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In this chapter we have, I. A further account of the wondrous works of Elisha. 1. His making iron to swim (Kg2 6:1-7). 2. His disclosing to the king of Israel the secret counsels of the king of Syria (Kg2 6:8-12). 3. His saving himself out of the hands of those who were sent to apprehend him (Kg2 6:13-23). II. The besieging of Samaria by the Syrians and the great distress the city was reduced to (Kg2 6:24-33). The relief of it is another of the wonders wrought by Elisha's word, which we shall have the story of in the next chapter. Elisha is still a great blessing both to church and state, both to the sons of the prophets and to his prince.

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 6 In this chapter are recorded other wonders of Elisha, as causing iron to swim, Kg2 6:1 having knowledge of the secret counsels of the king of Syria, which he disclosed to the king of Israel, Kg2 6:8 smiting the Syrian army with blindness sent to take him, and which he led into the midst of Samaria, Kg2 6:13, and the chapter is closed with an account of the siege of Samaria, and a sore famine in it, Kg2 6:24.

“Some time later King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army; he marched against Samaria and laid siege to it.” This is that Ben-hadad who had been condemned to death by God; and Ahab had received the order to execute him. But he spared his life and sent him back in peace. Therefore the Arameans besieged the city and prolonged the siege for many days, because their army occupied the whole surrounding area, so that bread began to be more and more scarce, and famine ruled. And when [the citizens] did not find the usual sustenance and food, they fell on the corpses of the dead. For the Scripture relates that there were certain mothers who decided to kill their children to assuage their hunger. And after one of them had put her son to death, when her companion in crime hid her own son (in order to save him) and broke the contract, an argument rose between them, and they both went before the judge. And they began to expound their reasons before the king, that is, Jehoram, the son of Ahab. The king, seeing that that was a harsh trial for him, was taken over by a violent rage against Elisha. For he thought [the prophet] was the cause of his disaster. Therefore he said, “Yesterday he gave abundant goods to Aramean robbers, and today has given sufficient bread to his disciples, and they are not lacking food, but he has no care for the people of his city and abandons them in their need.” And he swore that on that day itself he would take revenge on Elisha for the blood of his people. But Jehoram had no right to accuse the prophet, but rather Ahab, his father, who had scorned the prophets. In fact, if he had been persuaded by their words and had killed Ben-hadad, that [king] would have never besieged Samaria and would have never thrown him into such calamities.From the symbolic point of view the atrocious famine which tortured the Samaritans for so many days and forced them to eat in such an abominable manner shows the lack of heavenly nourishment, which affected in those days all the nations of the earth. So the city of Samaria signifies the whole of humankind, and its famine represents the famine of all. But Elisha made it disappear through his prayer, as well as through the grace of Christ. The sick were fortified by his strength, and “those who were full hired themselves out for bread.” This means that the apostles, announcers [of the gospel], have transmitted to the Gentiles the knowledge of salvation, and it has flowed, as Isaiah predicted, like “the waters covering the sea.” In the same manner it had been decreed before God that the hungry should eat the crop of the foolish and that the thirsty should absorb his goods, as the friend of the righteous Job said. Indeed, as the Samaritans plundered the food that they had collected for the Arameans and the needs of their army and brought it into their army, so the church of the Gentiles took the holy books which were preserved in the Hebrew synagogues, and gave them for the benefit of their descendants.

The sons of the prophets wish to enlarge their dwelling-place, and go to the banks of Jordan to cut down wood, when one of them drops his axe into the water, which Elisha causes to swim, Kg2 6:1-7. Elisha, understanding all the secret designs of the king of Syria against Israel, informs the king of Israel of them, Kg2 6:8-10. The king of Syria, finding that Elisha had thus penetrated his secrets and frustrated his attempts, sends a great host to Dothan, to take the prophet; the Lord strikes them with blindness; and Elisha leads the whole host to Samaria, and delivers them up to the king of Israel, Kg2 6:11-19. The Lord opens their eyes, and they see their danger, Kg2 6:20. But the king of Israel is prevented from destroying them; and, at the order of the prophet, gives them meat and drink, and dismisses them to their master, Kg2 6:21-23. Ben-hadad besieges Samaria, and reduces the city to great distress, of which several instances are given, Kg2 6:24-30. The king of Israel vows the destruction of Elisha, and sends to have him beheaded, Kg2 6:31-33.

This son of a murderer - Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. But Ahab is called a murderer because of the murder of Naboth. Shut the door - He was obliged to make use of this method for his personal safety, as the king was highly incensed. The sound of his master's feet behind him? - That is, King Jehoram is following his messenger, that he may see him take off my head.

ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (Kg2 6:1-7) the place where we dwell with thee--Margin, "sit before thee." The one points to a common residence--the other to a common place of meeting. The tenor of the narrative shows the humble condition of Elisha's pupils. The place was either Beth-el or Jericho, probably the latter. The ministry and miracles of Elisha brought great accessions to his schools.

But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him--The latter clause of Kg2 6:33, which contains the king's impatient exclamation, enables us to account for the impetuous order he issued for the beheading of Elisha. Though Jehoram was a wicked king and most of his courtiers would resemble their master, many had been won over, through the prophet's influence, to the true religion. A meeting, probably a prayer-meeting, of those was held in the house where he lodged, for he had none of his own (Kg1 19:20-21); and them he not only apprised of the king's design against himself, but disclosed to them the proof of a premeditated deliverance. Next: 2 Kings Chapter 7

Elisha Causes an Iron Axe to Float. - The following account gives us an insight into the straitened life of the pupils of the prophets. Kg2 6:1-4. As the common dwelling-place had become too small for them, they resolved, with Elisha's consent, to build a new house, and went, accompanied by the prophet, to the woody bank of the Jordan to fell the wood that was required for the building. The place where the common abode had become too small is not given, but most of the commentators suppose it to have been Gilgal, chiefly from the erroneous assumption that the Gilgal mentioned in Kg2 2:1 was in the Jordan valley to the east of Jericho. Thenius only cites in support of this the reference in לפניך ישׁבים (dwell with thee) to Kg2 4:38; but this decides nothing, as the pupils of the prophets sat before Elisha, or gathered together around their master in a common home, not merely in Gilgal, but also in Bethel and Jericho. We might rather think of Jericho, since Bethel and Gilgal (Jiljilia) were so far distant from the Jordan, that there is very little probability that a removal of the meeting-place to the Jordan, such as is indicated by מקום שׁם נעשׂה־לּנוּ, would ever have been thought of from either of these localities.