2 Kings 8:15

And it came to pass on the morrow,.... In such haste was Hazael to be king, as the prophet said he would be: that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he

And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

Spread it on his face; pretending, it may be, to cool his immoderate heat with it; but applying it so closely, that he choked him therewith; by which artifice his death seemed to be natural, there being no signs of a violent death upon his body. And this he the more boldly attempted, because the prophet’ s prediction made him confident of the success. Hazael reigned in his stead; having the favour of the people, and of the men of war.

2 Kings 8:15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped [it] in water, and spread [it] on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.Ver. 15. He took a thick cloth.] A blanket, saith the Vulgate; a haircloth, saith Pagnine; a coarse canvas, saith the Chaldee; and that empoisoned, haply, saith Serrarius, as was Hercules’ s shirt, sent him by Deianira; or as was the garment put on by Otho III, emperor; by Ladislaus, king of Hungary, and by Solyman the Grand Signior. Princes usually find treason in trust, and are killed by their nearest friends; as Augustus was by his wife Livia, Claudius by Agrippina, &c. And dipped it in water.] Under a pretence of cooling and curing him, laborabat enim febre ardentissima, for he was sick of a burning fever, saith Vatablus. This he did per imprudentiam, say some; ex industria, say others; on set purpose to put an end to his life, without any mark or sign of violence offered unto him. So that he died.] To be sure that he should not surely recover, as 2 Kings 8:14. Buchanan telleth of Natholicus, the thirty-first king of the Scots, that having usurped the crown, he sent a trusty friend to a famous witch, to know what success he should have in his kingdom, and how long he should live. The witch answered, that he should shortly be murdered, not by an enemy, but by his friend. The messenger instantly inquired, By what friend? By thyself, said the witch. The messenger at first abhorred the thought of any such villainy; but afterwards, conceiving that it was not safe to reveal the witch’ s answer, and yet that it could not be concealed, he resolved rather to kill the king to the content of many, than to hazard the loss of his own head. Thereupon, at his return, being in secret with the king, to declare to him the witch’ s answer, he suddenly slew him.

(15) He took—i.e., Hazael, the nearest subject. Ewald objects that if Hazael were meant, his name would not occur where it does at the end of the verse. But the objection does not hold, for in relating who succeeded to the throne, it was natural to give the name of the new king. Further, a considerable pause must be understood at “he died.” The Judæan editor of Kings then appropriately concludes: “So Hazael reigned in his stead.” The mention of the name significantly reminds us that Elisha had designated Hazael as the future king. Besides, after the words “and he died,” it would have been more ambiguous than usual to add, “and he reigned in his stead.” A thick cloth.—Rather, the quilt, or coverlet. So the LXX., Vulg., Targum, and Arabic. The Syriac renders “curtain;” and, accordingly, Gesenius and others translate, “mosquito net.” The Hebrew term (makbçr) means, etymologically, something plaited or interwoven. It is not found elsewhere, but a word of the same root occurs in 1 Samuel 19:13. It is clear from the context that the makbçr must have been something which when soaked in water, and laid on the face, would prevent respiration. Josephus says Hazael strangled his master with a mosquito net. But this and other explanations, such as that of Ewald, do not suit the words of the text. The old commentator, Clericus, may be right when he states Hazae¾s motive to have been ut hominem facilius suffocaret, ne vi interemptus videretur. And, perhaps, as Thenius supposes, the crown was offered to Hazael as a successful warrior. (Comp. 2 Kings 10:32, seq.) When Duncker (Hist. of Antiq., 1:413) ventures to state that Elisha incited Hazael to the murder of Ben-hadad, and afterwards renewed the war against Israel, not without encouragement from the prophet as a persistent enemy of Jehoram and his dynasty, he simply betrays an utter incapacity for understanding the character and function of Hebrew prophecy. The writer of Kings, at all events, did not intend to represent Elisha as a deceiver of foreign sovereigns and a traitor to his own; and this narrative is the only surviving record of the events described. Hazael reigned in his stead.—On the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II. (B.C. 860-825), now in the British Museum, we read: “In my 18th regnal year for the 16th time I crossed the Euphrates. Haza’ilu of the land of Damascus came on to the battle: 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his horsemen, with his stores, I took from him.” And again: “In my 21st year for the 21st time I crossed the Euphrates: to the cities of Haza’ilu of the land of Damascus I marched, whose towns I took. Tribute of the land of the Tyrians, Sidonians, Giblites, I received.”

Verse 15. A thick cloth] The versions, in general, understand this of a hairy or woollen cloth. So that he died] He was smothered, or suffocated.

15. on the morrow] He would not tarry. The means he employed was probably the coverlet of the bed, which, soaked and laid over the sick man’s face, would effectually stop his breath. The noun rendered ‘thick cloth’ [R.V. the coverlet] is only found here, but it is connected with a verb which signifies ‘to weave’. Hence it was some woven stuff. ‘Coverlet’ is the rendering sanctioned by the LXX. which has τὸστρῶμα. Death so caused would give very little sign of violence, and might in those early times be readily referred to the disease of which the king was sick. The Targum interprets the word of the mosquito-curtains round the bed, but these would be unsuitable for such a purpose. Josephus explains it of some network (δίκτυον) with which he says Hazael strangled his master. This also is not the notion of the text.

A thick cloth - Probably, a cloth or mat placed between the head and the upper part of the bedstead, which in Egypt and Assyria was often so shaped that pillows (in our sense) were unnecessary.

15. He took — Hazael, not, as some have thought, Ben-hadad, applied the cloth.