Chapter 4.
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Chapter 4.
JEHORAM SUCCEEDS JEHOSHAPHAT; HOW JORAM, HIS NAMESAKE, KING OF ISRAEL, FOUGHT WITH THE SYRIANS;AND WHAT WONDERS WERE DONE BY THE PROPHET ELISHA.FJAJ 9.15
1. JEHOSHAPAT had a good number of children; but he appointed his eldest
son Jehoram to be his successor, who had the same name with his mother's
brother, that was king of Israel, and the son of Ahab
Now when the king
of Israel was come out of the land of Moab to Samaria, he had with him
Elisha the prophet, whose acts I have a mind to go over particularly, for
they were illustrious, and worthy to be related, as we have them set down
in the sacred books.FJAJ 9.16
2. For they say that the widow of Obadiah (7) That
this woman who cried to Elisha, and who in our Bible is styled "the
wife of one of the sons of the prophets," 2 Kings 4:1, was no other
than the widow of Obadiah, the good steward of Ahab, is confirmed by the
Chaldee paraphrast, and by the Rabbins and others. Nor is that unlikely
which Josephus here adds, that these debts were contracted by her husband
for the support of those "hundred of the Lord's prophets, whom he
maintained by fifty in a cave," in the days of Ahab and Jezebel, 1
Kings 18:4; which circumstance rendered it highly fit that the prophet
Elisha should provide her a remedy, and enable her to redeem herself and
her sons from the fear of that slavery which insolvent debtors were liable
to by the law of Moses, Leviticus 25:39; Matthew 18:25; which he did accordingly,
with God's help, at the expense of a miracle.
Ahab's steward, came to him, and said, that he was not ignorant how her
husband had preserved the prophets that were to be slain by Jezebel, the
wife of Ahab; for she said that he hid a hundred of them, and had borrowed
money for their maintenance, and that, after her husband's death, she and
her children were carried away to be made slaves by the creditors; and
she desired of him to have mercy upon her on account of what her husband
did, and afford her some assistance
And when he asked her what she had
in the house, she said, "Nothing but a very small quantity of oil
in a cruse." So the prophet bid her go away, and borrow a great many
empty vessels of her neighbors, and when she had shut her chamber door,
to pour the oil into them all; for that God would fill them full
And when
the woman had done what she was commanded to do, and bade her children
bring every one of the vessels, and all were filled, and not one left empty,
she came to the prophet, and told him that they were all full; upon which
he advised her to go away, and sell the oil, and pay the creditors what
was owing them, for that there would be some surplus of the price of the
oil, which she might make use of for the maintenance of her children
And
thus did Elisha discharge the woman's debts, and free her from the vexation
of her creditors.FJAJ 9.17
3. Elisha also sent a hasty message to Joram, (8) Dr.
Hudson, with very good reason, suspects that there is no small defect in
our present copies of Josephus, just before the beginning of this section,
and that chiefly as to that distinct account which he had given us reason
to expect in the first section, and to which he seems to refer, ch. 8.
sect. 6. concerning the glorious miracles which Elisha wrought, which indeed
in our Bibles are not a few, 2 Kings 6-9., but of which we have several
omitted in Josephus's present copies. One of those histories, omitted at
present, was evidently in his Bible, I mean that of the curing of Nanman's
leprosy, 2 Kings 5.; for he plainly alludes to it, B. III. ch. 11. sect.
4, where he observes, that "there were lepers in many nations who
yet have been in honor, and not only free from reproach and avoidance,
but who have been great captains of armies, and been intrusted with high
offices in the commonwealth, and have had the privilege of entering into
holy places and temples." But what makes me most regret the want of
that history in our present copies of Josephus is this, that we have here,
as it is commonly understood, one of the greatest difficulties in all the
Bible, that in 2 Kings 5:18, 19, where Naaman, after he had been miraculously
cured by a prophet of the true God, and had thereupon promised (ver. 17)
that "he would henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice
unto other gods, but unto the Lord," adds, "In this thing the
Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimnu
to worship there, and he leaneth on my hands, and I bow myself in the house
of Rimmort; when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmort, the Lord pardon
thy servant in this thing. And Elisha said, Go in peace." This looks
like a prophet's permission for being partaker in idolatry itself, out
of compliance with an idolatrous court.
and exhorted him to take care of that place, for that therein were some
Syrians lying in ambush to kill him
So the king did as the prophet exhorted
him, and avoided his going a hunting
And when Benhadad missed of the success
of his lying in ambush, he was wroth with his own servants, as if they
had betrayed his ambushment to Joram; and he sent for them, and said they
were the betrayers of his secret counsels; and he threatened that he would
put them to death, since such their practice was evident, because he had
intrusted this secret to none but them, and yet it was made known to his
enemy
And one that was present said that he should not mistake himself,
nor suspect that they had discovered to his enemy his sending men to kill
him, but that he ought to know that it was Elisha the prophet who discovered
all to him, and laid open all his counsels
So he gave order that they
should send some to learn in what city Elisha dwelt
Accordingly those
that were sent brought word that he was in Dothan; wherefore Benhadad sent
to that city a great army, with horses and chariots, to take Elisha: so
they encompassed the city round about by night, and kept him therein confined;
but when the prophet's servant in the morning perceived this, and that
his enemies sought to take Elisha, he came running, and crying out after
a disordered manner to him, and told him of it; but he encouraged him,
and bid him not be afraid, and to despise the enemy, and trust in the assistance
of God, and was himself without fear; and he besought God to make manifest
to his servant his power and presence, so far as was possible, in order
to the inspiring him with hope and courage
Accordingly God heard the prayer
of the prophet, and made the servant see a multitude of chariots and horses
encompassing Elisha, till he laid aside his fear, and his courage revived
at the sight of what he supposed was come to their assistance
After this
Elisha did further entreat God, that he would dim the eyes of their enemies,
and cast a mist before them, whereby they might not discern him
When this
was done, he went into the midst of his enemies, and asked them who it
was that they came to seek; and when they replied, "The prophet Elisha,"
he promised he would deliver him to them, if they would follow him to the
city where he was
So these men were so darkened by God in their sight
and in their mind, that they followed him very diligently; and when Elisha
had brought them to Samaria, he ordered Joram the king to shut the gates,
and to place his own army round about them; and prayed to God to clear
the eyes of these their enemies, and take the mist from before them
Accordingly,
when they were freed from the obscurity they had been in, they saw themselves
in the midst of their enemies; and as the Syrians were strangely amazed
and distressed, as was but reasonable, at an action so Divine and surprising,
and as king Joram asked the prophet if he would give him leave to shoot
at them, Elisha forbade him so to do; and said, that "it is just to
kill those that are taken in battle, but that these men had done the country
no harm, but, without knowing it, were come thither by the Divine Power:"
� so that his counsel was to treat them in a hospitable manner at his table,
and then send them away without hurting them.FJAJ 9.18
(9) Upon occasion of this stratagem of Elisha, in Josephus, we may take notice, that although Josephus was one of the greatest lovers of truth in the world, yet in a just war he seems to have had no manner of scruple upon him by all such stratagems possible to deceive public enemies. See this Josephus's account of Jeremiah's imposition on the great men of the Jews in somewhat like case, Antiq. B. X. ch. 7. sect. 6; 2 Samuel 16:16, &c. Wherefore Joram obeyed the prophet; and when he had feasted the Syrians in a splendid and magnificent manner, he let them go to Benhadad their king.FJAJ 9.19
4. Now when these men were come back, and had showed Benhadad how strange
an accident had befallen them, and what an appearance and power they had
experienced of the God of Israel, he wondered at it, as also at that prophet
with whom God was so evidently present; so he determined to make no more
secret attempts upon the king of Israel, out of fear of Elisha, but resolved
to make open war with them, as supposing he could be too hard for his enemies
by the multitude of his army and power
So he made an expedition with a
great army against Joram, who, not thinking himself a match for him, shut
himself up in Samaria, and depended on the strength of its walls; but Benhadad
supposed he should take the city, if not by his engines of war, yet that
he should overcome the Samaritans by famine, and the want of necessaries,
and brought his army upon them, and besieged the city; and the plenty of
necessaries was brought so low with Joram, that from the extremity of want
an ass's head was sold in Samaria for fourscore pieces of silver, and the
Hebrews bought a sextary of dore's dung, instead of salt, for five pieces
of silver
Now Joram was in fear lest somebody should betray the city to
the enemy, by reason of the famine, and went every day round the walls
and the guards to see whether any such were concealed among them; and by
being thus seen, and taking such care, he deprived them of the opportunity
of contriving any such thing; and if they had a mind to do it, he, by this
means, prevented them: but upon a certain woman's crying out, "Have
pity on me, my lord," while he thought that she was about to ask for
somewhat to eat, he imprecated God's curse upon her, and said he had neither
thrashing-floor nor wine-press, whence he might give her any thing at her
petition
Upon which she said she did not desire his aid in any such thing,
nor trouble him about food, but desired that he would do her justice as
to another woman
And when be bade her say on, and let him know what she
desired, she said she had made an agreement with the other woman who was
her neighbor and her friend, that because the famine and want was intolerable,
they should kill their children, each of them having a son of their own,
and we will live upon them ourselves for two days, the one day upon one
son, and the other day upon the other; and," said she, I have killed
my son the first day, and we lived upon my son yesterday; but this other
woman will not do the same thing, but hath broken her agreement, and hath
hid her son." This story mightily grieved Joram when he heard it;
so he rent his garment, and cried out with a loud voice, and conceived
great wrath against Elisha the prophet, and set himself eagerly to have
him slain, because he did not pray to God to provide them some exit and
way of escape out of the miseries with which they were surrounded; and
sent one away immediately to cut off his head, who made haste to kill the
prophet
But Elisha was not unacquainted with the wrath of the king against
him; for as he sat in his house by himself, with none but his disciples
about him, he told them that Joram, (10)
This son of a murderer was Joram, the son of Ahab, which Ahab slew, or
permitted his wife Jezebel to slay, the Lord's prophets, and Naboth, 1
Kings 18:4; 21:19; and he is here called by this name, I suppose, because
he had now also himself sent an officer to murder him; yet is Josephus's
account of Joram's coming himself at last. as repenting of his intended
cruelty, much more probable than that in our copies, 2 Kings 6:33, which
rather implies the contrary.
who was the son of a murderer, had sent one to take away his head; "but,"
said he, "when he that is commanded to do this comes, take care that
you do not let him come in, but press the door against him, and hold him
fast there, for the king himself will follow him, and come to me, having
altered his mind." Accordingly, they did as they were bidden, when
he that was sent by the king to kill Elisha came
But Joram repented of
his wrath against the prophet; and for fear he that was commanded to kill
him should have done it before he came, he made haste to hinder his slaughter,
and to save the prophet: and when he came to him, he accused him that he
did not pray to God for their deliverance from the miseries they now lay
under, but saw them so sadly destroyed by them
Hereupon Elisha promised,
that the very next day, at the very same hour in which the king came to
him, they should have great plenty of food, and that two seahs of barley
should be sold in the market for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour should
be sold for a shekel
This prediction made Joram, and those that were present,
very joyful, for they did not scruple believing what the prophet said,
on account of the experience they had of the truth of his former predictions;
and the expectation of plenty made the want they were in that day, with
the uneasiness that accompanied it, appear a light thing to them: but the
captain of the third band, who was a friend of the king, and on whose hand
the king leaned, said, "Thou talkest of incredible things, O prophet!
for as it is impossible for God to pour down torrents of barley, or fine
flour, out of heaven, so is it impossible that what thou sayest should
come to pass." To which the prophet made this reply," Thou shalt
see these things come to pass, but thou shalt not be in the least a partaker
of them."FJAJ 9.20
5. Now what Elisha had thus foretold came to pass in the manner following:
There was a law at Samaria (11)
This law of the Jews, for the exclusion of lepers out of the camp in the
wilderness, and out of the cities in Judea, is a known one, Leviticus 13:46;
Numbers 5:14.
that those that had the leprosy, and whose bodies were not cleansed from
it, should abide without the city: and there were four men that on this
account abode before the gates, while nobody gave them any food, by reason
of the extremity of the famine; and as they were prohibited from entering
into the city by the law, and they considered that if they were permitted
to enter, they should miserably perish by the famine; as also, that if
they staid where they were, they should suffer in the same manner, � they
resolved to deliver themselves up to the enemy, that in case they should
spare them, they should live; but if they should be killed, that would
be an easy death
So when they had confirmed this their resolution, they
came by night to the enemy's camp
Now God had begun to affright and disturb
the Syrians, and to bring the noise of chariots and armor to their ears,
as though an army were coming upon them, and had made them suspect that
it was coming nearer and nearer to them In short, they were in such a dread
of this army, that they left their tents, and ran together to Benhadad,
and said that Joram the king of Israel had hired for auxiliaries both the
king of Egypt and the king of the Islands, and led them against them for
they heard the noise of them as they were coming
And Benhadad believed
what they said (for there came the same noise to his ears as well as it
did to theirs); so they fell into a mighty disorder and tumult, and left
their horses and beasts in their camp, with immense riches also, and betook
themselves to flight
And those lepers who had departed from Samaria, and
were gone to the camp of the Syrians, of whom we made mention a little
before, when they were in the camp, saw nothing but great quietness and
silence: accordingly they entered into it, and went hastily into one of
their tents; and when they saw nobody there, they eat and drank, and carried
garments, and a great quantity of gold, and hid it out of the camp; after
which they went into another tent, and carried off what was in it, as they
did at the former, and this did they for several times, without the least
interruption from any body
So they gathered thereby that the enemies were
departed; whereupon they reproached themselves that they did not inform
Joram and the citizens of it
So they came to the walls of Samaria, and
called aloud to the watchmen, and told them in what state the enemies were,
as did these tell the king's guards, by whose means Joram came to know
of it; who then sent for his friends, and the captains of his host, and
said to them, that he suspected that this departure of the king of Syria
was by way of ambush and treachery, and that out of despair of ruining
you by famine, when you imagine them to be fled away, you may come out
of the city to spoil their camp, and he may then fall upon you on a sudden,
and may both kill you, and take the city without fighting; whence it is
that I exhort you to guard the city carefully, and by no means to go out
of it, or proudly to despise your enemies, as though they were really gone
away." And when a certain person said that he did very well and wisely
to admit such a suspicion, but that he still advised him to send a couple
of horsemen to search all the country as far as Jordan, that "if they
were seized by an ambush of the enemy, they might be a security to your
army, that they may not go out as if they suspected nothing, nor undergo
the like misfortune; and," said he, "those horsemen may be numbered
among those that have died by the famine, supposing they be caught and
destroyed by the enemy." So the king was pleased with this opinion,
and sent such as might search out the truth, who performed their journey
over a road that was without any enemies, but found it full of provisions,
and of weapons, that they had therefore thrown away, and left behind them,
in order to their being light and expeditious in their flight
When the
king heard this, he sent out the multitude to take the spoils of the camp;
which gains of theirs were not of things of small value, but they took
a great quantity of gold, and a great quantity of silver, and flocks of
all kinds of cattle
They also possessed themselves of [so many] ten thousand
measures of wheat and barley, as they never in the least dreamed of; and
were not only freed from their former miseries, but had such plenty, that
two seahs of barley were bought for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour
for a shekel, according to the prophecy of Elisha
Now a seah is equal
to an Italian modius and a half
The captain of the third band was the
only man that received no benefit by this plenty; for as he was appointed
by the king to oversee the gate, that lm might prevent the too great crowd
of the multitude, and they might not endanger one another to perish, by
treading on one another in the press, he suffered himself in that very
way, and died in that very manner, as Elisha had foretold such his death,
when he alone of them all disbelieved what he said concerning that plenty
of provisions which they should soon have.FJAJ 9.21
6. Hereupon, when Benhadad, the king of Syria, had escaped to Damascus,
and understood that it was God himself that cast all his army into this
fear and disorder, and that it did not arise from the invasion of enemies,
he was mightily cast down at his having God so greatly for his enemy, and
fell into a distemper
Now it happened that Elisha the prophet, at that
time, was gone out of his own country to Damascus, of which Berthadad was
informed: he sent Hazael, the most faithful of all his servants, to meet
him, and to carry him presents, and bade him inquire of him about his distemper,
and whether he should escape the danger that it threatened
So Hazael came
to Elisha with forty camels, that carried the best and most precious fruits
that the country of Damascus afforded, as well as those which the king's
palace supplied
He saluted him kindly, and said that he was sent to him
by king Berthadad, and brought presents with him, in order to inquire concerning
his distemper, whether he should recover from it or not
Whereupon the
prophet bid him tell the king no melancholy news; but still he said he
would die
So the king's servant was troubled to hear it; and Elisha wept
also, and his tears ran down plenteously at his foresight of what miseries
his people would undergo after the death of Berthadad
And when Hazael
asked him what was the occasion of this confusion he was in, he said that
he wept out of his commiseration for the multitude of the Israelites, and
what terrible miseries they will suffer by thee; "for thou wilt slay
the strongest of them, and wilt burn their strongest cities, and wilt destroy
their children, and dash them against the stones, and wilt rip up their
women with child." And when Hazael said, "How can it be that
I should have power enough to do such things ?" the prophet replied,
that God had informed him that he should be king of Syria
So when Hazael
was come to Benhadad, he told him good news concerning his distemper (12)
Since Elijah did not live to anoint Hazael king of Syria himself, as he
was empowered to do, 1 Kings 19:15, it was most probably now done, in his
name, by his servant and successor Elisha. Nor does it seem to me otherwise
but that Benhadad immediately recovered of his disease, as the prophet
foretold; and that Hazael, upon his being anointed to succeed him though
he ought to have staid till he died by the course of nature, or some other
way of Divine punishment, as did David for many years in the like case,
was too impatient, and the very next day smothered or strangled him, in
order to come directly to the succession.
but on the next day he spread a wet cloth, in the nature of a net, over
him, and strangled him, and took his dominion
He was an active man, and
had the good-will of the Syrians, and of the people of Damascus, to a great
degree; by whom both Benhadad himself, and Hazael, who ruled after him,
are honored to this day as gods, by reason of their benefactions, and their
building them temples by which they adorned the city of the Damascenes.
They also every day do with great pomp pay their worship to these kings,
(13)
What Mr. Le Clerc pretends here, that it is more probable that Hazael and
his son were worshipped by the Syrians and people of Damascus till the
days of Josephus, than Benhadad and Hazael, because under Benhadad they
had greatly suffered, and because it is almost incredible that both a king
and that king's murderer should be worshipped by the same Syrians, is of
little force against those records, out of which Josephus drew this history,
especially when it is likely that they thought Benhadad died of the distemper
he labored under, and not by Hazael�s treachery. Besides, the reason that
Josephus gives for this adoration, that these two kings had been great
benefactors to the inhabitants of Damascus, and had built them temples,
is too remote from the political suspicions of Le Clerc; nor ought such
weak suspicions to be deemed of any force against authentic testimonies
of antiquity. and
value themselves upon their antiquity; nor do they know that these kings
are much later than they imagine, and that they are not yet eleven hundred
years old
Now when Joram, the king of Israel, heard that Berthadad was
dead, he recovered out of the terror and dread he had been in on his account,
and was very glad to live in peace.FJAJ 9.22