And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
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Commentary
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Gill's Exposition
And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes,.... As one in great distress, being thrown into perplexity of mind by it, not knowing what to do; or, as…
Barnes' Notes
He rent his clothes - The action indicated alarm and terror quite as much as sorrow 2Sa 13:19; Ezr 9:3; 2Ch 34:27; Jer 36:22. Consider, I pray you - Jehoram speaks to his chief officers, and bids them…
Adam Clarke
Am I God, to kill and to make alive - He spoke thus under the conviction that God alone could cure the leprosy; which, indeed, was universally acknowledged: and must have been as much a maxim among…
Our saviour's miracles were intended for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet one, like a crumb, fell from the table to a woman of Canaan; so this one miracle Elisha wrought for Naaman, a…
Cambridge Bible
that he rent his clothes Sometimes the act was a sign of grief as in 2Ki 2:12 above and Gen 37:29; sometimes as here, of horror and alarm. Cf. also 2Ki 18:36; Ezr 9:3; Jer 36:24.
to kill and to make…
Cross References
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