Chiiiv2g—o7, IL KINGS.
purfued them clofely, and flew them as they fled, and followed them not only to ri, borders, but king of Edom, whom the king of Moaé had in his hands before, which made the’king of Edom the into their own country: though §
: chultens, from|more willing to join in this expedition for the rethe ufe of the word 73) in the Aradic language, renders the paflage, and they blunted their fwords in it (in that flaughter) evea by finiting the Mocovery of his fon, as Fofeph Kimchi thinks; or whom he took now in his fally out upon ‘him, as Mofes Kimchi and Ben Gerfom, proceeding upon a abites. miftaken fenfe of Amos ii. 1. for the king of Edom
¥. 25. And they beat down the cities, &c.] De- ‘molifhed the walls of them, and houfes in’ them, wherever they came: and on every good piece of land caft every man his ftone, and filled it; which they had taken out of the walls and houfes they pulled down 5 or which they picked up in the highway, as they pafied along, being a ftony country; or which being laid in heaps, gathered out of the fields, i, took and feattered them all ovet them: and they opped all the wells of water’ with ftones and dirt: arid felled all the good trees: fruit-bearing ones; fee the note on ¥. 19. cnly in Kir-barajeth left they the ftones thereof, not able to moli(h it, it being a ftrong fortified city, the principal of the kingdom, and into which the king of Moab had thrown himfelf, and the remains of could have no fon that had a right, or was defigns ed to fucceed him, fince he was but a deputy-king himfelf 5 and befides; the’ facrificing of him. was not the way to caule the kings to raife the Gege; /but rather to provoke them ‘to prefs it the more clofely: it was the king of Moab that took his fon and heir to the crown, end offered him for a duritt-offering upon the wall; that it might be feen by the camp of J/rae/, and move their compaffion; or‘ rather this was done as a religious a¢tion, to appeafe the deity by an human facrifice, fo dear and precious; to give fuccels, and caufe the. enemy de-jto break up the fiege; and was either offered to. the true God; the God of J/rael, in imitation of 4érabam, as fonie Fewi/h writers fancy *, or to his, hislidol Chenofh, the fun; and archi obferves, out of
‘forces; of which fee Jf. xvi. 7, 10. Slingers went about it, and fmote it; {mote the foldiers that appeared upon the walls of it; though Kimchi, and other Fewi/h writers, underftand it engineers; who caft out large ftones from a fort of machines then in ufe, to batter down and break through the, walls of cities.
v.27. Then be took his eldeft fon that fbould bave reigned in bis fiead, &c.] Not the eldeft fon of the bowbeit, thean expofition of theirs, that vay is wanting in the word for wall, and fo may be interpreted of the fun, towards which this burnt-offering was offered 5 offand it is obferved from various heathen authorsy: that it was ufual with the heathens; when in calamity and diftrefs, to offer up to their gods what was moft dear and valuable to them; and particularly the Phenicians*, and from them the Carthaginians had this cuftom, who at one time offered up-200 fons of their nobility, to appeafe their gods’: and there was great indignation againft Ifrael,; not of the king of Hdom againft them, for not refcuing his fon, or. becaufe they were the means of this difafter which befel him; but of the king of Meab, who was quite defperate, and determiined to hold out the fiege to the utmoft extremity » and they departed, and returned to their own /and; the three kings, the one to Edom; the other to T/rae/, and the third to. Fudeah, when they faw they met with althe Moadites would fell their lives fo dear, and hold out to the laft man, they thought fit to break up the fiege;.and perhaps were greatly affected with barbarous fhocking fight they had feen, and - {might fear fhould they ftay, fomething elfe of the like kind would be done:
¥.26. And when the king of Moab faw that the battle was too fore for bim, &c.| The fiege was fo clofe, the flingers or engineets did fo much execution, that he faw the city would foon be taken, and he be obliged to deliver it up: be took with bim 700 men that drew fwords; men expert in war, bold and daring: ¢o break through, even unto the king of Edom; through his quarters, and fo efcape, he lying neareft to the city, and perhaps the weakeft body of men with him; or he might think he was ~not {fo hearty in the caufe of the kings, and would *make but a feeble refiftance, and let him pafs: dut ‘they could not, break through;
* greater oppofition than was expected; perhaps the Edomites remembered how they had lately ufed them, which made them fight more defperatelyjthe againit them, fee 2 Chron. xx. 23.
6 > Hi 1Penabter treats of the miracles of Eli/ba, of his multiplying a poor widow’s'pot of-oil for the payment of her hufband’s debts, x. 1—7. of obtaining a fon for a Shunamitifb woman, who had been very hofpitable to him, ¥. 8—17. of his raifing up her fon to. life whén dead, y. 18-+37. of his curing the deadly pottagé made of wild- ‘ gourds, yi 38—41. and of his feéding 100 men cave in the times of Ahab; and fo Fofepbus’, and it is the commonly received notion of the Fews/> writers; though it does:not appear that he was a prophet, or the fon of a prophet, but the; governor or fteward of 4baé’s haute 5 fhe was. more. likely to be the wife of a meaner perfon 3 and:from hence ic is clear, that the prophets, and their difciples married: faying, thy fervant, my bufband, is dead;
with 20 barley loaves, ¥. 42—44. which is the lot of prophets, as well as others, etaed.: Zech, i. 5. and thou knoweft that thy. fervant did “yore Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the fons of the prophets unto Elifoa, &c. » This, according to the Targum, was the wife -of ~ Obadiah, who had hid the prophets by 50 in fear the Lord; her hufband was well known to tie, | prophet, and known to be: a good man, one of the 7000who bowed not’ the knee to Baal, for afthe truth of which fhe appeals to Eli/oa, and this _
~ we’ gaint ihe tharaéter fhe gives of her hufband, left it fhould be thought that his poverty, and leaving her in debt, were owing to any ill practices of his: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two fons to he bondmen; which it feems were allowed of when} men became poor and infolvent, and died fo, to, which the allufion is in Jf 1. ». Matt. xyili. 25.
fee the note there. “fofephus * fuggefts, that the infolvency of this man was owing to his borrowing money to feed the prophets hid in the cave;
ditor was ‘¥eboram the fon of Abab, and in aftertimes it was a law with the Athenians *, that if a father had not paid what he was muléted in court, Elifoa the prophet, what had been done, what a the fon was obliged to pay it, and in the mean while to lie in bonds, as was the cafe of Cinzon", and others.
y¥. 2. And Elifoa faid unto ber, what fhall I do for thee? &c.] Or can 1 do, being poor bimfelf, and unable to relieve her out of his fubftance, and not kuowing where to get any thing for her; and fo what could fhe expect from him; fignifying, that he pitied her cafe, but all that he could do was to give her his beft advice; and pray for her: fell me what thou haft in thy houfe? that the could part with and difpofe of, in order. to pay her debt, and fatisfy her creditor: and fhe faid, thine handmaid hath not any thing in the houfe, fave a pot of oil; that is, nothing of any value; fhe might have fome things, fome fort of houfhold goods, though perhaps fhe had parted with moft of them in her poverty; this was the moft valuable thing fhe had., yg. Thew be faid, go, borrow thee veffels abroad of all thy neighbours, &c.] For he perceived that the had none: even empty veffels; which they, might more readily lend her: derrow not a few, but as many as fhe could get-; the prophet, under a divine impulfe was directed to fay this 'to her, forefeeing by a fpirit of prophecy, that a large quantity of oil would be given her.
y. 4. And when thou art come in, &c.} Into her houfe: thou fhalt fout the door upon thee, and upon thy fons; that they might be alone in the houfe while the miracle was working; that. they might not be interrupted in what they were to do, by the creditor coming in upon them, or by neighbours, who would be for getting the oil from them-in the veffels they had lent them; and that the miracle might appear the plainer, no oil being brought into the houfe by any: and fhalt pour out into all thefe veffels; out of the fingle pot of oil into all they borrowed: and thou fhalt fet afide that which ts full; by itfelf, and fill the reft of the empty ones. y¥. 5. So foe went from him, &e.\ And did as he advifed her, borrowed many empty veflels of ‘her neighbours, having faith in what the prophet had faid to her: and fhut the door upon ber, and ‘upon ber fous; and then went to work as fhe was directed, with her fons: who brought the veflels zo her; the empty ones fhe had borrowed: and she poured out, the oil out of her pot into them.
x. 6. And it came to pafs when the veffels were full, &c.] For the oil being miraculoufly increafed as it was poured forth, there was enough to fill all the vefiels; Ben Gerfom and Abarbinel fay, that when the pot was emptied, all the air that entered it was turned into oil: that /be faid to her fon, bring me yet a veffel; as fhe had two fons, one it is pro- way to Samaria, Bethel and Fericho,
| bable was employéd in fetting afide the full veffels, as fhe poured into them, and the other in bringing _ to’ her the empty vefiels, and to whom fhe thus, fpeaks: and he faid unto bers, there is not a vefel more; not an empty one, they were all filled: and the oil ftayed; it ran no longer, it was no more — multiplied; there was no neceffity of continuing the
/miracle: this oil may be an emblem of the grace that flows from the fulnefs of it in Chrift, to which it is compared, which will be always flowing, as and it is a common notion of the Yews, that this cre- flong as there is a veffel of falvation, or faith in any ‘to receive it; fee Matt, xxv. 3. Fobmi. 14, 166 y.7. Then foe came and told the man of God; &c.} quantity of oil fhe had, and advifed with him what was to done with it: and be faid, go, fell thy oil, and pay thy debt, what was thus miraculoufly produced, was no doubt very good and excellent, arid would fetch a good price; and fhe is therefore bid to,turn it into money, and pay her debts with it; the was not to keep it all for her own ufe, and indulge to luxury with it, but firft pay her juft debt, as every one ought to do that is able: and live thom and thy children of the ref fo that it feems there was enough to pay her debt with it, rid her of her troubles, and fomewhat remaining for the fupport of herfelf and children. yr ¥.8. And it fell on a day, &c.| Or fo it was at a certain time: that Elifha paffed to Shunem; a city in the tribe of [fachar; of which fee Fo. xix. 18. where was @ great woman; of great wealth and riches, of great benevolence and hofpitality, and of great grace and piety; that feared fin, as the Targum, paraphrafes it; a woman of great credit and reputation on all accounts. The Fews fay, the was the filter of Abi/hag the Shunamite, and the mother of Jddo the prophet: and jhe conftrained bint
‘to eat bread; the had obferved him at all times pafs that way, and gueffed by his habit and deportment, that he was a religious man, and therefore took an opportunity to invite him into her houfe, and take a dinner with her; but he being modeft and fhy, fhe was obliged to ufe fome prefling lan-
‘guage, and be importunate with him, that he would accept of her invitation, which he did; and fo it was, that as oft ashe paffed by, be turned in thither to eat bread, being made very welcome, and encouraged by the free and kind entertainment he met with, as often as he had occafion to come that way, he called and took a meal with hers and this it, feems-was pretty often, for Shunem was not far from Carmel, which he frequented, and lay inghe es he often vifited, the {chools of the prophets being there.
y. 9. And fhe faid unto her hufband, &c.) Not being willing to do any thing without his leave and. confent: Jehold, now I perceive that this is an boly man of God which paffeth by us continually; and calls here frequently; this fhe perceived by his difcourfe and converfation; and by his carriage and behaviour he appeared to be a prophet, and one very eminent for holinefs and religion.
‘y. 10. Let us make alittle chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, &c.| Either of the city, to which their houfe might join, or of their garden, al diftance from the houfe s though the Few ters commonly underftand it of a little ed up of walls of ftone or bricks, and not reeds, or ftud and mud: Jet us fet for b a: Re ec. ~~: ‘= ’ Ch. iv. vy. rr—2r. dL KINGS. 73% Bed, that he may ftay all night when he ‘pleafes: and a table, not only to eat his food, but to write ‘on, and lay his books on he reads. Of the table of a fcholar of the wifemen, in later times, we ‘are told‘, that two-thirds of it were’covered witha ‘cloth, andthe other third was uncovered, on which ftood the plates and the herbs: and a ftool; to fit upon at table: and a@ candleftick, with a candle in it, to light him in the night to read by, and the like: and it fhall be, when he cometh to us, that be Shall turn in thither; where he would be free from the noife of the houfe, and be more retired for| prayer, reading, meditation and ftudy, and nor be difturbed with the fervants of the family, and be mixed with them; all this fhe contrived, both for: his honour, and for his quietnefs and peace. y.11. Andit fell on a day, that he came thither, &c.] As he had been wont to-do: and he turned into the chamber; built for him, and to which he was directed: and Jay there; all night, and which no doubt was frequently repeated by him, he -accepting of the kindnefs of his hoft. y.12. And be faid to Gebazt his fervant, &c.] Who attended him wherever he went, and miniftred to him, and lay very probably in the fame chamber with him; he might be one of the fons of the prophets: call this Shunamite, tell her I defire to dpeak with her: and when be bad called ber, fhe ‘fiood before him, at the door of the chamber, in great reverence of him, and with much humility, waiting to hear what he had tofay to her: this muft be underftood after what had farther between Elifoa and Gebazi, and between ‘Gebaxi and the woman, who returned to his mafter, and acquainted him with what fhe had faid to him, upon which he was fent to call her, and fhe came. x¥.13. And he faid unto him, &c.| To Gebazi, before he went to call her: fay now unto ‘ber, behold, thou haft been careful for us with all this care, in building a chamber, and furnifhing it with proper houfhold-goods, and providing food for them from time to time: what is to be done for thee? can any thing be thought of by thee that be acceptable, and in my mafter’s power to do for thee, or thy hufband? would thou be fpoken for to the king, or to the captain of theboft? that her hufband might be promoted to fome poft the court, or in the camp; intimating, that if-either of thefe was agreeable, Eli/ba would fpeak on his behalf, having intereft in both through his fervices in Edom: and fhe anfwered, I will dwell among my own people; fhe was content and fatisfied with her prefent ftate of life, and the firuation fhe was in, and with her friends and neighbours the lived among, and did not care to remove, though it was to a higher rank of life, and to greater dignity and honour; and fhe had no fuit to make to the king or general, nothing to complain of; fhe had friends enough to fpeak for her, fhould fhe want any ie hia) and then expired;
¥.14. And be faid, &c.) That ‘is; Elisa to Gebazi, when he returned to:him, and told him what the Shunamite faid: what then'is to be done for “ber 2 fomething he thought fhould be done in gratitude for the favours they had réceived, and advifes with his fervant what could be thought of, he being one about the houfe: and Gebazi anfwer- _ ed, verily Joe bath no child, and ber bufband is old; and fo not likely to have any by him; as children bs. always very defirable by women, and efpecican y in thofe days, the fervant fuggelts, that no fon born alive, and live.
w. 18. And when the child was grown, &c.| Perpaffedjhaps was fix or feven years of age, or more: it fell on a day that be went out to his father to.the reapers; it was harveft-time,.and the men were reaping the corn in the fields; and his father, tho” |a wealthy man, was with,them to dire¢t them,:and fee they did their bufinefs well, as Boaz ‘formerly; and the child went out-from, the houfe to. the field, to fee his father and the: reapers, for/his recreation and diverfion.
¥..19. Andibe faid unto bis father, my head, my head, &c.] After he had been. fome,time with willjhim, he complained ofa pain in his head, which might be owing, as Abarbinel thinks, to the: fun’s beating upon it, being harveft-time, and hot-weather; and the pain being exceeding great and. veinjhement, he repeated his complaint, fee Fer: iv..19. and be-faid toa lad, carry \bim. home to, his mother; his father gave orders,to,a Jad that attended the reapers, to, have him home.to,his. mother, that fhe might give him fomething.to eafe him..of his pain. pe ¥.-20. And when he had ‘taken him, and brought him to bis mother, 8c:] The lad led. him home, and delivered him to -his,mother: Fe fat on Aer kuees til] noon,.and then died, out of her great affection, {he took -him ‘on her knees, and laid his andjhead in her bofom. to footh the ‘pain, and in this pofture; he continued until the middle of the day, by which it appears, it-was in the morning when he went. into. the: field,.and.when the fun was pretty high, and beat ftrongly.qn, him, which, it-may be,- produced a fever, and which iffued in his death. i.
y.-21. And she went.yp, &c.] Into, the little chamber built for the prophet: and Jaid him on the bed of the man of God; not from any imagination of any «virtue invit, to; bring her child to life; though fhe might -think. of the. pres and have faith that he ¢ould raife.it to li Cy as Elijah raifed the widow of Zarephath’s fon laid on his neta je to have one would be very acceptable td er. ‘.
Y. 15. And he faid, call ber, &c. } Perhaps finding an.impulfe on his own mind from the Spirit of God, that this was the thing to be done tor her: and when be bad éalled ber, foe flood in the door; of his chamber; fee the note on ¥. 12.
¥. 16. And he faid about this feafon, 8c.) In the next year: according to the time of life; the utual time women go with child: thou fhalt embraie a fon s in thine arms, that fhall be born of thee; which fhe fhould have in her lap, and in’ her bofom: and jhe faid, nay, my lord, do not lie unto thine bandimaid; or {peak unto her what was not truth; it was fo great, and/fo unaccountable, how it could. be in her circumftances, that fhe could not believe itto be true, though fhe withed it might; or do not deceive me with vain and falfe words, or flatter me, jeft with me, which would be. unbecoming his charagter as a man of God, and prophet of the Lord; according to the Targum, fhe wifhed it might prove true, and fhe not deceived; fee vy. 28.
¥.17. And the woman conceived, and bare a fon at the feafon that Elifoa faid unto ber, &c. Quickly after this the conceived, and became pregnant, and by that time the year came.round, fhe was brought to bed of afon: according to the time of Life; when fhe had gone her full time to have a which fhe might Have heatd; but this’being a private room, and into which none went, fhe laid it here to conceal its death from her hufband and faimily, and to prevent grief, and that they might not bury it until fhe returned: and fbut the door sipon bim; that no creature might enter, and do any damage to his corps: and went out; not out of the chamber, that fhe did Before fhe fhut the door, but out of the houfe.
y¥. 22. And fhe called unto ber bufoand, &c.] In the field, who might be within call, or by a meffenger fhe fent to him: agd faid, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the affes, that J may run tothe man of God, and come again; intimating that fhe fhould not be long gone, but fhould return again prefently; faying not a word of the'death of the child, or of the oecafion of her oing. ¥. 23. And he faid, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? 8c.}] What reafon is there for it? what is the meaning of it? it is weither new-moon, nor fabbath, neither the firft day of the month, nor the feventh day of the week, times which were religioufly obferved; fo with the heathens the new moon and the 7th of the week, and fo the 4th were facred *; which notions they borrowed from the Fews, fee the note on 1 Sam. xx. 5. and when, it feems, it was ufual to frequent the houfe of the prophet, to hear the word of God sread and explained, and other religious exercifes performed, as praying and finging praife, and receiving fome good inftructions and advice. ‘Fofeph Kimchi gives a different fenfe of thefe words: ‘ there is’ nota month paft, no not a week, fince thou faweft him;”? _why therefore fhouldft thou be in fuch hafte to go ~ ‘to him? fo the words for new-moon and fabbath may fignify: and fhe faid, It thall be wel; it was right for ‘her to go, and it would be well for him -and her, and the family; or, peace “, be eafy and quiet, farewel: it is much he had no miftruft of ‘the death of the child, or that it was worfe, fince it went from him ill. + ¥. 24. Then fhe faddled an afs, &c.| Her fervant did‘it by her order: and faid to ber fervant, Drive, and go forward; make all the hafte he ‘could: flack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee; don’t be afraid of riding too faft for me; if thou doft, I’ll tell thee; till then, keep on a good pace: Abarbinel fays fhe walked’ a-foot all the way, and ’ ordered the man not to flacken his pace in riding for her, unlefs fhe called to him; andthe Targum feems to favour this fenfe, ‘* don’t prefs me to ride ~ unlefs I call to thee;” fo that the afs was for Elijah to ride on; but one would think, that as fhe was in hafte, quicker difpatch would be. made by her riding than by walking, fee y. 22. 9 ‘ y. 25. So foe went, and came unto the man of God ' at mount Carmel, &c.] Where Elijab uled to be, and where perhaps was a fchool of the’ prophets; * this, according to Bunting *, was 16 miles from Shunem: and it came to pafs when the man of God faw ber afar off; as he might from the eminence of the mountain: that he faid to Gebazi bis fervant,
Behold, yonder is that Shunamite; that has fo often
~ and fo hofpitably entertained us at her-houfe. ¥. 26. Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, &c.] In refpeé&t to her, and to know the occafion of her coming; fomething’is the caufe of it: and fay unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with: thy buf- befallen thee, thy,hufband, or the. child?, aie in good health? or does any diforder attend any of them? aad foe anfwered, It is well, as in general they were, the greateft part, fhe and her hufban and though the child was dead, yet, if ge heaven; as fhe might hope, it was well too; ang right to judge and fay, that all that the Lord
, oo» is well: fhe gives a fhort anfwer to he fn. f not being willing to be detained, and being defiro of telling her cate to the prophet himéelf.. ae ¥. 27. And when foe came to the man of God te the hill, &c.| To the top of it: sre caught him by the feet, in reverence.to him, and, as a fupplicant, fhe proftrated herfelf at his feet, and, out of affection to him, caught hold on them, and held them faft, and determined not to.leave him, until he-hadpromifed to go with her, fee Matt. xxviii. 9. Tt was ufual with the, Fers to lay hold on and kifs the feet or knees of thoie to whom they did homage, or made fupplication, fee Matt. xxviii. 9. Luke vii. 38. and the note there; and {fo with the Greeks, as may be obferved in yarious paflages in, Homer ¥ and others: but Gebaxi came. near ta thruft her away, as being troublefome and dilagreeable to his mafter,-and not for her honour.and. credit: @ad the man of God faid, Let her alone, for her foul is vexed within her; or is bitter *, full of trouble and diftrefs, and knows not, what to do, nor very well what fhe does: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me; what. is the caufe of this her trouble; for prophets did not know, things of themfelves, nor had they the. vifion of prophecy at their will and pleafure, but according to the will of. God.. rate ¥..28. Then fhe faid, Did I defire a fon of my lord? &c.J It was,not,at her requeft fhe had one, at leaft the firft motion was not from her; the prophet firft told her, and affured her fhe fhould haye one, without her afking for it; fhe might be pleafed with it, and defire the promife might be fulfilled; but it was not an inordinate, importunate defire-of one, in which fhe had exceeded, that fo the taking it away from her, might bea correction of her. for it: did I not fay, Do not deceive me? b giving hopes of a child, and yet have none; and now it, was equally the fame, or worfé, to have one, and then to have it taken away again as foon as had almoft; fo the Targum, ** Did I not fay unto thee, if a child is given me, let it live, if nor, don’t trouble or grieve me;” and then, no doubt, fhe told him plainly the child was dead, and where fhe had Jaid it, though not recorded. = ¥. 29. Then he faid to Gebaxi, Gird up thy loi IS, &c.]. His loofe and long garments about h after-mentioned; if thou. meet ony ga anfwer bii with his fervant, but infifted upon it felf went with her, or the would no be arofe, and Jollowed ber; influenced by her, importunity, and a fenfe of favours he had received from her, and more efpeciall y by the Spirit » of God.
¥. 31. And Gehazi paffed on before them, &c. ] The prophet and the Shunamite: and loid the faff upon the face of the child; as he was ordered: but there was neither voice nor bearing, it feems as if he {poke when he laid the ftaff on the child, but it heard and anfwered- him not, fo that there was no fign of life in it: wherefore be went again to meet kim; upon.the road between Carmel and Shunem: and told him, faying, The child is not awaked; by which he exprefles its being dead; or, if he knew nothing. of its death, he fuppofed it faft afleep, which was the reafon of its not hearing and anfwering, though the former feems beft.
¥. 32. And when Elifha’was come into the boufe, &c.] Of the, Shunamite, and into the chamber buile for him: debold, the child was dead, and laid upon the bed; upon his bed, and where he found it really dead,.
¥. 33. He went. in therefore, and fout the door upon them twain, &c.) Himfelf and‘ the “dead child; that no body might come in and interrupt him in his prayers for the reftoration of it to life, nor fee the motions and geftures he ufed, and the pottures he put himfelf in: and prayed unto the Lord; that he would reftore the child to life.
¥. 34. dnd he went up, &c.] To the bed, which was on an afcent in the chamber, fee the note on ch, i. 4. and lay upon the childs as Elijah did on the widow’s fon of Zarephath, 1 Kings xvii. 21. and put his mouth upon bis mouth, and bis eyes upon bis eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and Stretched bimfelf upon the child, that is, he did each of thefe one after another, fince the difproportion of their bodies would not admit of their being done together: and the floh of the child waxed warm; not from any virtue imparted to it by thefe motions and actions of the prophet, but from life being infufed into. it by the Lord, which caufed an heat in the feveral parts of the body.
¥. 35. Then he returned and walked in the boufe to and fro, &c.}~ Left the chamber, and came down to the houle where the family chiefly refided, and walked to and fro in deep thought and meditation, and, no doubt, in fervent ‘ejaculations for the wifhed-for bleffing to be compleated: and went Up to the chamber, again, and ‘up to the bed init: and Stretched bimfelf upon him as before: | and. the child neefed feven times; which was-a fign of life, and even of health; and: hereby his head was cleared, as fome obferve, of thafe humours. that had caufed the pains init *, and had ifued ih death - and the child opened bis eyes) upon the prophet, another fign:of life.» a Sed y. 36. And be called Gebazi, and Jaid, Cail ibis Shunamite, &c.| To come up to the chamber to him: fo be called her: and <when foe was come in unto him, be feid, Take up thy Jon; from off the bed, alive, fafe, and found:
¥. 37. Then foe went in, and fell at bis feet, and bowed herfelf to the ground, &c.]\ In reverence of him, and with the moft. profound gratitude and } thankfulnefs for the mercy received: and took up mber into her with great joy and gladnef,
¥. 38. And Elifoa came again to Gilgal, &e.] Where he was with Elijzh a little before hi; alfumption to heaven, ch. ii, 1. and whither he went, there being a fchool of the prophets, as he did to all places where there were any, and where’ he had been before with Elijah; partly to inftrua, encourage, and ftrengthen them, and partly to confirm his office as a prophet by miracles, which he did in feveral places he ¢ame to: and there was @ dearth in the land; a famine through drought: and the Jons of the prophets were fitting before bim; as difciples before their matter, fee 4s xxii. a and he jaid unto bis fervant; very probably Gebazi: Set on the great pot, and [eethe pottage for the fons of the prophets; who feemed to haye lived together in one houfe or college, and to be to the number of 100, fee ¥. 43. and therefore required to have a large pot fet on to boil pottage for them all.
¥. 39. And one went out into the fields to gather herbs, &c.| To put into the pottage, the gardens - affording none in this time of dearth; or, however, being fcarce, were at too great a price for the fons of the prophets to purchafe them, and therefore one of them went out. into the field to gather what common herbs he could: and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapfull; thought to be the fame with Cologuintida, the leaves of which are yery like to a vine, of a ve bitter tafte, and a very violent purgative, which, if not remedied, will produce ulcerations in the bowels, and iffue in death; fome think the white bryar or white vine is meant, the colour of whofe. berries is very inviting to look at, but very bitter and ungrateful, and it vehemently purges °; the Arabs call a fort of mufhroom that is white and foft by this name ‘, but cannot be meant here, becaufe it has no likenefs to a wild vine: and came and fored them into the pot of pottage; cut or chopped them fmall, and put them into the pot: for they knew them not; what they were, the nature and virtue of them, being unfkilful in botany.
¥. 40. So they poured out for the mex to eat, &c. }
When thé pottage was boiled, they poured it out into difhes or bafons, for the fons of the prophets to eat: and it came to pafs as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and faid, O thou man of
| God, there is death in the pot poifon, the caule of death; the pottage was fo exceeding bitter, that they concluded there muft be fome poifonous ‘herb in it; and Coloquintida js {o bitter, that it is called the gall of the earth: and they could not eat thereof: they left off eating, it being fo very difacreeable, and, as they fuppofed, dangerous, ay
¥. 41. But be faid, Then bring meal: and he caft it into the pot, &c.] And ftirred it about in it} and be fatd, Pour out for the people, that they may eat;.as they now might freely, and without any danger, as he intimated: and there was no harm in the pots or any thing that could do any hurt or mifchief to the health of men; ‘this was not owing to the natural virtue of méal, but to a miraculous power attending it, whereby the portage was cured of its malignity, as the bad waters of ‘Yericho were by falt, ina preceding miracle.
the Targum is from the fouth country: end brought the man of God bread of the firft-fruits, 20 loaves of barley; fo that it was now barley-harveft, and this the firft-fruits of it, which, according to the law, Lev. xxiii. 10. was to be brought to the prieft; but being forbid in the land of J/rael going up to Ferufalem, religious men brought their firtt-fruits to the prophets, and here to Elifha, the father of them; believing it would be difpenfed with, and acceptable, fince they were not allowed to carry them to the proper perfon; and in this time of famine was very agreeable to the man of God, fuppofing it only a prefent: and full ears of corn in the hufk thereof, thefe were green ears of corn, which they ufed to parch; but might not be eaten until the firft-fruits were offered, and then they might, Lev. xxiii. 14. the Targum renders it, in bis garment, in the fkirt of his clothes; and to the fame purpofe are the Syriac and Arabic verfions 5 and fo ‘¥archi interprets it; and Ben Gerfom fays, it figni fies fome vetlel in which he brought them: and he faid, Give unto the people that they may eat; Elia did not referve this offering or prefent for himelf, but as he had freely received, he freely gave.. ¥. 43. And bis fervitour faid, &c.) His fervant Gebazi very probably: What, should 1 fet this before 100 men? for fo many, it feems, the fons of the prophets were in this place; and thefe loaves being very fmall, no more, it is thought by fome, than one man could eat, and the ears of corn but few, the fervant fuggefts they would be nothing — comparatively to fuch a company of men: he faid
again, Give the people that they may eat; he infifted »
upon it that his orders fhould be obeyed; for thus faith the Lord, They foall eat, and fall leave there-.
of; it was fuggefted to him by a fpirit of prophe there would be enough for thes a to aR fs
X. 44. So be fet it before them, &c.} The twenty barley-loaves, and the full ears of corn: and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord; as the difciples did at the miracle of the loaves and fifhes; though that muft be allowed to be a greater miracle than this, Maét. ‘xiv, I7—21.
HIS chapter gives an, account of the leprofy of Naamanthe Syrian, and of the cure of it by Elifha; how he came to hear of him, and the recommendation he had from the king of Syria to the king of Jrael, ¥. 1—8. who, coming to Elifha’s houfe, was ordered to dip himfelf feven times in Fordan, which made him depart in wrath; but one of his fervants perfuaded him to doit, and he did, and was cured, ¥. 9—14. upon which he returned to Elifha, and offered him a prefent, which he refufed, ¥. 15—19. but Gebazi, his fervant, ran after him with a lie in his mouth, and obtained it, and returned to his mafter with another, for which he was fmitten with the leprofy of Naaman, y. 20—-27.
of Ifrael a little maid; for boys and girls were a part of the booty of fuch robbers, whom they could - fell for money, fee Yoel iit. Farchi and Kimchi fay the was a girl of Naaron, a city fo called: and fe waited on Naaman’s wife + being either made a prefent of to the general by thofe plunderers, or was bought by him of them for his wife’s fervice.
¥. 3. And fhe faid unto ber mifirefs, 8c.) As fhe was waiting upon her at a certain time, and perhaps her miftreis was lamenting the cafe of her hufband as defperate and incurable: Weuld God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria; meaning Lli/ba, who, though fometimes in one place, and fometimes in another, yet often at Samaria, and it feems was there when this girl was taken captive: for be would recover him of his le- x. 1. Now Naaman captain of the boft of| profy; the king of Syria, &c.] The general of Benbadad’s army; for be was now king of Syria, though fome think Hazael his fucceffor was: was g great man with his mafter; high in his favour and efteem: and honourable; not only acceptable to the king, and loaded with honours by him, but greatly re- {pected by all ranks and degrees among the people: becaufe by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria; out of the hands of their enemies, and victory over them, and particularly in the laft battle with J/rael, in which Ahab was flain, and, as the Jews fuppofe, by the hands of Naaman, fee the note on 1 Kings xxii. 34. however, when any falvation: is wrought, or victory obtained, even by heathens, and by them over J/rael, the people of God, it was of the Lord: be was alfo a mighty man in valour, a very courageous, valiant man: the maid had heard of the miracles wrought by Elijba, and doubted not that at the requeft of her lord he would be willing, as fhe belieyed he was able, to cure him of this difeafe.
y.4. And one went in and told his Lord &c.} What the girl had faid to her miftrefs; one ‘of the fervants of the houfe that overheard it; or rather; Naaman went and told his lord the king of Syria; for as this was faid to his wife, no doubt e told it to her hufband, and not a fervant; and the following words require this fenfe, and is the fenfe of moft fewi/o commentators: Saying, Thus and thus faid the maid that is of the land of Tirael, who for her wit and beauty might be well known at court by the name of the Jraehtiff girl.
y. 5. Aud the king of Syria Jaid, Go to, £0, 8:c.] On what Naaman related to him from what the maid had faid, he urged him by all means to go but he was @ leper; was ftricken with the leprofy, which had deformed and difgraced his perfon, and weakened his ftrength, and difpirited him; all his grandeur and honour coyld not protect him from this loathfome difeafe.
¥.2. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, &c.] Not regular troops, but a fort of banditti of robbers, which made excurfions into the land of Jjrael, to plunder and carry off what booty they could: aud had brought away captive out of the land directly to Samaria: and I will fend a letter unto the. king of JI/rael; recommending him to ufe his intereft in his behalf; this was Jeboram the fon of Abab: and he departed, fet out on his journey immediately, as foon as he could conveniently: and took with him 10 talents of filver, and 6000 pieces of gold; partly for the expences of hia goniey and partly to make prefents to the king of J rael’s — fervants, and efpecially to the prophet; a talent of
‘ef our money; but, according to bifhop Cumberland’s * exact calculation, it was 353/. 115. 10d. 4 the pieces of gold are, by the Targum, called gol: den pence, and a golden penny, according to the firft of the above writers ‘, was, of the value of our money 15 fhillings; fo chat thefe amounted to 4500 pounds fterling: and ten changes of raiment: both for his own ufe, and for prefents. _ ¥. 6. And he brought the letter to the king of If- ‘racl, faying, &c.) The contents of which were fo far as it concerned Naaman and his café, which are only obferved, thefe: Now when this letter is come unto thee; was received byhim: debold, I have therewith fent Naaman my fervant unto thee, the bearer of it: that thou mayeft recover him of bis leprofy; meaning not he himfelf, but that he would recommend him to the care of a proper perfon, his prophet, and enjoin him to do the heft he could for him; but the king of J/rael miftook his meaning, as appears by what follows.
X. 7. And it came to pafs, when the king of Ifrael bad.read the letter, that be rent his clothes, &c.
As one in great diftrefs, being thrown into perple xity of mind by it, not knowing what to do; or, as fome think, at the blafphemy he fuppofed to be in it, requiring that of him which only God could do: and faid, Am I God, to kill and to make alive; or have the power of life and death, which only belongs to the Supreme Being: that this man doth fend unto me to recover a mag of bis leprofy; fora leper was reckoned as one dead, his difeafe incurable, his flefh upon him being mortified by it, fee Numb. xii. 12. and therefore not fuppofed: to be in the power of man, only of God, to cure; and therefore, in J/rae/, none had any thing to do with the leper but the prieft, in the name of God: wherefore confider, Ipray you, and fee bow be feeketb a@ quarrel againft me; to pick a quarrel with him, in order to go to war with him as he fuppofed. This feems to have been fpaken to his lords and courtiers about him,
¥. 8. And it was {o, when Elifha the man of God bad beard that the king of Ifrael had rent bis clothes, £cc.] And upon what account: ¢hat be fent to the king, faying, Wherefore aft thou rent thy clothes? and thereby expreffed fo much concern and diftrefs: let bim come now to me, meaning Naaman the Syrian leper: and be Joall know that there is a pbb in Ifrael; able in the name of the Lord to work miracles, which he fhould be fenfible of and acknowledge, to the glory of the God of Irael, by the cure that fhould be wrought upon him; and hereby he taxed the king of J/rae/ with ignorance or neglect of him as a prophet.
¥. 9. So Naaman came with bis horfes, and with bis chariot, &c.} In his chariot drawn by horfes; or with horfemen and chariots, a great retinue both for his own grandeur, and for the honour of the rophet, and to make him the more sefpectable by a: and flood at the door of the house of Eliha; who now dwelt at Gilgal, as is probable, fee ch. iv. 38. hither Naaman was directed, and here he ftopped; and having fent a meflenger to E/i/ha to acquaint him who he was, and what was his bufinefs, he ftayed waiting for an anfwer. Tudela ' y. 10. “nd Elifba ent a meffenger unto him, &cc.\ Or returned an anfwer by Neaman’s meffenger; he did not go out to him, chufing to be retired, as he: commonly did; and being perhaps employed in takes its rife from Lebanon, and fliding through the faid plain, falls into the Syrian fea. Benjamin of peaks of thefe rivers under, their fcripture-names; Abana or Amana, as he fays, paffes through the city, and fupplies the houfes of great men with water through wooden pipes; and Pharphar is without the city, and runs among the
* 733 prayer for the gure; and it may be alfo to thew hig contempt of, or little regard he had to worldly grandeur and honour, as well as to mortify the pride of Naaman: faying, go and wafh in Fordan fewen times; fo according to the law of the cleanfing the leper, he was to be fprinkled {even times, and onthe feventh day his flefh was to be bathed or dipped all over in water, which is meant by wafhing here, Lev. xiv. 7, 9.,and thy flefh fhall come again to thee; which was eaten and confumed by the difeafe on him: and thou fhalt be clean; freed from this pollution, or filthy difeafe, with which he was defiled; for a leper was reckoned unclean, Lev. xiii. 3. mdi
¥.11. But Naaman was wroth with him, &c.} On more accounts than one: and went away, not to Jordan, but from the prophet’s houfe, with an intention to return to his own country: debold, 2 thought be will furely come out to me; this he faid within himfelf, making no doubt of it, but that he would fhew him fo much refpect and civility as to come out of his houfe to him, and converfe with him, or invite him into it; and not doing this, was one thing made him wroth: aud ftand; he fuppofed that he would not only come out, but {tand before him, as inferiors before their fuperiors in reverence, but inftead of that he remained fitting within doors: and call on the name of the Lord his God, he expected, that as he was a prophet of the Lord, that he would have prayed to him for the cure of him: and firike bis baud over the place; wave his hand to and fro, as the word fignifies, over the place of the leprofy, as the Targum, ‘over the place affected with it; or towards the place where he worfhipped the Lord, as Bex Gerfom, toward the temple at Yeru/alem; or towards Fordan, the place where he bid him go and wafh, as Abarbinel; but the firft fenfe feems beft: and recover the leper; meaning himfelf, heal him by the ufe of fuch means and rites.
¥, 12. Are not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damafeus, better than all the waters of Ifrael, &c.
Abana is in the marginal reading, called Amana, and fo the Targum perhaps from the mount Amana, from whence it fprung, a mountain in Syria *, mentioned with Lebanon, Cant. iv. 8. This river is thought to be the Chry/orrboas of Pliny *, and other writers; there are ng traces of its name, or of the following, to be met with now, the only river by Damafcus is called Barrgdy, which fupplies Dama/- cus and its gardens, and makes them fo fruitful and pleafant as they be; jt pours down from the mountains, as Mr. Maundrel' defcribes it, and is divided into three ftreams, of which the middlemoft and biggeft runs directly to Damaj/cus, thro? a large field, called the field of Damafcus; and the other two are drawn round, the one to the righthand, and the other to the left, on the borders of the gardens. Pharpbar is thought * to be the river Oroutes, which runs clofe tg the walls of Autioch, and courfes through its large and fpacious plain, being numbered among the rivers of Syria; it gardens and orchards, and waters them.- Farfar is alfo the name of a’river in Italy”: ‘may I not wajh ia them, and be clean?. as well as in Fordans or rather, fince they are better.waters, and fo not have been at this trouble and expence to come hither; or have Inot wafhed in them every day? I have, and am I clean? I am not; which is the fenfe the feveral Jewi/h writers give’: fo be turned, and went away it arages in.a great paflion, {wearing and curling perhaps, ordering his chariot-driver to turn and be gone at once.
. y. 13. And bis fervant came near, and fpake unto kim, and faid, my father, &c.] Or my lord, as the Targum; this being not a familiar and affectionate expreflion, but a term, of honour, reverence and fubmiffion: if the prophet bad bid thee do ‘fome great thing, wouldft thou not have done it? fomething that was hard and difficult to be done, or painful to bear, to go through fome fevere operation, or difagreeable courfe of phyfick: bow much rathir then when be faith to thee, wafb, and be clean? which is fo ealy to be done; though Abarbinel obferves it may be interpreted, the prophet has bid thee do a great thing, and which is wonderful; for though he has faid, wafh and be clean, confider it a ‘great thing, and which is a wondgrful myftery, and therefore don’t defpile his cure.
y. 14. Then went be down, and dipped. bimfelf feven times in Jordan, according to the faying of the man of God, &c.] He liftened’ to the reafoning of his fervant, and his paffion fubfided, and did as the prophet ordered him: and his ficloh came again like unto the flefh of a little child, clear and frefh, foft and tender as an infant, quite new flefh: and be was clean, from the leprofy, aad all the filthy fymptoms of it.
¥.15. And be returned tothe man of God, ke and all bis company, &c.] To give him thanks for the advice he had given him, and by him to give thanks to God for the cure he had received; ior he was fenfible it was from the Lord, as his words fhow: and came and ftood before him, for being admitted into the prophet’s houfe, inftead of the prophet ftanding before him, as he before expected, he now ftood before the prophet in veneration of him, and fenfible of his obligation to him: deheld, now I know there is no God in all the earth, but in Ifrael, though he did not before, bur his cure fully convinced him of it: J pray thee, take a blefing of thy fervant; nota wifh of health and happinefs, which the prophet would not. have refuled, -but a prefent; the Targum calls it an offering.;
x. 16. But be faid, as the Lord liveth, before whom I fiand, &c.| Whofe minifter and’ prophet he was, and by whom he fwears: J «will receive none, to let him know that this cure was not to be attributed to him, but the Lord only; and that what concern he had in it was not for the. fake of money, but for the glory of the God of J/rae/: and be urged bim to take it, but he refufed it; Naaman was very preffing upon him to receive a ‘gift from him, but he could not be prevailed upon to accept it.;
y, 17. And Naaman faid, hall there not then, I earib 2 &c.y Not that he defired of E/i/ba that he the hand of one-of his officers, either t
'|for pardon for a fin to be compte nd. indulged in his continuance of 8s adem pray thee, be given to thy fervant two mules burden of the idol along with his mafter; nor |
OOS a re ”. ‘ ‘ we NGS. would fuffer his fervant Gehazi to receive a pre q as much as two mules could carry; but inafmue as the prophet refufed a prefent from him, his fervant, he afks a favour of him, that he woul mit him to take with him, out of the land o rael, as much earth as two mules could car is, to make an altar of earth, as the nex w indicate: but as he might have this any where v out the prophet’s leave, fome Jeex/h writers t he requefted it from his own houfe, and from he place his feet trod on, as conceiving in, afuperititious way that there was a fort of holinefs in it; ' or however, that wherefoever he had it, if with - the prophet’s leave, a blefing would go with it, or that would be a fort of a confecration of it; and having an altar made of the earth of this land, would fhew that he was in the faith of the fame God, and performed the fame worfhip to him J/- rael did: for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt- offering, nor facrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord; hence the Jews fay, he became a profelyte of righteoufnelg®, embraced the’ true re> rding ligion, and the worfhip of the true Ged, ace to the laws given to I/rae/; and the following words rightly underftood, confirm the fame. vjhe “ay x. 18. In this thing the Lord pardon thy fervant, &c.] Which he next mentions, and on account of which he defires the prayers of Elij/ha for him, as the Vulgate Latin verfion; or it may be, this is a prayer of his own, put up at this time to the true Jehovah, in whom he believed: that when © my mafter; meaning the king of Syria: gogtb into. the boufe of Rimmon to worfhip there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myjfelf in the houfe of Rimmon, when 1 bow down myfelf in the houfe of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy fervant in this thing, the houle of Rimmon was a temple of an idol of that name; what idol’ ir was is not eafy to fay; the Septuagint verfion. calls it Remman, thought by ~ fome to be the fame with Rempban, AGs vii. 43. a ~ name of Saturn, faid to be given him from a Greek word, which fignifies to wander*, he being placed. among the wandering ftars inthe fupreme heavens; which is not likely, for the word is certainly of a Syriag fignification, and comes either from ty which fignifies 4igh, and fo the fame with Eloun, the Phenician deity, called the moft high"; of as ~~ Rimmon is uted for a pomegranate, this is thought to defign the Syrian goddels, to whom this fort of fruit, was facred; or Yano, whofe ftatue in her tems ple at Mycenas*, had a pomegranate in one hand; or rather this Rimmon was Fupiter Caffius, fo called from mount Cafius, which divided Sria from Egypt, who is painted with his hand ftretched out, and a pomegranate in it‘; and may be the fame with Captor, the father of the Caphtorim, Gen. x, 14. who might be deified after his death, their names; Rimmon and Caphtor, being of the fame fignification ". But be this deity as if may, ity worfhipped by the Syriams; and when the } Syrig went in to worfhip, he ufed to Ie or for ftate-fake, in which office Vaamay his requeft to the prophet, or to the Lo the worfhip of it, when he really