2 Kings 1:3
in 2 Kings 1But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
KJV
But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron?
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This verse in 2 Kings 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This latter supposition is most probably the true one, as Ahaziah did not fall either into the street or the court, but "in his upper chamber." inquire of Baalzebub--Anxious to learn whether he should recover from the effects of this severe fall, he sent to consult Baalzebub, that is, the god of flies, who was considered the patron deity of medicine.
This site's exposition
there is not a God in Israel
on 2 Kings 1:3-4
The angel meets Elijah before the messengers ever reach Ekron and hands him a question rather than an order, whether there is no God in Israel that the king must send abroad to a foreign idol. The same question falls two more times before the chapter closes, once repeated by the returning messengers and once delivered by Elijah in person, so the reader hears it three separate times. Elijah does not chase the men down to argue the point. He meets them, speaks the sentence, and departs, and that one sentence becomes the king's death warrant.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Ahaziah falls from the gallery of his upper chamber in Samaria." … Ahaziah is the son of Ahab, and after Ahab's death he takes his place and reigns over his people. Now, he falls from the upper chambers of his palace, and his body is …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 ), long since vanquished by Israel? Here, (1.) The sin was bad enough, giving that honour to the devil which is due to God alone, which was done as much by their enquiries as by their sacrifices.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
But the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This consultation of an idol, being a breach of the fundamental law of the kingdom (Ex 20:3; De 5:7), was a daring and deliberate rejection of the national religion. The Lord, in making this announcement of his death, designed that he should see in that event a judgment for his idolatry.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמַלְאַ֣ךְ | umalakh | and [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דִּבֶּר֙ | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֣ה | ʾeliyah | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| הַתִּשְׁבִּ֔י | hatishbi | the Tishbite | H8664 → | 6 times |
| ק֣וּם | kum | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֲלֵ֔ה | ʾaleh | go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| לִקְרַ֖את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| מַלְאֲכֵ֣י | malakhei | [the] messengers of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שֹׁמְר֑וֹן | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| וְדַבֵּ֣ר | vedaber | and speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֔ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמִבְּלִ֤י | hamibeli | ¿ becasue not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | [is] a God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אַתֶּם֙ | ʾatem | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| הֹֽלְכִ֔ים | holekhim | going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִדְרֹ֕שׁ | lidrosh | to consult | H1875 → | 164 times |
| בְּבַ֥עַל | bevaal | <in> Baal | H1176 → | 8 times |
| זְב֖וּב | zevuv | Zebub | H1176 → | 8 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] god of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עֶקְרֽוֹן׃ | ekron | Ekron | H6138 → | 22 times |
וּמַלְאַ֣ךְand [the] angel of
umalakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
דִּבֶּר֙he spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֵלִיָּ֣הElijah
ʾeliyahH452 →71 times
הַתִּשְׁבִּ֔יthe Tishbite
hatishbiH8664 →6 times
ק֣וּםarise
kumH6965 →628 times
עֲלֵ֔הgo up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
לִקְרַ֖אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
מַלְאֲכֵ֣י[the] messengers of
malakheiH4397 →213 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
שֹׁמְר֑וֹןSamaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
וְדַבֵּ֣רand speak
vedaberH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵהֶ֔םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
הַֽמִבְּלִ֤י¿ becasue not
hamibeliH1097 →58 times
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
אֱלֹהִים֙[is] a God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
אַתֶּם֙[are] you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
הֹֽלְכִ֔יםgoing
holekhimH1980 →1546 times
לִדְרֹ֕שׁto consult
lidroshH1875 →164 times
בְּבַ֥עַל<in> Baal
bevaalH1176 →8 times
זְב֖וּבZebub
zevuvH1176 →8 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] god of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
עֶקְרֽוֹן׃Ekron
ekronH6138 →22 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
1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
it leads to
- Luke 4:25–26
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all…
- James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
- 1 Kings 22:14
But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
- Luke 4:25–26
Through
Jonah 2:8Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
it leads to
- Psalms 31:6
I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- 2 Kings 17:15
They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding…
- 1 Samuel 12:21
Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.
- Psalms 31:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
- PlaceThe northern hill countrySamariaThe hill Omri bought and built his capital on, where Ahab raised a temple to Baal, where the four lepers found the Aramean camp em…
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 1:1; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
