Commentary for II Kings 8:10
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ אֱלִישָׁ֔ע לֵ֥ךְ אֱמָר־לא [ל֖וֹ] חָיֹ֣ה תִחְיֶ֑ה וְהִרְאַ֥נִי יְהוָ֖ה כִּֽי־מ֥וֹת יָמֽוּת׃
And Elisha said unto him: ‘Go, say unto him: Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit the LORD hath shown me that he shall surely die.’
Rashi on II Kings
‘You will surely live.’ Pertaining to Chazoeil he said that he would live instead of Ben-Hadad [and occupy] the throne.6It is read [=קְרִי] as ‘לוֹ’, meaning, “say to him, ‘you will surely recover,’” but it is written [=כְּתִיב] as ‘Gא’, and the meaning is “say, ‘you will surely not recover.’” According to Rashi the קְרִי pertains to Chazoeil, and the כְּתִיב pertains to Ben-Hadad; or Elisha meant that Ben-Hadad would not die of his illness, but he would die by assassination. Alternatively, the כְּתִיב reflects what was on Elisha’s mind and the קְרִי is what he said.—Radak
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