which Stephen calls Remphun [so Pool]. go, and the peace or blessing of God go Acts vii. 43. Selden thinks that Rimmon along with thee. So the prophet both prays

to God to bless and direct him in this and all other things, and intimates that God would do so. Or, secondly, To the former, ver. 17; Trouble not thyself about any of our earth, but go to thine own land, and I wish thee from God, and doubt not but God will give thee, peace, i. e., his favour and other blessings, which are oft contained in this word, if thou dost persist in this religion which thou hast now received. Or rather, this is only a farewell salutation, wherewith

is the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the Elion, the Most High, of the Hebrews, one of the names of the supreme God, which attribute became a god of the Phoenicians. Hesychius has the word 'Papas Ramas, which he translates ó úσтos eos, the Most High God, which agrees very well with the Hebrew Rimmon, from ramah, to make high, or exalt. And all these agree with the sun, as being the highest or most exalted in what is called the solar system. the prophet dismisseth him without any Some think Saturn is intended, and others Venus.

Gesen.-Rimmon, pr. n. a) A Syrian idol, 2 Kings v. 18; comp. pr. n. 1 and ; perh. the exalted, from r. Do no. I. [to be high]. Hesych. 'Papás oros θεός.

Оп my hand. So Houb., Dathe, Booth. On my hand; or, arm [so Ged.], as that word sometimes signifies, both in Scripture and other authors; or, shoulder [so Patrick]; upon which the king leaned, either for state or for support.

When I bow myself down.

Houb.-18, Dum ego inclinor. Hæc verba jungi quidem possunt cum sequentibus rebus, dùm ego inclinabor... ignoscet mihi Dominus. Sed Græci Intt. et Vulgatus, ne, dum ille inclinatur, quæ scriptio meliùs notat mutuam operam, quam Naaman Regi Syriæ præstabat, ut inclinaret se, dum ille se inclinabat... 7,

ob eam igitur causam, seu, quia non alium Deum sum adoraturus, quâm Deum Israel.

further answer to his requests, or instruction about his doubt; which he forbore by the motion of God's Spirit, which sometimes gives and sometimes denies instructions to persons or people, as he thinks fit. See Acts xvi. 6, 7. And the prophet by the Spirit's direction might forbear to give him particular answers, partly because these matters were not of such importance as to concern the essence or foundation of religion; and partly because he was yet but a novice, and not able to bear all truths, which was for a time the condition of the apostles, John xvi. 12, nor fit to be pressed to the practice of the hardest duties, which Christ himself thought not convenient for his disciples, Matt. ix. 14-17. And therefore he at present accepts of his profession of the true, and his renunciation of the false religion; and of this declaration, that what he did in the temple of Rimmon should not now be (as he had formerly intended and practised it) a religious action towards the idol, but only a civil respect to his master. And what was necessary for him to know further about the lawfulness or sinfulness of that action, the prophet might take another and a more convenient time to inform him.

Bp. Patrick.-Go in peace.] The prophet did not condemn this, but bade him not trouble himself about this matter; for he did not offend against God's law, which was not intended for such as he was: though there are some of the Jews who think that these words, Go in peace, relate to the verse foregoing; that he need not to trouble himself about carrying earth with him out of the land of Israel to make an altar (for it doth not appear he gave him any), and so left this matter of bowing in the house of Rimmon undetermined. And no less a person than Bochartus hath a large disserta

tion about this whole matter; wherein he mon ab ipso coli, tum quia istî Deo non endeavours to defend their opinion, who sacrificabat, tum etiam quia coram eo non think Naaman begs pardon for what he had se inclinabat proprio marte ac solus, sed done in times past, not for what he should tantùm regi opem ferens, et munus suum continue to do; and renders these words (as administrans. Qui convertunt Præterito Dr. Lightfoot also doth), "when I have tempore, ignosce...quòd adorantis regis manum bowed," &c. But this seems to me altogether sustinuerim, quasi Naaman veniam oret ab improbable; for then he would not have Elizæo, quòd Deum Remmon adorârit, à mentioned what he did as the king's servant; sententia et à verbis ipsis non uno modo but simply the idolatry he had committed in aberrant. Nam 1o. venia delicti talis peworshipping Rimmon. Besides, the Oriental tenda erat ab ipso Deo, quem jam tum versions, as well as the Greek and the Naaman agnoscebat, ut infra, non ab Vulgar, and the Hebrew doctors generally, Elizæo. 20. Quoniam mox Naaman pollias well as Christian interpreters, understand citus fuit se non alterî Deo, quàm Domino it as we do, that he speaks of the future act sacrificaturum, si veniam oraret pro pristinâ of bowing; which, being only a civil action, and he declaring himself publicly to be a worshipper only of the God of Israel, he hoped would not be imputed to him as a sin. And so the famous Buxtorfius in a letter to Theod. Hackspan saith, Omnes, quotquot vidi, intrepretes referunt ad futurum, &c. "All interpreters, as many as I have seen, refer this to the future, and not to the time past.' And so doth the Chaldee paraphrast himself: and I am very much of the same opinion.

Dr. A. Clarke.-19 And he said unto him.] There is a most singular and important reading in one of De Rossi's MSS., which he numbers 191. It has in the margin ́› ‹, that is, “read, not, instead of, to him." Now this reading supposes that Naaman did ask permission from the prophet to worship in Rimmon's temple; to which the prophet answers, No; go in peace: that is, maintain thy holy resolutions, be a consistent worshipper of the true God, and avoid all idolatrous practices. Another MS., No. 383, appears first to have written to him, but to have corrected it immediately by inserting an aleph after the vau; and thus, instead of making it & no, it has made it lu, which is no word.

suâ idololatriâ, diceret ignosce...quòd sacrificaverim Deo Remmon, adhibito utrobique eodem verbo sacrificare, quo verbo tanquam notâ religioni designandæ propria usus fuerat. 30. Quò pertinebat ut diceret, rex inititur manu meâ, &c. Neque enim hæc præcipua pars erat idololatriæ, sustinere manum regis adorantis; atque adeò inutiliter id Naaman commemoraret. Itaque ipsa verba Naaman declarant eum orare veniam, non pro idololatriâ præteritâ, sed pro re aliâ, quæ forte videri posset pars Idololatriæ, nec tamen futura esset in Naaman, qui jam tum Deum verum colebat. At, inquit, Edm. Calmet, datam-ne fuisse ab Elizao licentiam ministrare regi idolum adoranti? Quantæ id fuisset infamiæ in Dei veri cultore? Quam pronum fuisset ut Naaman, qui idololatriæ ministraret, in idololatriam relaberetur? Respondetur primò nihil causæ fuisse, cur Propheta licentiam talem Naaman denegaret, si videbat fore, ut ea Naaman non abuteretur; quod vidisse prophetam, nullâ certâ ratione negari potest. Secundò, nulla id fuisse infamia cùm jam tum notum esset omnibus, Naaman sacra facere Deo Israel, non Deo Syrorum: Tertiò periculum non fuisse ne Naaman ad Idololatriam relaberetur, quoniam Houb.-, vade cum pace. Non rex non impediebat ne Naaman Deum Israel ei interdicit Elisæus, ne manum regis Syriæ coleret; quod regem non impediisse liquet fulciat, et cum eo se in Templo Remmon in- ex eo, quòd curat Naaman asportare secum clinet; quia Naaman palàm profitetur, se glebas ex terra Israel, quibus glebis altare Dei Israel fore cultorem, neque dubitabat, conficiat, Deum Israel palam adoraturus : Syriæ regi ingratum non fore, ut eum Deum denique Naaman non ministrasse idololatriæ, sequeretur, per quem fuerat leprâ mundatus. cùm regis manum fulciret; quoniam hoc Homines religionem, cujus essent, victimis suo munere ita defungebatur, ut nullam et sacrificiis profitebantur. Pollicitus est partem obiret falsæ religionis. Nec certe Naaman se victimas Deo Israel sacrificatu- Dei Remmon cultor Naaman videri poterat rum. Itaque ex eo, quòd Naaman regi ipsis Syris, si nullam aliam operam regi Syriæ, se inclinanti ante Remmon, opem præstabat, qui victimas suas, non autem ferebat, colligi non jam poterat, Deum Rem- victimas Naaman, offerebat. Is enim adorare

censebatur, qui victimas offerebat. Urget Au. Ver.-44 And when he came to the tower [or, secret place], he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. To the tower.

Edm. Calmet. si licentiam talem dederat Elizæus, cur non ea licentia Daniel utebatur? Non-ne enim poterat Daniel statuam regis adorare, ut, si minus religiosum, saltem civile obsequium regi exhiberet. Petit similitudinem Edm. Calmet ex rebus longè dissimilibus. Jubebat Nabuchodonosor ut statua ipsa sua coleretur; non jubebat rex Syrorum, ut Deus Remmon adoraretur.

Dr. A. Clarke.-The Chaldee, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic understand the word ophel, which we translate tower, as signifying a secret, dark, or hiding place. He was doing a deed of darkness, and he sought darkness to conceal it.

De Rossi.-19. " Singularis est lectio, quam ad marg. exhibet codex meus 191 Gesen. m. a hill, tumulus, 2 Kings hispanus, lege nequaquam, ut propheta v. 24; Mic. iv. 8 in hill of the non concedat, quod Naaman petebat. At daughter of Zion, i. e., Mount Zion. Isaiah vero versiones omnes legunt ei, nec lectionem xxxii. 14. Spec. with the art Ophel, pr. hanc sistunt in textu hodierni codices, ex-n. of a hill or ridge on the east of Mount cepto meo 380, in quo videtur primo lectum Zion, surrounded and fortified by a separate wall, 2 Chron. xxvii. 3; xxxiii. 14; Neh.

י, לוא

A little way. See notes on Gen. xxxv. 16, iii. 26, 27; xi. 21. Comp. Jos. B. J. 6, 6, 3. See Robinson's Palest. i. p. 394.

vol. i., p. 68.

23 καὶ εἶπε, λάβε, κ.τ.λ.

Prof. Lee.—. (a) Swelling, or tumour. (b) Mount, hill.

Ver. 26, 27.

Au. Ver.23 And Naaman said, Bene bo bab be

26

him, and bound two talents of silver in two
bags, with two changes of garments, &c.
Be content.

Gesen.-II. pp. to will, to desire. Found only in

Hiph. to will, but used in two senses, viz.,

1 Of one who undertakes that which he wills. See notes on 1 Sam. xvii. 39, vol ii. p. 426.

, הוֹאִילוּ פְנוּ בִי 28 .Job vi

2 Of one willing to yield to the request or entreaty of another, implying passive volition, i. q., to be content, to consent, to please, sc. to do anything. be content, look upon me. 2 Kings vi. 3. Spec. a) Of one who yields and accepts a kindness offered; Judg. xvii. 11, and the Levite consented to dwell, etc. b) Of one who yields to sin; Hos. v. 11, for he consented and went after vanity, i. e., idols. c) Of God, who in his clemency yields to prayer; Job. vi. 9, that it may please God, and he destroy me.

22, 23. Changes of garments. See notes on ver. 5, and on Gen. xlv. 22, vol. i., p.

26 καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν Ελισαιέ, οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἐπορεύθη μετὰ σοῦ ὅτε ἐπέστρεψεν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἅρματος εἰς συναντήν σοι ; κaì vûv éλaßes tò åpyúpɩov, kaì vûv ëλaßes tà ἱμάτια, καὶ ἐλαιῶνας, καὶ ἀμπελῶνας καὶ πρόβατα καὶ βόας καὶ παῖδας, καὶ παιδίσκας, 27 καὶ ἡ λέπρα Ναιμὰν κολληθήσεται ἐν σοὶ,

κ.τ.λ.

Au. Ver.-26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever,

&c.

Ged., Booth. So thou mayest purchase garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants: (7) But the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to thee, &c.

Houb.-26 Tu vero tulisti argentum, unde habeas vestes et oleivta et vineas, oves et

27 Sed lepra it has been sought. It has fallen in, and I haye sought it in vain, Or, it was borrowed.

הִשָּׁמֶר מֵעֲבֹר הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי־שָׁם ,lowing words ; and so the sense may be this

For it was borrowed. So Houb., Dathe, ne locum illum superent (dass man nicht cet. Gesen., and most commentators. cf. E. Gr. min. § 273), ibi enim Syri de

Dr. A. Clarke.-Ah, ah, my master; and scendent.

whom thou thyself hadst taken prisoners in מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל :

οὐκ ἀναγγελεῖτέ μοι τίς προδίδωσί με βασιλεῖ Ισραήλ.

Au. Ver.-11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, will you not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

Which of us is for the king, &c. Houb., Ged., Booth.-Who betrays us to the king.

. מי משלנו אל מלך 11-.Houb

Novi Interpretes convertunt, quis ex nobis ad regem... incommodè et obscurè. Meliùs Vulgatus et Græci Intt. quis prodat nos apud regem, ex , decipere, quo verbo utebatur Sunamitis, iv. 28 cùm diceret 'n non ab, ne me decipias. Itaque non recte Clericus conjectabat, Græcos legisse, ex Chaldaica radice, accusare, prodere.

Ver. 13.

וַיֹּאמֶר לְכָוּ וּרְאוּ אֵילָה הוּא וגו'

אינו קרי

καὶ εἶπε, δεῦτε ἴδετε ποῦ οὗτος, κ.τ.λ. Au. Ver.-13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold he is

in Dothan.

ex, איכו Masora

Non

Houb.-13, ubi. pravâ scripturâ Codicum suorum. enim potest esse affixum, ubi sequitur ipsum pronomen, à quo excluditur affixum. Masorethas pronunciasse, apparet ex eo, quod scribi Nonnulli libri;, quod eodem redit. Sed quod alii exhibent ferri nequit.

? אֵיכָה an [אילה - .Maurer

. אֵינוֹ jubent

Ver. 22.

a battle. Much more then are those to be spared who are not thy captives, but God's. Thou hast not taken them with thy sword, or with thy bow; but he hath brought them to thee, and delivered them into thy hand, not that thou mayest kill them, but use them kindly. To this purpose Ralbag (see Selden, De Jure Nat. et Gent. p. 745).

Bp. Horsley-Wouldst thou smite? rather, Art thou about to smite? The force of the question is this, Are they whom thou art about to smite captives made by thy own sword and thy own bow?. The prophet would insinuate that the king of Israel had no right over these persons, and so the Vulgate takes it. "Non percuties; neque enim cepisti eos gladio et arcu tuo, ut percutias."

Ged.-22 Thou shalt not smite: art thou wont to smite those even, whom thou hast made captives by thy sword and by thy bow?

Houb.-Noli percutere. An tu eos, quasi gladio tuo et arcu captivos feceris, interficere paras ? Verbum pro verbo, an quia captivos occideres, quos non tuis armis cepisti? Nam fecisti, quasi diceret Elisæus; cur tu eos jus belli est, interficere eos, quos armis ceperis. Plerique sic habent, ut relativum quos, et ita convertunt, an quos tu gladio et arcu cepisti, interficeres, et videre hîc sibi videntur, cum Grotio, argumentum à majori. Parceres, inquiunt, captivis tuis, quanto magis iis, quos Dei benignitas tibi in manus dedit? Sed non modo id obscurum et longè petitum, sed etiam fundamento incerto positum. Neque enim Sacra Pagina docet reges Israel captivis suis, vi armorum factis, non autem in hostium fidem se tradentibus, parcere fuisse solitos.

Maurer. Clericus, Schulzius, Dathius ; alii : 66 num quos gladio et arcu, i. e., POP in bello captivos fecisti, concidere soles? cum captivis tuis soleas ignoscere, his, quos non cepisti, ut ignoscas

καὶ εἶπεν, οὐ πατάξεις, εἰ μὴ οὓς ᾐχμαλώ- i. e., τευσας, ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ σου καὶ τόξῳ σου σὺ multo magis τύπτεις κ.τ.λ.

Quæ interpretatio nimis articoacta videtur. Suspicio mihi

æquum est.' Au. Ver.-22 And he answered, Thou ficiosa et shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite oritur, ante librariorum incuria ortum those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

Bp. Patrick.-Wouldest thou smite those

esse ex præcedenti, quam conjecturam si probaveris, optimum sensum habebis hunc : Quos gladio et arcu captivos fecisti, hos cædis s. cædito sc. ex jure belli Mosaico Deut. xx. 13. Atqui Syri illi non belli jure capti