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Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

2 Kings 8:13

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Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ben-Hadad;   Dog (Sodomite?);   Elisha;   Falsehood;   Hazael;   Reproof;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Hazael;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ben-hadad;   Elisha;   Hazael;   Israel;   Syria;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Dog;   Elijah;   Elisha;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Damascus;   Dog;   Hazael;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Damascus;   Elisha;   Hazael;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Dog;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Benhadad ;   Hazael ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Ramothgilead;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Benbadad;   Elisha;   Hazael;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ben-Ha'dad;   Dog,;   Haz'a-El;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Dog;   Hazael;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Benhadad;   Dog;   Elijah;   Elisha;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Benhadad;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ben-Hadad;  

Contextual Overview

7Elisha came to Damascus while King Ben-hadad of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.” 7 Elisha came to Dammesek; and Ben-Hadad the king of Aram was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come here. 7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. 7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, "The man of God has come here," 7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, where Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick. Someone told him, "The man of God has arrived." 7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king was told, "The prophet has come here." 7Now Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria) was sick; and he was told, "The man of God has come here." 7 Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, was sick, and it was told to him, saying, "The man of God has come here." 7 Then Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad the King of Aram was sicke, and one told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. 7Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, "The man of God has come here."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a dog: 1 Samuel 17:43, 2 Samuel 9:8, Psalms 22:16, Psalms 22:20, Isaiah 56:10, Isaiah 56:11, Matthew 7:6, Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15

he should do: Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 26:33-35

The Lord: 2 Kings 8:10, 1 Kings 19:15, Micah 2:1

Reciprocal: Genesis 44:7 - General 2 Samuel 3:8 - Amos I a dog's head 2 Kings 8:15 - And it came 2 Kings 8:28 - Hazael 2 Kings 9:3 - I have anointed 2 Kings 13:3 - Hazael Proverbs 28:26 - that Joel 2:20 - because Mark 14:31 - he spake Luke 22:33 - I am

Cross-References

Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noach's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep were burst open, and the sky's windows were opened.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the springs of the great deep were split open, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:11
When Noah was six hundred years old, the flood started. On the seventeenth day of the second month of that year the underground springs split open, and the clouds in the sky poured out rain.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
Genesis 7:11
In the sixe hundreth yeere of Noahs life in the second moneth, the seuetenth day of the moneth, in the same day were all the fountaines of the great deepe broken vp, and the windowes of heauen were opened,
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the great deep split open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
Genesis 7:11
Noah was six hundred years old when the water under the earth started gushing out everywhere. The sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for forty days and nights. All this began on the seventeenth day of the second month of the year.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Hazael said, but what, [is] thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?.... What dost thou take me to be, a vile, impudent, fierce, and cruel creature, as a dog, to be guilty of so great inhumanity and barbarity as this? or what is thy servant? a dog, a mean abject creature, of no power and authority, incapable of doing such great things spoken of? to which sense not only what is predicted of him, said to be great, inclines, but what follows:

and Elisha answered, the Lord hath showed me that thou shall be king over Syria; and that thou shalt have power enough to do this; this declaration, according to Ben Gersom, was the anointing of him, predicted 1 Kings 19:15.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But what, is thy servant a dog? - This is a mistranslation, and conveys to the English reader a sense quite different from that of the original. Hazael’s speech runs thus - “But what is thy servant, this dog, that he should do this great thing?” He does not shrink from Elisha’s words, or mean to say that he would be a dog, could he act so cruelly as Elisha predicts he will. On the contrary, Elisha’s prediction has raised his hopes, and his only doubt is whether so much good fortune (“this great thing”) can be in store for one so mean. “Dog” here, as generally (though not always) in Scripture, has the sense of “mean,” “low,” “contemptible.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 8:13. But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great things — I believe this verse to be wrongly interpreted by the general run of commentators. It is generally understood that Hazael was struck with horror at the prediction; that these cruelties were most alien from his mind; that he then felt distressed and offended at the imputation of such evils to him; and yet, so little did he know his own heart, that when he got power, and had opportunity, he did the whole with a willing heart and a ready hand. On the contrary, I think he was delighted at the prospect; and his question rather implies a doubt whether a person so inconsiderable as he is shall ever have it in his power to do such great, not such evil things; for, in his sight, they had no turpitude. The Hebrew text stands thus: כי מה עבדך הכלב כי יעשה הדבר הגדול הזה ki mah abdecha hakkeleb, ki yaaseh haddabar haggadol hazzeh? "But, what! thy servant, this dog! that he should do this great work!" Or, "Can such a poor, worthless fellow, such a dead dog, [ὁ κυων ὁ τεθνηκως, Sept.,] perform such mighty actions? thou fillest me with surprise." And that this is the true sense, his immediate murder of his master on his return fully proves. "Our common version of these words of Hazael," as Mr. Patten observes, "has stood in the front of many a fine declamation utterly wide of his real sentiment. His exclamation was not the result of horror; his expression has no tincture of it; but of the unexpected glimpse of a crown! The prophet's answer is plainly calculated to satisfy the astonishment he had excited. A dog bears not, in Scripture, the character of a cruel, but of a despicable animal; nor does he who is shocked with its barbarity call it a GREAT deed." - David Vindicated.


 
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