The Red Zone

2 kings 6

The Arameans entrapped (6:8–23). The record of miraculous incidents with moral lessons continues, vision contrasts with blindness, spiritual resources with man-made tactics (vv. 15–16), etc. It is a prelude to the dealings of Elisha with the court and his conduct in the Aramean war (6:24–7:20). Elisha had close relations with the unnamed king of Israel for whom he provided an efficient intelligence service. His knowledge was probably gained from informants (cf. 2 Kgs 5:3) rather than second sight. Hence the concern over betrayal (v. 11, Heb. ‘for the king of Israel’; neb emends to ‘has betrayed us to’).

8. The Aramean plan was for a raid or ambush (mt taḥǎnōtî), my camp only here and is of uncertain meaning, possibly ‘attack in … direction’ (neb).

13. Dothan lay strategically at the head of the valley leading to the Jezreel plain, about fourteen kilometres north of Samaria.

16. Divine majority support and protection is always available to God’s people at times of testing (cf. Ps. 91:11; Acts 7:56; Rom. 8:31).

17–18. A negative and positive view are always possible. The need is for revelation (to open the eyes—only used of God’s action) to see the superior forces encircling the besiegers. Blindness (mt sanwērîm) is sometimes taken as a divine punishment on heathen unbelieving peoples (gōy; Gen. 19:11), but Jesus affirms that the cause may not be attributable to sin (John 9:3). Elisha’s statement (v. 19) was a ruse de guerre (Delitzsch).