FOOTNOTES:[1]Rawlinson,Kings of Israel and Judah, p. 86. "The name of Ahaziah ('the Lord taketh hold'), like that of all Ahab's sons, testifies to the fact that the husband of Jezebel still worshipped Jehovah. Among the names of the judges and kings before Ahab in Israel, and Asa in Judah, scarcely a single instance occurs of names compounded with Jehovah; thenceforward they became the rule" (Wellhausen,Israel and Judah, Es. 1, p. 66).[2]1 Kings xxii. 47; 2 Kings iii. 9: comp. viii. 20.[3]2 Sam. viii. 2. On the ethics of these wars of extermination, such as are commanded in the Pentateuch, and were practised by Joshua, Samuel, Saul, David, and others, see Josh. vi. 17; 1 Sam. xv. 3, 33; 2 Sam. viii. 2, etc., and Mozley'sLectures on the Old Testament, pp. 83-103.[4]See Stade, i. 86. He gives a photograph and translation of it at p. 534.[5]SeeRecords of the Past, xi. 166, 167.[6]2 Kings i. 2; Heb.,be'ad hass'bakāh; LXX., διὰ τοῦ δικτυωτοῦ; Vulg.,per cancellos(comp. 1 Kings vii. 18; 2 Chron. iv. 12).[7]LXX., Βάαλ μυῖαν θεὸν Ἀκκαρών. So, too, Jos.,Antt., IX. ii. 1. It is possible that the god was represented holding a fly as the type of pestilence, just as the statue of Pthah held in its hands a mouse (Herod., ii. 141). Flies convey all kinds of contagion (Plin.,H. N., x. 28).[8]Pausan., v. 14, § 2.[9]The name, or a derisive modification of it, was given by the Jews in the days of Christ to the prince of the devils. In Matt. xii. 24 the true reading is Βεελζεβούλ, which perhaps means (in contempt) "the lord of dung"; but might mean "the lord of the [celestial] habitation" (οἰκοδεσπότην). Comp. Matt. x. 25; Eph. ii. 2; "Baal Shamaim," the Belsamen of Augustine (Gesen.,Monum. Phœnic., 387; Movers,Phönizier, i. 176). For "opprobrious puns" applied to idols, see Lightfoot,Exercitationes ad Matt., xii. 24. The common word for idols,gilloolim, is perhaps connected withgalal, "dung." Hitzig thinks that the god was represented under the symbol of theScarabæus pillularius, or dung-beetle.[10]Lev. xx. 6.[11]בַּאַל שֵׂצַר (LXX., δασύς), whether in reference to his long shaggy locks, or his sheepskinaddereth, μηλωτή (Zech. xiii. 4; Heb. xii. 37).[12]ζώνη δερματίνη (Matt iii. 4).[13]There is perhaps an intentional play of words between "man (אישׁ) of God" and "fire (אשׁ) of God" (Klostermann).[14]Hebrew.[15]"Come downquickly" (2 Kings i. 9).[16]Luke ix. 51-56. This is a more than sufficient answer to the censure of Theodoret, that "they who condemn the prophet are wagging their tongues against God." The remark is based on utter misapprehension; and if we are to form no judgment on the morality of Scripture examples, they would be of no help for us. Compare the striking remark of the minister to Balfour of Burleigh in Scott'sOld Mortality.[17]Quoted by Rev. Professor Lumby,ad loc.[18]Elijah, p. 146.[19]This is practically the sum-total of the answer given again and again by Canon Mozley in hisLectures on the Old Testament, 2nd edition, 1878. For instance, he says that "the Jewish idea of justice gives us the reason why the Divine commands (of exterminating wars, etc.) were then adapted to man as the agent for executing them, and are not adapted now" (p. 102).[20]Comp. Ezek. xviii. 2-30.[21]For theideainvolved see Num. xi. 1; Deut. iv. 24; Psalm xxi. 9; Isa. xxvi. 11; Heb. x. 27, etc.[22]1 Chron. ii. 55, where "Shimeathites" means "men of the tradition," and "scribes," "men of letters."[23]Josh. iv. 19; v. 9, 10.[24]Deut. xi. 30. It is on a hill south-west of Shiloh (Seilun), near the road to Jericho (Hos. iv. 15; Amos iv. 4). The name means "a circle," and there may have been an ancient circle of sacred stones there.[25]2 Kings iv. 38.[26]1 Kings xiii.[27]As there are fords at Jericho, the object of this miracle, as of the one subsequently ascribed to Elisha, is not self-evident. Nothing is more certain than that there is a Divine economy in the exercise of supernatural powers. The pomp and prodigality of superfluous portents belong, not to Scripture, but to theActa sanctorum, and the saint-stories of Arabia and India.[28]Deut. xxi. 17. The Hebrew is פִּי־שְׁנַיִם, "a mouthful, or ration of two." Comp. Gen. xliii. 34. Even Ewald's "Nur Zweidrittel und auch diese kaum" is too strong (Gesch., iii. 517). In no sense was Elisha greater than Elijah: he wrought more wonders, but he left little of his teaching, and produced on the mind of his nation a far less strong impression.[29]In 2 Kings vi. 17 the stormblast (sā'ārāh) and chariots and horses of fire are part of a vision of the Divine protection. Comp. Isa. lxvi. 15; Job xxxviii, 1; Nah. i. 3; Psalms xviii. 6-15, civ. 3.[30]That is, the protection and defence of Israel by thy prayers.[31]Even the Church-father St. Ephræm Syrus evidently felt some misgivings. He says: "Suddenly there came from the height a storm of fire, and in the midst of the flame the form of a chariot and horses, and parted them both asunder; the one of them it left on the earth, the other it carried to the height; but whether the wind carried him, or in what place it left him, the Scripture has not informed us, but it says that after some years, a terrifying letter from him full of menaces, was delivered to King Jehoram of Judah" (quoted by Keilad loc.). See 2 Chron. xxi. 12. The letter is called "a writing" (miktâb).[32]2 Kings ii. 11; Ecclus. xlviii. 12. The LXX. curiously says ἐν συσσεισμῷ ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. So too the Rabbis,Sucah, f. 5.[33]The circumstance has left its trace in the proverbs of nations, and in the German wordMantelkindfor a spiritual successor.[34]2 Kings ii. 14. LXX., καὶ οὐ διῃρέθη; Vulg.,Percussit aquas, et non sunt divisæ.[35]Mal. iv. 4-6.[36]Bava-Metzia, f. 37, 2, etc. His name is used for incantations in the Kabbala.Kitsur Sh'lh, f. 71, 1 (Hershon,Talmudic Miscellany, p. 340). The chair set for him is called "the throne of Elijah." For many Rabbinic legends see Hershon,Treasures of the Talmud, pp. 172-178. The Persians regard him as the teacher of Zoroaster.[37]The name Elisha means "My God is salvation."[38]Gen. xiii. 10. "The city of palms" (Deut. xxxiv. 3).[39]Jos.,B. J., IV. viii. 3; Robinson,Bibl. Researches, i. 554.[40]Abarbanel's notion that they meant "Ascend to heaven as Elijah did" is absurd.[41]קֵרֵהַ This means bald at the back of the head, as נִבֵּהַ (gibbeach), means "forehead-bald" (Ewald, iii. 512). Elisha could not have been bald from old age, since he lived on for nearly sixty years, and must have been a young man. Baldness involved a suspicion of leprosy, and was disliked by Easterns (Lev. xxi. 5, xiii. 43; Isa. iii. 17, 24, xv. 2), as much as by the Romans (Suet.,Jul. Cæs., 45;Domit., 18). Elisha's prophetic activity lasted through the reigns of Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash (i.e., 12 + 28 + 17 + 2 years).[42]The κατέπαιζον of the Vat. LXX. implies persistent and vehement insult. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis, however, say that Elisha was punished with sickness for this deed (Bava-Metzia, f. 87, 1).[43]There are great difficulties in the statement (2 Kings iii. 1) that he began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat. I have not entered, nor shall I enter, into the minute and precarious conjectures necessitated by the uncertainties and contradictions of this synchronism introduced into the narrative by some editor. Suffice it that with the aid of the Assyrian records we have certainpoints de repère; from which we can, with the assistance of the historian, conjecturally restore the main data. In the dates given at the head of the chapters I follow Kittel, as a careful inquirer. Some of the approximately fixed dates are (seeAppendix I.):—854. Battle of Karkar (Ahab and Benhadad against Shalmaneser II.)738. Tribute of Menahem to Tiglath-Pileser II.732. Fall of Damascus.722. Capture of Samaria by Sargon.720. Defeat of Sabaco by Sargon in battle of Raphia.705. Accession of Sennacherib.701. Campaign against Hezekiah.608. Death of Josiah.[44]But neither the man of God from Judah nor Amos directly denounce the calf-worship, so much as its concomitant sins and irregularities.[45]Perhaps the true reading is "pillars" (LXX., Vulg., Arab.).[46]He is called "a sheep-master,"noked; LXX., νωκήδ. Elsewhere the word occurs only in Amos i. 1. The Alex. LXX. has ἦν φέρων φόρον.[47]According to the Moabite Stone.[48]It is not clear whether the lambs and rams were sent with the fleeces. The A.V. says "lambs and rams with their wool," in accordance with Josephus—μυριάδας εἴκοσι προβάτων σὺν τοῖς πόκοις. The LXX. has the vague ἐπὶ πόκων, and implies that this was a special fine after a defeat in the revolt (ἐν τῇ ἐπαναστάσει): but comp. Isa. xvi. 1.[49]2 Chron. xx. 1-30.[50]Robinson (Bibl. Res., ii. 157) identifies it with the brookZered. Deut. ii. 13; Num. xxi. 12. The name means "valley of water-pits." W. R. Smith quotes Doughty,Travels, i. 26.[51]Comp. 1 Kings xxii. 7. The phrase "who poured water on the hands of Elijah" is a touch of Oriental custom which the traveller in remote parts of Palestine may still often see. Once, when driven by a storm into the house of the Sheykh of a tribe which had a rather bad reputation for brigandage, I was most hospitably entertained; and the old white-haired Sheykh, his son, and ourselves were waited on by the grandson, a magnificent youth, who immediately after the meal brought out an old richly chased ewer and basin, and poured water over our hands, soiled by eating out of the common dish, of course without spoons or forks.[52]This seems to have struck Josephus (Antt., IX. iii. 1), who says that "hechancedto be in a tent (ἔτυχε κατεσκηνωκώς) outside the host."[53]Comp. 1 Sam. x. 5; 1 Chron. xxv. 1; Ezek. i. 3, xxxiii. 22.Menaggēnis one who plays on a stringed instrument,n'gînāh. The Pythagoreans used music in the same way (Cic.,Tusc. Disp., iv. 2).[54]Deut. xx. 19, 20.[55]Lev. ii. 1. Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 36.[56]This dreadful result crippled the revolt of Vindex against Nero.[57]Jeroboam I.,b.c.937; Joram, 854.[58]Isa. xv. 1, Kir of Moab; Jer. xlviii. 31, Kir-heres. It is built on a steep calcareous rock, surrounded by a deep, narrow glen, which thence descends westward to the Dead Sea, under the name of the Wady Kerak. We know that the armies of Nineveh habitually practised these brutal modes of devastation in the districts which they conquered. See Layard,passim; Rawlinson,Ancient Monarchiesii. 84.[59]1 Kings xviii. 27. Comp. Psalm xxxv. 23, xliv. 23, lxxxiii. 1, etc.[60]Comp. Micah vi. 7. This is an entirely different incident from that alluded to in Amos ii. 1.[61]Eusebius (Præp. Evang., iv. 16) quotes from Philo's Phœnician history a reference to human sacrifices (τοῖς τιμωροῖς δαίμοσιν) at moments of desperation.[62]The rendering is doubtful. LXX., καὶ ἐγένετο μετάμελος μέγας ἐπὶ Ἰσράηλ; Vulg., indignatioinIsrael; Luther,Da ward Israel sehr zornig.[63]Amos ii. 1-3.[64]Hos. i. 4: "I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu."[65]Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 2. This perhaps is only suggested by the reminiscences of 1 Kings xviii. 2, 3, 12.[66]Lev. xxv. 39-41; Matt. xviii. 25.[67]2 Kings iv. 10. Not "a little chamber on the wall" (A.V.), but "analîyahwith walls" (margin, R.V.).[68]Frankl.,Jews in the East.[69]John iv. 27: "Then came His disciples, and marvelled that He wastalking(μετὰ γυναικὸς)with a woman."[70]2 Kings iv. 13: "Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care" (LXX., πᾶσαν τὴν ἔκστασιν ταύτην).[71]The Sheykh with whom I stayed at Bint es Jebeil could think of no return which I could offer for his hospitality so acceptable as if I would say a good word for him to the authorities at Beyrout.[72]Gehazi is usually called thena'aror "lad" of Elisha—a term implying lower service than Elisha's "ministry" to Elijah.[73]2 Kings iv. 23. Hebrew "Peace"; A.V., "It shall be well."[74]Salutations occupy some time in the formally courteous East. Comp. Luke x. 4.[75]2 Kings viii. 1.[76]Not "lap," as in A. V. (Heb.,beged); LXX. συνέλιξε πλῆρες τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ; Vulg.,implevit vestem suam(both correctly).[77]Heb.,paquoth; LXX., τολύπην ἀγρίαν; Vulg;colocynthidas agri. Hence the namecucumis prophetarum.[78]Lord of the Chain and "Three lands." Three wadies meet at this spot, a little west of Bethel.[79]2 Kings iv. 42. Karmel, Lev. ii. 14. Perhaps a sort of frumenty.[80]The word for "wallet" (tsiqlon; Vulg.,pera) occurs here only. Peshito, "garment." The Vatican LXX. omits it. The Greek version has ἐν κωρύκῳ αὐτοῦ.[81]See Lev. ii. 14, xxiii. 14.[82]2 Kings iv. 43. The word for "his servitor" (m'chartho) is used also of Joshua. It does not mean a mere ordinary attendant. LXX., λειτουργός; Vulg.,minister.[83]It is curiously omitted by Josephus, though he mentions him (Ἄμανος) as the slayer of Ahab (Antt., VIII. xv. 5). The name is an old Hebrew name (Num. xxvi. 40).[84]The wordl'booshmeans a gala dress. Comp. v. 5; Gen. xlv. 22. χιτῶνες ἐπημοιβοί (Hom.,Od., xiv. 514). Comp. viii. 249.[85]Elisha would not be likely totouchthe place.[86]Now theBurâda("cold") and the Nahr-el-Awâj.[87]Compare the answer of Abraham to the King of Sodom (Gen. xiv. 23).[88]The feeling which influenced Naaman is the same which led the Jews to build Nahardea in Persia of stones from Jerusalem. Altars were to be of earth (Exod. xx. 24), but no altar is mentioned in 2 Kings v. 17, and the LXX. does not even specifyearth(γόμος ζεῦγος ἡμιόνων).[89]This is the only place in Scripture where Rimmon is mentioned, though we have the name Tab-Rimmon ("Rimmon is good"), 1 Kings xv. 18, and Hadad-Rimmon (Zech. xii. 11). He was the god of the thunder. The word means "pomegranate," and some have fancied that this was one of his symbols. But the resemblance may be accidental, and the name was properlyRamman.[90]See Deut. xxxii. 8, where the LXX. has κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων.[91]The moral difficulty must have been early felt, for the Alexandrian LXX. reads καὶ προσκυνήσω ἄμα αὐτῷ ἐγὼ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ μου. But he would still be bowing in the House of Rimmon, though he might in his heart worship God. "Elisha, like Elijah" (says Dean Stanley), "made no effort to set right what had gone so wrong. Their mission was to make the best of what they found; not to bring back a rule of religion which had passed away, but to dwell on the Moral Law which could be fulfilled everywhere, not on the Ceremonial Law which circumstances seemed to have put out of their reach: 'not sending the Shunammite to Jerusalem' (says Cardinal Newman), 'not eager for a proselyte in Naaman, yet making the heathen fear the Name of God, and proving to them that there was a prophet in Israel'" (Stanley,Lectures, ii. 377; Newman,Sermons, viii. 415).[92]Prov. iv. 14, 15.[93]Prov. xvii. 14.[94]On Gehazi's lips it meant no more than the incessantWallah, "by God," of Mohammedans.[95]2 Kings v. 19. Heb.,kib'rath aretz, "a little way"—literally, "a space of country." (The Vatican LXX. follows another reading, εἰς Δεβραθὰ τῆς γῆς; Vulg.,electo terræ tempore[?].)[96]LXX., κατεπήδησεν.[97]A talent of silver was worth about £400—an enormous sum for two half-naked youths.[98]2 Kings v. 24. The LXX. (εἰς τὸ σκοτεινὸν) seems to have read אֹפֵל (ophel); "darkness," a treasury or secret place, for צַֹפֶל, and so the Vulgatejam vesperi.[99]2 Kings v. 26. The verse is so interpreted by some critics, especially Ewald, followed by Stanley. Margin, R.V.: "Mine heart went not from me, when" etc.[100]Exod. iv. 6; Num. xii. 10.[101]The later Rabbis thought that Elisha was too severe with Gehazi, and was punished with sickness because "he repelled him with both his hands" (Bava-Metsia, f. 87, 1, andYalkut Jeremiah).[102]The Hebrew word for "cut off" (qatsab) is very rare. LXX., ἀπέκνισε ξύλον; Vulg.,præcidit lignum.[103]It must be further borne in mind that "the iron did swim" (A.V.) is less accurate than "made the iron to swim" (R.V.). The LXX. has ἐπεπόλασε, "brought to the surface." Von Gerlach says, "He thrust the stick into the water, and raised the iron to the surface."[104]Gen. xxxvii. 17,Dothain, "two wells" (?).[105]Psalm xci. 4.[106]Psalm xxxiv. 7.[107]Psalm xci. 11.[108]Zech. ix. 8.[109]Isa. lxiii. 9.[110]Adopting the reading of the Syriac version: "And when they [Elisha and his servant] came down to them [the Syrians]." The ordinary reading is "tohim," which makes the narrative less clear.[111]2 Kings vi. 19. מַנְוֵרִים, ἀορασία, only found in Gen. xix. 11.[112]Deut. xx. 13.[113]Num. xxxi. 7.[114]Vulg.,Non percuties; neque enim cepisti eos ... ut percutias.[115]Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 4, Κρύφα μὲν οὐκέτι ... φανερῶς δέ.[116]Kittel, following Kuenen, surmises that this story has got misplaced; that it does not belong to the days of Jehoram ben-Ahab and Benhadad II., but to the days of Jehoahaz ben-Jehu and Benhadad III., the son of Hazael (Gesch. der Hebr., 249). In a very uncertain question I have followed the conclusion arrived at by the majority of scholars, ancient and modern.[117]Soasafœtidais called "devil's dung" in Germany; and theHerba alcali, "sparrow's dung" by Arabs. TheQ'ri, however, supports theliteralmeaning; and compare 2 Kings xviii. 27; Jos.,B. J., V. xiii. 7. Analogies for these prices are quoted from classic authors. Plutarch (Artax., xxiv.) mentions a siege in which an ass's head could hardly be got for sixty drachmas (£2 10s.), though usually the whole animal only cost £1. Pliny (H. N., viii. 57) says that during Hannibal's siege of Casilinum a mouse sold for £6 5s.[118]So Clericus. Comp. Jos. ἐπηράσατο αὐτῇ.[119]Lev. xxvi. 29.[120]Deut. xxviii. 52-58.[121]Jer. xix. 9.[122]Lam. iv. 10: comp. ii. 20; Ezek. v. 10; Jos.,B. J., VI. iii. 4.[123]1 Kings xxi. 27; Isa. xx. 2, 3.[124]Compare the wrath of Pashur the priest in consequence of the denunciation of Jeremiah (Jer. xx. 2).[125]1 Kings xix. 2.[126]In 2 Kings vi. 33 we should readmelek(king) formaleak(messenger). Jehoram repented of his hasty order.[127]The Jews say Gehazi, and his three sons (Jarchi).[128]Lev. xiii. 46; Num. v. 2, 3.[129]The capitals of the ancient Hittites—a nation whose fame had been almost entirely obliterated till a few years ago—were Karchemish, Kadesh, Hamath, and Helbon (Aleppo).[130]Lectures, ii. 345.[131]Jer. xxv. 29; Ezek. xxxviii. 21.[132]See the cases of Samuel (1 Sam. ix. 7), of Ahijah (1 Kings xiv. 3), and of Elisha himself (2 Kings iv. 42).[133]As Jacob did in sending forward his present to Esau. Comp. Chardin,Voyages, iii. 217.[134]2 Kings x. 32, xiii. 3, 22.[135]Isa. xiii. 15, 16; Hos. x. 14, xiii. 16; Nah. iii. 10.[136]See Josh. vi. 17, 21; 1 Sam. xv. 3; Lev. xxvii. 28, 29.[137]Psalm cxxxvii. 9.[138]1 Sam. xxiv. 14; 2 Sam. ix. 8.[139]מַכְבֵּר. Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 6, δίκτυον διάβροχον. Aquila, Symmachus, τὸ στρῶμα. Michaelis supposed it to be the mosquito-net (κωνωπεῖον). Comp. 1 Sam. xix. 13. Ewald suggested "bath-mattress" (iii. 523). Sir G. Grove (s.v."Elisha,"Bibl. Dict., ii. 923) mentions that Abbas Pasha is said to have been murdered in the same manner. Some, however, think that the measure was taken by way of cure (Bruce,Travels, iii. 33. Klostermann,ad loc., alters the text at his pleasure).[140]2 Kings viii. 15; LXX., τὸ μαχβάρ; Vulg.,stragulum; lit., "woven cloth."[141]The following genealogy may help to elucidate the troublesome identity of names:—
[1]Rawlinson,Kings of Israel and Judah, p. 86. "The name of Ahaziah ('the Lord taketh hold'), like that of all Ahab's sons, testifies to the fact that the husband of Jezebel still worshipped Jehovah. Among the names of the judges and kings before Ahab in Israel, and Asa in Judah, scarcely a single instance occurs of names compounded with Jehovah; thenceforward they became the rule" (Wellhausen,Israel and Judah, Es. 1, p. 66).
[2]1 Kings xxii. 47; 2 Kings iii. 9: comp. viii. 20.
[3]2 Sam. viii. 2. On the ethics of these wars of extermination, such as are commanded in the Pentateuch, and were practised by Joshua, Samuel, Saul, David, and others, see Josh. vi. 17; 1 Sam. xv. 3, 33; 2 Sam. viii. 2, etc., and Mozley'sLectures on the Old Testament, pp. 83-103.
[4]See Stade, i. 86. He gives a photograph and translation of it at p. 534.
[5]SeeRecords of the Past, xi. 166, 167.
[6]2 Kings i. 2; Heb.,be'ad hass'bakāh; LXX., διὰ τοῦ δικτυωτοῦ; Vulg.,per cancellos(comp. 1 Kings vii. 18; 2 Chron. iv. 12).
[7]LXX., Βάαλ μυῖαν θεὸν Ἀκκαρών. So, too, Jos.,Antt., IX. ii. 1. It is possible that the god was represented holding a fly as the type of pestilence, just as the statue of Pthah held in its hands a mouse (Herod., ii. 141). Flies convey all kinds of contagion (Plin.,H. N., x. 28).
[8]Pausan., v. 14, § 2.
[9]The name, or a derisive modification of it, was given by the Jews in the days of Christ to the prince of the devils. In Matt. xii. 24 the true reading is Βεελζεβούλ, which perhaps means (in contempt) "the lord of dung"; but might mean "the lord of the [celestial] habitation" (οἰκοδεσπότην). Comp. Matt. x. 25; Eph. ii. 2; "Baal Shamaim," the Belsamen of Augustine (Gesen.,Monum. Phœnic., 387; Movers,Phönizier, i. 176). For "opprobrious puns" applied to idols, see Lightfoot,Exercitationes ad Matt., xii. 24. The common word for idols,gilloolim, is perhaps connected withgalal, "dung." Hitzig thinks that the god was represented under the symbol of theScarabæus pillularius, or dung-beetle.
[10]Lev. xx. 6.
[11]בַּאַל שֵׂצַר (LXX., δασύς), whether in reference to his long shaggy locks, or his sheepskinaddereth, μηλωτή (Zech. xiii. 4; Heb. xii. 37).
[12]ζώνη δερματίνη (Matt iii. 4).
[13]There is perhaps an intentional play of words between "man (אישׁ) of God" and "fire (אשׁ) of God" (Klostermann).
[14]Hebrew.
[15]"Come downquickly" (2 Kings i. 9).
[16]Luke ix. 51-56. This is a more than sufficient answer to the censure of Theodoret, that "they who condemn the prophet are wagging their tongues against God." The remark is based on utter misapprehension; and if we are to form no judgment on the morality of Scripture examples, they would be of no help for us. Compare the striking remark of the minister to Balfour of Burleigh in Scott'sOld Mortality.
[17]Quoted by Rev. Professor Lumby,ad loc.
[18]Elijah, p. 146.
[19]This is practically the sum-total of the answer given again and again by Canon Mozley in hisLectures on the Old Testament, 2nd edition, 1878. For instance, he says that "the Jewish idea of justice gives us the reason why the Divine commands (of exterminating wars, etc.) were then adapted to man as the agent for executing them, and are not adapted now" (p. 102).
[20]Comp. Ezek. xviii. 2-30.
[21]For theideainvolved see Num. xi. 1; Deut. iv. 24; Psalm xxi. 9; Isa. xxvi. 11; Heb. x. 27, etc.
[22]1 Chron. ii. 55, where "Shimeathites" means "men of the tradition," and "scribes," "men of letters."
[23]Josh. iv. 19; v. 9, 10.
[24]Deut. xi. 30. It is on a hill south-west of Shiloh (Seilun), near the road to Jericho (Hos. iv. 15; Amos iv. 4). The name means "a circle," and there may have been an ancient circle of sacred stones there.
[25]2 Kings iv. 38.
[26]1 Kings xiii.
[27]As there are fords at Jericho, the object of this miracle, as of the one subsequently ascribed to Elisha, is not self-evident. Nothing is more certain than that there is a Divine economy in the exercise of supernatural powers. The pomp and prodigality of superfluous portents belong, not to Scripture, but to theActa sanctorum, and the saint-stories of Arabia and India.
[28]Deut. xxi. 17. The Hebrew is פִּי־שְׁנַיִם, "a mouthful, or ration of two." Comp. Gen. xliii. 34. Even Ewald's "Nur Zweidrittel und auch diese kaum" is too strong (Gesch., iii. 517). In no sense was Elisha greater than Elijah: he wrought more wonders, but he left little of his teaching, and produced on the mind of his nation a far less strong impression.
[29]In 2 Kings vi. 17 the stormblast (sā'ārāh) and chariots and horses of fire are part of a vision of the Divine protection. Comp. Isa. lxvi. 15; Job xxxviii, 1; Nah. i. 3; Psalms xviii. 6-15, civ. 3.
[30]That is, the protection and defence of Israel by thy prayers.
[31]Even the Church-father St. Ephræm Syrus evidently felt some misgivings. He says: "Suddenly there came from the height a storm of fire, and in the midst of the flame the form of a chariot and horses, and parted them both asunder; the one of them it left on the earth, the other it carried to the height; but whether the wind carried him, or in what place it left him, the Scripture has not informed us, but it says that after some years, a terrifying letter from him full of menaces, was delivered to King Jehoram of Judah" (quoted by Keilad loc.). See 2 Chron. xxi. 12. The letter is called "a writing" (miktâb).
[32]2 Kings ii. 11; Ecclus. xlviii. 12. The LXX. curiously says ἐν συσσεισμῷ ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. So too the Rabbis,Sucah, f. 5.
[33]The circumstance has left its trace in the proverbs of nations, and in the German wordMantelkindfor a spiritual successor.
[34]2 Kings ii. 14. LXX., καὶ οὐ διῃρέθη; Vulg.,Percussit aquas, et non sunt divisæ.
[35]Mal. iv. 4-6.
[36]Bava-Metzia, f. 37, 2, etc. His name is used for incantations in the Kabbala.Kitsur Sh'lh, f. 71, 1 (Hershon,Talmudic Miscellany, p. 340). The chair set for him is called "the throne of Elijah." For many Rabbinic legends see Hershon,Treasures of the Talmud, pp. 172-178. The Persians regard him as the teacher of Zoroaster.
[37]The name Elisha means "My God is salvation."
[38]Gen. xiii. 10. "The city of palms" (Deut. xxxiv. 3).
[39]Jos.,B. J., IV. viii. 3; Robinson,Bibl. Researches, i. 554.
[40]Abarbanel's notion that they meant "Ascend to heaven as Elijah did" is absurd.
[41]קֵרֵהַ This means bald at the back of the head, as נִבֵּהַ (gibbeach), means "forehead-bald" (Ewald, iii. 512). Elisha could not have been bald from old age, since he lived on for nearly sixty years, and must have been a young man. Baldness involved a suspicion of leprosy, and was disliked by Easterns (Lev. xxi. 5, xiii. 43; Isa. iii. 17, 24, xv. 2), as much as by the Romans (Suet.,Jul. Cæs., 45;Domit., 18). Elisha's prophetic activity lasted through the reigns of Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash (i.e., 12 + 28 + 17 + 2 years).
[42]The κατέπαιζον of the Vat. LXX. implies persistent and vehement insult. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis, however, say that Elisha was punished with sickness for this deed (Bava-Metzia, f. 87, 1).
[43]There are great difficulties in the statement (2 Kings iii. 1) that he began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat. I have not entered, nor shall I enter, into the minute and precarious conjectures necessitated by the uncertainties and contradictions of this synchronism introduced into the narrative by some editor. Suffice it that with the aid of the Assyrian records we have certainpoints de repère; from which we can, with the assistance of the historian, conjecturally restore the main data. In the dates given at the head of the chapters I follow Kittel, as a careful inquirer. Some of the approximately fixed dates are (seeAppendix I.):—
854. Battle of Karkar (Ahab and Benhadad against Shalmaneser II.)738. Tribute of Menahem to Tiglath-Pileser II.732. Fall of Damascus.722. Capture of Samaria by Sargon.720. Defeat of Sabaco by Sargon in battle of Raphia.705. Accession of Sennacherib.701. Campaign against Hezekiah.608. Death of Josiah.
[44]But neither the man of God from Judah nor Amos directly denounce the calf-worship, so much as its concomitant sins and irregularities.
[45]Perhaps the true reading is "pillars" (LXX., Vulg., Arab.).
[46]He is called "a sheep-master,"noked; LXX., νωκήδ. Elsewhere the word occurs only in Amos i. 1. The Alex. LXX. has ἦν φέρων φόρον.
[47]According to the Moabite Stone.
[48]It is not clear whether the lambs and rams were sent with the fleeces. The A.V. says "lambs and rams with their wool," in accordance with Josephus—μυριάδας εἴκοσι προβάτων σὺν τοῖς πόκοις. The LXX. has the vague ἐπὶ πόκων, and implies that this was a special fine after a defeat in the revolt (ἐν τῇ ἐπαναστάσει): but comp. Isa. xvi. 1.
[49]2 Chron. xx. 1-30.
[50]Robinson (Bibl. Res., ii. 157) identifies it with the brookZered. Deut. ii. 13; Num. xxi. 12. The name means "valley of water-pits." W. R. Smith quotes Doughty,Travels, i. 26.
[51]Comp. 1 Kings xxii. 7. The phrase "who poured water on the hands of Elijah" is a touch of Oriental custom which the traveller in remote parts of Palestine may still often see. Once, when driven by a storm into the house of the Sheykh of a tribe which had a rather bad reputation for brigandage, I was most hospitably entertained; and the old white-haired Sheykh, his son, and ourselves were waited on by the grandson, a magnificent youth, who immediately after the meal brought out an old richly chased ewer and basin, and poured water over our hands, soiled by eating out of the common dish, of course without spoons or forks.
[52]This seems to have struck Josephus (Antt., IX. iii. 1), who says that "hechancedto be in a tent (ἔτυχε κατεσκηνωκώς) outside the host."
[53]Comp. 1 Sam. x. 5; 1 Chron. xxv. 1; Ezek. i. 3, xxxiii. 22.Menaggēnis one who plays on a stringed instrument,n'gînāh. The Pythagoreans used music in the same way (Cic.,Tusc. Disp., iv. 2).
[54]Deut. xx. 19, 20.
[55]Lev. ii. 1. Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 36.
[56]This dreadful result crippled the revolt of Vindex against Nero.
[57]Jeroboam I.,b.c.937; Joram, 854.
[58]Isa. xv. 1, Kir of Moab; Jer. xlviii. 31, Kir-heres. It is built on a steep calcareous rock, surrounded by a deep, narrow glen, which thence descends westward to the Dead Sea, under the name of the Wady Kerak. We know that the armies of Nineveh habitually practised these brutal modes of devastation in the districts which they conquered. See Layard,passim; Rawlinson,Ancient Monarchiesii. 84.
[59]1 Kings xviii. 27. Comp. Psalm xxxv. 23, xliv. 23, lxxxiii. 1, etc.
[60]Comp. Micah vi. 7. This is an entirely different incident from that alluded to in Amos ii. 1.
[61]Eusebius (Præp. Evang., iv. 16) quotes from Philo's Phœnician history a reference to human sacrifices (τοῖς τιμωροῖς δαίμοσιν) at moments of desperation.
[62]The rendering is doubtful. LXX., καὶ ἐγένετο μετάμελος μέγας ἐπὶ Ἰσράηλ; Vulg., indignatioinIsrael; Luther,Da ward Israel sehr zornig.
[63]Amos ii. 1-3.
[64]Hos. i. 4: "I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu."
[65]Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 2. This perhaps is only suggested by the reminiscences of 1 Kings xviii. 2, 3, 12.
[66]Lev. xxv. 39-41; Matt. xviii. 25.
[67]2 Kings iv. 10. Not "a little chamber on the wall" (A.V.), but "analîyahwith walls" (margin, R.V.).
[68]Frankl.,Jews in the East.
[69]John iv. 27: "Then came His disciples, and marvelled that He wastalking(μετὰ γυναικὸς)with a woman."
[70]2 Kings iv. 13: "Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care" (LXX., πᾶσαν τὴν ἔκστασιν ταύτην).
[71]The Sheykh with whom I stayed at Bint es Jebeil could think of no return which I could offer for his hospitality so acceptable as if I would say a good word for him to the authorities at Beyrout.
[72]Gehazi is usually called thena'aror "lad" of Elisha—a term implying lower service than Elisha's "ministry" to Elijah.
[73]2 Kings iv. 23. Hebrew "Peace"; A.V., "It shall be well."
[74]Salutations occupy some time in the formally courteous East. Comp. Luke x. 4.
[75]2 Kings viii. 1.
[76]Not "lap," as in A. V. (Heb.,beged); LXX. συνέλιξε πλῆρες τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ; Vulg.,implevit vestem suam(both correctly).
[77]Heb.,paquoth; LXX., τολύπην ἀγρίαν; Vulg;colocynthidas agri. Hence the namecucumis prophetarum.
[78]Lord of the Chain and "Three lands." Three wadies meet at this spot, a little west of Bethel.
[79]2 Kings iv. 42. Karmel, Lev. ii. 14. Perhaps a sort of frumenty.
[80]The word for "wallet" (tsiqlon; Vulg.,pera) occurs here only. Peshito, "garment." The Vatican LXX. omits it. The Greek version has ἐν κωρύκῳ αὐτοῦ.
[81]See Lev. ii. 14, xxiii. 14.
[82]2 Kings iv. 43. The word for "his servitor" (m'chartho) is used also of Joshua. It does not mean a mere ordinary attendant. LXX., λειτουργός; Vulg.,minister.
[83]It is curiously omitted by Josephus, though he mentions him (Ἄμανος) as the slayer of Ahab (Antt., VIII. xv. 5). The name is an old Hebrew name (Num. xxvi. 40).
[84]The wordl'booshmeans a gala dress. Comp. v. 5; Gen. xlv. 22. χιτῶνες ἐπημοιβοί (Hom.,Od., xiv. 514). Comp. viii. 249.
[85]Elisha would not be likely totouchthe place.
[86]Now theBurâda("cold") and the Nahr-el-Awâj.
[87]Compare the answer of Abraham to the King of Sodom (Gen. xiv. 23).
[88]The feeling which influenced Naaman is the same which led the Jews to build Nahardea in Persia of stones from Jerusalem. Altars were to be of earth (Exod. xx. 24), but no altar is mentioned in 2 Kings v. 17, and the LXX. does not even specifyearth(γόμος ζεῦγος ἡμιόνων).
[89]This is the only place in Scripture where Rimmon is mentioned, though we have the name Tab-Rimmon ("Rimmon is good"), 1 Kings xv. 18, and Hadad-Rimmon (Zech. xii. 11). He was the god of the thunder. The word means "pomegranate," and some have fancied that this was one of his symbols. But the resemblance may be accidental, and the name was properlyRamman.
[90]See Deut. xxxii. 8, where the LXX. has κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων.
[91]The moral difficulty must have been early felt, for the Alexandrian LXX. reads καὶ προσκυνήσω ἄμα αὐτῷ ἐγὼ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ μου. But he would still be bowing in the House of Rimmon, though he might in his heart worship God. "Elisha, like Elijah" (says Dean Stanley), "made no effort to set right what had gone so wrong. Their mission was to make the best of what they found; not to bring back a rule of religion which had passed away, but to dwell on the Moral Law which could be fulfilled everywhere, not on the Ceremonial Law which circumstances seemed to have put out of their reach: 'not sending the Shunammite to Jerusalem' (says Cardinal Newman), 'not eager for a proselyte in Naaman, yet making the heathen fear the Name of God, and proving to them that there was a prophet in Israel'" (Stanley,Lectures, ii. 377; Newman,Sermons, viii. 415).
[92]Prov. iv. 14, 15.
[93]Prov. xvii. 14.
[94]On Gehazi's lips it meant no more than the incessantWallah, "by God," of Mohammedans.
[95]2 Kings v. 19. Heb.,kib'rath aretz, "a little way"—literally, "a space of country." (The Vatican LXX. follows another reading, εἰς Δεβραθὰ τῆς γῆς; Vulg.,electo terræ tempore[?].)
[96]LXX., κατεπήδησεν.
[97]A talent of silver was worth about £400—an enormous sum for two half-naked youths.
[98]2 Kings v. 24. The LXX. (εἰς τὸ σκοτεινὸν) seems to have read אֹפֵל (ophel); "darkness," a treasury or secret place, for צַֹפֶל, and so the Vulgatejam vesperi.
[99]2 Kings v. 26. The verse is so interpreted by some critics, especially Ewald, followed by Stanley. Margin, R.V.: "Mine heart went not from me, when" etc.
[100]Exod. iv. 6; Num. xii. 10.
[101]The later Rabbis thought that Elisha was too severe with Gehazi, and was punished with sickness because "he repelled him with both his hands" (Bava-Metsia, f. 87, 1, andYalkut Jeremiah).
[102]The Hebrew word for "cut off" (qatsab) is very rare. LXX., ἀπέκνισε ξύλον; Vulg.,præcidit lignum.
[103]It must be further borne in mind that "the iron did swim" (A.V.) is less accurate than "made the iron to swim" (R.V.). The LXX. has ἐπεπόλασε, "brought to the surface." Von Gerlach says, "He thrust the stick into the water, and raised the iron to the surface."
[104]Gen. xxxvii. 17,Dothain, "two wells" (?).
[105]Psalm xci. 4.
[106]Psalm xxxiv. 7.
[107]Psalm xci. 11.
[108]Zech. ix. 8.
[109]Isa. lxiii. 9.
[110]Adopting the reading of the Syriac version: "And when they [Elisha and his servant] came down to them [the Syrians]." The ordinary reading is "tohim," which makes the narrative less clear.
[111]2 Kings vi. 19. מַנְוֵרִים, ἀορασία, only found in Gen. xix. 11.
[112]Deut. xx. 13.
[113]Num. xxxi. 7.
[114]Vulg.,Non percuties; neque enim cepisti eos ... ut percutias.
[115]Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 4, Κρύφα μὲν οὐκέτι ... φανερῶς δέ.
[116]Kittel, following Kuenen, surmises that this story has got misplaced; that it does not belong to the days of Jehoram ben-Ahab and Benhadad II., but to the days of Jehoahaz ben-Jehu and Benhadad III., the son of Hazael (Gesch. der Hebr., 249). In a very uncertain question I have followed the conclusion arrived at by the majority of scholars, ancient and modern.
[117]Soasafœtidais called "devil's dung" in Germany; and theHerba alcali, "sparrow's dung" by Arabs. TheQ'ri, however, supports theliteralmeaning; and compare 2 Kings xviii. 27; Jos.,B. J., V. xiii. 7. Analogies for these prices are quoted from classic authors. Plutarch (Artax., xxiv.) mentions a siege in which an ass's head could hardly be got for sixty drachmas (£2 10s.), though usually the whole animal only cost £1. Pliny (H. N., viii. 57) says that during Hannibal's siege of Casilinum a mouse sold for £6 5s.
[118]So Clericus. Comp. Jos. ἐπηράσατο αὐτῇ.
[119]Lev. xxvi. 29.
[120]Deut. xxviii. 52-58.
[121]Jer. xix. 9.
[122]Lam. iv. 10: comp. ii. 20; Ezek. v. 10; Jos.,B. J., VI. iii. 4.
[123]1 Kings xxi. 27; Isa. xx. 2, 3.
[124]Compare the wrath of Pashur the priest in consequence of the denunciation of Jeremiah (Jer. xx. 2).
[125]1 Kings xix. 2.
[126]In 2 Kings vi. 33 we should readmelek(king) formaleak(messenger). Jehoram repented of his hasty order.
[127]The Jews say Gehazi, and his three sons (Jarchi).
[128]Lev. xiii. 46; Num. v. 2, 3.
[129]The capitals of the ancient Hittites—a nation whose fame had been almost entirely obliterated till a few years ago—were Karchemish, Kadesh, Hamath, and Helbon (Aleppo).
[130]Lectures, ii. 345.
[131]Jer. xxv. 29; Ezek. xxxviii. 21.
[132]See the cases of Samuel (1 Sam. ix. 7), of Ahijah (1 Kings xiv. 3), and of Elisha himself (2 Kings iv. 42).
[133]As Jacob did in sending forward his present to Esau. Comp. Chardin,Voyages, iii. 217.
[134]2 Kings x. 32, xiii. 3, 22.
[135]Isa. xiii. 15, 16; Hos. x. 14, xiii. 16; Nah. iii. 10.
[136]See Josh. vi. 17, 21; 1 Sam. xv. 3; Lev. xxvii. 28, 29.
[137]Psalm cxxxvii. 9.
[138]1 Sam. xxiv. 14; 2 Sam. ix. 8.
[139]מַכְבֵּר. Jos.,Antt., IX. iv. 6, δίκτυον διάβροχον. Aquila, Symmachus, τὸ στρῶμα. Michaelis supposed it to be the mosquito-net (κωνωπεῖον). Comp. 1 Sam. xix. 13. Ewald suggested "bath-mattress" (iii. 523). Sir G. Grove (s.v."Elisha,"Bibl. Dict., ii. 923) mentions that Abbas Pasha is said to have been murdered in the same manner. Some, however, think that the measure was taken by way of cure (Bruce,Travels, iii. 33. Klostermann,ad loc., alters the text at his pleasure).
[140]2 Kings viii. 15; LXX., τὸ μαχβάρ; Vulg.,stragulum; lit., "woven cloth."
[141]The following genealogy may help to elucidate the troublesome identity of names:—