Hazael

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

King of Damascus from 886 to 840 B.C. Sent by his master Benhadad originally to Elisha to ask if he would recover from his sickness. The prophet answered he might recover (the disease not being fatal), but "that he should surely die." Then Elisha gazing at Hazael burst into tears (typifying Him who wept over Jerusalem,  Luke 19:41), and said his weeping was "because I know the evil thou wilt do unto Israel ... their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child." Hazael replied, expressing surprise at such a one as he being about to do so (See EHISHA for the true translated of  2 Kings 8:13). Herein Elisha fulfilled Elijah's commission, that he should appoint Hazael king of Syria to be the Lord's scourge of fits guilty people ( 1 Kings 19:15).

Hazael having murdered Benhadad became king, and fought with Ahaziah king of Judah, and Jehoram of Israel, for Ramoth Gilead ( 2 Kings 8:28). The atrocities foretold (the same as in  Hosea 13:16) were doubtless perpetrated by him when in Jehu's days "Jehovah cut Israel short, and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel, from Jordan eastward, all ... Gilead, the Gadites, Reubenites, Manassites, from Aroer by the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan" ( 2 Kings 10:32-33). Jehovah therefore threatened, and executed his threat, "for three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron; and I will send a fire into the house of Hazael," etc. ( Amos 1:3.) The very same image is used in the independent history (an undesigned coincidence and mark of genuineness), concerning the king of Syria's oppression of Israel under Jehoahaz, Jehu's son: "he made them like the dust by threshing" ( 2 Kings 13:7).

A black marble obelisk of the central palace of Nimrud, now in the British Museum, is inscribed with the names of Hazael and Benhadad of Syria, and Jehu of Israel, mentioned as tributaries of Shalmauubar king of Assyria. The tribute from Jehu is mentioned, gold, pearls, precious oil, etc. The name Hazael means "whom God looks on," implying some connection with the true God (El). El was also in the name of ELisha, who appointed him in the name of El; probably he assumed this name because of this call. Benhadad means on the contrary "worshipper of Hadad," the Syrian idol. Hazael led the Syrians, we read in the Assyrian monuments, in confederacy with the Hittites, Hamathites, and Phoenicians, against Assyria; at Antilibanus the Assyrians slew 16,000 of his warriors, and took 1,100 chariots. Three years later Hazael submitted to the Assyrians when they again invaded Syria.

It was after this, when the Assyrians were prevented by internal troubles from continuing to invade, that Hazael assailed Gilead toward the close of Jehu's reign (about 860 B.C.), and held Israel in a kind of subjection ( 2 Kings 13:3-7;  2 Kings 13:22). He took Gath and even "set his face to go up to Jerusalem" ( 2 Kings 12:17) in Joash's reign ( 2 Chronicles 24:23-24), "and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people" (it was God's righteous retribution, for it was "the princes of Judah" who with flattering "obeisance" at Jehoiada's death persuaded Joash to "leave the house of the Lord God of their fathers, to serve groves and idols,"  2 Kings 12:17-18, and stoned Zechariah son of Jehoiada, who "testified against them,"  2 Kings 12:19-22), and sent all the spoil to Damascus; Jehovah delivering "a very great host into the hand of a small company of Syrians, because the Jews had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers" ( 2 Kings 12:23-24).

Joash saved Jerusalem only by "sending to Hazael all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah his fathers had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house" ( 2 Kings 12:18). Hazael died about 840 B.C., after a 46 years' reign. Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, recovered from Benhadad, Hazael's son, the cities taken by Hazael. Jeroboam II still further "restored the coast of Israel from the entering in of Hamath unto the sea of the plain," according to Jonah's prophecy, through the Lord's great compassion ( 2 Kings 13:25;  2 Kings 14:25-27). Hazael's cruelty and ambition failed to secure a lasting dynasty; see  Jeremiah 17:11.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

Elisha coming to Damascus, the capital of Syria, Benhadad, the reigning monarch, being then indisposed, sent Hazael, who was one of his principal officers, to wait upon the prophet, and consult him as to the issue of his disorder,  2 Kings 8:7-13 . The prophet told Hazael that certainly his master might recover, because his complaint was not mortal; yet he was very well assured that he would not recover; and, looking him steadfastly in the face, Elisha burst into tears. Surprised at this conduct, Hazael inquired the cause. "Because I know," said the prophet, "the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their infants against the stones, and rip up their women with child." Hazael indignantly exclaimed, "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great things?" Elisha merely answered, "The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria,"  2 Kings 8:7-13 . On his return home, Hazael concealed from his master Benhadad the prophet's answer, and inspired him with hopes of recovery; but on the following day, he took effectual means to prevent it, by stifling the king with a thick cloth dipped with water; and, as Benhadad had no son, and Hazael was a man much esteemed in the army, he was, without difficulty, declared his successor, A.M. 3120. Hazael soon inflicted upon Israel all the cruelties which Elisha had foretold. For when Jehu broke up the siege of Ramoth-Gilead, and came with his army to Samaria, Hazael took advantage of his absence to fall upon his territories beyond Jordan, destroying all the land of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, from Aroer to Bashan,  2 Kings 10:32 . Some years passed after this, before Hazael undertook any thing against the kingdom of Judah, it being remote from Damascus; but in the reign of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, A.M. 3165, he besieged the city of Gath, and, having taken it, marched against Jerusalem,  2 Kings 12:17-18 . But Joash, conscious of his inferiority, bribed him at the price of all the money he could raise, to evacuate Judea, with which he for the moment complied; yet, in the following year, the army of Hazael returned, entered the territories of Judah, and the city of Jerusalem, slew all the princes of the people, and sent a valuable booty to their royal master,  2 Kings 13:22;  2 Chronicles 24:23 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

HAZAEL usurped the throne of Syria ( c [Note: circa, about.] . 844 b.c.) by murdering Ben-hadad ii. (Hazael’s successor was probably Ben-hadad iii., the Mari of the inscriptions.) The form and fragmentary character of the OT references to Hazael demand caution in drawing conclusions from them. According to   1 Kings 19:15 , Elijah is sent to anoint Hazael king of Syria; he is regarded as Jahweb’s instrument who is to punish the Baal-worshippers in Israel (  1 Kings 19:18 ). The next mention of him describes how Ben-hadad, Hazael’s predecessor, who is ill, sends Hazael to Elisha, to inquire whether he will recover (  2 Kings 8:7 ff.); at the interview which Hazael has with the Israelite prophet, the murder of the Syrian king is arranged, and Elisha designates Hazael as his successor on the throne. Both these passages introduce Hazael somewhat abruptly; in each case the Israelite prophet goes to Damascus; and each passage has for its central point the question of Hazael’s succeeding to the throne of Syria; these considerations (not to mention others) suggest that the passages come from different sources, and are dealing with two accounts of the same event.

The next mention of Hazael shows him fighting at Ramoth-gilead against the allied armies of Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah ( 2 Kings 8:28-29;   2 Kings 9:14;   2 Kings 9:16 ); the narrative here breaks off to deal with other matters, and does not say what the result of the fighting was, but from   2 Kings 10:32 ff. it is clear not only that Hazael was victorious then, but that he continued to be so for a number of years (see, further,   2 Kings 12:17 ff., cf.   Amos 1:3-5 ); indeed, it was not until his death that the Israelites were once more able to assert themselves.

W. O. E. Oesterley.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

His name is derived from Chazah, to see; and the El joined to it means to see God. We have his history, and the effect wrought upon the mind of the prophet Elisha in beholding him with his prophetic spirit, foreseeing the cruelties of Hazael on the children of Israel. ( 2 Kings 8:15) The circumstance of Hazael's spreading a cloth dipped in water over the face of Benhadad, hath been thought by some to have been done not with the design to kill him. Historians tell us, that it is the custom in the east, in those violent fevers called Nedad, to make use of chilling methods for their recovery. The patients drink cold water, and a quantity of water is thrown upon them. So that whether Hazael wished the death of his master, or not, the dipping the cloth in water and covering his face with it, was among the methods used on those occasions for recovery. Be this, however, as it may, Hazael stands on record for a very awful character, and his name was highly unsuitable to his conduct. All that the prophet Elisha foretold literally came to pass; and he, that, while the servant of the king his master, stood astonished at the bare mention only of the cruelties Elisha admonished him of, actually perpetrated the very murders which he had shuddered at, when he became clothed with the royal purple. (See  2 Kings 13:3-7) Oh, what an awful representation doth his history afford of the sin and iniquity lurking in the human heart! In the whole nature of man it must be the same, for the seeds of sin are alike in all; and that they do not ripen and bear the like deadly fruit in all, is wholly owing to the preventing and restraining grace of God. The heart that is not conscious of this, is not conscious of the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

King of Syria. When an officer of Ben-hadad, he was sent to Elisha (who was visiting Damascus) to know whether Ben-hadad should recover of his sickness. Elisha's answer was indefinite: "Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die." Elisha then wept and explained it was in view of the cruelty that Hazael would do to Israel. Hazael repudiated this imputation, whereupon Elisha told him that he would be king over Syria. Elijah had been bidden to anoint Hazael as king of Syria, but we do not read that he ever anointed him, neither is there any word of Elisha's doing this on the above occasion. Hazael returned to his master and told him that the message was that he should surely recover; but the next day he smothered him and reigned in his stead.

For some time Hazael was attacked by Assyria, and his kingdom suffered severely; but when these hostilities ceased, he turned his arms against Israel, and was the instrument God used to punish His guilty people, and 'to cut Israel short.' Hazael smote all the coasts of Israel. This antagonism he continued to the end of his life. From time to time God gave His people relief, but they turned not from their evil ways, and the oppression was renewed with varying success by Hazael's son, Ben-hadad III.  2 Kings 19:15,17;  2 Kings 8:8-29;  2 Kings 9:14,15;  2 Kings 10:32;  2 Kings 12:17,18;  2 Kings 13:3,22-25;  2 Chronicles 22:5,6;  Amos 1:4 . The name of Hazael has been identified on one of the obelisks of Assyria.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Hazael ( Hăz'A-El or Hâ'Za-El ), whom God Beholds, I.E., cares for. A king of Syria.  1 Kings 19:15;  1 Kings 19:17. Jehu was to extirpate the authors of idolatry, Hazael to chastise the whole nation of Israel, and Elisha to slay with the quick and powerful sword of the divine word. Comp.  Jeremiah 1:10. When Elisha visited Damascus, and Ben-hadad, who was sick, had sent Hazael, a trusted servant, to inquire whether he should recover, Elisha intimated his approaching sovereignty. Hazael was astonished. The next day, however, Ben-hadad died, apparently by Hazael's hand, though some question this; and Hazael succeeded as king; and his reign, with the exception of the time when he was called on to defend himself against the Assyrian power, was occupied with continual wars upon Israel and even against Judah.  2 Kings 8:7-15;  2 Kings 8:28-29;  2 Kings 9:14-15;  2 Kings 10:32-33;  2 Kings 12:17-18;  2 Kings 13:3;  2 Chronicles 22:5-6. Hazael is supposed to have reigned about 46 years, 886-840 b.c. He was succeeded by his son, Ben-hadad II.  2 Kings 13:22-25;  Amos 1:4

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Haz'a-el. (Whom God Sees). A king of Damascus, who reigned from about B.C. 886 to B.C. 840. He appears to have been, previously, a person in a high position, at the court of Ben-hadad, and was sent by his master to Elisha, to inquire if he would recover from the malady, under which he was suffering. Elisha's answer led to the murder of Ben-hadad, by his ambitious servant, who forthwith mounted the throne.  2 Kings 8:7-15. He was soon engaged in war, with the kings of Judah and Israe, l for the possession of the city of Ramoth-gilead.  2 Kings 8:28.

Towards the close of the reign of Jehu, Hazael led the Syrians against the Israelites, (about B.C. 860), whom he "smote in all their coasts,"  2 Kings 10:32, thus accomplishing the prophecy of Elisha.  2 Kings 8:12. At the close of his life, having taken Gath,  2 Kings 12:17. Compare  Amos 6:2. He proceeded to attack Jerusalem,  2 Chronicles 24:24, and was about to assault the city, when Joash bribed him to retire.  2 Kings 12:18. Hazael appears to have died about the year B.C. 840,  2 Kings 13:24, having reigned forty-six years.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

God told the prophet Elijah that Hazael of Syria would be God’s instrument to punish Israel for its Baal worship during the reign of Ahab ( 1 Kings 19:15-17). Elijah’s successor, Elisha, wept when he saw the suffering that the cruel Hazael would bring upon Israel ( 2 Kings 8:12-15).

Hazael began his brutal attacks on Israel during the reign of Ahab’s son Joram ( 2 Kings 8:28-29). The attacks became more widespread during the reign of the next king, Jehu ( 2 Kings 10:31-33). They even spread into Judah, with attacks on coastal towns and on the capital, Jerusalem ( 2 Kings 12:17-18). Israel lost further territory to Hazael during the reign of Jehoahaz, and gained some relief only after Hazael’s death ( 2 Kings 13:1-3;  2 Kings 13:22-25). Israel looked longingly for the day when it would see a just punishment poured out on Syria because of Hazael’s cruelty ( Amos 1:3-5).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

An officer of Benhadad king of Syria, whose future accession to the throne was revealed to the prophet Elijah, then at Damascus, as to his recovery from sickness, and on the next day smothered the king with a wet cloth,  2 Kings 8:7-15 , B. C. 885. His discomposure under the eye of the prophet was an indication that he had already meditated this crime. Having usurped the throne, he reigned forty years; and by his successful and cruel wars against Judah and Israel justified the forebodings of Elisha,  2 Kings 8:28   10:32   12:17   13:3,7   2 Chronicles 22:5 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Kings 8:7-15 1 Kings 19:15-17 2 Kings 8:28-29 2 Kings 9:14-15 2 Kings 10:32-33 2 Kings 13:1-9 2 Kings 13:22 2 Kings 12:17-18 2 Chronicles 24:23-24 Amos 1:4DamascusSyria

Daniel B. McGee

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 1 Kings 19:15 2 Kings 8:15 2 Kings 8 2 Kings 10:33 2 Kings 12:18 2 Chronicles 24:24 2 Kings 13:22-25

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ha - zā´el , hā´za - el , haz´a - el ( חזאל , ḥăzā'ēl and חזהאל , ḥăzāh'ēl  ; Ἁζαήλ , Hazaḗl  ; Assyrian haza'ilu ):

1. In Biblical History

Comes first into Biblical history as a high officer in the service of Ben-hadad II, king of Syria ( 2 Kings 8:7; compare  1 Kings 19:15 ). He had been sent by his sick sovereign to inquire of the prophet Elisha, who was then in Damascus, whether he should recover of his sickness or not. He took with him a present "even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden," and stood before the man of God with his master's question of life or death. To it Elisha made the oracular response, "Go, say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit Yahweh hath showed me that he shall surely die." Elisha looked steadfastly at Hazael and wept, explaining to the incredulous officer that he was to be the perpetrator of horrible cruelties against the children of Israel: "Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child" ( 2 Kings 8:12 ). Hazael protested against the very thought of such things, but Elisha assured him that Yahweh had shown him that he was to be king of Syria. No sooner had Hazael delivered to his master the answer of the man of God than the treacherous purpose took shape in his heart to hasten Ben-hadad's end, and "He took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead" ( 2 Kings 8:15 ). The reign which opened under such sinister auspices proved long and successful, and brought the kingdom of Syria to the zenith of its power. Hazael soon found occasion to invade Israel. It was at Ramoth-gilead, which had already been the scene of a fierce conflict between Israel and Syria when Ahab met his death, that Hazael encountered Joram, the king of Israel, with whom his kinsman, Ahaziah, king of Judah, had joined forces to retain that important fortress which had been recovered from the Syrians ( 2 Kings 9:14 ,  2 Kings 9:15 ). The final issue of the battle is not recorded, but Joram received wounds which obliged him to return across the Jordan to Jezreel, leaving the forces of Israel in command of Jehu, whose anointing by Elisha's deputy at Ramoth-gilead, usurpation of the throne of Israel, slaughter of Joram, Ahaziah and Jezebel, and vengeance upon the whole house of Ahab are told in rapid and tragic succession by the sacred historian (2 Ki 9; 10).

Whatever was the issue of this attack upon Ramoth-gilead, it was not long before Hazael laid waste the whole country east of the Jordan - "all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan" ( 2 Kings 10:33; compare  Amos 1:3 ). Nor did Judah escape the heavy hand of the Syrian oppressor. Marching southward through the plain of Esdraelon, and following a route along the maritime plain taken by many conquerors before and since, Hazael fought against Gath and took it, and then "set his face to go up to Jerus" ( 2 Kings 12:17 ). As other kings of Judah had to do with other conquerors, Jehoash, who was now on the throne, bought off the invader with the gold and the treasures of temple and palace, and Hazael withdrew his forces from Jerusalem.

Israel, however, still suffered at the hands of Hazael and Ben-hadad, his son, and the sacred historian mentions that Hazael oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. So grievous was the oppression of the Syrians that Hazael "left not to Jehoahaz, of the people save fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing" ( 2 Kings 13:1-7 ). Forty or fifty years later Amos, in the opening of his prophecy, recalled those Syrian campaigns against Israel when he predicted vengeance that was to come upon Damascus. "Thus saith Yahweh ... I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad" ( Amos 1:3 ,  Amos 1:4 ).

2. In the Monuments

Already, however, the power of Syria had passed its meridian and had begun to decline. Events of which there is no express record in the Biblical narrative were proceeding which, ere long, made it possible for the son of Jehoahaz, Joash or Jehoash, to retrieve the honor of Israel and recover the cities that had been lost ( 2 Kings 13:25 ). For the full record of these events we must turn to the Assyrian annals preserved in the monuments. We do read in the sacred history that Yahweh gave Israel "a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians" ( 2 Kings 13:5 ). The annals of the Assyrian kings give us clearly and distinctly the interpretation of this enigmatic saying. The relief that came to Israel was due to the crippling of the power of Syria by the aggression of Assyria upon the lands of the West. From the Black Obelisk in the British Museum, on which Shalmaneser Ii (860-825 bc) has inscribed the story of the campaign he carried on during his long reign, there are instructive notices of this period of Israelite history. In the 18th year of his reign (842 bc), Shalmaneser made war against Hazael. On the Obelisk the record is short, but a longer account is given on one of the pavement slabs from Nimroud, the ancient Kalab. It is as follows: "In the 18th year of my reign for the 16th time I crossed the Euphrates. Hazael of Damascus trusted to the strength of his armies and mustered his troops in full force. Senir (Hermon), a mountain summit which is in front of Lebanon, he made his stronghold. I fought with him; his defeat I accomplished; 600 of his soldiers with weapons I laid low; 1, 121 of his chariots, 470 of his horses, with his camp I took from him. To save his life, he retreated; I pursued him; in Damascus, his royal city, I shut him up. His plantations I cut down. As far as the mountains of the Hauran I marched. Cities without number I wrecked, razed, and burnt with fire. Their spoil beyond count I carried away. As far as the mountains of Baal-Rosh, which is a headland of the sea (at the mouth of the Nahr el - Kelb , Dog River), I marched; my royal likeness I there set up. At that time I received the tribute of the Syrians and Sidonians and of Yahua (Jehu) the son of Khumri (Omri)" (Ball, Light from the East , 166; Schrader, COT , 200 f). From this inscription we gather that Shalmaneser did not succeed in the capture of Damascus. But it still remained an object of ambition to Assyria, and Ramman-nirari III, the grandson of Shalmaneser, succeeded in capturing it, and reduced it to subjection. It was this monarch who was "the saviour" whom God raised up to deliver Israel from the hand of Syria. Then it became possible for Israel under Jehoash to recover the cities he had lost, but by this time Hazael had died and Ben-hadad, his son, Ben-hadad III, called Mari on the monuments, had become king in his stead ( 2 Kings 13:24 ,  2 Kings 13:25 ).

Literature

Schrader, Cot , 197-208; McCurdy, Hpm , I, 282ff.

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Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Chazal', חֲזָאֵל , also חֲזָהאֵל , whom God Beholds, i.e. cares for; Sept. Ἀ Ζαήλ ,Vulg. Hazael, but Azael in  Amos 1:4; hence Latin Azelus, Justin. 36:2), an officer of Benhadad, king of Syria, whose eventual accession to the throne of that kingdom was revealed to Elijah ( 1 Kings 19:15), B.C. cir. 907; and who, when Elisha was at Damascus, was sent by his master, who was then ill, to consult the prophet respecting his recovery ( 2 Kings 8:8). B.C. cir. 884. He was followed by forty camels bearing presents from the king. The answer was, that he Might certainly recover. "Howbeit," added the prophet, "the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die." He then looked steadfastly at Hazael till he became confused, on which the man of God wept; and when Hazael respectfully inquired the cause of this outburst, Elisha replied by describing the vivid picture then present to his mind of all the evils which the man now before him would inflict upon Israel Hazael exclaimed, "But what is thy servant, the [not A ] dog, that he should do this great thing?" The prophet explained that it was as king of Syria he should do it. Hazael then returned, and delivered to his master that portion of the prophetic response, which was intended for him. But the very next day this man, cool and calculating in his cruel ambition, took a thick cloth, and, having dipped it in water, spread it over the face of the king, who, in his feebleness, and probably in his sleep, was smothered by its weight, and died what seemed to his people a natural death ( 2 Kings 8:15). We are not to imagine that such a project as this was conceived and executed in a day, or that it was suggested by the words of Elisha. His composure at the earnest gaze of the prophet, and other circumstances show that Hazael at that moment regarded Elisha as one to whom his secret purposes were known. (See Kitto's Daily Bible Illust. ad loc.). He was soon engaged in hostilities with Ahaziah, king of Judah, and Jehoram, king of Israel, for the possession of the city of Ramoth-gilead ( 2 Kings 8:28). The Assyrian inscriptions show that about this time a bloody and destructive war was waged between the Assyrians on the one side, and the Syrians, Hittites, Hamathites, and Phoenicians on the other. (See Cuniform Inscriptions).

Benhadad (q.v.) had recently suffered several severe defeats at the hands of the Assyrian king, and upon the accession of Hazael the war was speedily renewed. Hazael took up a position in the fastnesses of the Auti-Libanus, but was there attacked by the Assyrians, who defeated him with great loss, killing 16,000 of his warriors, and capturing more than 1100 chariots. Three years later the Assyrians once more entered Syria in force; but on this occasion Hazael submitted, and helped to furnish the invaders with supplies. After this, internal troubles appear to have occupied the attention of the Assyrians, who made no more expeditions into these parts for about a century. The Syrians rapidly recovered their losses, and towards the close of the reign of Jehu, Hazael led them against the Israelites (B.C. cir. 860), whom he "smote in all their coasts" ( 2 Kings 10:32), thus accomplishing the prophecy of Elisha ( 2 Kings 8:12). His main attack fell upon the eastern provinces, where he ravaged "all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan" ( 2 Kings 10:33). After this he seems to have held the kingdom of Israel in a species of subjection ( 2 Kings 13:3-7;  2 Kings 13:22), and towards the close of his life he even threatened the kingdom of Judah. Having taken Gath ( 2 Kings 12:17; comp.  Amos 6:2), he proceeded to attack Jerusalem, defeated the Jews in an engagement ( 2 Chronicles 24:24), and was about to assault the city, when Joash induced him to retire by presenting him with "all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the king's house" ( 2 Kings 12:18). This able and successful, but unprincipled usurper left the throne at his death to his son Benhadad ( 2 Kings 13:24). B.C. cir. 835. Such was the prosperity and influence of his reign that the phrase "house of Hazael" occurs in prophetical denunciation ( Amos 1:4) as a designation of the kingdom of Damascene Syria. (See Damascus).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Hazael (vision of God), an officer of Benhadad, king of Syria, whose eventual accession to the throne of that kingdom was made known to Elijah and who, when Elisha was at Damascus, was sent by his master, who was then ill, to consult the prophet respecting his recovery. He was followed by forty camels bearing presents from the king. When Hazael appeared before the prophet, he said, 'Thy son Benhadad, king of Syria, hath sent me to thee saying, Shall I recover of this disease?' The answer was, that he might certainly recover. 'Howbeit,' added the prophet, 'the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die.' He then looked stedfastly at Hazael till he became confused: on which the man of God wept; and when Hazael respectfully inquired the cause of this outburst, Elisha replied by describing the vivid picture then present to his mind of all the evils which the man now before him would inflict upon Israel. Hazael exclaimed, 'But what! Is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing?' The prophet exclaimed that it was as king of Syria he should do it. Hazael then returned, and delivered to his master that portion of the prophetic response which was intended for him. But the very next day this man, cool and calculating in his cruel ambition, took a thick cloth, and, having dipped it in water, spread it over the face of the king, who, in his feebleness, and probably in his sleep, was smothered by its weight, and died what seemed to his people a natural death (, etc.), B.C. 885. We are not to imagine that such a project as this was conceived and executed in a day, or that it was suggested by the words of Elisha. His discomposure at the earnest gaze of the prophet, and other circumstances, show that Hazael at that moment regarded Elisha as one to whom his secret purposes were known. In that case, his cry, 'Is thy servant a dog,' etc. was not, as some suppose, a cry of joy at the first view of a throne, but of horror at the idea of the public atrocities which the prophet described. This was likely to shock him more than it would do after he had committed his first crime, and obtained possession of a throne acquired at such a cost.

The further information respecting Hazael which the Scriptures afford is limited to brief notices of his wars with Ahaziah and Joash, kings of Judah, and with Jehoram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz, kings of Israel (;;;;; ). It is difficult to distinguish the several campaigns and victories involved in these allusions, and spread over a reign of forty years; but it is certain that Hazael always had the advantage over the Hebrew princes. He devastated their frontiers, rent from them all their territories beyond the Jordan, traversed the breadth of Palestine, and carried his arms into the states of the Philistines; he laid siege to Jerusalem, and only retired on receiving the treasures of the temple and the palace. The details of these conquests redeemed to the very letter the appalling predictions of Elisha. This able and successful, but unprincipled usurper left the throne at his death to his son Benhadad.