Moabites would produce that effect. This woman appears to have been wealthy, and to have wanted nothing more than she had.

16. The age of this woman is not mentioned. She probably was not old; fo that this miracle was not fo great as that of the conception of Ifaac.

22. She was not without hopes of the recovery of her fon by means of the prophet; having, no doubt, heard of the recovery of the widow's fon by Elijah. 23. It is evident from this that it was cuftomary to attend upon prophets, and probably the regular priests alfo, on the fabbaths and new moons, and this could only be for the purpose of religious exercises and inftruction.

25. There was probably a school, or fociety, of prophets at Carmel, which was not far from Shunem.

26. She did not chufe to inform the fervant of her bufinefs.

31. He prefumed too much, and his prefumption was properly checked.

34. In this he imitated Elijah; and as the child had not been long dead, there might be fome doubt of the recovery being properly miraculous. But both the mo. ther and the hiftorian evidently confidered the child as having been actually dead.

38. It appears from this, that thefe fons of the prophets formed a fociety, and lived all together, at least thofe of them that were not married.

39. Thefe are thought to have been the berries of the Coloquintida, which refemble grapes, but are vio lently purgative.

A 4

41 What

41. What was put into the pot had no natural powDÉ to change the quality of the noxious berries.

42. It is probable that many of the prophets, and thefe fchools of them, were fupported in fome measure by the alms of the people.

44. This miracle is fimilar to one of our Saviour's afterwards, and muft have appeared very aftonishing.

Ch. V. 5. From the credit that Naaman and the king of Syria gave to the account of this captive girl, it is evident that the neighbouring nations had a high idea of the power of the God of Ifrael, and a great refpe& for his prophets.

7. This conjecture was very natural.

12. He was offended both at the prophet's not attending upon him in perfon, and not curing him without putting him to any trouble.

15. He must have known that no real miracle like this had ever been wrought by any of the heathen gods. 17. This was probably for the purpose of building an altar to the God of Ifrael.

19. This was only a civil manner of difmiffing him, without answering the questions he had put to him.

22. There was probably a fchool of prophets in mount Ephraim, as well as in other places.

24. The antient verfions make this a dark and private place.

27. This was a proper punishment for his offence, and probably Naaman would hear of it,

Ch. VI. 7. This may feem to be a miracle wrought for a trifling purpose. But it had a benevolent object, and would ferve to imprefs the minds of all the fociety

W

with a fenfe of the prefence and power of God, as well as a miracle of greater magnitude.

12. The fame of Elisha was, no doubt, very great through all Syria, in confequence of the cure of Naaman, as well as the report of his other miracles.

13. If he believed that the prophet could difcover his moft fecret councils, his proposal to apprehend him must have been very abfurd. But the Jews, who believed the miracles of Jefus, were not deterred by that from endeavouring to put him to death. Believing the power of the prophets not to be their own, or at their command; and feeing that in other refpects they did not differ from other men, they might think it poffible to fecure their perfons, and then treat them as they pleafed. Dothan was in the tribe of Manaffeh, not far from Shechem or Samaria.

17. This would give him an idea that, tho' there was no visible appearance of affiftance, they were perfectly fafe through the protection of an invifible providence ; not that the chariots and horfes he faw were actually employed in their favour.

18. This was only a temporary blindnefs, or confu. fion of vifion.

22. From this it appears not to have been the cuftom to kill even enemies in cold blood, but to make faves of them.

23. This act of generofity had its natural and proper effect.

24. Benhadad feems to have been a common naine, or title, for the kings of Syria, as Pharaoh was of those of Egypt.

25 It was, no doubt, vetches, or fome courfe food, ufually given to affes or fowls, that was fo dear. Bochart has fhewn that vetches were called dove's dung.

27. All his own ftores were fo exhausted that he could not give her any thing.

30. There are but few inftances in history of perfons being reduced by any famine to feed on human flesh, much lefs that of their own children; yet even this was exprefsly foretold by Mofes to be the cafe with the Ifraelites, Another cafe of this kind occurred in the

fiege of Jerufalem by Titus.

31. We have had feveral inftances of rage expreffed against the prophets for denouncing divine judgments, when it was moft evident that they had no power to inflict them. But this is the natural effect of the principle of affociation, in the minds of perfons who are not given to reflection, and who are governed by paffion more than by reafon

33. This is the language of rage and despair, like that of Job's wife, Curse God and die; as if he had said, fince the judgment is from the Lord, it is in vain to expect deliverance from him.

Ch VII. 1. In reply to the defponding language of the king, the prophet affures him that relief was at

hand.

2. He would be properly punished for his incredulity.

3. Lepers were not allowed to live in cities. But tho' thefe were without the gates, and the place was befieged, they appear not to have been molefted. Their

houfes

houfes were pobably fo near to the wall, that the enemy would not venture to come where they were.

6. This was a miracle of a peculiar kind, but it effectually answered the purpose. The remains of the Hittites were to the South of Paleftine, and must have been in confiderable numbers to have kings of their own. But Jofephus has kings of the isles, fo that he must have had a reading different from that of our present copies, or those from which the antient verfions were made. Egypt must have been divided into feveral principalities at this time.

13. This fmall number of horses that were left, as well as the woman having killed her child, are proofs of the great diftrefs to which the city had been reduced. The people must have had the moft dreadful apprehenfions of the cruelty of the enemy, not to have furrendered before they were brought to this extremity.

20. This extraordinary prediction was verified in a manner perfectly natural, and yet fuch as no perfon would have imagined before hand.

Ch. VIII. 1. This famine, fome Jews fay, was that which is mentioned by Joel; four years of it being caufed by infects, which devoured all the fruits of the earth, and three more by want of rain.

4. As the miracles of Elifha were, no doubt, much talked of, it was natural for the king to get information concerning them, and no perfon was fo well qualiñed to give it him as Gehazi; and having been a fufferer b them, he would not be dispofed to magnify any ti..