1 Kings 19:17
in 1 Kings 19Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
KJV
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare the marginal references. Shall Elisha slay - i. e., With a spiritual slaying by the “word of the Lord,” which is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and may be said to slay those whose doom it pronounces (compare the marginal reference; Jer 1:10). Elisha does not seem, like Elijah, to have executed God’s judgments on the guilty.
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.
This site's exposition
whoever escapes the sword of Hazael
John Wesley traces how it came true. Hazael began to kill Israelites before Jehu was king, and Jehu then struck down King Joram, Ahaziah and the family of Ahab. Elisha weeps over what Hazael will do at 2 Kings 8:12.
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 Awakening3 voices
Hazael began to slay them before Jehu was king, though his cruelty was much increased afterward. Jehu destroyed those whom Hazael did not, as king Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and all the near relations of Ahab.
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay,....
"When Hazael comes to be king of Syria, he shall make bloody work among the people ( 2 Kings viii. 12 ) and so correct them for their idolatry." 2. "When Jehu comes to be king of Israel he shall make bloody work with the royal family, and shall utterly destroy the house of Ahab, that set up and maintained idolatry." 3.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Shall Elisha slay - We do not find that Elisha either used the sword, or commissioned it to be used, though he delivered solemn prophecies against this disobedient people: and this is probably the sense in which this should be understood, as Elisha was prophet before Hazael was king, and Hazael was king before Jehu; and the heavy famine which he brought on the land took place before the reign either of Jehu or Hazael. The meaning of the prophecy may be this: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, shall be the ministers of my vengeance against this disobedient and rebellious people. The order of time, here, is not to be regarded.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַנִּמְלָ֛ט | hanimlat | the [one who] escapes | H4422 → | 95 times |
| מֵחֶ֥רֶב | mecherev | from [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| חֲזָאֵ֖ל | chazael | Hazael | H2371 → | |
| יָמִ֣ית | yamit | he will put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יֵה֑וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| וְהַנִּמְלָ֛ט | vehanimlat | and the [one who] escapes | H4422 → | 95 times |
| מֵחֶ֥רֶב | mecherev | from [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| יֵה֖וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| יָמִ֥ית | yamit | he will put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֱלִישָֽׁע׃ | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הַנִּמְלָ֛טthe [one who] escapes
hanimlatH4422 →95 times
מֵחֶ֥רֶבfrom [the] sword of
mecherevH2719 →413 times
חֲזָאֵ֖לHazael
chazaelH2371 →
יָמִ֣יתhe will put to death
yamitH4191 →839 times
יֵה֑וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
וְהַנִּמְלָ֛טand the [one who] escapes
vehanimlatH4422 →95 times
מֵחֶ֥רֶבfrom [the] sword of
mecherevH2719 →413 times
יֵה֖וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
יָמִ֥יתhe will put to death
yamitH4191 →839 times
אֱלִישָֽׁע׃Elisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 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
2 Kings 8:12“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword,…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 12:17
At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- Nahum 3:10
Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in…
- 2 Kings 15:16
At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.
- 2 Kings 13:3
So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.
- 2 Kings 12:17
Through
2 Kings 13:22And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:12
“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 8:12
Through
Hosea 6:5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:29
“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”
- Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
- Jeremiah 23:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About 1 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElishaElijah's successor with the firstborn's double portion; the prophet of the healed spring, the widow's oil, the Shunammite's son, N…
- PersonDivided kingdomHazaelThe Aramean officer over whose face Elisha wept, foreseeing the cruelty of his coming reign; king of Aram and scourge of Israel.
- PersonDivided kingdomJehuThe furious-driving commander anointed at Elisha's order who purged the house of Ahab and Baal from Israel — zealous for the LORD,…
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.