Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 8:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Hazael hears an oracle and kills Ben-hadad.”
Read It With
- 2 Kings 8:7–15
Read 2 Kings 8:13 with 8:7–15. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Ben-hadad sends Hazael to Elisha, who speaks of recovery and death, weeps over future atrocities, and Hazael suffocates the king before taking the throne.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Hazael hears an oracle and kills Ben-hadad,” 2 Kings 8:13 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Elisha's encounter with Hazael resumes the earlier commission concerning Aram after the Shunammite restoration, while the forecast does not absolve Hazael's later choices.
Read 2 Kings 8:7–15 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 8:7–15 forms one scene or regnal notice: Ben-hadad sends Hazael to Elisha, who speaks of recovery and death, weeps over future atrocities, and Hazael suffocates the king before taking the throne.
Verse 7. 7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
Verse 8. 8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
Verse 9. 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
Verse 10. 10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.
Verse 11. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
Verse 12. 12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
Verse 13. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
Verse 14. 14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.
Verse 15. 15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
Follow the Context
- Ben-hadad sends Hazael to Elisha, who speaks of recovery and death, weeps over future atrocities, and Hazael suffocates the king before taking the throne.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Hazael hears an oracle and kills Ben-hadad” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 8:13 does not permit the wording “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Prophetic foreknowledge does not authorize Hazael's murder or atrocities, excuse political violence, or make prediction equal moral approval.
What Remains True
Public power, prophetic authority, and worship remain accountable to truth, human responsibility, affected people, and the limits of the evidence rather than title or success alone. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Ben-hadad sends Hazael to Elisha, who speaks of recovery and death, weeps over future atrocities, and Hazael suffocates the king before taking the throne. In 2 Kings 8:13, the concrete line “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And….” Use entrusted authority transparently, protect people affected by the decision, record who is responsible, and submit claimed spiritual or political necessity to independent review. This response follows from the unit's own sequence: Ben-hadad sends Hazael to Elisha, who speaks of recovery and death, weeps over future atrocities, and Hazael suffocates the king before taking the throne.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 8:13's role in 8:7–15. Paraphrase “And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Kings 8:7–15 — Hazael hears an oracle and kills Ben-hadadSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The wording of the recovery/death message, Hazael's role in Ben-hadad's death, and the relation to external Aramean records require careful textual and historical distinction.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 8:7–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 8:7–15
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 638–640, translation and translator notes for 8:7–15
Open source ↗