מלכים ב, פרק ו׳, פסוק י״ט

Upon encountering the Aramean army, Elisha finds the soldiers completely confused and disoriented. Seizing the opportunity created by their lack of direction, the prophet announces that they are on the wrong path and looking in the wrong location [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Commentators offer different perspectives on how to understand Elisha's message to the troops. The most straightforward approach is that Elisha simply informs them of a navigation error, stating that they have failed to reach Dothan and are currently somewhere else entirely [מצודת דוד]. Alternatively, his words can be viewed as a two-part logical argument. He tells the soldiers that if they already know the prophet's location and are merely passing through, they are on the wrong road; however, if they believe the prophet is in this specific place, they are in the wrong city [מלבי״ם].

This raises an interesting point regarding the truthfulness of Elisha's statement. While it appears he is actively deceiving the soldiers, he is actually speaking the absolute truth. Since Elisha had already walked out of the city to meet the approaching army, the prophet they are looking for is genuinely no longer inside its walls at that exact moment [רש״י].

After making these claims, Elisha promises to personally guide the soldiers to the very man they are seeking to capture [מצודת דוד]. Trusting him, the army follows, and Elisha leads them far away from their original target, bringing them directly into Samaria, the capital city of the kingdom [ביאור שטיינזלץ].