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Hazael said, But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? Elisha answered, Yahweh has showed me that you shall be king over Syria.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Question of Humility
Commentators clarify that when Hazael asks, "what is thy servant, who is but a dog?", he is not expressing horror at the evil acts. Instead, he is using a common expression of feigned humility. He sees the "great thing" not as the atrocities, but as becoming king, and is essentially asking how someone as lowly as himself could achieve such a high position. This reveals his ambition and hypocrisy.
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2 Kings
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5
18th Century
Presbyterian
But what, is your servant a dog? — This is a mistranslation that conveys a meaning to the reader quite different from the original.…
19th Century
Anglican
But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? —Rather, (You cannot mean it; ) for what…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And Hazael said, but what, [is] your servant a dog, that he should do this great thing ?
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