2 Kings 8
2 Kings 8 is the eighth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records Elisha's acts in helping the family of Shunammite woman to escape famine, then to gain back their land (verses 1–6) and in contributing  to Hazael's ascension to the throne of Syria (Aram) in verses 7–15; then subsequently records the reigns of Joram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah. Text. This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 29 verses. Textual witnesses. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 6Q4 (6QpapKgs; 150–75 BCE ) with extant verses 1–5. There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; formula_1; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; formula_1; 5th century). Locations. This chapter mentions or alludes to the following places (in order of appearance): Elisha helps a refugee (8:1–6). The part is a continuation to the story of the Shunammite woman in 4:8–37. Elisha foresees famine, warns the woman, and recommends her and her family to leave the area until the famine ends (cf. the stories  of Ruth and Joseph and the so-called "economic refugees" today). On her return seven years later she found that her property belongs to someone else, probably fell into the crown's hands since it had no owner for a while (as there is no record of a dispute with neighbors). The woman appeals to the king who returns her the land on hearing of her connections with Elisha after being impressed by Elisha's miracle-working power told by Elisha's servant Gehazi. Elisha triggers a change of power in Damascus (8:7–15). The events that continue to 2 Kings  9–10 form one of two political stories placed at the end of the Elisha cycle (the other in ). The Aramean king, named here as Benhadad, becomes seriously ill and sends his general Hazael to Elisha, who was in Damascus at that time, to request an oracle. Elisha's reply is puzzling: Hazael should tell the king he will recover although he will also die (verse 10), which is clarified a little later: the king would have survived his illness (verse 14), but would not survive Hazael's assassination attempt (verse 15). Hazael's brutality against Israel was also revealed by  the prophet (verses 11–13; cf. ; 2 Kings 8:28; ; ; ; ). It is a tragic future event that Elisha could not prevent to happen while the agent of destruction himself was before him at that moment. During the last year's of Benhadad' reign the relationship between Israel and Aram was relaxed, but the change of power in Damascus dramatically worsened it. The war between Hazael and Israel shortly after his accession leads to the Omride Joram's wounding and his murder (followed by the murder of Ahaziah of Judah) by general Jehu. Hazael as an instrument of vengeance against Ahab's family  was mentioned during the encounter of YHWH and Elijah at Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19). Structure of 8:7–15. A chiastic structure is observed in this part with the focus of attention on the central dialogue between Hazael and Elisha, as follows: Verse 13. Elisha carries out the anointing of Hazael according to the divine commission to Elijah, his predecessor, in . Hazael (reigns c. 842–800 BCE), seized Israelite territory east of the Jordan River, and the Philistine city of Gath, but unsuccessful to take Jerusalem (). His death is mentioned in . Verse 15. Decorated bronze plaques from chariot horse-harness belonged to  Hazael, identified by their inscriptions, have been found as re-gifted votive objects at two Greek sites, the Heraion of Samos and in the temple of Apollo at Eretria on Euboea. The inscriptions read "that which Hadad gave to our lord Hazael from 'Umq in the year that our lord crossed the River", which may refer to Orontes river. King Joram of Judah (8:16–24). Joram (or "Jehoram") got the 'harshest possible verdict' among the descendants of David in this book: placed on the same level as the kings of Israel, and especially 'the house of Ahab'. He was married to  the Omride princess Athaliah, who was not merely one wife among others, but became the queen mother when her son Ahaziah came to the throne (cf. verses 18 and 26). The tense relationship between Judah and Israel after their separation (cf. e.g. ; ) clearly turned to a peaceful one during the time of the Omri dynasty, along with the northern religious supremacy over the south. The link between Judah and the sinful kingdom of Israel could have brought the kingdom of Judah down, but God in his faithfulness to the Davidic covenant () mercifully spared them (verse 19). Nevertheless, Judah lost the  territory of Edom, after the Edomites heavily defeated Joram's troops and achieved independence (cf. ; 2 Kings 3:8-9). King Ahaziah of Judah (8:25–29). Ahaziah is depicted as bad as his father Joram (and his mother, the Omride Athaliah), although he only reigned for one year. He was soon involved in a war with Aram, in alliance with his uncle, Jehoram of Israel, centered upon Ramoth, a town on the border between Israelite Gilead and Aram's territory to the north ('Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael' in 9:14). The repeated reports of 8:28–29 in  9:14–15a, and in 9:16 may indicate that the narrative could stem from three different sources: the annals of Judah and Israel, as well as a separate record on Jehu. Verse 28. The inscription by Hazael the king of Aram (Syria) in the Tel Dan Stele stated that after the death of his father 'the king of Israel invaded, advancing in my father's land' (lines 3–4). It corresponds well with 2 Kings 8:28a stating that the kings of Israel and Judah launched a campaign and attacked the Aramaeans at Ramoth-gilead. The city was soon occupied by Hazael for the  whole period of his reign, but would be in Israelite hands again thereafter (cf. ; ; ). Relation to the Tel Dan Stele. Tel Dan Stele, a fragmentary stele from the 9th century BCE was discovered in 1993 (first fragment) and 1994 (two smaller fragments) in Tel-Dan. The stele contains several lines of Aramaic detailing that the author of the inscription (likely Hazael, an Aramean king from the same period) killed both Jehoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, the king of the house of David. This artifact is currently on display at the Israel  Museum, and is known as KAI 310. Although the part containing the name of the Israelite king is not complete, the only king, either of Israel or of Judah, whose name ends with "resh" and "mem" is Jehoram, who is either a son of Ahab, king of Israel, or a son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. The letters "y-h-u", followed by "b-n", 'the son of', must belong to a Hebrew theophorous name and in the ninth century BCE, the two royal names ending with "-yah(u)" were "Ahazyah(u)" (Ahaziah) and "Atalyah(u)" (Ataliah; becoming queen of Judah after her  son Ahaziah), so the only name of the king is Ahaziah. The name “Ahaziah” can refer to a king of Israel and a king of Judah, but only one can be taken into consideration: the son of Jehoram and grandson of Jehoshaphat, who ruled in Judah for one year (2 Kings 8:25–26) and was the ally of Jehoram of Israel. After Hazael seized the throne from Ben Hadad II, king of Aram-Damascus, he fought Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah at Ramoth Gilead (2 Kings 8:7-15, 28; ) and wounded Jehoram (according to , both Jehoram and Ahaziah were  slain by Jehu shortly after). Thus, this stele is to be attributed to the campaign of Hazael.