Discovery Box2 Kings 1:3 
Context1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 1
2 Kings 1:13
Context1:13 The king 2 sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell 3 on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.
2 Kings 1:16-17
Context1:16 Elijah 4 said to the king, 5 “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! 6 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 7
1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. 8 In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. 9
2 Kings 2:15
Context2:15 When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, 10 who were standing at a distance, 11 saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah 12 rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
2 Kings 3:11
Context3:11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?” 13 One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.” 14
1 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”
7 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.
8 tn Heb “according to the word of the
9 tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.
10 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
11 tn Heb “and the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, [who were standing] opposite, saw him and said.”
12 tn Heb “the spirit of Elijah.”
13 tn Heb “that we might inquire of the
14 tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.
