kings 15:27), and Ahaz succeeded in Pekah’s seventeenth year (2Kings 16:1), Ahaz must have reigned thirteen years concurrently with Pekah. Hoshea, therefore, succeeded Pekah in the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-5. a little maid--**who had been captured in one of the many predatory incursions which were then made by the Syrians on the northern border of Israel (see 1Sa 30:8; 2Ki 13:21; 24:2). By this young Hebrew slave of his wife, Naaman's attention was directed to the prophet of Israel, as the person who would remove his leprosy. Naaman, on communicating the matter to his royal master, was immediate...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **But not as** **the kings of Israel that were before him.**—The preceding phrase is used of all the northern kings but Shallum, who only reigned a month, and had no time for the display of his religious policy. We can hardly assume that Hoshea abandoned the calf-worship of Bethel, but he may have discountenanced the *cultus* of the Baals and Asheras. The *Seder Olam* states that Hoshea did no...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. gave: Heb. rendered presents: or, tribute
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria.**—Shalmaneser IV. (*Shalmânu-ushshir, “*Shalman be gracious!”)*,* the successor of Tiglath Pileser II., and predecessor of Sargon, reigned 727-722 B.C. No annals of his reign have come down to us in the cuneiform inscriptions, but a fragment of the Eponyra-list notes foreign expeditions for the three successive years 725-723 B.C. This agrees w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes--**According to an ancient practice among the Eastern people, the main object only was stated in the letter that was carried by the party concerned, while other circumstances were left to be explained at the interview. This explains Jehoram's burst of emotion--not horror at supposed blasphemy, but alarm and suspicion that t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison . present: or, tribute
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship reminds readers th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Conspiracy**—*i.e.,* as is presently explained, a conspiracy with the king of Egypt against his suzerain. Shalmaneser regarded Hoshea, and probably the king of Egypt also, as his “servant” (2Kings 17:3). (Comp. 2Kings 12:20 and Jeremiah 11:9.) Thenius wishes to read “falsehood,” after the LXX., ἀδικίαν (comp. Deuteronomy 19:18; Micah 6:12), a change involving transposition of two Heb. letter...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--**This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Israel Exiled to Assyria
Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ultimate kingship. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demon...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Then** (*and*) **the king of Assyria came up . . . and besieged it three years.**—Sargon states that he took Samaria (*Samer*ί*na*) in his *first* year. Shalmaneser therefore had besieged the city some two years before his death.
The brief narrative before us does not discriminate between the respective shares of the two Assyrian sovereigns in the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel, but it i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--**This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship reminds readers that all human authority is subordinate to God's ulti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **In the ninth year of Hosheathe king of Assyria took Samaria.**—Comp. Hosea 10:5 *seq.;* Micah 1:6; Isaiah 28:1-4. In the great inscription published by Botta, Sargon says: “The city of Samaria I assaulted, I took; 27,280 men dwelling in the midst thereof I carried off; 50 chariots among them I set apart (for myself), and the rest of their wealth I let (my soldiers) take; my prefect over them...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--**This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sov...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7-23) **REFLECTIONS OF THE LAST EDITOR ON THE MORAL CAUSES OF THE CATASTROPHE.**
(7) **For so it was.**—Literally, *and it came to pass.*
**Sinned against the Lord . . . Egypt.**—The claim of Jehovah to Israel’s exclusive fealty was from the outset based upon the fact that He had emancipated them from the Egyptian bondage—a fact which is significantly asserted as the preamble to Jehovah’s laws. (...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--**This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. The reference to ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Statutes of the heathen . . . and of the kings of Israel.**—The national guilt was twofold. It comprised: (1) idolatry in the strict sense—*i.e.,* worship of other gods than Jehovah; (2) a heathenish mode of worshipping Jehovah Himself—namely, under the form of a bullock, as Jeroboam I. had ordained. The term “statutes” means religious rules or ordinances. (Comp. Exodus 12:14, “statutes;” Le...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--**This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sover...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Did secretly.**—The literal sense is *covered.* In this connection it is natural to remember that Heb. verbs of *covering* and *hiding* are often used in the sense of dealing *perfidiously* or *deceitfully.* (Comp. *mā’al,* l Chron. 10:13, with *me’îl,* “mantle;” and *bāgad,* “to deal treacherously,” Hosea 5:7, with *bèged,* “garment.”) The form in the text (the *pihel* of *‘hāphā*) is only ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: images: Heb. statues
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demonstrates God's justice in judgin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Images and groves.**—*Pillars and Asheras*—*i.e.,* sacred trunks.
The *second* degree of guilt: the setting up of idolatrous symbols.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan--**Persuaded by his calmer and more reflecting attendants to try a method so simple and easy, he followed their instructions, and was cured. The cure was performed on the basis of God's covenant with Israel, by which the land, and all pertaining to it, was blessed. Seven was the symbol of the covenant [Keil].
2Ki 5:15-19. Elisha ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Wrought wicked things.**—Not merely idolatrous rites, but also the hideous immoralities which constituted a recognised part of the nature - worships of Canaan.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-16. he returned to the man of God--**After the miraculous cure, Naaman returned to Elisha, to whom he acknowledged his full belief in the sole supremacy of the God of Israel and offered him a liberal reward. But to show that he was not actuated by the mercenary motives of the heathen priests and prophets, Elisha, though he accepted presents on other occasions (2Ki 4:42), respectfully but firm...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) F**or they served idols.**—Rather, *and they served the dunglings;* a term of contempt used in 1Kings 15:19; Deuteronomy 29:16, where see Note.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-16. he returned to the man of God--**After the miraculous cure, Naaman returned to Elisha, to whom he acknowledged his full belief in the sole supremacy of the God of Israel and offered him a liberal reward. But to show that he was not actuated by the mercenary motives of the heathen priests and prophets, Elisha, though he accepted presents on other occasions (2Ki 4:42), respectfully but firm...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. by: Heb. by the hand of
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Yet the Lord testified against Israel.**—Rather, *And Jehovah adjured Israel* . . . The verb means here, *gave solemn warning,* or *charge.* In 2Kings 17:15 it is repeated, with a cognate noun as object: “His testimonies which he testified against them;” or, *his charges *(*i.e.,* precepts) *which he had given them.*
**By all the prophets, and by all the seers.**—The Hebrew text is, *by the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. two mules' burden of earth--**with which to make an altar (Ex 20:24) to the God of Israel. What his motive or his purpose was in this proposal--whether he thought that God could be acceptably worshipped only on his own soil; or whether he wished, when far away from the Jordan, to have the earth of Palestine to rub himself with, which the Orientals use as a substitute for water; or whether, b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Notwithstanding . . . hear.**—Rather, *and they hearkened not.*
**Necks.**—Heb., *neck.* (Comp. Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 17:23; 2Chronicles 36:13.)
**Like to the neck.**—LXX. and Syriac, *more than the neck.* One letter different in the Hebrew.
**Did not believe in the Lord their God.**—The reference is not to *intellectual* but to *moral* unbelief, evincing itself as disobedience. Vulg....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. goeth into the house of Rimmon--**a Syrian deity; probably the sun, or the planetary system, of which a pomegranate (Hebrew, Rimmon) was the symbol.
**leaneth on my hand--**that is, meaning the service which Naaman rendered as the attendant of his sovereign. Elisha's prophetic commission not extending to any but the conversion of Israel from idolatry, he makes no remark, either approving o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covena...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **And they followed vanity, and became Vain.**—The same expression occurs in Jeremiah 2:5. The word “vanity” (*hèbel*) has the article. It denotes strictly *breath;* and then that which is as *transient* as a breath. (Comp. Job 7:16.) Here the idols and their worship are intended. The cognate verb, “became vain,” means “dealt (or, ‘talked;’ Job 27:12) foolishly.” The LXX. has ἐματαιώθησαν*.* ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Molten images.**—1Kings 12:28. Literally, *a casting.*
**A grove.**—*An Asherah* (1Kings 14:23; 1Kings 16:33). Schlottmann writes: “That Ashera was only another name for the same supreme goddess (*i.e.,* Ashtoreth) is at once shown by the parallelism of ‘Baal and Ashtaroth’ (Judges 2:13) with ‘Baal and Asherim’ (the plural of Ashera) in Judges 3:7. In quite the same way Baal and Ashera stan...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-16**
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him eve...
Read full commentary →And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **And they caused . . . fire.**—The *cultus* of Moloch (2Kings 16:3).
**Used divination and enchantments.**—Deuteronomy 18:10; Numbers 23:23. “Divinationibus inserviebant et auguriis” (Vulg.).
**Sold themselves.**—Idolatry is regarded as a *servitude.* (Comp. 1Kings 21:20; 1Kings 21:25.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the declin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Removed them out of his sight.**—By banishing them from his land (2Kings 17:23)—an expression founded upon the old *local* conceptions of deity.
**The tribe**—i.e., the kingdom. (Comp. 1Kings 11:36.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Also Judah kept not** **. . .**—Judah was no real or permanent exception to the sins and punishment of Israel; she imitated the apostasy of her sister-kingdom, and was visited with a similar penalty.
**The statutes of Israel which they made.**—See Note on 2Kings 17:8 *supra,* and comp. Micah 6:16, “the statutes of Omri.” According to 2Kings 8:27; 2Kings 16:3, Ahaziah and Ahaz especially fav...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage oc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel.**—Thenius prefers the reading of the LXX. “and rejected the Lord (as in the last clause of 2Kings 17:19), and the Lord, was angry with all the seed of Israel,” &c. It thus becomes plain that the writer goes back to 2Kings 17:18, after the parenthesis relating to Judah. “Israel” is used in the narrow sense in those verses.
**Into** **the** **hand...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical even...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **For he rent** **. . .**—The verse assigns the *fons et origo mali;* it makes the secession of the Ten Tribes from the house of David the ultimate cause of their ruin. The “for,” therefore, refers to what has just been said in 2Kings 17:18-20.
**He rent Israel.**—The Hebrew as it stands can only mean *Israel rent.* The want of an object after the transitive verb favours the suggestion of The...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20-25. I will run after him, and take somewhat of him--**The respectful courtesy to Elisha, shown in the person of his servant, and the open-handed liberality of his gifts, attest the fulness of Naaman's gratitude; while the lie--the artful management is dismissing the bearers of the treasure, and the deceitful appearance before his master, as if he had not left the house--give a most unfavorabl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demonstrates God's...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **The children of Israel walked** **. . .**—Israel obstinately *persisted* in the sin of Jeroboam, in spite of all warning.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical even...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **By all his servants the prophets.**—Comp. Hosea 1:6; Hosea 9:16; Amos 3:11-12; Amos 5:27; Isaiah 28:1-4.
**So was Israel carried away.**—That the land was not entirely depopulated appears from such passages as 2Chronicles 30:1; 2Chronicles 34:9. But henceforth “the distinctive character of the nation was lost; such Hebrews as remained in their old land became mixed with their heathen neighb...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. leper as white as snow--**(See on Le 13:3). This heavy infliction was not too severe for the crime of Gehazi. For it was not the covetousness alone that was punished; but, at the same time, it was the ill use made of the prophet's name to gain an object prompted by a mean covetousness, and the attempt to conceal it by lying [Keil].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →Samaria Resettled
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The reference to kingship remind...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24-33) **RE-PEOPLING OF THE LAND WITH ALIENS; THEIR WORSHIP DESCRIBED.**
(24) **The king of Assyria.**—Sargon (*Sargîna*)*,* who actually records that in his first year (721 B.C. ) he settled a body of conquered Babylonians in the land of *Hatti* or Syria. In another passage he speaks of locating certain Arab tribes, including those of Thamûd and Ephah, in the land of Beth-Omri; and in a third pa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-24**
Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember th...
Read full commentary →And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **The Lord sent** (the) **lions.**—In the interval between the Assyrian depopulation and the re-peopling of the land, the lions indigenous to the country had multiplied naturally enough. Their ravages were understood by the colonists as a token of the wrath of the local deity on account of their neglect of his worship. The sacred writer endorses this interpretation of the incident, probably r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 6
2Ki 6:1-7. Elisha Causes Iron to Swim.
**1. the place where we dwell with thee--**Margin, "sit before thee." The one points to a common residence--the other to a common place of meeting. The tenor of the narrative shows the humble condition of Elisha's pupils. The place was either Beth-el or Jericho, probably the latter. The ministry and miracles of Elisha brought great accessions to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **They spake.**—Rather, *men spake, i.e.,* the prefects of the province.
**The manner of the God.**—The word *mishpāt, *“judgment,” “decision,” here means “appointed worship” or “cultus.” In the Koran the word *din,* “judgment,” is used in a similar way, as equivalent to “religion,” especially the religion of Islam.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan--**whose wooded banks would furnish plenty of timber.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign con...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Carry.**—*Cause to go.*
**Let them go and dwell.**—To be corrected after the Syriac and Vulg.: *let him go and dwell.*
**Ye brought.**—*Ye carried away.*
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **And taught.**—*And was teaching,* implying a *permanent* work.
**In Bethel.**—Because he was a priest of the calfworship.
**Fear the Lord.**—Not in the modern *ethical* but in the ancient *ceremonial* sense.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness le...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Howbeit.**—*And.* The colonists did not fear Jehovah in a monotheistic sense; they simply *added* his *cultus* to that of their ancestral deities.
**The houses of the high places.**—The temples or chaples which constituted the sanctuaries of the different cities in the Samaritan territory.
**The Samaritans**—*i.e.,* the people of northern Israel. (Comp. *Samaria* in 2Kings 17:24.)
**Dwelt.*...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. it was borrowed--**literally, "begged." The scholar's distress arose from the consideration that it had been presented to him; and that, owing to his poverty, he could not procure another.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demonstrate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Succoth-benoth.**—The Hebrew spelling of this name has probably suffered in transmission. The Babylonian goddess *Zirbânit* or *Zarpanitum* (“seed-maker”) the consort of Merodach, appears to be meant.
**Nergal.**—The name of the god represented by the colossal *lions* which guarded the doorways of Assyrian palaces. These colossi were called *nirgali;* and a syllabary informs us that Nergal ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. cut down a stick, and cast it in thither--**Although this means was used, it had no natural adaptation to make the iron swim. Besides, the Jordan is at Jericho so deep and rapid that there were one thousand chances to one against the stick falling into the hole of the axe-head. All attempts to account for the recovery of the lost implement on such a theory must be rejected.
**the iron did s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Nibhaz** and **Tartak** are unknown, but the forms have an Assyrio-Babylonian cast. (Comp. Nimrod, Nergal with the former, and Ishtar, Namtar, Merodach, Shadrach, with the latter.) Before Nibhaz the LXX. have another name, *Abaazar,* or *Eblazer* (? *’abal Assûr* “the Son of Assur”).
**Adrammelech.**—Comp. 2Kings 19:37. Identified by Schrader with the Assyrian *Adar-mâlik, *“Adar is prince”...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This pas...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **They feared.**—*They were fearing.* (See Note on 2Kings 17:25; 2Kings 17:28, *supra.*)
**Of the lowest of them.**—Rather, *of all orders,* or *promiscuously.* (Comp. 1Kings 12:31.) This is another indication that it was *Jeroboam’s* mode of worship which was now restored.
**Which sacrificed.**—Heb., *and they used to do.* The verb *do* is used in the sense of *sacra facere,* just like the G...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. the king of Syria warred against Israel--**This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks. The frequency of his disappointments having led the Syrian kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. whom: or, who carried them away from thence
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **They feared . . . gods.**—Literally, *Jehovah were they fearing, and their own gods were they serving.* The verse recapitulates 28-32.
**Whom they carried away from thence.**—Rather, *whence they had been carried away. *Literally, *whence men carried them away.* The meaning is: according to the customs of the cities from which Sargon had deported them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. the king of Syria warred against Israel--**This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks. The frequency of his disappointments having led the Syrian kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant rel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34-41) **THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE MIXED POPULATION OF SAMARIA IN THE TIME OF THE EDITOR.**
(34) **They do after the former manners.**—They still keep up the religious customs of the first colonists.
**They fear not the Lord.**—They fear Him not in the sense of a *right* fear; they do not honour Him in the way He has prescribed in the Torah. The LXX. omits both *nots* in this verse.
**After thei...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. the king of Syria warred against Israel--**This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks. The frequency of his disappointments having led the Syrian kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. the king of Syria warred against Israel--**This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks. The frequency of his disappointments having led the Syrian kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historic...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-12. the king of Syria warred against Israel--**This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks. The frequency of his disappointments having led the Syrian kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. Dothan--**or, "Dothaim," a little north of Samaria (see on Ge 37:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demonstrates God's justic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **Neither shall ye fear other gods.**—This formula is repeated thrice (2Kings 17:35; 2Kings 17:37-38), as the main point of the covenant between Jehovah and Israel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonst...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **And he.**—The pronoun is emphatic: “and He, on His part, will deliver you.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?--**When the Syrian detachment surrounded the place by night, for the apprehension of the prophet, his servant was paralyzed with fear. This was a new servant, who had only been with him since Gehazi's dismissal and consequently had little or no experience of his master's powers. His faith was easily shaken by so unexpected an alarm...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. This passage occurs during the decline toward Israel's exile, demonstrating how persistent covenant unfaithfulness leads to national disaster. <br><br>The narrative demonstrates God's justice in judging covenant unfait...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **They**—*i.e.,* the Ephraimites.
**Did.**—*Continued doing.*
**After their former manner**—i.e., they clung to the old-established cultus of the calves.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the overall theme of chapter 17: Covenant judgment and exile. The divine name emphasizes Yahweh's covenant relationship with Israel and His sovereign control over historical events. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(41) **So these nations feared . . . images.**—A variation of 2Kings 17:33.
**Their children, and their children’s children.**—The captivity of Ephraim took place in 721 B.C. Two generations later bring us to the times of the exile of Judah—the age of the last Redactor of Kings.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
**Bible Hub
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see--**The invisible guard of angels that encompass and defend us (Psa 34:7). The opening of the eyes, which Elisha prayed for, were those of the Spirit, not of the body--the eye of faith sees the reality of the divine presence and protection where all is vacancy or darkness to the ordinary eye. The horses and chariots we...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Elijah fed by ravens.(1-7)
Elijah sent to Zarephath.(8-16)
Elijah raises the widow's son to life.(17-24)
**Verses 1-7**
God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased wi...
Read full commentary →