1 Kings 19:15
in 1 Kings 19Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
KJV
And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The answer is not a justification of the ways of God, nor a direct reproof of the prophet’s weakness and despondency, nor an explanation or application of what Elijah had seen. For the present, he is simply directed back into the path of practical duty. His mission is not yet over, there is still work for him to do.
This site's exposition
return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus
on 1 Kings 19:15-17
The answer to Elijah's complaint is not comfort but three commissions: Hazael to be anointed king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha prophet in Elijah's own room, the word anoint used here of a prophet's successor as it is elsewhere used of kings and priests. Verse seventeen binds the three into a single chain of judgment, whoever escapes Hazael's sword falls to Jehu, and whoever escapes Jehu's sword falls to Elisha, whom Barnes reads as a spiritual slaying by the word of the Lord rather than a literal one. The despairing I only am left is answered with instruments of judgment, not with sympathy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram." As I have already said, "the sound of a sweet word" which comes after the storm and the fire divulged this good news. And …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord said unto him, go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In the solitude of Sinai, God appeared to instruct him. "What doest thou here, Elijah?" was a searching question addressed to one who had been called to so arduous and urgent a mission as his.
To the wilderness of Damascus - He does not desire him to take a road by which he might be likely to meet Jezebel, or any other of his enemies. Anoint Hazael - For what reason the Lord was about to make all these revolutions, we are told in 1Ki 19:17. God was about to bring his judgments upon the land, and especially on the house of Ahab. This he exterminated by means of Jehu; and Jehu himself was a scourge of the Lord to the people. Hazael also grievously afflicted Israel; see the accomplishment of these purposes, 2 Kings 8 (note), and 2 Kings 9 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
You should anoint as prophet in your place. [God said,] “I do not want your prophecy, because you plead for the prosecution of My children.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵ֛ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| שׁ֥וּב | shuv | go back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לְדַרְכְּךָ֖ | ledarkekha | to way your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מִדְבַּ֣רָה | midbarah | [the] wilderness of towards | H4057 → | 270 times |
| דַמָּ֑שֶׂק | damasek | Damascus | H1834 → | 45 times |
| וּבָ֗אתָ | uvata | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֧ | umashachta | and you will anoint | H4886 → | 70 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲזָאֵ֛ל | chazael | Hazael | H2371 → | |
| לְמֶ֖לֶךְ | lemelekh | to king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲרָֽם׃ | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
לֵ֛ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
שׁ֥וּבgo back
shuvH7725 →1056 times
לְדַרְכְּךָ֖to way your
ledarkekhaH1870 →707 times
מִדְבַּ֣רָה[the] wilderness of towards
midbarahH4057 →270 times
דַמָּ֑שֶׂקDamascus
damasekH1834 →45 times
וּבָ֗אתָand you will go
uvataH935 →2568 times
וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֧and you will anoint
umashachtaH4886 →70 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֲזָאֵ֛לHazael
chazaelH2371 →
לְמֶ֖לֶךְto king
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֲרָֽם׃Aram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 1:10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Isaiah 44:26–28
who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I…
- Jeremiah 31:4–5
Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
- Jeremiah 24:6
I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
- Jeremiah 31:28
Through
Isaiah 45:1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.
- Isaiah 42:6
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Isaiah 44:28
who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Jeremiah 51:20–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomHazaelThe Aramean officer over whose face Elisha wept, foreseeing the cruelty of his coming reign; king of Aram and scourge of Israel.
- PlaceSyriaDamascusThe Syrian city Saul was travelling to with letters of arrest when the light stopped him on the road; he entered it blind and left…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 19:13; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).