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Selected Verse: 2 Kings 6:21 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| 2Ki 6:21 |
King James |
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
My father - A term of respect used by Jehoram in his joy at seeing an army of Syrians delivered up to him by the prophet. That the king's character was not changed appears from Kg2 6:31-32.
Shall I smite them? shall I smite them? - The repetition of the words mean, "Shall I utterly smite them?" Compare similar repetitions with similar meanings in Gen 22:17; Luk 22:15. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
| Elisha forbade king Joram to slay the enemy that he had brought to him, because he had not taken them prisoners in war, and recommended him to treat them hospitably and then let them return to their lord. The object of the miracle would have been frustrated if the Syrians had been slain. For the intention was to show the Syrians that they had to do with a prophet of the true God, against whom no human power could be of any avail, that they might learn to fear the almighty God. Even when regarded from a political point of view, the prophet's advice was more likely to ensure peace than the king's proposal, as the result of Kg2 6:23 clearly shows. The Syrians did not venture any more to invade the land of Israel with flying parties, from fear of the obvious protection of Israel by its God; though this did not preclude a regular war, like that related in the following account. For אבי see the Comm. on Kg2 5:13. וגו שׁבית האשׁר: "art thou accustomed to slay that which thou hast taken captive with sword and bow?" i.e., since thou dost not even slay those whom thou hast made prisoners in open battle, how wouldst thou venture to put these to death? כּרה להם יכרה, he prepared them a meal. כּרה is a denom. from כּרה, a meal, so called from the union of several persons, like coena from κοινή (vid., Dietr. on Ges. Lex. s. v. כרה). |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| My father, shall I smite - This was dastardly; the utmost he could have done with these men, when thus brought into his hand, was to make them prisoners of war. |
15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.