Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 8:9

"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 Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?" — 2 Kings 8:9 (ASV)

A present with him — that is, in money. (Compare 2 Kings 5:5, and see the margin here.)

Even of every good thing. — Rather, and every kind of good thing; in addition to the present of money. Damascus was a great center of trade between Eastern and Western Asia. (Amos 3:12.) Damask silk was originally imported from Damascus, and the Damascene sword-blades were famous in medieval Europe.

Forty camels’ burden. — This is to be understood as an actual train of forty camels, carrying the presents of Ben-hadad. People in Eastern cultures are fond of making the most of a gift in this way. Chardin remarks that “fifty persons often carry what a single one could very well carry” (Voyage, 3:21).

Came. — Or, went in, that is, into the house where Elisha was.

Your son Ben-hadad. — Compare 2 Kings 13:14; 2 Kings 5:13; 2 Kings 4:12; 2 Kings 6:21. “Father” was a respectful mode of addressing the prophet.