2 Kings 6:0 - Exposition

FURTHER MIRACLES WROUGHT BY ELISHA . The historian relates first a (comparatively) private miracle wrought by Elisha in the vicinity of Jericho, for the benefit of one of the "sons of the prophets" ( 2 Kings 7:1-8 ). He then tells us briefly of a series of public miracles which brought Elisha into much note and prominence. War, it appears, had again broken out in a pronounced form between Israel and Syria, Syria being the aggressor. The Syrian monarch prepared traps for his adversary, encamping in places where he hoped to take him at a disadvantage. But Elisha frustrated these plans, by addressing warnings to the King of Israel, and pointing out to him the various positions occupied ( 2 Kings 7:8-12 ), which he consequently avoided. When this came to the ears of the King of Syria, he made an attempt to obtain possession of Elisha's person—an attempt which failed signally ( 2 Kings 7:13 -23), owing to the miraculous powers of the prophet. Benhadad, some time after this, made a great expedition into the land of Israel, penetrating to the capital, and laying siege to it. The circumstances of the siege, and the escape of the city when at the last gasp, are related partly in the present chapter (verses 24-33), partly in the next.