Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 5:6

"And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy." — 2 Kings 5:6 (ASV)

Now. —Heb., And now, continuing an omitted passage. Only the principal sentence of the letter is given. The message presupposes a not altogether hostile relation between the two kings; and the words of the next verse, He seeketh a quarrel against me, point to the time of comparative lull which ensued after the luckless expedition to Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22), and the short reign of the invalid Ahaziah; i.e., to the reign of Jehoram, not to that of Jehoahaz, in which Israel was wholly crushed by Syria (2 Kings 13:3–7).

Schenkel thinks the Syrian inroads (2 Kings 5:2) indicate the reign of Jehu, and that Hazael was the king who wrote the letter, as he was personally acquainted with Elisha (2 Kings 5:5 and following). But, as Thenius remarks, he forgets that the relations between Jehu and Syria were throughout strained to the last degree, so that such a friendly passage between the two kings as is here described is not to be thought of.