2 Kings 8:12
Ver. 12. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord?.... Imagining it was for the death of Benhadad he had predicted, for which he could see no reason; of the title, "my lord", see 1Ki 18:7
and he answered, because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel; which he foresaw by a spirit of prophecy; and Israel being his own people, he sympathized in their calamities before they came:
their strong holds wilt thou set on fire; which should be taken by him, see 2Ki 10:32
and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword; in battle:
and wilt dash their children; against rocks and stones, or stone walls, or upon the ground, floor, or pavement, as was usual in war {g}, see Ps 137:9,
and rip up their women with child: which was the height of barbarity and cruelty. Ben Gersom and Ben Melech interpret this of breaking down the walls of fortified cities, built strong, like hills and mountains; but this is supposed in the first clause.
{g} Vid. Homer. Iliad. 22. ver. 63, 64.