2 Kings 6:18

HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (Kg2 6:18-23)

Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness--not a total and material blindness, for then they could not have followed him, but a mental hallucination (see Gen 19:11) so that they did not perceive or recognize him to be the object of their search.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Ki 6:18 And when they came down to him, 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.

Ver. 18. And he smote them with blindness.] Scotomate, non αορασια sed ακρισια not with bodily blindness, but a dizziness and defect in their judgments, or a dazzling and deluding their senses, that seeing they saw, and yet perceived not. The like befell those sodomites in Gen 19:11 God who made the senses, can either hold or delude them, at his pleasure.

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.

2Ki 6:18. And when they came down to him — Either in the city, into which they easily got admission, when they declared that the only end of their coming was to take Elisha; or rather, in the field, without the city, whither he went to meet them. Elisha prayed, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness — Not of the eyes, or, at least, not with total blindness, for in that case they could not have seen to have followed him; but rather with blindness of the mind, or imagination, which was rendered stupid and confused, or with that dimness and confusion in their sight, which prevented their distinguishing one object from another; the city of Dothan, for instance, from the city of Samaria. We have a similar case Gen 19:11. Thus it happens to several men in their liquor, that though their eyes are open, and they can perceive the several objects which surround them, yet they cannot discern wherein they differ. And if we may suppose that the Syrian army was under the same αορασια, as the Greeks happily term such a degree of blindness or want of distinct vision, we need no more wonder that they readily accepted a guide who offered his service, than that a drunkard, after having lost his way, and found himself bewildered, should be thankful to any hand which should undertake to conduct him safe home — Houbigant and Dodd.

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

Meaning, the Syrians his enemies, which came down, thinking themselves sure of him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 18. Smite this people - with blindness] Confound their sight so that they may not know what they see, and so mistake one place for another.

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

(18) And when they came down to him.—This would mean that the Syrians came down to Elisha. But the prophet was, to begin with, in the city, which lay on the top of the hill; and the heavenly host intervened between him and his enemies, so that the latter must have occupied the lower position. The reading of the Syriac and Josephus ύs, “and they (i.e., Elisha and his servant) went down to them”—i.e., to the Syrian force; and this is apparently right. The sight of the heavenly host guarding his master had inspired the prophet’s follower with courage to face any danger in his master’s company.

Elisha prayed.—And Elisha; prayed—mentally, as he approached his foes.

This people.—Perhaps in the sense of multitude.

Blindness.—Sanwçrîm: the term used in Gen_19:11, and nowhere besides. It denotes not so much blindness as a dazing effect, accompanied by mental bewilderment and confusion. “They saw, but knew not what they saw” (Rashi). Ewald pronounces the passage in Genesis the model of the present one.

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

18. And when they came down to him] As the words stand, ‘they’ must refer to the Syrian troops, and to understand the sentence we must suppose that Elisha and his servant, the latter encouraged by the heavenly vision, had come forth from the city and been able to pass the gate. After this the Syrians followed them, and on their approach Elisha prayed that they might be smitten with blindness. Some have however thought that ‘to him’ is an error for ‘to them’, and have referred the verb to Elisha and his servant. Thus the sense would be: ‘When Elisha and his servant came down to the enemy, as they were emboldened to do, then Elisha prayed &c.’ But there is no such great difficulty in understanding the existing text, as to warrant us in accepting a conjecture which seems only supported by one, the Syriac, version. It was quite in the character of Elisha to go forth with his now courageous servant, and the Syrians at first would let them pass out so far that they might be surrounded directly by the waiting troops.

Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness] What seems to have been sent upon the men was an illusion which prevented them from seeing correctly what was before them. Josephus explains it as a mist (ἀχλὺς) whereby they were prevented from recognising Elisha. The word, which is plural in form, occurs only here and in Gen_19:11. It denotes the seeing of something unreal instead of the true image. Thus these men could go with Elisha to Samaria, not knowing to what place he was leading them.

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 came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see,.... So as to know where they were:

and the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria; the gates being thrown open for them, and they led into the very heart of the city; for, no doubt, Elisha sent his servant before, to acquaint the king of Israel with what he was doing; who got a sufficient number of armed men to enclose them, and fall upon them, when put into his hands, as appears by what follows.

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

They came down to him - The Syrians, who had been encamped on rising ground opposite the hill of Dothan, now descended and drew near to the city.

The blindness with which they were smitten was not real - blindness actual loss of sight - but a state of illusion in which a man sees things otherwise than as they are (compare 2Ki 6:20).

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

Blindness. The blindness here spoken of was of a particular kind, which hindered them from seeing the objects that were really before them; and represented other different object to their imagination; so that they no longer perceived the city of Dothan, nor were able to know the person of Eliseus; but were easily led by him, whom they took to be another man, to Samaria. Sot that he truly told them; this is not the way, neither is this the city, &c., because he spoke with relation to the way, and to the city which was represented to them. (Challoner) --- Stratagems in war are lawful. (St. Chrysostom, &c.) (Grotius, Jur. iii. 1, 17.) The words of the prophet might be merely ironical. --- Blindness, Septuagint Greek: aorasia, "not seeing" certain objects, while they could perceive others; as was the case of the men who sought Lot’s door at Sodom; (Genesis xix. 11.; Calmet) and the eyes of the disciples were held, that they might not know our Saviour. Eliseus had left his house, going towards Samaria to meet the soldiers; and when they asked him where the prophet dwelt, he answered truly, This, &c. For he was then near the royal city, and is above was at Dothan. (Salien) (Haydock) --- The reprobate will thus acknowledge their error, when it is too late, at the last day.

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).

When they came down to him; either in the city, into which they easily got admission, when they declared that the only end of their coming was to take Elisha; or in the field without the city, whither he went to meet them.

He smote them with blindness; not with a total blindness, that they could see nothing, for then they would not have followed him; but with a partial blindness, that they could not distinctly discern the man they sought; which might be by some alteration made by God in their brain, or in the air. See Poole "Gen 19:11".

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

18. When they came down to him — When the Syrian host came down to Elisha to capture him.

Smote them with blindness — The same Divine power which, in answer to prayer, opened the spiritual eyes of the young man, closed and blinded even the natural eyes of the enemies of Elisha. Jehovah blesses his servants with enlarged visions of his power and glory, but curses his enemies with blindness. Compare Gen_19:11; Act_13:11.

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

And when they came down to him. Keil and others suppose this to mean that the Syrians "came down" to Elisha; hut, if they were in the plain that surrounds the hill whereon Dothan was built, as appears from ver. 15, they would have had to ascend in order to reach Elisha, not to descend. We must, therefore, with F. Meyer, Thenius, and Bahr, translate, "When they Elisha and his servant came down to them the Syrians either changing wyl; ae into as Thenius does, or understanding wylae to refer to the "host" (lyij) of the Syrians. Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. Not literal blindness, or they could not have followed Elisha"s lead, and marched a distance of twelve miles to Samaria; but a state of confusion and Bewilderment, in which" seeing they saw, but did not perceive". (compare the "blindness" of the men of Sodom, in Gen_19:11) And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

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

When the enemy came down to Elisha, he prayed to the Lord that He would smite them with blindness; and when this took place according to his word, he said to them, This is not the way and this is not the city; follow me, and I will lead you to the man whom ye are seeking; and led them to Samaria, which was about four hours' distance from Dothan, where their eyes were opened at Elisha's prayer, so that they saw where they had been led. אליו ויּרדוּ cannot be understood as referring to Elisha and his servant, who went down to the Syrian army, as J. H. Mich., Budd., F. v. Meyer, and Thenius, who wants to alter אליו into אליהם, suppose, but must refer to the Syrians, who went down to the prophet, as is evident from what followed. For the assumption that the Syrians had stationed themselves below and round the mountain on which Dothan stood, and therefore would have had to come up to Elisha, need not occasion an unnatural interpretation of the words. It is true that Dothan stands upon an isolated hill in the midst of the plain; but on the eastern side it is enclosed by a ranger of hills, which project into the plain (see V. de Velde, R. i. p. 273). The Syrians who had been sent against Elisha had posted themselves on this range of hills, and thence they came down towards the town of Dothan, which stood on the hill, whilst Elisha went out of the town to meet them. It is true that Elisha's going out is not expressly mentioned, but in Kg2 6:19 it is clearly presupposed. סנורים is mental blindness here, as in the similar case mentioned in Gen 19:11, that is to say, a state of blindness in which, though a man has eyes that can see, he does not see correctly. Elisha's untruthful statement, "this is not the way," etc., is to be judged in the same manner as every other ruse de guerre, by which the enemy is deceived.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

And said, “Please strike, etc.” On the curse he did not mention the Name [of God], but for opening [the eyes] he mentioned the Name [of God] on both of them, concerning opening the attendant’s [eyes], and concerning opening the troop’s eyes.

With blindness. A sickness of confusion; one sees, yet does not know what he sees.

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.