2 Kings 8:7
in 2 Kings 8Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
KJV
And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben–hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
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This verse in 2 Kings 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The hour had come for carrying out the command given by God to Elijah (marginal reference “e”), and by him probably passed on to his successor. Elisha, careless of his own safety, quitted the land of Israel, and proceeded into the enemy’s country, thus putting into the power of the Syrian king that life which he had lately sought so eagerly 2Ki 6:13-19. The man of God - The Damascenes had perhaps known Elisha by this title from the time of his curing Naaman.
This site's exposition
the man of God is come hither
on 2 Kings 8:7-8
Elisha's ministry now reaches a foreign capital: Ben-hadad, king of Syria, lies sick at Damascus and sends to enquire of the Lord through the man of God rather than through his own gods. This is the same king who once sent an army to take Elisha at Dothan, now sending a servant to ask him a question instead, a man humbled by circumstance rather than by conviction. The present he sends is sized to a king's gratitude, not a subject's need.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Elisha went to Damascus while King Ben-hadad was ill." His illness had derived from his unhappiness. For he had been deeply afflicted by the fact that, in the war of Samaria, his armies had been defeated and that, at the same time, his people had …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This is the more observable, (1.) Because it was not long since a king of Israel had, in his sickness, sent to enquire of the god of Ekron ( ch. i. 2 ), as if there had been no God in Israel. Note, God sometimes fetches to himself that honour from strangers which is denied him and alienated from him by his own professing people.
And Elisha came to Damascus,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Elisha came to Damascus - That he might lead Gehazi to repentance; according to Jarchi and some others.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֱלִישָׁע֙ | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂק | damesek | Damascus | H1834 → | 45 times |
| וּבֶן־ | uven- | and Ben | H1130 → | 50 times |
| הֲדַ֥ד | hadad | Hadad | H1130 → | 50 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָ֖ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| חֹלֶ֑ה | choleh | [was] sick | H2470 → | 76 times |
| וַיֻּגַּד־ | vaiyugad- | and it was told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּ֛א | ba' | he has come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הֵֽנָּה׃ | henah | here | H2008 → | 49 times |
וַיָּבֹ֤אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֱלִישָׁע֙Elisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂקDamascus
damesekH1834 →45 times
וּבֶן־and Ben
uven-H1130 →50 times
הֲדַ֥דHadad
hadadH1130 →50 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אֲרָ֖םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
חֹלֶ֑ה[was] sick
cholehH2470 →76 times
וַיֻּגַּד־and it was told
vaiyugad-H5046 →370 times
ל֣וֹto him
lo
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בָּ֛אhe has come
ba'H935 →2568 times
אִ֥ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הֵֽנָּה׃here
henahH2008 →49 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 20:1Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:31
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 15:18
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this…
- 1 Kings 22:31
Through
1 Kings 15:18So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this…
it leads to
- Genesis 14:15
During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 12:18
So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries…
- 1 Kings 14:26
He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
- 1 Kings 15:15
And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.
- 1 Kings 11:23–24
And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah,
- Genesis 14:15
Through
2 Kings 6:24Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 20:1
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
- 1 Kings 20:1
About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElishaElijah's successor with the firstborn's double portion; the prophet of the healed spring, the widow's oil, the Shunammite's son, N…
- PlaceSyriaDamascusThe Syrian city Saul was travelling to with letters of arrest when the light stopped him on the road; he entered it blind and left…
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 8:7; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
