מלכים ב, פרק י׳, פסוק ל״ב

As a direct consequence of the nation's sins, God began to bring disaster upon the kingdom, using Hazael, the king of Aram, as His instrument of punishment [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This marked a significant turning point that occurred specifically during the reign of Jehu. While the previous royal house of Ahab had managed to keep Hazael's forces at bay, it was now that God allowed the Aramean king to strike and overpower the Israelites [רלב״ג].

The nature of this divine retribution is understood in a few distinct ways. The primary approach among commentators is that God's action was one of sheer destruction, actively cutting down and eliminating parts of the nation. Another perspective views this reduction geographically. Rather than a general destruction, the attacks targeted the outer edges of the land, specifically striking the Israelites living along the eastern side of the Jordan River [מלבי״ם] and effectively slicing away the borders of the kingdom [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Providing a completely different view, [רש״י] explains the onset of this punishment as an emotional shift rather than a physical severing. In this light, the attacks reflected a deep sense of loathing, indicating that God had begun to feel a profound disgust toward Israel.

Ultimately, the military campaigns executed by Hazael were not isolated to a single location. His devastating strikes spread out across vast areas of the land [מצודת דוד], particularly ravaging the northern border of the kingdom [ביאור שטיינזלץ].