Hazael
An official of Ben-hadad of Aram who became king of Damascus. Sent to ask Elisha whether his master would recover, he was told the king would live but would surely die — and the prophet wept, foreseeing the harm Hazael would do to Israel. The next day he smothered Ben-hadad with a wet cloth and took the throne. He then pressed Israel hard for years, taking territory east of the Jordan and turning aside from Jerusalem only when Joash stripped the temple to buy him off. He is named in Assyrian records and on the Tel Dan inscription.
What we know — and how we know it
![Tel Dan Stele, excavated at Tel Dan by A. Biran (1993–94), Israel Museum, Jerusalem; published Biran & Naveh, "An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan", Israel Exploration Journal 43 (1993) and "The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment", IEJ 45 (1995). Hazael named in the annals of Shalmaneser III (Grayson, Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Assyrian Periods vol. 3 [RIMA 3], University of Toronto Press, 1996, A.0.102)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/JRSLM_300116_Tel_Dan_Stele_01.jpg/1280px-JRSLM_300116_Tel_Dan_Stele_01.jpg)
Oren Rozen — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyHazael is named in the Assyrian annals of Shalmaneser III, and most scholars hold he is the king who raised the Tel Dan Stele boasting of killing kings of Israel and 'the house of David'.
Where in scripture
1 Kings2 Kings2 ChroniclesAmosYahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1 Kings 19:15
He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
1 Kings 19:17
The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
2 Kings 8:8
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, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
2 Kings 8:9
Hazael said, “Why do you weep, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash their little ones in pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.”
2 Kings 8:12
Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he could do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Syria.”
2 Kings 8:13 — Anointed king of Aram
On the next day, he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.
2 Kings 8:15
He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram.
2 Kings 8:28
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 4 recorded sayings
“So Hazael went to see him, taking with him forty camels with offerings on their backs of every sort of good thing from Damascus; and when he came before him, he said, Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, Will I get better from this disease?” — 2 Kings 8:9
“And Hazael said, Why is my lord weeping? Then he said in answer, Because I see the evil which you will do to the children of Israel: burning down their strong towns, putting their young men to death with the sword, smashing their little ones against the stones, and cutting open the women who are with child.” — 2 Kings 8:12
“And Hazael said, How is it possible that your servant, who is only a dog, will do this great thing? And Elisha said, The Lord has made it clear to me that you will be king over Aram.” — 2 Kings 8:13
“Then he went away from Elisha and came in to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And his answer was, He said that you would certainly get well.” — 2 Kings 8:14
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
