2 Kings 8:15
in 2 Kings 8But the next day Hazael took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. So Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
KJV
And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
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This verse in 2 Kings 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A thick cloth - Probably, a cloth or mat placed between the head and the upper part of the bedstead, which in Egypt and Assyria was often so shaped that pillows (in our sense) were unnecessary. The objection that Elisha is involved in the guilt of having suggested the deed, has no real force or value. Hazael was no more obliged to murder Benhadad because a prophet announced to him that he would one day be king of Syria, than David was obliged to murder Saul because another prophet anointed him king in Saul’s room 1Sa 16:1-13.
This site's exposition
What said Elisha to thee
on 2 Kings 8:14-15
Hazael reports only half of what Elisha said, that thou shouldest surely recover, leaving out the word that he shall surely die, and the omission is itself the first move of the murder he commits on the morrow. He takes a thick cloth, dips it in water, and spreads it on the sick king's face until he dies, then reigns in Ben-hadad's stead. Elisha's word is fulfilled by two separate facts at once: the disease was not what killed the king, and the man who did it is the man just told he would be king.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover;' but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die." These were the words of Elisha to the king, who asked him, "Will I live after this illness?" But it seems that they do not agree …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hazael, who was Ben-hadad's confidant, was his murderer, and some think, was not suspected, nor did the truth ever come out but by the pen of this inspired historian.
And it came to pass on the morrow,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
took a thick cloth, &c.--a coverlet. In the East, this article of bedding is generally a thick quilt of wool or cotton, so that, with its great weight, when steeped in water, it would be a fit instrument for accomplishing the murderous purpose, without leaving any marks of violence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A thick cloth - The versions, in general, understand this of a hairy or woollen cloth. So that he died - He was smothered, or suffocated.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the fifth year, etc. Yehoshophot crowned Yorom [who reigned] two years during his lifetime, when they returned from the war they had waged with the king of Mo’av; 14 See Radak’s commentary pertaining to Rashi’s calculation. so it was taught in Seder Olam.
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. 4 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִֽמָּחֳרָ֗ת | mimochorat | from [the] next day | H4283 → | |
| וַיִּקַּ֤ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הַמַּכְבֵּר֙ | hamakhber | the coverlet | H4346 → | |
| וַיִּטְבֹּ֣ל | vaiyitbol | and he dipped [it] | H2881 → | |
| בַּמַּ֔יִם | bamayim | in <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיִּפְרֹ֥שׂ | vaiyifros | and he spread [it] out | H6566 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיָּמֹ֑ת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְ | vaiyimlokh | and he became king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| חֲזָהאֵ֖ל | chazahel | Hazael | H2371 → | 23 times |
| תַּחְתָּֽיו׃ פ | tachtav | in place of him | H8478 → | 505 times |
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִֽמָּחֳרָ֗תfrom [the] next day
mimochoratH4283 →
וַיִּקַּ֤חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
הַמַּכְבֵּר֙the coverlet
hamakhberH4346 →
וַיִּטְבֹּ֣לand he dipped [it]
vaiyitbolH2881 →
בַּמַּ֔יִםin <the> water
bamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיִּפְרֹ֥שׂand he spread [it] out
vaiyifrosH6566 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנָ֖יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
וַיָּמֹ֑תand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְand he became king
vaiyimlokhH4427 →348 times
חֲזָהאֵ֖לHazael
chazahelH2371 →23 times
תַּחְתָּֽיו׃ פin place of him
tachtavH8478 →505 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 8:13“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.”
it leads to
- 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.
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 9:8
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
- Matthew 7:6
Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
- Psalms 22:16
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
- 1 Samuel 17:43
Through
2 Kings 15:30Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:1
In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.
- 2 Kings 17:1
Through
1 Kings 19:15Then 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.
it 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.”
- Isaiah 45:1
This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates…
- Jeremiah 1:10
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); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 8:10; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.