The Meaning of 2 Kings 1:2 Explained

2 Kings 1:2

KJV: And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

YLT: and Ahaziah falleth through the lattice in his upper chamber that is in Samaria, and is sick, and sendeth messengers, and saith unto them, 'Go ye, inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron if I recover from this sickness.'

Darby: And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and was sick; and he sent messengers and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this disease.

ASV: And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Ahaziah  fell down  through a lattice  in his upper chamber  that [was] in Samaria,  and was sick:  and he sent  messengers,  and said  unto them, Go,  enquire  of Baalzebub  the god  of Ekron  whether I shall recover  of this disease. 

What does 2 Kings 1:2 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 1:1-8 - A Message From The True God
The king's accident was probably due to the giving way of the balustrade that surrounded the roof of his palace. The Law expressly provided that this lattice-work should be made very strong to obviate just such an occurrence, Deuteronomy 22:8. Let us be careful to maintain the barriers of good custom, whether of purity, or total abstinence, or the observance of the Lord's day. In this manner we shall preserve our children and ourselves from peril. All good habits are strong battlements.
To reach Ekron the messengers must pass Jerusalem. What a direct insult to Jehovah! Even Ahab had some regard for Micaiah, but Ahaziah went beyond his father in openly flouting the religion of David and Moses. In the interests of the whole nation, this insult could not be passed over in silence, and at God's bidding Elijah appeared upon the scene. He rebuked the messengers for their idolatrous quest and told them that the king would surely die. They returned with the report that a man clad in a hairy garment had met them, and had said that the king would not recover. It was enough. The apprehensions of Ahaziah's guilty conscience were confirmed, and he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite!" [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 1

1  Moab rebels
2  Ahaziah, sending to Baal-Zebub, has his judgement by Elijah
5  Elijah twice brings fire from heaven on those Ahaziah sent to apprehend him
13  He pities the third captain,
15  and, encouraged by an angel, tells the king of his death
17  Jehoram succeeds Ahaziah

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 1:2 mean?

And fell Ahaziah through the lattice of his upper room that [was] in Samaria and was injured so he sent messengers and said to them go inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover from injury this -
וַיִּפֹּ֨ל אֲחַזְיָ֜ה בְּעַ֣ד הַשְּׂבָכָ֗ה בַּעֲלִיָּת֛וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּשֹׁמְר֖וֹן וַיָּ֑חַל וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח מַלְאָכִ֔ים וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ לְכ֣וּ דִרְשׁ֗וּ בְּבַ֤עַל זְבוּב֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י עֶקְר֔וֹן אִם־ אֶחְיֶ֖ה מֵחֳלִ֥י זֶֽה ס

וַיִּפֹּ֨ל  And  fell 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
אֲחַזְיָ֜ה  Ahaziah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲחַזְיָה 
Sense: ruler of Israel, son of Ahab.
בְּעַ֣ד  through 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּעַד 
Sense: behind, through, round about, on behalf of, away from, about.
הַשְּׂבָכָ֗ה  the  lattice 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׂבָכָה  
Sense: network, lattice-work, net, netting.
בַּעֲלִיָּת֛וֹ  of  his  upper  room 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֲלִיָּה  
Sense: roof-room, roof chamber.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּשֹׁמְר֖וֹן  in  Samaria 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וַיָּ֑חַל  and  was  injured 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָלָה 
Sense: to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry.
וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח  so  he  sent 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
מַלְאָכִ֔ים  messengers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַלְאָךְ  
Sense: messenger, representative.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵהֶם֙  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
לְכ֣וּ  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
דִרְשׁ֗וּ  inquire 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
זְבוּב֙  Baal-Zebub 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּעַל זְבוּב  
Sense: a Philistine deity worshipped at Ekron.
אֱלֹהֵ֣י  the  god 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
עֶקְר֔וֹן  of  Ekron 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֶקְרֹון  
Sense: the most northerly of the 5 principal cities of the Philistines; located in the lowlands of Judah and later given to Dan.
אִם־  whether 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
אֶחְיֶ֖ה  I  shall  recover 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
מֵחֳלִ֥י  from  injury 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֳלִי  
Sense: sickness.
זֶֽה  this 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation