מלכים ב, פרק ו׳, פסוק י״ח

In a dramatic standoff with the Aramean army, a surprising turning point occurs. After previously praying to open his servant's eyes to reveal the hidden spiritual reality of fiery chariots, the prophet Elisha now seeks the exact opposite effect. He asks to disrupt the physical and sensory vision of his enemies [מלבי״ם]. Interestingly, while Elisha mentioned God's name when asking to open his servant's eyes, he avoids using the explicit Name of God when requesting a curse upon the Arameans [רש״י].

As the Aramean soldiers descend with the intent to capture him [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ], Elisha likely steps out of the city to meet them directly [אברבנאל]. At this moment, he asks God to strike the troops with a specific type of blindness. The primary approach among commentators is that this affliction is not a complete loss of physical sight. Instead, it is a state of mental confusion, dizziness, and blurred consciousness. It is a sickness of the mind where a person still sees the physical world but loses the ability to recognize and understand what is right in front of them, much like the blindness that struck the people of Sodom [רש״י, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Because the Arameans are marching at night and are already disoriented, this mental fog destroys their ability to focus. This allows Elisha to easily convince them that they have taken the wrong path and arrived at the wrong city [רלב״ג, אברבנאל].

Elisha's choice to use sensory confusion is deliberate, especially considering he is surrounded by a heavenly army and could easily destroy his attackers. He chooses this peaceful route to prevent bloodshed, sanctify God's name in the eyes of the nations, and inspire the King of Israel to repent and abandon idol worship. Furthermore, he wishes to prove to the King of Aram that the servants of God do not harm their enemies, even when they possess the absolute power to do so [חומת אנך]. Ultimately, this strategy—which ends with feeding the enemy soldiers rather than killing them—proves far more effective than any weapon or battle. It successfully brings an end to the Aramean military raids into Israelite territory [אברבנאל].