2 Kings 6:10
in 2 Kings 6So the king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had pointed out. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.
KJV
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
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This verse in 2 Kings 6
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSent to the place - To see if it were so. But the Vulgate gives it quite a different turn: Misit rex Israel ad locum, et praeoccupavit eum. The king of Israel sent previously to the place, and took possession of it; and thus the Syrians were disappointed. This is very likely, though it is not expressed in the Hebrew text. The prophet knew the Syrians marked such a place; he told the king of Israel, and he hastened and sent a party of troops to pre-occupy it; and thus the Syrians found that their designs had been detected.
This site's exposition
took counsel with his servants
on 2 Kings 6:8-10
The king of Syria plans his raids in secret councils, and each time the man of God sends word to the king of Israel of the place to avoid. The title man of God, used of Elisha here and repeatedly through the chapter's first half, is the same office worn by the prophet of 1 Kings 13 and by Elijah before him, a man whose access runs past locked bedchambers and closed camps. The king of Israel is saved not once nor twice, the text's own count of a pattern that will soon draw Syria's suspicion.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him, and warned him of,.... Sent spies thither to see whether the Syrians were there or not, and whether it was truth the man of God told him; for he had no hearty respect for the prophet, though he had been so serviceable to him: and saved himself there, not once, nor twice; escaped the snares the king of Syria laid for him, not once, nor twice only, but many times.
The work of God's prophets is to give us warning; if, being warned, we do not save ourselves, it is our own fault, and our blood will be upon our own head. The king of Israel would regard the warnings Elisha gave him of his danger by the Syrians, but not the warnings he gave him of his danger by his sins.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the king of Syria warred against Israel--This seems to have been a sort of guerrilla warfare, carried on by predatory inroads on different parts of the country. Elisha apprised King Jehoram of the secret purpose of the enemy; so, by adopting precautionary measures, he was always enabled to anticipate and defeat their attacks.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Saved himself - Rather, he “was ware.” The verb used is the same which is translated “beware” in the preceding verse.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The king of Yisroel dispatched [scouts]. He would send and see whether it was true.
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. 5 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֞ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמָּק֞וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָֽמַר־ | ʾamar- | he had spoken | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֧וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְהִזְהִיר֖וֹ | vehizhiro | and he warned him | H2094 → | |
| וְנִשְׁמַ֣ר | venishmar | and he took care | H8104 → | 468 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַחַ֖ת | ʾachat | one [time] | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שְׁתָּֽיִם׃ | shetayim | two [times] | H8147 → | 768 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֞חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמָּק֞וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָֽמַר־he had spoken
ʾamar-H559 →5305 times
ל֧וֹto him
lo
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וְהִזְהִיר֖וֹand he warned him
vehizhiroH2094 →
וְנִשְׁמַ֣רand he took care
venishmarH8104 →468 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אַחַ֖תone [time]
ʾachatH259 →971 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שְׁתָּֽיִם׃two [times]
shetayimH8147 →768 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 5:14So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored and became like that of a little child,…
it leads to
- Job 33:25
then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.
- Luke 4:27
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
- Luke 5:13
Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
- Zechariah 14:8
And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
- Job 33:25
Through
Matthew 2:12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
it leads to
- Matthew 2:19
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
- Matthew 2:22
But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district…
- Matthew 2:13
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I…
- Matthew 2:19
Through
Proverbs 27:12The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:3
The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
- Proverbs 22:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); 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; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.