Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 5:7

"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? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." — 2 Kings 5:7 (ASV)

He rent his clothes. — As if he had heard blasphemy. (Compare to Matthew 26:65.)

Am I God, to kill and to make alive? —Deuteronomy 32:39, “I kill, and I make alive;” 1 Samuel 2:6, “The Lord killeth, and maketh alive.” Leprosy was a kind of living death. (Compare to Numbers 12:12, Hebrew: “Let her not become as the dead, who, when he cometh forth of his mother’s womb, hath half his flesh consumed.”)

Wherefore. — Hebrew: For only know (i.e., notice), and see. Plural verbs are used, because the king is addressing his grandees, in whose presence the letter would be delivered and read.

He seeketh a quarrel. — This form of the verb (hithpael) occurs here only. (Compare to the noun, Judges 14:4.) Jehoram was hardly in a position to renew the war, after the severe defeat of his father (1 Kings 22:30 and following).