Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give A.C. 890. them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. 23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. * place. 24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from Or, secret their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. 25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went † no whither. + Heb. not hither or thi 26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, ther when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? 27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. 2 KINGS VI. VER. 1-24. 1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. 2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. 4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 889. 5 But as one was felling a beam, the tax head fell into Heb. iron. the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. 6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. 7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it. 8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my § camp. ◊ Or, encamp. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying. A.C. 889. ing, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. * Heb. No.. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 13 ¶ And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a + Heb. heavy. † great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. + Or, minister. g 2 Chron. xxxii. 7. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? g 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, Heb. come ye neither is this the city: § follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. after me. 20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before A.C.889. them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 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. CHAPTER V. PART I. Reign of Jehoram, King of Judah, 4 Years—from 889 to 885. 2 CHRONICLES XXI. VER. 1. 50. 1 a 13 Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was al Kings xxi. buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 2 CHRONICLES xxi. ver. 5, 6, 7. 5¶Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the b ch. xxii. ?. eyes of the LORD. 7 Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give light to him and to Heb. lamp, his sons for ever. 2 CHRONICLES XXI. VER. 2, 3, 4. 2 And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of 13 To understand the chronology of Jehoram's reign, it is necessary to observe that three several dates are assigned to the beginning of it. The first in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat his father, compare 2 Kings xxii. 51. 2 Kings i. 17. 2 Kings iii. 1. The second in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, 2 Kings viii. 16. which was in the two and twentieth year of Jehoshaphat: and the third at his father's death. The first time, he was made viceroy, when his father went out to fight for the recovery of Ramoth-gilead; and the second, he was again made viceroy on his father's absence in Moab with Jehoram.-Lightfoot's Prolegomena to the Harmony of the Evang., Works, vol. i. p. 387. or, candle. A. C. 889. gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to* Jehoram; because he was the made Partner firstborn. * Jehoram of the King dom with his 4 Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, 2 Kings father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. viii. 16. 2 CHRONICLES XXI. VER. 11-16. 11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. 14 12 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the 14 The letter from Elijah to Jehoram has given rise to much discussion. Elijah the Tishbite was taken up to heaven in the reign of Ahab, many years before the last accession of Jehoram. Jehoram was made king three several times. Once before the battle of Ramoth-gilead, in which Ahab was killed: (compare 1 Kings xxii. 51. 2 Kings i. 17. 2 Kings iii. 1.); once upon his father's going to war against the Moabites; and again on his father's death. It is doubtful on which of these occasions he destroyed his brothers, and attempted to restore idolatry. If on his first or second accession, the letter might have been written by Elijah immediately preceding his assumption. But it does not appear probable, either that Jehoram would have acted in this cruel and unnatural manner, or that he would have endeavoured to establish idolatry, during the lifetime of his father, who was zealous for the worship of the true God. This argument, therefore, prevents us from supposing that he deserved to receive the letter after his first or second accession; we must therefore conclude he destroyed his brothers, and restored superstition after his father's death. But at this time, Elijah had ascended into heaven. Three hypotheses have been framed to account for this apparent difficulty. One supposes, that for Elijah we ought to read Elisha. Another, that the Elijah here mentioned is another prophet of that name, and not Elijah the Tishbite. The third is, that immediately preceding his ascension into heaven, when Jehoram was first raised to the joint administration of the kingdom by his father Jehoshaphat, Elijah predicted the enormities of which he would be guilty, and left the writing with the sons of the prophets. When the circumstances prophesied by Elijah had actually taken place, the writing was sent to Jehoram; the account of the punishment of his offences was laid before him; an interval was allowed him for repentance; and, at the end of a short time, he fell a victim to the disease foretold by Elijah. If, then, we come to the conclusion, that this letter of Elijah to Jehoram was written by the prophet before the murder of his brothers, it may be esteemed one of the most important passages in the books of Scripture. It may be regarded as the commencement of that part of the dispensations of Providence, which was continued nearly to the close of the Canon of Scripture; that is, it was the first written prophecy of which we read, which confined itself to the judgments about to be inflicted on an individual. It was a new mode of appeal to the princes and people of Israel and Judah. It was made at a time when the public corruption was at its height; it was confirmed by the most wonderful mi prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy A.C. 889. father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself: stroke. 14 Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite * Heb. a great thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: 15 And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. 2 CHRONICLES XXI. VER. 8, 9, 10. 8 In his days the Edomites revolted from under the + dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. 888. d 2 Kings viii. 20, &c. 9 Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his † Heb. hand. chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. 10 So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. 2 CHRONICLES XXI. VER. 16, TO THE END. 16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: 17 And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save § Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. racles, and authenticated by the witnesses among whom it was deposited, who were most probably the sons of the prophets. Lightfoot is of opinion that the letter was sent by Elijah after Jehoram's first accession to the throne. Of the three hypotheses above mentioned, the first is maintained by Dr. Hales; the second by Dr. Wall; the third by Pfeiffer, and Bishop Patrick on the authority of Kimchi. There is yet another, which I mention as a specimen of the sober judgment exercised in Jewish or Rabbinical criticism. The Jews believe that Elijah sent the letter to Jehoram from heaven. In one of their books, indeed, it is asserted that Elijah is still engaged in writing a history of the world.-Vide Patrick and Lightfoot in loc.; Pfeiffer, dubia vexata, &e. p. 471. 887. Heb. carried captive. Or, Ahaziah, ch. xxii. 1. or, Azariah, ch. xxii. 6. |