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PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — II Kings

Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 90,514 words · 402 reading sections

SECTION 61

2 Kings 4:1

2 Kings 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 4 This chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, 2Ki 4:1 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to him, 2Ki 4:8, of his raising up her son to life when dead, 2Ki 4…

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SECTION 62

2 Kings 4:2

2 Kings 4:2 Ver. 2. And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee?.... Or can I do, being poor himself, and unable to relieve her out of his substance, and not knowing where to get anything for her; and so what could she expect from him? signifying, that he pitied her case, but all that he could do was to give he…

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SECTION 63

2 Kings 4:3

2 Kings 4:3 Ver. 3. Then he said, go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours,.... For he perceived that she had none: even empty vessels; which they might more readily lend her: borrow not a few; but as many as she could get; the prophet, under a divine impulse, was directed to say this to her, foreseeing,…

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SECTION 64

2 Kings 4:4

2 Kings 4:4 Ver. 4. And when thou art come in,.... Into her house: thou shall shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons; that they might be alone in the house while the miracle was working; that they might not be interrupted in what they were to do, by the creditor coming in upon them, or by neighbours, who would be…

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SECTION 65

2 Kings 4:5

2 Kings 4:5 Ver. 5. So she went from him,.... And did as he advised her, borrowed many empty vessels of her neighbours, having faith in what the prophet had said to her: and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons; and then went to work as she was directed, with her sons: who brought the vessels to her; the empty …

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SECTION 66

2 Kings 4:6

2 Kings 4:6 Ver. 6. And it came to pass when the vessels were full,.... For the oil being miraculously increased as it was poured forth, there was enough to fill all the vessels; Ben Gersom and Abarbinel say, that when the pot was emptied, all the air that entered it was turned into oil: that she said to her son, bri…

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SECTION 67

2 Kings 4:7

2 Kings 4:7 Ver. 7. Then she came and told the man of God,.... Elisha the prophet, what had been done, what a quantity of oil she had, and advised with him what was to be done with it: and he said, go, sell thy oil, and pay thy debt; what was thus miraculously produced was no doubt very good and excellent, and would …

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SECTION 68

2 Kings 4:8

2 Kings 4:8 Ver. 8. And it fell on a day,.... Or so it was at a certain time: that Elisha passed to Shunem; a city in the tribe of Issachar; of which see Jos 19:18, where was a great woman; of great wealth and riches, of great benevolence and hospitality, and of great grace and piety; that feared sin, as the Targum …

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SECTION 69

2 Kings 4:9

2 Kings 4:9 Ver. 9. And she said unto her husband,.... Not being willing to do any thing without his leave and consent: behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passeth by us continually: and calls here frequently: this she perceived by his discourse and conversation; and by his carriage and behav…

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SECTION 70

2 Kings 4:10

2 Kings 4:10 Ver. 10. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall,.... Either of the city, to which their house might join, or of their garden, a little distance from the house; though the Jewish writers commonly understand it of a little edifice built up of walls of stone or bricks, and not one with reeds,…

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SECTION 71

2 Kings 4:11

2 Kings 4:11 Ver. 11. And it fell on a day that he came thither,.... As he had been wont to do: and he turned into the chamber; built for him, and to which he was directed: and lay there; all night, and which no doubt was frequently repeated by him, he accepting of the kindness of his host.…

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SECTION 72

2 Kings 4:12

2 Kings 4:12 Ver. 12. And he said to Gehazi his servant,.... Who attended him wherever he went, and ministered to him, and lay very probably in the same chamber with him; he might be one of the sons of the prophets: call this Shunammite; tell her I desire to speak with her: and when he had called her, she stood befo…

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SECTION 73

2 Kings 4:13

2 Kings 4:13 Ver. 13. And he said unto him,...., To Gehazi, before he went to call her: say now unto her, behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; in building a chamber, and furnishing it with proper household goods, and providing food for them from time to time: what is to be done for thee? can any…

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SECTION 74

2 Kings 4:14

2 Kings 4:14 Ver. 14. And he said,.... That is, Elisha to Gehazi, when he returned to him, and told him what the Shunammite said: what then is to be done for her? something he thought should be done in gratitude, the favours they had received, and advises with his servant what could be thought of, he being one about …

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SECTION 75

2 Kings 4:15

2 Kings 4:15 Ver. 15. And he said, call her,.... Perhaps finding an impulse on his own mind, from the Spirit of God, that this was the thing to be done for her: and when he had called her, she stood in the door; of his chamber: See Gill on "2Ki 4:12".…

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SECTION 76

2 Kings 4:16

2 Kings 4:16 Ver. 16. And he said, about this season,.... In the next year: according to the time of life; the usual time women go with child: thou shalt embrace a son; in thine arms, that shall be born of thee, which she should have in her lap, and in her bosom: and she said, nay, my lord, do not lie unto thine ha…

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SECTION 77

2 Kings 4:17

2 Kings 4:17 Ver. 17. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at the season that Elisha said unto her,.... Quickly after this she conceived, and became pregnant, and by that time the year came round, she was brought to bed of a son: according to the time of life: when she had gone her full time to have a son born ali…

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SECTION 78

2 Kings 4:18

2 Kings 4:18 Ver. 18. And when the child was grown,.... Perhaps was six or seven years of age, or more: it fell on a day that he went out to his father to the reapers; it was harvest time, and the men were reaping the corn in the fields; and his father, though a wealthy man, was with them to direct them, and see they …

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SECTION 79

2 Kings 5:1

2 Kings 5:1 INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 5 This chapter gives an account of the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian, and of the cure of it by Elisha; how he came to hear of him, and the recommendation he had from the king of Syria to the king of Israel, 2Ki 5:1, who, coming to Elisha's house, was ordered to dip himself seven tim…

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SECTION 80

2 Kings 5:2

2 Kings 5:2 Ver. 2. And the Syrians had gone out by companies,.... Not regular troops, but a sort of banditti of robbers, which made excursions into the land of Israel, to plunder and carry off what booty they could: and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; for boys and girls were a part …

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SECTION 81

2 Kings 5:3

2 Kings 5:3 Ver. 3. And she said unto her mistress,.... As she was waiting upon her at a certain time, and perhaps her mistress was lamenting the case of her husband as desperate and incurable: would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria; meaning Elisha, who, though sometimes in one place, and sometime…

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SECTION 82

2 Kings 5:4

2 Kings 5:4 Ver. 4. And one went in and told his lord,.... What the girl had said to her mistress; one of the servants of the house that overheard it; or rather, Naaman went and told his lord the king of Syria; for as this was said to his wife, no doubt she told it to her husband, and not a servant; and the following …

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SECTION 83

2 Kings 5:5

2 Kings 5:5 Ver. 5. And the king of Syria said, go to, go,.... On what Naaman related to him from what the maid had said, he urged him by all means to go directly to Samaria: and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel; recommending him to use his interest in his behalf; this was Jehoram the son of Ahab: and he…

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SECTION 84

2 Kings 5:6

2 Kings 5:6 Ver. 6. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying,.... The contents of which were, so far as it concerned Naaman and his case, which are only observed, these: now when this letter is come unto thee; was received by him: behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant unto thee; the bearer o…

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SECTION 85

2 Kings 5:7

2 Kings 5:7 Ver. 7. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes,.... As one in great distress, being thrown into perplexity of mind by it, not knowing what to do; or, as some think, at the blasphemy he supposed to be in it, requiring that of him which only God could do: …

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SECTION 86

2 Kings 5:8

2 Kings 5:8 Ver. 8. And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes,.... And upon what account: that he sent to the king, saying, wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? and thereby expressed so much concern and distress: let him come now to me: meaning Naaman the Syria…

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SECTION 87

2 Kings 5:9

2 Kings 5:9 Ver. 9. So Naaman came with his horses, and with his chariot,.... In his chariot drawn by horses; or "with horsemen and chariots", a great retinue, both for his own grandeur, and for the honour of the prophet, and to make him the more respectable by him: and stood at the door of the house of Elisha; who n…

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SECTION 88

2 Kings 5:10

2 Kings 5:10 Ver. 10. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him,.... Or returned an answer by Naaman's messenger; he did not go out to him, choosing to be retired, as he commonly did; and being perhaps employed in prayer for the cure; and it may be also to show his contempt of or little regard he had to worldly grandeur an…

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SECTION 89

2 Kings 5:11

2 Kings 5:11 Ver. 11. But Naaman was wroth with him,.... On more accounts than one: and went away; not to Jordan, but from the prophet's house, with an intention to return to his own country: behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me this he said within himself, making no doubt of it but that he would show hi…

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SECTION 90

2 Kings 5:12

2 Kings 5:12 Ver. 12. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?.... Abana is, in the marginal reading, called Amana, and so the Targum; perhaps from the Mount Amana, from whence it sprung, a mountain in Syria {g}, mentioned with Lebanon, So 4:8. This river is thought to be th…

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SECTION 91

2 Kings 5:13

2 Kings 5:13 Ver. 13. And his servant came near, and spake unto him, and said, my father,.... Or my lord, as the Targum; this being not a familiar and affectionate expression, but a term of honour, reverence, and submission: if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? something th…

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SECTION 92

2 Kings 5:14

2 Kings 5:14 Ver. 14. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God,.... He listened to the reasoning of his servant, and his passion subsided, and did as the prophet ordered him: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child; clear and fresh, …

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SECTION 93

2 Kings 5:15

2 Kings 5:15 Ver. 15. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company,.... To give him thanks for the advice he had given him, and by him to give thanks to God for the cure he had received; for he was sensible it was from the Lord, his words show: and came and stood before him; for being admitted into the p…

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SECTION 94

2 Kings 5:16

2 Kings 5:16 Ver. 16. But he said, as the Lord liveth, before whom I stand,.... Whose minister and prophet he was, and by whom he swears: I will receive none: to let him know that this cure was not to be attributed to him, but the Lord only; and that what concern he had in it was not for the sake of money, but for th…

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SECTION 95

2 Kings 5:17

2 Kings 5:17 Ver. 17. And Naaman said, shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth..... Not that he desired of Elisha that he would suffer his servant Gehazi to receive a present as much as two mules could carry; but inasmuch as the prophet refused a present from him, his serv…

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SECTION 96

2 Kings 6:1

2 Kings 6:1 INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 6 In this chapter are recorded other wonders of Elisha, as causing iron to swim, 2Ki 6:1 having knowledge of the secret counsels of the king of Syria, which he disclosed to the king of Israel, 2Ki 6:8 smiting the Syrian army with blindness sent to take him, and which he led into th…

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SECTION 97

2 Kings 6:2

2 Kings 6:2 Ver. 2. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan,.... Which, according to Josephus {a}, was fifty furlongs, or upwards of six miles, distant from Gilgal: and take thence every man a beam; by cutting down the trees that grew there; for Mr. Maundrell says {b}, the banks of Jordan are beset with bushes and trees…

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SECTION 98

2 Kings 6:3

2 Kings 6:3 Ver. 3. And one said, be content, I pray thee, and with thy servants,.... Or be pleased to go with us; he begged it as a favour, that, being awed by his presence, they might preserve peace and order, and have his advice as to the spot of ground to erect their edifice on, and might be protected by him from …

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SECTION 99

2 Kings 6:4

2 Kings 6:4 Ver. 4. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. Trees which grew upon the banks of it, to build their house with, at least for the rafters and flooring of it, supposing the walls to be built of stone.…

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SECTION 100

2 Kings 6:5

2 Kings 6:5 Ver. 5. But as one was felling a beam,.... Cutting down a tree, or a branch of it: the axe head fell into the water: into the waters of Jordan; or "the iron" {d}, the iron part of it, with which the wood was cut; that flew off from the helve into the water: and he cried, and said, alas, master! for it wa…

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SECTION 101

2 Kings 6:6

2 Kings 6:6 Ver. 6. And the man of God said, where fell it?.... For though endowed with a spirit of prophecy, he did not know all things, and at all times; and if he did know where it fell, he might ask this question to lead on to the performance of the miracle: and he showed him the place; the exact place in the riv…

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SECTION 102

2 Kings 6:7

2 Kings 6:7 Ver. 7. Therefore said he, take it up to thee,.... This the prophet said to the man that had lost it: and he put out his hand, and took it; it being on the top of the water within his reach.…

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SECTION 103

2 Kings 6:8

2 Kings 6:8 Ver. 8. Then the king of Syria warred against Israel,.... Proclaimed war against him; on what account, or how long it was after Naaman his general came with a letter of recommendation from him to the king of Israel, and had his cure, is not said: and took counsel with his servants; his privy counsellors, …

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SECTION 104

2 Kings 6:9

2 Kings 6:9 Ver. 9. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel,.... That is, Elisha sent to him: saying, beware that thou pass not such a place: not go to it, but avoid it, and pass another way: for thither the Syrians are come down: are hidden, as the Targum; lie covered at the bottom of the hill, so as not to…

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SECTION 105

2 Kings 6:10

2 Kings 6:10 Ver. 10. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him, and warned him of,.... Sent spies thither to see whether the Syrians were there or not, and whether it was truth the man of God told him; for he had no hearty respect for the prophet, though he had been so serviceable to him:…

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SECTION 106

2 Kings 6:11

2 Kings 6:11 Ver. 11. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing,.... There was as it were a storm in his breast, as the word signifies; he was like a troubled sea, tossed with tempests, exceeding uneasy in his mind, fretting at the disappointment he met with time after time: and he cal…

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SECTION 107

2 Kings 6:12

2 Kings 6:12 Ver. 12. And one of his servants said, none, my lord, O king,.... He believed everyone of his counsellors were true and faithful to him: but Elisha the prophet, that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber; what is said in the most private place, and in the…

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SECTION 108

2 Kings 6:13

2 Kings 6:13 Ver. 13. And he said, go, and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him,.... But how could he expect to take him, who could give the king of Israel such intelligence of his designs against him, that he might escape his snares? and it was told him, saying, behold, he is in Dothan; a city in the tribe…

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SECTION 109

2 Kings 6:14

2 Kings 6:14 Ver. 14. Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, and a great host,.... To terrify the inhabitants from attempting to defend the prophet, but deliver him up at once: and they came by night; that they might come upon them unawares, and their design not be discovered, so as to have timely help from S…

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SECTION 110

2 Kings 6:15

2 Kings 6:15 Ver. 15. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,.... Either out of his master's house, or out of the city upon some business to be done early in the morning; this was not Gehazi, but a new servant: behold, an host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots; which he…

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SECTION 111

2 Kings 6:16

2 Kings 6:16 Ver. 16. And he answered, fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. Meaning the legions of angels that encamped around them.…

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SECTION 112

2 Kings 6:17

2 Kings 6:17 Ver. 17. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see,.... Not the eyes of his body, which were not shut nor blinded, but the eyes of his mind; or, in other words, grant him a vision, represented in so strong a light, as to remove his fears: and the Lord opened the eyes …

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SECTION 113

2 Kings 6:18

2 Kings 6:18 Ver. 18. And when they came down to him,.... The Syrian army, from the hill on which they were first seen, who came down from thence to the bottom of the hill on which the city stood; and whither Elisha came out, in order both to meet them, and proceed on his journey to Samaria: Elisha prayed unto the Lo…

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SECTION 114

2 Kings 6:19

2 Kings 6:19 Ver. 19. And Elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city,.... Which is an answer to some questions of the Syrians; as, whether this was the way to find the prophet Elisha, and this the city in which he was to be found? and he answers most truly, though ambiguously, that the way th…

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SECTION 115

2 Kings 6:20

2 Kings 6:20 Ver. 20. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see,.... So as to know where they were: and the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria; the gates being thrown open for them, and…

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SECTION 116

2 Kings 6:21

2 Kings 6:21 Ver. 21. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them,.... The Syrian army thus in his hands: my father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? he speaks with great reverence and respect to the prophet, whom at other times he neglected and despised; and the repetition of his words shows the…

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SECTION 117

2 Kings 6:22

2 Kings 6:22 Ver. 22. And he answered, thou shalt not smite them,.... For they were not his, but the prophet's captives, or rather the Lord's: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? when soldiers are made prisoners of war, it is contrary to humanity, to the laws of nat…

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SECTION 118

2 Kings 7:1

2 Kings 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 7 This chapter begins with a prophecy of great plenty in Samaria on the morrow, and of the death of an unbelieving lord, 2Ki 7:1, relates the case of four lepers, who that night went into the Syrian camp, which was deserted, occasioned by the noise of chariots, horses, and a host, …

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SECTION 119

2 Kings 7:2

2 Kings 7:2 Ver. 2. Then a lord, on whose hand the king leaned,.... Not figuratively, in whom the king confided, but literally, on whose hand he rested, and by whom he was supported, being a form and matter of state, while he and Elisha were talking together, or on whom he leaned as he came to him; this was a principa…

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SECTION 120

2 Kings 7:3

2 Kings 7:3 Ver. 3. And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate,.... Of the city of Samaria; lepers, according to the law, being obliged to be without the city and camp, Le 13:46 these might have a dwelling assigned them near the gate; or they might get as near to it as they could, partly to obtain …

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Source & rights

Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.

Project Gutenberg source record →

Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.