2 Kings 8:13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Hazael said, But what, &c.— When the prophet with tears foretold to Hazael what calamities he should hereafter bring upon Israel, his ambition instantly took fire, and he cried out with transport, "What! thy servant! a dog! that he should do the great [word] deed!" This is the literal translation of the passage. That of our Bible has stood in the front of many a fine declamation utterly wide of the real sentiment of Hazael. His exclamation was not the result of horror; his expression has no tincture of it, but of the unexpected glimpse of a crown. The prophet's answer is plainly calculated to satisfy the astonishment that he had excited: a dog bears not in Scripture the character of a cruel, but of a despicable animal; nor does he who is shocked with barbarity call it a GREAT deed. We may also observe, that it is evident from this transaction, that Hazael was now entirely ignorant of his designation to the throne of Syria, and consequently could not have been anointed by Elijah, 1 Kings 19:15. We must therefore take the command, in a figurative sense, to denote no more than God's purpose or determination that Hazael should succeed to the throne of Syria, to execute the designs of his providence upon the people of Israel, as Cyrus for the same reason is called the Lord's anointed; Isaiah 45:1 though he was never properly anointed by God: or, if we take it in a literal sense, we must suppose some reason why Elijah waved the execution of that command, which probably might be his foresight of the many calamities that Hazael, when advanced to the crown, would bring upon Israel.