2 Kings 1:9
in 2 Kings 1Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
KJV
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
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This verse in 2 Kings 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseNow if you consider well, dearly beloved, you will realize that not only the Jewish people fell through pride, but also those two captains perished from the same weakness. With great pride and arrogance but lacking any humility, the latter came to blessed Elijah and …
This site's exposition
a captain with his company of fifty men
on 2 Kings 1:9-10
Elijah takes the title as the test, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven”. Fire falls as it fell on Carmel at 1 Kings 18:38 and consumes the captain and his fifty. Elijah supplies no fire; he states the terms and heaven answers.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But the stubborn king did not fear the word of the prophet and said in his heart, "He lies." And so he did not pay attention to his warning, which exhorted him to get rid of the reason of his evils and to repent. He …
These wretched men are apt to censure the writings of the Old Testament saying, "How was it just for blessed Elijah to burn two captains with their soldiers by means of fire brought down from heaven?" How justly and mercifully this was done, dearly beloved, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was not long since Elijah had fetched fire from heaven, to consume the sacrifice ( 1 Kings xvii. 38 ), in token of God's acceptance of that sacrifice as an atonement for the sins of the people; but, they having slighted that, now the fire falls, not on the sacrifice, but on the sinners themselves,
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A captain of fifty with his fifty - It is impossible that such a man as Ahaziah, in such circumstances, could have had any friendly designs in sending a captain and fifty soldiers for the prophet; and the manner in which they are treated shows plainly that they went with a hostile intent. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God - Thou prophet of the Most High.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God being the King of Israel, Ahaziah was bound to govern the kingdom according to the divine law; to apprehend the Lord's prophet, for discharging a commanded duty, was that of an impious and notorious rebel.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then the king sent unto him - i. e., in order to seize and punish him. Compare 1Ki 18:10; 1Ki 22:27.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלָ֛יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שַׂר־ | sar- | a commander of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים | chamishim | a fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וַחֲמִשָּׁ֑יו | vachamishav | and fifty [men] his | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וַיַּ֣עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהִנֵּה֙ | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| יֹשֵׁב֙ | yoshev | [he was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹ֣אשׁ | rosh | [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הָהָ֔ר | hahar | the hill | H2022 → | 546 times |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | O man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דִּבֶּ֖ר | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| רֵֽדָה׃ | redah | come down ! | H3381 → | 381 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אֵלָ֛יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
שַׂר־a commander of
sar-H8269 →421 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֖יםa fifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
וַחֲמִשָּׁ֑יוand fifty [men] his
vachamishavH2572 →163 times
וַיַּ֣עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וְהִנֵּה֙and there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
יֹשֵׁב֙[he was] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹ֣אשׁ[the] top of
roshH7218 →599 times
הָהָ֔רthe hill
haharH2022 →546 times
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אִ֚ישׁO man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דִּבֶּ֖רhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
רֵֽדָה׃come down !
redahH3381 →381 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
Hebrews 11:36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 20:2
he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
- Genesis 39:20
So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
- Jeremiah 37:15–21
The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- 2 Chronicles 30:10
And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun; but the people scorned and mocked them.
- Jeremiah 20:7
You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Jeremiah 20:2
Through
1 Kings 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:13
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them…
- Matthew 10:40–42
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- Revelation 17:4–6
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual…
- 1 Kings 18:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 125.2; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 125.1; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 1:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.