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Agape Bible Study
2 Kings 6 - 7
Of all the Old Testament prophets, none of them can compare to Elisha for the volume of his recorded miracles or his gifts of prophecy and clairvoyance. The Fathers of the Church saw a number of typological parallels between Elijah and St. John the Baptist and between Elisha and Jesus Christ. The Catechism teaches: "The Church, as early as apostolic times, and then constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments through typology, which discerns in God's works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the persons of his incarnate Son (CCC 128, also see 129-130). See for example St. Paul's teachings in 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11 on the typological link between the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and Christian baptism, and in Hebrews 10:1-18 where the inspired writer makes the typological comparison between the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant and the sacrifice of Christ, which they prefigured. There is also St. Peter's teaching in 1 Peter 3:21 where he makes the typological comparison between the Great Flood and Christian baptism.
| Typology of Elijah and John the Baptist | Typology of Elisha and Jesus Christ |
| St. John was given the spirit and power of Elijah from the womb. | Jesus succeeded the ministry of John the Baptist and became a greater prophet in the same way Elisha succeeded and became greater than Elijah. |
| John like Elijah lived apart from the people. | Jesus like Elisha lived among the people. |
| Both John and Elijah stressed obedience to the Law, judgment and repentance. | Both Jesus and Elisha emphasized grace, faith and hope. |
| John adopted a manner of dress like Elijah and ate a restricted diet. | Jesus and Elisha enjoyed communal meals with their disciples and with others. |
| John baptized on the east bank of the Jordan River where Elijah was translated into heaven. | Jesus like Elisha was a compassionate friend of the common people. |
| John like Elijah challenged the sins of a corrupt king and his wife. | Jesus and Elisha cured the sick, made feeding miracles, defended the poor and raised the dead. |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2015 | |
2 Kings 6:1-7 ~ Elisha recovers the lost axe head
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The community of prophets has grown to the point that they need more living quarters and so they petition Elisha, as their leader, for permission to cut wood to build more housing. He gives his permission and accompanies them to the construction site. An accident occurs when a valuable axe head falls into the river, but Elisha retrieves it by a miracle. This is the prophet's 11th miracle. It is another demonstration how Elisha takes care of the community of prophets in even the smallest ways and how they acknowledge him as their leader.
Chapters 6 - 7 ~ Elisha and the Aramaeans
The Aramaeans were a Semitic people who lived in ancient Syria and were originally descended from Aram, a son of Shem and grandson of Noah (Gen 10:1, 22-23; 1 Chr 1:17), just as the Israelites were descended through Abram/Abraham who was also a descendant of Shem (Gen 10:1; 11:10-30). All Semitic peoples are descendants of Shem. The Aramaean people held several small city-states that formed a confederation at the beginning of the first millennium, but never united sufficiently to create an empire. The most important of these Aramaean kingdoms was the city-state of Damascus, but there were also the smaller Aramaean kingdoms of Zobah (Aram-zobah north of Damascus; 1 Sam 14:47; 2 Sam 8:5; 1 Chr 18:3-9), and Geshur (2 Sam 3:3; 13:37-38). The Aramaean kingdoms were conquered by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 B.C. The defeat and conquest of the Aramaean states removed the buffer between Israel and the advancing Assyrian empire.
| Kings of Aram | Dates | Scripture |
| Herizon (Rezon) | c. 990 - 930 BC | 1 Kng 11:23, 25; 15:18 |
| Tabrimmon | c. 930 - 885 BC | 1 Kng 15:18 |
| Ben-Hadad I (son of Tabrimmon) | c. 885 - 860 BC | 1 Kng 15:18, 20 |
| Ben-Hadad II | c. 860 - 841 BC | 1 Kng Chapter 20; 2 Kng 6:24; 8:7, 9, 14 |
| Hazael | c. 841 - 801 BC | 1 Kng 19:15, 17 2 Kng Chapter 8; 9:14, 15; 10:32; 12:17, 18; 13:3, 22, 24, 25 |
| Ben-Hadad III (son of Hazael) | c. 807 - 780? BC | 2 Kng 13:3, 24, 25 |
| Rezin | c. 780? - 732 BC | 2 Kng 15:37; 16:5, 6, 9 Is 7:1, 4, 8; 8:6; 9:11 |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2015 | ||
2 Kings 6:8-14 ~ A king of the Aramaeans threatens Elisha
This Aramaean king remains unnamed unlike the Aramaean king in the next episode (Ben-Hadad II in verse 24). It is likely that this king is not Ben-Hadad II of Damascus, the master of Naaman, the Aramaean general who was cured by Elisha. This king is likely one of the kings of one of the other Aramaean city-states (see 6:23b and verse 24).
Question: This episode reveals which one of Elisha's unique prophetic gifts that is not mentioned as a gift of the prophet Elijah?
Answer: He has the gift of clairvoyance.
The Catholic Dictionary defines clairvoyance as "... the gift of seeing or knowing events occurring at a distance without the use of sensibly perceptible means of communication. As with telepathy, the available evidence indicates that this is a rare but natural phenomenon.... (Etym. French clairvoyant, clear seeing)." Catholic Dictionary, "clairvoyance", page 78-79. Elisha has the ability to see hidden events like the planned ambush of the Aramaeans made in the private rooms of the Aramaean king (verses 10-12) and the fiery cavalry of Yahweh (verse 17b).
In Elisha's role as an advisor to the King of Israel, he warns the Israelites every time the Aramaeans plan a raid and the Israelites are able to avoid ambush and entrapment. The king of the Aramaeans thinks there is a traitor among his staff, but is informed that it must be the prophet Elisha who is thwarting their efforts to take the Israelites by surprise.
Question: What does the king decide to do to solve his problem?
Answer: When he discovers where Elisha is staying, he sends soldiers into Israelite territory to capture Elisha, probably with the intent of killing the pesky prophet.
2 Kings 8:15-23 ~ Elisha captures the Aramaeans
Elisha appears to be made of sterner stuff than his predecessor.
Question: What did Elijah do when threatened with death by Queen Jezebel? See 1 Kng 19:1-3.
Answer: Elijah ran away when faced with the possibility of capture and death, but not Elisha. Perhaps he has more confidence because of his gift of clairvoyance. He knows the outcome in advance.
When his life is threatened, Elisha chooses not to run away but to outsmart the enemy by inflicting them with sun-blindness. Confused with sun-blindness, Elisha leads the raiders into the capital city of Israel that is about ten miles away. When he opens their eyes and they discover that they are surrounded by the enemy, the Aramaeans surrender.
Elisha asks the king to give them bread and water, but taking his cue from the prophet, the king graciously makes a feast for his "guests" and then releases them.
23b Aramaean raiding parties never invaded the territory of Israel again.
The end of the raids was either an act of reciprocity in response to the Israelites' mercy or their respect for the powers of Yahweh and His prophet. In any event, Elisha likely spared them expressly so they could, like Naaman, spread the word of the greatness of Yahweh and His prophets among their own people.
2 Kings 6:24-31 ~ The Siege of Samaria and resulting famine
The events in this part of the narrative take place in the seven years between 848 BC and 841 BC. 841 BC was a momentous year for the states of Israel, Judah, and Aram-Damascus, but in the worst possible way:
- The seven year famine ends
- Hazael assassinates Ben-Hadad II and becomes king of Aram in Damascus
- King Jehoram of Judah dies
- His son Ahaziah becomes king of Judah
- King Ahaziah of Judah and King Jehoram of Israel go to war against Hazael of Damascus
- Jehoram and Ahaziah are wounded in the battle for Ramoth-Gilead
- Hazael commissions a stela to boast of his success in defeating the combined army of Israel and Judah at Ramoth-Gilead (Tel Dan Stele mentions the "House of David")
- King Jehoram of Israel is assassinated by Jehu
- Queen Jezebel of Israel is assassinated
- The heirs of the house of Omri are assassinated
- Jehu becomes King of Israel
- Ahaziah is captured and murdered by Jehu
- The heirs of the house of David are assassinated (with one survivor)
- Gebirah (Queen Mother) Athaliah (dau. of Ahab) begins her rule of Judah
A woman cried out to the king Jehoram for help. His response was that unless Yahweh helped her there can be no help since he cannot bring her food, mentioning two sources of food: the threshing floor and the winepress. When he discovered that the people were resorting to cannibalism, he was truly distressed and ripped apart his royal robes, a sign of mourning and grief, to reveal that underneath he was wearing sackcloth, a course, itchy material.
Cannibalism was apparently a terrible consequence of cities under siege. In the covenant judgments of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, sieges, famine, and cannibalism are prophesized for those who apostatize from the covenant as a consequence of God lifting His hand of divine protection (Lev 26:14-16, 23-29 and Dt 28:15, 53). The Jewish priest-historian Flavius Josephus records that cannibalism occurred during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Jewish Wars, 6.3.4 [201-07]).
2 Kings 6:32-7:2 ~ The King of Israel blames Elisha and Elisha's reply
Notice that Elisha has remained in the city of Samaria. Elisha knows the king is coming for him, but he calmly awaits his arrival, telling the elders of the city who are in his company, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has given orders to cut off my head?"
Since the equerry is probably the one charged with killing Elisha, the prophet tells his companions to pin the military guard between the wall and the door so he will be unable to attack those present.
The end of the Aramaean War and the end of the Famine
2 Kings 7:3-8 ~ The Aramaean camp
The four men probably suffer from leprosy since they have to remain outside the city gate (Lev 13:46; Num 5:2-3). Such outcasts had to rely on the kindness of family members or the charitable generosity of strangers to bring them food outside the city walls; however, with the siege of the city and the famine, there is no one to help them and they are starving. They decide it is worth the risk to go and beg at the Aramaean camp and approach the camp "at dusk." The word translated "dusk" in our passage is in Hebrew the word that is also translated as "twilight." It is a time marker that can mean either the morning twilight just before dawn or the evening twilight just before sunset. In this case, it is just before sunset that they arrive at the camp (see verse 9). When they arrived, they discovered that the Aramaean camp had been abandoned.
Question: What happened to the Aramaeans?
Answer: Because of God's intervention, they heard what sounded to them like the arrival of a great army, and they assumed the king of Israel had made a treaty with the Hittites and Egyptians who had come to his aid.
2 Kings 7:9-15 ~ The Israelites discover the Aramaeans have retreated
It is probably the second consideration that motivates them to announce the news to the people in Samaria. The king believes it is a trap set by the Aramaeans to lure them out of the city. But when he allows two scouting parties to investigate, it is discovered that the enemy have indeed abandoned the siege and fled across the Jordan River back into Aramaean territory. In this miracle, God worked without witnesses to the event with the exception of the Aramaeans who did not understand it was a miracle. Something similar will happen to fulfill the prophecy Elisha made concerning the king's officer who accompanied the king to Elisha's house.
2 Kings 7:16-20 ~ The end of the siege and the end of the famine
Everything prophesized by Elisha in 7:1-2 has been fulfilled including the death of the equerry who had been assigned the task as commander of the men guarding the gate. However, just as no one witnessed God's miracle that caused the Aramaeans to abandon their camp, the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the equerry was also probably overlooked.
CHALLENGE:“The pope’s title “Vicar of the Son of God” in Latin is Vicarius Filii Dei. When you add up the Roman numerals in this title, you get 666. Therefore, the pope is the Antichrist mentioned in Revelation 13.”
DEFENSE: Vicarius Filii Dei is not one of the pope’s titles, and this method of calculation is unreliable.
Some have referred to the pope as “vicar of the Son of God,” but this is not one of his official titles. These are listed in the Annuario Pontificio (“Pontifical Yearbook”), published annually by the Vatican press. They are:
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God.
The closest title is “Vicar of Jesus Christ” (Latin, Vicarius Iesu Christi), but this does not add up to 666. Some claim that the phrase Vicarius Filii Dei is printed on the papal tiara (a special kind of crown worn by past popes). These reports are false. None of the tiaras had this phrase, and popes today do not use tiaras.
One might argue the pope can still be described as the vicar of the Son of God, even if it isn’t one of his titles, but this produces an unreliable methodology. All kinds of people and things can be described in ways that add up to 666. The children’s TV character Barney may be a cute purple dinosaur, but that doesn’t mean he’s the Antichrist (CVte pVrpLe DInosaVr = C+V+V+L+D+I+V = 100+5+5+50+500+1+5 = 666).
Ironically, this argument is often made by Seventh-day Adventists, whose founding prophetess was Ellen Gould White (ELLen GoVLD VVhIte = 50+50+5+50+500+5+5+1 = 666).
Finally, while you can get 666 by taking each Roman numeral as an individual digit, out of its immediate context (VICarIVs fILII DeI = V+I+C+I+V+I+L+I+I+D+I = 5+1+100+1+5+1+50+1+1+500+1 = 666), Roman numerals need to be read in context. Placing a smaller number to the left of a larger one results in it being subtracted, not added. Thus “IV” means 4, not 6. In the same way, “IC” and “IL” mean 99 and 49, not 101 and 51. Read this way, Vicarius Filii Dei is 660, not 666.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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