2 Kings 8:13 BSB — MannaFest

2 Kings 8:13

“But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

KJV

And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

But what, is thy servant a dog? - This is a mistranslation, and conveys to the English reader a sense quite different from that of the original. Hazael’s speech runs thus - “But what is thy servant, this dog, that he should do this great thing?” He does not shrink from Elisha’s words, or mean to say that he would be a dog, could he act so cruelly as Elisha predicts he will.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

A dog - So fierce, barbarous, and inhuman. King - And when thou shalt have power in thy hand, thou wilt discover that bloody disposition, and that hatred against God's people, which now lies hid from others, and possibly from thyself.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Note, We are apt to think ourselves sufficiently armed against those sins which yet we are afterwards overcome by, as Peter, Matt. xxvi. In answer to this Elisha only told him he should be king over Syria; then he would have power to do it, and then he would find in his heart to do it.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
חֲזָהאֵ֔ל	cha.za.h.'El	Hazael	H2371 →
כִּ֣י	ki	that	H3588 →
מָ֤ה	mah	what?	H4100 →
עַבְדְּךָ֙	'av.de.Kha	[is] servant your	H5650 →
הַכֶּ֔לֶב	ha.Ke.lev	the dog	H3611 →
כִּ֣י	ki	that	H3588 →
יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה	ya.'a.Seh	he will do	H6213 →
הַדָּבָ֥ר	ha.da.Var	the thing	H1697 →
הַגָּד֖וֹל	ha.ga.Dol	<the> great	H1419 →
הַזֶּ֑ה	ha.Zeh	<the> this	H2088 →
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
אֱלִישָׁ֔ע	'e.li.Sha'	Elisha	H477 →
הִרְאַ֧נִי	hir.'A.ni	he has shown me	H7200 →
יְהוָ֛ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
אֹתְךָ֖	'o.te.Kha	<obj.> you	H853 →
מֶ֥לֶךְ	Me.lekh	king	H4428 →
עַל־	'al-	over	H5921 →
אֲרָֽם׃	'a.Ram	Aram	H758 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Samuel 9:8
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:9
  Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Matthew 15:26–27
  But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Through
1 Samuel 17:43
“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
leads to
- 2 Samuel 3:8
  Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 24:14
  Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
- 2 Samuel 9:8
  Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
Through
Psalms 22:20
Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
leads to
- Psalms 35:17
  How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
- Zechariah 13:7
  Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against…
Through
1 Kings 19:15
Then 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.
leads to
- 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.”

About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

2 Kings: the study guide →Read chapter 8 →The featured study →

Continue: 2 Kings 8 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About 2 Kings

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About 2 Kings