Discovery Box2 Kings 8:7-15 
Context8:7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king 1 was told, “The prophet 2 has come here.” 8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift 3 and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 4 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. 5 He took along a gift, 6 as well as 7 forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, 8 King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 9 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ 10 but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 8:11 Elisha 11 just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. 12 Then the prophet started crying. 8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.” 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” 13 Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” 14 8:14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad 15 asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael 16 replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 8:15 The next day Hazael 17 took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s 18 face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).
3 tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”
4 tn Heb “Inquire of the
5 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”
7 tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”
8 sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
9 tn Heb “saying.”
10 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “Go, say, ‘Surely you will not (לֹא, lo’) recover” In this case the vav beginning the next clause should be translated, “for, because.” The marginal reading (Qere) has, “Go, say to him (לוֹ, lo), ‘You will surely recover.” In this case the vav (ו) beginning the next clause should be translated, “although, but.” The Qere has the support of some medieval Hebrew
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “and he made his face stand [i.e., be motionless] and set [his face?] until embarrassment.”
13 tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.
14 tn Heb “The
15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
