2 Kings 8:13

“And Hazael said, but what, [is] thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? etc.] What dost thou take me to be, a vile, impudent, fierce, and cruel creature, as a dog, to be guilty of so great inhumanity and barbarity as this? or what is thy servant? a dog, a mean abject creature, of no power and authority, incapable of doing such great things spoken of? to which sense not only what is predicted of him, said to be great, inclines, but what follows: and Elisha answered, the Lord hath showed me that thou shall be king over Syria; and that thou shalt have power enough to do this; this declaration, according to Ben Gersom, was the anointing of him, predicted (<111915>1 Kings 19:15).”

“But what, is thy servant a dog? - This is a mistranslation, and conveys to the English reader a sense quite different from that of the original. Hazael’s speech runs thus - “But what is thy servant, this dog, that he should do this great thing?” He does not shrink from Elisha’s words, or mean to say that he would be a dog, could he act so cruelly as Elisha predicts he will. On the contrary, Elisha’s prediction has raised his hopes, and his only doubt is whether so much good fortune (“this great thing”) can be in store for one so mean. “Dog” here, as generally (though not always) in Scripture, has the sense of “mean,” “low,” “contemptible.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“A dog - So fierce, barbarous, and inhuman. King - And when thou shalt have power in thy hand, thou wilt discover that bloody disposition, and that hatred against God's people, which now lies hid from others, and possibly from thyself. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 8:15”

“8:13 a nobody like me: Literally a dog. As scavengers, dogs were held in low esteem in the ancient Near East. King Shalmaneser III of Assyria observed in his annals, “Hazael, son of a nobody, seized the throne.””

“a dog: Sa1 17:43; Sa2 9:8; Psa 22:16, Psa 22:20; Isa 56:10, Isa 56:11; Mat 7:6; Phi 3:2; Rev 22:15 he should do: Jer 17:9; Mat 26:33-35 The Lord: Kg2 8:10; Kg1 19:15; Mic 2:1 4 Kings (2 Kings) 8:14”

“But when Hazael replied in feigned humility, What is thy servant, the dog (i.e., so base a fellow: for כּלב see at Sa1 24:15), that he should do such great things? Elisha said to him, "Jehovah has shown thee to me as king over Aram;" whereupon Hazael returned to his lord, brought him the pretended answer of Elisha that he would live (recover), and the next day suffocated him with a cloth dipped in water. מכבּר, from כּבר, to plait or twist, literally, anything twisted; not, however, a net for gnats or flies (Joseph., J. D. Mich., etc.), but a twisted thick cloth, which when dipped in water became so thick, that when it was spread over the face of the sick man it was sufficient to suffocate…”