of mistake, and whom the simplicity in which it his gratitude; (d) his especial request.-Ver. 15 is dressed for the sake of truth, and the humility He who has come to faith in the living God, who with which it is clad for the sake of love, offends revealed hiraself to Israel by His prophets, and to so little that he admires and honors and loves it us by His Son, feels an impulsion to confess this all the more exactly on this account.-Cf. 1 Cor. i. faith with joy before men. Without faith there is 20-29.-Naaman became angry on account of the no confession, and without confession there is no message which the prophet sent to him. So now faith (Ps. cxvi. 10; Rom. x. 10).-J. LANGE: That also the message of salvation is received with an- knowledge of God which is won by experience of ger because it opposes the opinion and the pride the purification of the heart, and which is enjoyed of the natural man, who is not willing to admit in the sweet and quiet peace of the soul, is the only that he is a poor sinner, and diseased, and in need real, genuine, and saving knowledge.-STARKE: of salvation (James i. 21). That which is offered Nothing is impossible for faith. It can make of a as a means of life and peace, becomes thus all the proud and boastful soldier a pious and humble sergreater cause of destruction.-LUTHER: The world vant of God (Mark ix. 23). Naaman gave with wants to earn heaven from God, although He pro- joy, and God loveth a cheerful giver. He gave claims through the world: I will be your God; I not only because he had been healed, but because will give it to you out of free grace, and I will he had come to a knowledge of the true God. Afmake you blessed without a price. [Naaman as a ter God we owe gratitude to none so much as to Type of the Rationalist. The a priori notions which those who have brought us to a knowledge of God men form, which become prejudices in their minds, and a recognition of the truth.-Ver. 16. MENKEN: and by which they measure things. They invent Godly and holy men, who have devoted their lives a God in their own minds and go to the Bible to to the service and witness of the divine truth see if they find the same God there; if not, they among men, have always had two peculiarities, reject Him. They form a priori notions of Christ, which bad men have never been able to imitate: of the Bible, of religion, and the way in which re- freedom from all love of gain, and, in neglect of ligion ought to be presented to them, of prayer, of the praise and honor of the world, a pure lookingProvidence, of the sacraments, &c. If these are up to the Father, "who seeth in secret" (Acts viii. not satisfied they turn away angry. If the diseases 18-20).-STARKE: True Godliness knows when to of their souls cannot be healed as they have made open the hand and when to close it (Sir. iv. 36).— up their minds that they ought to be healed, then A servant of God must always firmly ward off they will not have them healed at all. See Histor. 1 whatever might cast the least evil appearance upon and 3, with translator's additions.-W. G.S.]-Ver. the purity and fidelity of his service to his master. 13. "The kingdom of God cometh not with obser--Vers. 17-19. Naaman's Two Requests, as testivation;" "it is not in word but in power" (Luke xvii. 20; 1 Cor. iv. 20).-MENKEN: Thousands, who are sad and heavy-laden under the consciousness of the spiritual misery of sin and death would be glad if the Word would order them to the utmost end of the earth, and would command them to make the pilgrimage without shoes under their feet, or covering upon their heads, and to give all their goods to the poor, and to brand and torture their bodies with chastisements, because that would correspond to their sensual feeling, and to their preconceived opinion; but they cannot reconcile themselves to the gospel of the grace of God, that He sent His Son into the world as a propitiation for sin (1 John iv. 10).-Servants and subordinates cannot better prove their love and fidelity to their masters than by dissuading them from angry and violent steps by friendly and humble words-not by falling in with and encouraging their temper. (Prov. xv. 1).-Ver. 14. KRUMMACHER: It is a great thing, when a man is willing from his heart to submit himself to the ordinances which God has established for his salvation.-BENDER: The divine means of grace of the Church are for us what the Jordan was for Naaman. We are called to profit by them by the Holy Ghost, who will therein enlighten us by His gifts, and sanctify and strengthen us in the faith. As Naaman was healed gratis of his eprosy, which threatened him with death, so that his flesh became like that of a little child, so are we, through the compassion of God, which was revealed in Christ, purified from sin and saved through the "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," so that we may be first-fruits of His creatures, and, as such, heirs of eternal life (Titus ii. 5 sq.; James i. 18).

Vers. 14-19. BENDER: The Healing of Naaman. (a) The act of God; (b) Naaman's confession; (c)

monies to his firm and decided faith (see Historical, §§ 1, 4). (a) The altar built of the soil of Israel in a foreign land was an indicator of the way to Israel and to Israel's God; a physical confession which required strong courage, for it might call down persecution, disgrace, and death. So now it is an act of faith when a messenger of the faith sets up the cross in the midst of a mighty heathen people. How deeply does Naaman shame the Christians who, even among Christians and in Christian countries, do not dare to confess Christ by word and deed. (b) The prayer for indulgence came from a fine and tender conscience, which makes an earnest thing of its faith; to which all hypocrisy is loathsome; which is not willing to lean both ways, but demands confidence and certainty as to whether what it does and what it leaves undone are right in the sight of God, and whether it is maintaining the grace it has won. How rare are those in our times who, in matters of religion, are equally scrupulous!-Ver. 17. CASSEL: As Naainan was the type of the converted heathen world, and he carried the soil of Palestine to Aram, so did the heathen carry over into their own lands, together with Christianity, the doctrine, life, disposition, and spirit, which had flourished in the Holy Land, and thereby they established for themselves a new home.

When we hear here and there in Christian lands the names Bethany, Bethlehem, Zion, &c, what are they but holy places transferred, in their spirit, from their original location into our life and thought and feeling. In thy religious observances the main point is not the correctness and truth of thy knowledge, or of the doctrine which thou professest, but the truth and purity of thine own character. What one may do under his circumstances without violating his conscience, the conscience of another, under other cir

thinketh no evil and is sincere, does not suspect cunning and deceit in others. Good-hearted, noble men, to whom it is more blessed to give than to receive, are easily deceived, .and they follow the inclination of their hearts, instead of examining carefully to whom they are giving their benefactions.-Ver. 24. That which we must conceal brings no blessing.-Ver. 25. "Whence comest thou, Gehazi?" Happy are they of whom there is no need to ask this question; who can give an account without falsehood of all the paths in which they have walked, and of all the places in which they have been. -MENKEN: This question should have been to Gehazi like the wind-gusts before a storm, which warn the traveler to seek a refuge where the coming storms and floods cannot reach him.--This is the curse which rests upon a lie, that the man seeks to escape from it by new lies, and so involves himself more and more in the net of him of whom the master says: "When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own" (John viii. 44).— Ver. 26. If God himself arms His prophets with the gift to be witnesses of hidden sin, and to bring it to the light, how much more will He, before whose judgment-seat we shall all have to appear, bring that to light which now lies hidden in darkness, and reveal the secret counsels of the heart?

cumstances, will forbid him to do. We have no right to judge him: to the Lord each one stands or Falls (Rom. xiv. 1-7).-MENKEN: The higher a man stands in the world, and the more important he has made his position, the more is he bound.-Ver. 19. When a man has been heartily converted, and earnestly strives to enter in at the straight gate, we ought not to make harder for him what is already hard, and we ought not to make demands of him which, according to the circumstances in which God has placed him, he cannot fulfill, but look to the main point and not the incidental or external things, leaving him with prayer to the gracious guidance of God, who will complete the work of grace which He has begun in him. God makes the sincere to succeed.-MENKEN: One does not know what to admire most in Elisha's mild and simple answer, the clear and correct insight into a genuine heart experionce, which, whatever may surround and obscure the main point, still seizes this quickly and clearly; or the holy moderation which, even in the case where it is its prerogative to urge, limit, bind, loose, or burden, still restrains itself; or the pure humanity of disposition, which can so thoroughly sympathize, so completely put itself in the position and at the stand-point of the other. The knowledge of the living God, and the experience of His saving grace, is the fountain of all peace, with-Ver. 27. MENKEN: How did the raiment of Dawhich alone a man can go gladly on his way.

mascus appear to the leper, or the pieces of silver to the wretched outcast? How often must he have desired to buy back again with all his treasures one day of his healthful poverty? Then, too, the lost peace of God. Alas! Most incomprehensible, most depraved, most indestructible and terrible of all deceits, deceit of riches, who fears thee, as we all should fear thee? God have pity upon us all, and help us all, that no one may set his hopes upon uncertain riches, but upon the living God, who gives us all richly to enjoy all His blessings. And yet again: "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare" (1 Tim. vi. 9-12).—The salvation of the heathen who seek help and grace, and of the rejection of Israel, if it destroys and rejects salvation (Isai. v. 25 sq.). [The leprosy of riches. Gold is tainted-strength required to use it aright; right pursuit of wealth; absorbing pursuit of it; curse which cleaves to it when it is illgotten or ill-used; this curse crops out most frequently in the children. A father absorbed in pursuit of wealth, and mother absorbed in fashion, will bring up corrupt and neglected children. Parents love gold, and fashion, and display, children will hold these the chief things in life. Thou hast gotten thee gold, but leprosy shall cleave to thee and to thy seed forever.-W. G. S.]

Vers. 19-27 (cf. Histor. § 5). BENDER: Gehazi, the False Prophet-Disciple. (a) His disposition; (b) his procedure; (c) his punishment.-KRUMMACHER: Gehazi. (a) Gehazi's heart; (b) Gehazi's crime; (c) the judgment which fell upon him.-Ver. 20. Let not desire overcome thee. How mighty are the evil inborn lusts of the human heart! Even in the case of those who have for years enjoyed the society of the noblest and most pious men, who have heard and read the word of God daily, and who have had the example of holy conduct daily before their eyes, lusts arise, take possession of them, and carry them captive (James i.story of Naaman and Gelazi is a prophecy of the 13-15; Matt. xv. 19). Therefore, "Be sober, be vigilant," &c. (1 Peter v. 8).—The avaricious and covetous are always envious; they are discontented when others neglect chances to become rich, or renounce that which they would be glad to have. -CALWER BIBEL: Gehazi speaks contemptuously of Naaman because he is a Syrian and not an Israelite, although he was far better than Gelazi. So also now-a-days, unwise Christians and Jews It is plain from his unnecessary oath what kind of a man Gehazi was. Those who swear unnecessarily judge themselves. Covetousness is the root of all evil: where there is covetousness and avarice there is also falsehood and deceit, vulgarity and rudeness, and cunning theft and bold theft.-Ver. 22. BENDER: Gehazi was Elisha's servant. Ye servants, how do you conduct yourselves toward your masters? Are ye open, sincere, honest, obedient, as the apostle says Eph. vi. 5. 6? Is the property and good name of your masters as dear to you as your own property and your own honor, or do ye take advantage of them where ye can? My master has sent me -so says many an unfaithful servant, who cares for silver and gold, raiment, fields, vineyards, and gardens, but not for the honor of his master-who cares more for the wool than for the sheep. H-pocrites do more harm to the cause of God thar he godless (2 Tim. iii. 5).-Ver 23. He who himself

contemn one another.

Chap. vi. 1-7 (cf. Histor. § 6 and 7). (a) Sketch of the Community-life of the Prophet-disciples. (a) Their number does not diminish in spite of all contempt and persecution, but increases (ver. 1); (b) they undertake nothing without their master (vers 2 and 3), (c) they help and encourage one another in their work (ver. 4); (d) they experience the divine help and blessing (vers. 5-7).-Ver. 1. It is a good state of things when a community can say:

Behold! the place," &c. How many Churches have room and to spare, and might accommodate twice as many hearers, while the room in the buildings devoted to the lusts of the eye and the flesh, and to the pride of life, is too small.-Ver. 2. PFAFF. BIBEL: Each one should contribute his

share to multiply churches and schools as the population increases.-Ver. 5. STARKE: Pious people are more careful of what is borrowed than of their own property.-Vers. 5-7. WÜRT. SUMM.: We have here an instance where God is touched by even the least misfortune which visits his children. He will not let himself be hindered by natural laws from helping his servants in their need,

that they may not despair in adversity, but trust in God, and be only the more diligent in prayer.— KRUMMACHER: It often happens that the Lord takes from us some possession, or appears to do so, only with the purpose of returning it after a longer or shorter time in some unexpected way, that it may thus come to us as a gift of divine love, and pledge of His grace.

8

C.-Elisha's conduct during the Syrian invasion and the siege of Samaria.

CHAP. VI. 8-VII. 20.

Then the king of Syria warred against [was at war with'] Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou 10 pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God [had] told him and warned him of, and saved [protected] himself there, not once nor twice [e, a great many 11 times]. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of 12 us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

4

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And 14 it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed 15 the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. 16 And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with 17 them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw and - behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, [ie, the Syrian, for, the Syrian army-Bahr] Elisha. prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seck. But [And] he led 20 them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of 21 Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My 22 father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldst thou smite [if thou shouldst do that, wouldst thou be smiting] those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their 23 master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the [marauding] bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

24

And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all 25 his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold tor [worth] fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung 76 [was worth-omit for] for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, 27 O king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? 28 out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her,

What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, 29 that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, 31 behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him 32 this day. (But Elisha sat [was sitting] in his house, and the elders sat [were sitting] with him; [.]) And the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he [Elisha] said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at [hold him back by means of] the door: is 33 not the sound of his master's feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer [what hope shall I still place in the Lord]?

CHAP. VII. 1. Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord,To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for [be worth] a shekel, and two measures of barley for [be worth] a shekel, in the 2 gate of Samaria. Then a lord [an officer, or adjutant] on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven might this thing be? [Verily! Jehovah is going to make windows in heaven! even then could this come to pass?] And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

3

And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they 4 said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall [away] unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we 5 shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part [outskirts, riz., those 6 nearest the city] of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel 7 hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their 8 life. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, 9 and carried thence also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief [penalty] will come [fall] upon 10 us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. So they came and called unto the porter [guard] of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice [sound] of man [a human being], but horses tied, and asses tied, 11 and the tents as they were. And he [one] called the porters [guards]; and they told it to the king's house within [reported it inside of the king's house]. 12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field,' saying, When 13 they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city. And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed [dead"]) and. let us send and see.

14 They took therefore two chariot horses [two chariot-equipages]; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians [towards the Syrian camp], saying, Go and see. 15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels [utensils], which the Syrians had cast away in their haste 16 [hasty flight']. And the messengers returned, and told the king. And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for [became worth] a shekel, and two measures of barley for [omir for] a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man 18 of God had said, who spake [as he said] when the king came down to him. And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be 19 to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with 20 thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 8.-[The first clause expresses a circumstance of the main action, best rendered by the absolute participial construction. The king of Syria, being at war with Israel, held a council of his officers, and decided, in such and such, &c. -Ew. Lehrb. § 161, a, explains as a noun in the form of the infinitive, das Sich lagern. Hence the form of the suff.

2 Ver. 9.—[On 'n Ges. Thes. 8. v. says: "Whoever gave this word its punctuation seems to have derived it from the root (cf. Job xxi. 13), but the force of descent, going down, is necessary and indubitable." Sept. KékpuπTaι; Vulg. in insidris sunt. The II.-W.-B. makes it an adj. from, but Ew. casts doubt upon the form, and says it could as well be a part. niphal from П, § 187, 6.

3 Ver. 10.-[" He protected himself," i, e., he occupied the threatened point, and so frustrated the attack. Every time that the Syrians came they found that the Israelites had anticipated them at the point where they proposed to attack. ♦ Ver 11.—[Ewald,.Lehrb. § 181, b, and note 2, rejects the form

as an incorrect reading. He takes

(as in chap. ix. 5) to be the true reading. It is clear, however, that in ix. 5 Jehu includes himself among those, one of whom the answer is to designate, while the king of Syria asks, "Who of those who belong to us" naturally enough excluding himself from the number of those who fall under suspicion of treachery. The meaning of the two forms is quite distinct, and each belongs to the place in which it is used. Ewald's theory of the use of the abbreviated form of must bend to this instance; the instance cannot be thus done away with, in the interest of the theory.

Chap. vii. ver. 12.-[The in the chetib is that of the article, which, in the later books, is sometimes found even after a preposition. Ew. § 244, n.

Ver. 13.-[That is to say: They go to the fate which has already befallen all the people who are gone, and which sooner or later, awaits all who remain.-W. G. S.] We agree with Thenius that the keri is to be preferred, because the word occurs immediately afterward without the article.-Bähr. [Ew. explains the article in the chetib as retained in the later or less accurate usage, especially where the article has emphatic force. § 290, d.-W. G. S.]

Ver. 15.--Keil: The chetib D is the only possible correct form, for has the meaning, to flee with haste, only in the niphal. Cf. 1 Sam. xxiii. 26; Ps. xlv!!!. 5.--Bähr.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 8. Then the king of Syria, &c. According to Ewald, the story (vers. 8-23) belongs to the time of Jehoahaz (chap xiii. 1-9). However, the passage immediately following begins, ver. 24, with the words, "And it came to pass after this," so that it also would fall in a later time; but, by the words in ver. 26, "king of Israel," and by Elisha's epithet "son of a murderer," ver. 32, as Ewald himself admits, we must understand Jehoram, and not either Jehoahaz or any other king of the house of Jehu.- is used as in 2 Chron. xx. 21: He brought to them the deliberation [i. e., made them parties to it].

as in Ruth iv. 1; 1 Sam. xxi. 3. "My encamping," i. ., the encampment of my army. The word nin, occurs only here. It is • derivative from on, to sit down, to encamp

fore unnecessary.

The proposal of Thenius to change in into an, and to translate: "Ye shall conceal yourselves at such and such a place," is still less admissible. The Vulgate has in ver. 8: ponamus insidias, and in ver. 9, quia ibi Syri in insidiis sunt. The Sept. have in ver. 8: apɛμßazi; ver. 9: ὅτι ἐκεῖ Συρία ἐνεδρεύουσι. This is correct, however, rather according to the sense than the words, inasmuch as the army, which. had encamped behind the mountains, might certainly be said to