1 Kings 19:17

1Ki 19:17 And it shall come to pass, [that] him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Ver. 17. Shall Elisha slay.] Elisha then hath his sword as well as Jehu and Hazael, though of another nature; viz., prayers, {a} threatenings, curses, which did all most certainly and infallibly come to pass. And whensoever Elisha unsheatheth and brandisheth his sword, it is a fair warning that the sword of Jehu and Hazael are at hand. See Hos 6:5 Jer 1:10.

{a} They that can stand against or escape the power of two kings, shall yet fall by the hand of prayer.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 19:17. Him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay — This is not to be understood, as if the sword of Hazael should do execution before the sword of Jehu, and the sword of Jehu before that of Elisha: it only signifies, that God had appointed these three persons to punish the apostate Israelites for their idolatries, and that one or other of them should infallibly execute his judgments upon them: Hazael, however, began to slay them before Jehu was king, 2Ki 8:28-29; though his cruelty was much increased afterward. Jehu destroyed those, whom Hazael did not, as King Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and all the near relations of Ahab. Elisha is said to slay them, either because he brought down, by his prayers, destruction upon the forty-two children of Beth-el, that idolatrous city, 2Ki 2:24; or because by God’s appointment he inflicted the famine, 2Ki 8:1; or rather, as the prophets are said to pull down and destroy, what they foretel and declare shall be pulled down, because he threatened and predicted destructive judgments to come upon them. He slew them with the sword that came out of his month, the word of God: like the Branch from the stem of Jesse, he smote them with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he slew the wicked, Isa 11:4.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 17. Shall Elisha slay.] We do not find that Elisha either used the sword, or commissioned it to be used, though he delivered solemn prophecies against this disobedient people: and this is probably the sense in which this should be understood, as Elisha was prophet before Hazael was king, and Hazael was king before Jehu; and the heavy famine which he brought on the land took place before the reign either of Jehu or Hazael. The meaning of the prophecy may be this: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, shall be the ministers of my vengeance against this disobedient and rebellious people. The order of time, here, is not to be regarded.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) Him that escapeth the sword of Hazael.—The vengeance wrought by Hazael and Jehu on the faithlessness of Israel speaks for itself; it is marked in bloody letters on the history (2 Kings 10). But Elisha’s mission was obviously not one of such vengeance. He had to destroy enmity, but not to slay the enemies of God. The difficulty, such as it is, is one of the many marks of historic accuracy in the whole passage. Probably Elisha’s mission is here described in the terms in which Elijah would best understand it. His spirit was for war; he could hardly have conceived how the completion of his mission was to be wrought out by the weapons of peace in the hand of his successor. (Comp. 2Co_10:3-6.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. shall Elisha slay] Here we come upon evidence that the language of these verses (15–18) is not to be pressed into a literal interpretation. In the second book of Kings the compiler gives us all that he thought needful of the life of Elisha, and there is nothing in it which accords with a literal acceptance of this verse. We read of none that were slain by the hand of Elijah’s successor. But his voice and his labours for the overthrow of false worship, and for making known, both to Israel and to the nations round about, that there was ‘no God in all the earth but in Israel’ (2Ki_6:15) were constant, and by this ‘sword of his mouth’ he overthrew the foes of Jehovah. In this sense he fulfilled the declaration in the text, his work coming in and being effectual in places and ways where Hazael and Jehu wrought no deliverance.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay,.... Which suggests that many should be slain in Israel by them both, as were by Hazael, Kg2 10:32 and by Jehu, Kg2 9:24,

and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay; which may be understood either literally of the forty two children cursed by him, in consequence of which they were destroyed by bears, Kg2 2:24 or rather figuratively by his prophecies, see Hos 6:5 who foretold the slaughters made by Hazael and Jehu, as well as others, see Kg2 8:12, these several things were not done in the order in which they are here put; for what Elisha did was before Hazael and Jehu, and Jehu before Hazael; these words therefore do not respect the exact order of time in which they should be done, only that each should do the part appointed and assigned unto him, and what could not be so well done by the other; thus Hazael was to destroy those that came out to war; and Jehu Ahab's family that did not; and Elisha the children of idolatrous parents at Bethel, that came not within the reach of either; though it may be observed, that Hazael began to distress Israel before Jehu appeared, Kg2 8:28 and the prophecies of Elisha might not have their full accomplishment until after Hazael and Jehu had done what was appointed for them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Compare the marginal references.

Shall Elisha slay - i. e., With a spiritual slaying by the “word of the Lord,” which is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and may be said to slay those whose doom it pronounces (compare the marginal reference; Jer 1:10). Elisha does not seem, like Elijah, to have executed God’s judgments on the guilty.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Shall be slain by Eliseus. Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword; but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab. (Challoner) --- They left nothing imperfect in the vengeance, 4 Kings viii., and ix. Eliseus sent bears to destroy forty-two children of Bethel; (4 Kings ii. 23.; Calmet) and Abulensis (q. 23.) thinks that he might put many false prophets to death, as the Scripture does not mention every thing, (Menochius) and as Elias had done himself. (Haydock) --- Eliseus may also be the name of some general. (Du Hamel)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Here the order of times seems to be perverted; for Elisha was prophet before Jehu or Hazael were kings, and Hazael was king before Jehu. But that is of no moment as to the substance of the thing threatened, which is only this, that one or other of these should infallibly execute God’s judgments upon the apostatical Israelites. Elisha is said to slay them, either because he slew those forty-two children, 2Ki 2:24, besides others whom upon like occasions he might destroy; or because he by God’s appointment inflicted the famine, 2Ki 6:31; or rather, by the sword which came out of his mouth, as Isa 49:2; Rev 1:16; 19:15,21, by his cutting prophecies and threatenings of God’s judgments; the prophets being said to pull down and to destroy what they only declare and foretell shall be pulled down, &c. Hazael began to slay them before Jehu was king, 2Ki 8:28, though his cruelty was much increased afterward, 2Ki 10:32; 13:1-3; and Jehu destroyed those whom Hazael did not, king Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and his forty-two brethren, 2Ki 9:24,27; 10:14, all the near relations of wicked Ahab.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. Hazael… Jehu… Elisha — These are to be the ministers of Divine vengeance against the house of Ahab — the swords of a Jew and a Gentile king, and the word of Elijah’s successor. Around these three names cluster the destinies of Israel for a whole generation, and hence their significance in this revelation to Elijah.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it Shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael (See 2Ki_8:12, 28 10:32 13:3, 22) shall Jehu 2Ki_9:24-33 2Ki_9:10. passim: (Cf. Isa_66:16) and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Elijah might reasonably interpret the commission to "anoint" Hazael, etc., as a figure, seeing there is an undoubted figure of speech here. Elisha was a man of peace. His sword was the "sword of the Spirit, the word of God." It was by "the breath of his lips he slew the wicked" (Isa_2:4; 2Th_2:8; Hos_6:5) Not only are vers. 16, 17 an interpretation, in some sort, of the vision, but they are an answer to Elijah"s complaint (vers. 10, 14). The "children of Israel" who had forsaken the covenant should be punished by Hazael (cf. 2Ki_8:12, "I know what thou wilt do unto the children of Israel"; the king and queen who had thrown down the altars and slain the prophets should be slain, one by the sword of Syria, the other at the command of Jehu; while to his allegation that the prophets were extinct and he was left alone is opposed the ordination of a successor, and the mention of the "seven thousand" in ver. 18.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shall Elisha slay - One or other of these should infallibly execute God's judgments upon the apostate Israelites. Elisha is said to slay them, either, because he slew those forty two children, 2 Kings ii, 24, besides others whom upon like occasions he might destroy; or, because he by God's appointment inflicted the famine, 2 Kings viii, 1, or rather, by the sword which came out of his mouth: the prophets being said to pull down and to destroy what they declare and foretel shall be pulled down. Hazael began to slay them before Jehu was king, though his cruelty was much increased afterward. Jehu destroyed those whom Hazael did not, as king Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and all the near relations of Ahab.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

It will happen

This phrase is used to introduce what will happen when Elijah does what Yahweh has told him to do. "What will happen is"

whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael

"Sword" is metonymy for for killing as in battle. AT: "whomever Hazael does not kill with the sword" (See: Metonymy)

I will leave for myself

Here the words "I" and "myself" refer to Yahweh. AT: "I will save from death" (See: Reflexive Pronouns)

seven thousand people

"7,000 people" (See: Numbers)

whose knees have not bent down to Baal, and whose mouths have not kissed him

"Bending down" and "kissing" are metonymies for actions people did to worship idols. They are combined for emphasis. AT: "who have not bowed down and kissed Baal" or "who have not worshiped Baal" (See: Metonymy and Parallelism)

translationWords

sword

kingdom of Israel

Baal

kiss

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Elisha will kill. We do not find that Elisha killed anyone but the forty-two children through the bears in Yericho.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.