2 Kings 6 · a question people ask
Did Elisha lie to the Syrian army?
After the army was struck with blindness (6:18), "Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria" (6:19). There the LORD opened their eyes, "and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria" (6:20). The chapter tells it without a comment. The chapter is plain about what happened next: Elisha would not let them be struck, and they were fed and sent home (6:22-23). Christians read his words in 6:19 in two main ways, each resting on verses.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
What he said came true
Those who hold this view note that Elisha promised, "I will bring you to the man whom you seek" (6:19), and did: when their eyes were opened in Samaria, Elisha was there and spoke (6:20). They read "This is not the way, neither is this the city" (6:19) as meaning the way and the city where the army would find the man it sought, since Elisha went with them to Samaria and was there when their eyes were opened (6:19-20). And they note where it ended: not in harm but in "bread and water" (6:22) and "a great feast" (6:23).
2 Kings 6:19-20 · 2 Kings 6:22-23
A ruse in war, told without a verdict
Those who hold this view read 6:19 as words meant to lead the army away from the city it had been sent to, since the king of Syria had sent it to Dothan to take Elisha (6:13-14). They note that Scripture tells of a ruse in war the LORD himself commanded, the ambush at Ai: "Set an ambush for the city behind it" (Joshua 8:2). And they note that the chapter gives no verdict on Elisha's words, while the LORD answered both of his prayers that day (6:18, 6:20).
2 Kings 6:13-14 · 2 Kings 6:19 · Joshua 8:2 · 2 Kings 6:18 · 2 Kings 6:20