2 Kings 6

2 Kings 6 continues the cycle of narratives about the deeds of Elisha. After the healing of Naaman and the punishment of Gehazi in the preceding chapter, 2 Kings 5, this chapter presents stories of Elisha set among his disciples, the Aramean army, and besieged Samaria. The account of the siege of Samaria, which begins in verse 24, continues into 2 Kings 7.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 The sons of the prophets (the company of prophets who followed Elisha) are cutting timber by the Jordan to enlarge their dwelling when a borrowed axe head falls into the water. Elisha throws in a stick, and the iron floats.
• Verses 8–12 Elisha repeatedly informs the king of Israel where the king of Aram plans to encamp. The king of Aram suspects a traitor among his men but is told that Elisha is responsible.
• Verses 13–17 The Aramean army surrounds the city of Dothan by night. Elisha reassures his frightened servant and prays. When the servant's eyes are opened, he sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire.
• Verses 18–23 In answer to Elisha's prayer, the Aramean soldiers are struck with blindness, and Elisha leads them to Samaria. When the king of Israel wants to strike them down, Elisha restrains him and tells him to feed them and send them away. The text records that afterward the Aramean bands came no more into the land.
• Verses 24–29 Ben-hadad king of Aram besieges Samaria, and a great famine results. An ass's head sells for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. A woman appeals to the king, telling how she and a neighbor boiled and ate her son.
• Verses 30–33 The king tears his clothes, revealing the sackcloth he is wearing underneath. He swears to behead Elisha and sends a man to do so. Elisha, sitting with the elders, knows of this beforehand. When the messenger arrives, the words follow: "Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?"

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 6:16 "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." — A representative verse on God's protection beyond the visible threat.
• 2 Kings 6:17 "LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." — Frequently cited in reference to the opening of spiritual eyes.
• 2 Kings 6:22 "Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink" — The scene in which captured enemies are not killed but are fed and sent home.

Characters and Places

• Elisha: The central figure of the chapter. In verse 31 he is called "the son of Shaphat."
• Elisha's servant: The text does not give his name.
• The king of Israel: He is not named in the text. He is commonly identified as Jehoram (Joram) son of Ahab, and many interpreters connect the phrase "this son of a murderer" in verse 32 with Ahab.
• Ben-hadad: King of Aram (a kingdom centered on Damascus).
• Dothan: The city the Aramean army surrounded in order to seize Elisha.
• Samaria: The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Jordan River: The place where the sons of the prophets were cutting timber.

Points for Reflection

• Verse 23 records that the Aramean bands came no more, yet in verse 24 Ben-hadad invades with his entire army. Verse 23 is commonly read as meaning that incursions by small raiding bands ceased, and verse 24 as describing a full-scale war at a different time.
• The New Korean Revised Version renders the commodity in verse 25 as "dove's dung." Some interpreters take this literally, while others hold that it refers to a plant known by that name.
• The cannibalism during the siege is read as the fulfillment of the covenant curses threatened in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.
• The Korean Revised Version identifies the speaker in verse 33 as "the king," but the Hebrew text gives the subject only as "he." Interpreters therefore differ on whether the words belong to the messenger or to the king.
• Verse 22, in which enemies are fed and sent away, is often read alongside Romans 12:17–21 and the teaching of love for enemies.

In the Korean Church

Verses 16–17 are frequently used as sermon texts on faith in the midst of fear and on the prayer to "open our spiritual eyes." The stories of the floating axe head and the city of Dothan are also taught as Bible stories in Sunday school.