ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 2 Kings 6

2 Kings 6:1–23 With the healing of Naaman, Elisha has involved himself with Syria for the first time. That involvement now occupies most of the next two chapters, as the authors prepare the reader for the bloody events of chs. 8–10.

2 Kings 6:1–7 A member of the prophetic community loses a borrowed axe head. Elisha, by the Lord’s power (2:14), miraculously makes the iron float, so that it is found.

2 Kings 6:8 the king of Syria was warring against Israel. Relations between Syria and Israel have worsened since ch. 5.

2 Kings 6:9 the man of God sent word. Elisha intervenes to help Jehoram. Nothing has changed in Jehoram’s behavior (compare 3:2–3, 13), but the time has not yet arrived for final judgment on this royal dynasty (see chs. 9–10).

2 Kings 6:13 Dothan is only 10 miles (16 km) north of the capital city of Samaria. The Syrians have been able to advance a long way into Israel. But the Syrian king is deluded in thinking he can send and seize Elisha.

2 Kings 6:16 those who are with us. Elisha knows that the Lord has sent an army of angels to protect him.

2 Kings 6:17 the mountain was full. Syrian troops may surround the city (v. 15), but Elisha himself is supported all around by the army of the Lord.

2 Kings 6:18 blindness. Probably a dazed mental condition in which the Syrians are open to suggestion and manipulation but still able to follow the prophet to Samaria.

2 Kings 6:19 I will bring you to the man whom you seek. The statement is somewhat puzzling, but rather than leaving the Syrians, Elisha did in fact bring them face to face with the man they were looking for.

2 Kings 6:22 You shall not strike them down. Jehoram would not kill men taken captive with your sword and with your bow, and these are not even men like that. They are to be treated as guests.

2 Kings 6:24–7:20 The uneasy peace of ch. 5 gave way in 6:8–23 to occasional Syrian raids into Israelite territory. These were beginning to decrease (6:23), but now there is a full-blown invasion.

2 Kings 6:25 donkey’s head . . . dove’s dung. The siege was so severe that Samaria’s inhabitants were reduced to eating valuable animals. They also were eating parts of the animals they normally would not eat, and they were purchasing them for high prices.

2 Kings 6:26–27 Help, my lord, O king. The plea is directed to the king as the ultimate court of human justice, as in 1 Kings 3:16–28. Israel has strayed a long way from that glorious era when a wise king could ensure justice. The normal food supply is exhausted, and nothing comes from the threshing floor (see note on 1 Kings 22:10–12) or winepress.

2 Kings 6:28–29 Give your son. The Bible reports other cases of cannibalism because of a long siege (e.g., Lam. 4:10; Ezek. 5:10).

2 Kings 6:30–31 he tore his clothes. See notes on 2:11–13; 5:5–7. Likewise, sackcloth symbolizes mourning and distress. Jehoram appears to believe that removing Elisha will remove the problems he is facing.

2 Kings 6:32 the elders were sitting with him. The elders of Samaria are gathered together in Elisha’s house (compare the similar situation in Ezek. 8:1; 20:1).