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2 Kings Chapter
Thirteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 13
This
chapter gives an account of the wicked reign of Jehoahaz son of Jehu king of
Israel, and of the low estate he was brought into by the Syrians, 2 Kings 13:1, and
of the reign of his son Joash, 2 Kings 13:10, and
of the sickness and death of Elisha; of the visit Joash made him in his
sickness; and of his prediction of the king's success against the Syrians; and
of the reviving of a dead man cast into the prophet's sepulchre, 2 Kings 13:14 and
of the success of Joash against the Syrians, according to the prediction of the
prophet, 2 Kings 13:22.
2 Kings 13:1 In
the twenty-third year of Joash[a] the son of
Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.
YLT
1In the twenty and third
year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, hath Jehoahaz son of Jehu reigned
over Israel, in Samaria -- seventeen years,
In the twenty and third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of
Judah,.... The same year he was so zealous and busy in repairing the
temple, 2 Kings 12:6,
Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; whereas Joash
began to reign in the seventh year of Jehu, and Jehu reigned but twenty eight
years, 2 Kings 10:36, and 2 Kings 12:1, this
could be but the twenty first of Joash; to reconcile which it must be observed,
that it was at the beginning of the seventh year of Jehu that Joash began to
reign, and at the beginning of the twenty third of Joash that Jehoahaz began to
reign, as the Jewish commentators observe:
and reigned seventeen years; the two last of which
were in common with his son, as Junius, see 2 Kings 13:10
2 Kings 13:2 2 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord,
and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He
did not depart from them.
YLT
2and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, and goeth after the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that
he caused Israel to sin -- he turned not aside from it,
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed
idolatry:
and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made
Israel to sin; worshipping the golden calves:
he departed not therefrom; from the worship of
them.
2 Kings 13:3 3 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused
against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria,
and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
YLT
3and the anger of Jehovah
burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of Hazael king of
Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael, all the days.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,.... They
doing as their kings did:
and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and
into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days; the word
"their" should not be supplied, since it was not true that Israel was
delivered into the hands of both those kings of Syria as long as they lived;
for they were delivered out of the hands of Benhadad, 2 Kings 13:25, but
the word "his" should be inserted for it as to be understood of the
days of Jehoahaz, see 2 Kings 13:22.
2 Kings 13:4 4 So Jehoahaz pleaded with
the Lord,
and the Lord
listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria
oppressed them.
YLT
4And Jehoahaz appeaseth the
face of Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkeneth unto him, for He hath seen the
oppression of Israel, for oppressed them hath the king of Aram, --
And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him,.... He did
not apply in his distress to the calves he worshipped, but to the Lord; who had
a regard to his prayer, not for his sake, or any righteousness of his, or even
his repentance and humiliation, which were only external; but for the sake of
Israel, and because they were oppressed, who were his people, and he their God,
though they had sadly departed from him:
for he saw the oppression of Israel; not only with his eye of
omniscience, but with an eye of mercy and compassion:
because the king of Syria oppressed them; by his
incursions upon them, and wars with them.
2 Kings 13:5 5 Then the Lord gave Israel a
deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the
children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.
YLT
5and Jehovah giveth to
Israel a saviour, and they go out from under the hand of Aram, and the sons of
Israel dwell in their tents as heretofore;
And the Lord gave Israel a saviour,.... Not an angel sent by
him, nor a captain raised up among them, nor the prophet Elisha, who predicted
their deliverance, nor Jehoahaz himself, but his son Joash, 2 Kings 13:25.
so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; were not in
subjection to them, nor harassed by them, nor in fear of them:
and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as before time; in peace and
safety.
2 Kings 13:6 6 Nevertheless they did not
depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but
walked in them; and the wooden image[b] also
remained in Samaria.
YLT
6only, they have not turned
aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, that he caused Israel to sin,
therein they walked, and also, the shrine hath remained in Samaria, --
Nevertheless, they departed not from the sins of the house of
Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked therein,.... Continued
to worship the calves still, which was an instance of great ingratitude; the
Syriac and Arabic versions read, "he departed not"; Jehoahaz the
king:
and there remained the grove in Samaria; which Ahab
made there, 1 Kings 16:33,
neither Jehu nor his son had it cut down, though Baal was destroyed.
2 Kings 13:7 7 For He left of the army of
Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for
the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
YLT
7for he left not to Jehoahaz
of the people except fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand
footmen, for the king of Aram hath destroyed them, and maketh them as dust for
threshing.
Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen,.... This is
to be connected with 2 Kings 13:4, the
verses 2 Kings 12:5, being
to be read in a parenthesis, as in our version, and to be understood of the
king of Syria, who left no more to the king of Israel, not of the people of the
land, but of his army, than fifty horsemen, all the rest being either taken and
carried captive by him, or slain:
and ten chariots; military chariots, with the men they
carried:
and ten thousand footmen; foot soldiers; to so
small a number was his army reduced through wars with the Syrians:
for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like
the dust by threshing: as corn or chaff may be reduced to dust by too much threshing;
or as mire and clay by treading on it.
2 Kings 13:8 8 Now the rest of the acts
of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
YLT
8And the rest of the matters
of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written on the
book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his
might,.... Which he exerted against the Syrians, being a man of
courage, though not successful, because the Lord was not with him, but against
him:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel? where their acts, and the events of their reigns, were recorded.
2 Kings 13:9 9 So Jehoahaz rested with
his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Joash his son reigned in his
place.
YLT
9And Jehoahaz lieth with his
fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and reign doth Joash his son in his
stead.
And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers,.... Died, as they did:
and they buried him in Samaria; where Omri, and all the
kings of Israel, that descended from him, were buried:
and Joash his son reigned in his stead; of whom a
short account is given in the following verses.
2 Kings 13:10 10 In the thirty-seventh year
of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash[c] the son of
Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
YLT
10In the thirty and seventh
year of Joash king of Judah reigned hath Jehoash son of Jehoahaz over Israel,
in Samaria -- sixteen years,
In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah, began
Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria,.... But
inasmuch as his father began to reign in the twenty third of Joash, and reigned
seventeen years, 2 Kings 13:1 this
king must begin to reign in the thirty ninth or fortieth of Joash; for the
reconciling of which it may be observed, that two of the years of his reign may
be supposed to be imperfect; or rather that his son reigned two or three years
in his lifetime, being raised up before his father's death to be a saviour of
Israel from the Syrians; and so his father lived to see his prayer answered, 2 Kings 13:4,
and reigned sixteen years.
2 Kings 13:11 11 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord.
He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
Israel sin, but walked in them.
YLT
11and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from all the sins of Jeroboam
son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin, therein he walked.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... As his
father did, and his character is described in the same words, see 2 Kings 13:2.
2 Kings 13:12 12 Now the rest of the acts
of Joash, all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah
king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel?
YLT
12And the rest of the matters
of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought with Amaziah
king of Judah, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings
of Israel?
And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did,.... Though
none of his acts as yet are recorded, but his sinful ones:
and his might; or valiant actions in war with the Syrians,
2 Kings 13:25,
and wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah; of which
there is an account in the following chapter:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel? in the history of the transactions of their reigns.
2 Kings 13:13 13 So Joash rested with his
fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with
the kings of Israel.
YLT
13And Joash lieth with his
fathers, and Jeroboam hath sat on his throne, and Joash is buried in Samaria,
with the kings of Israel.
And Joash slept with his fathers,.... Or died:
and Jeroboam sat upon his throne; who was his son; it is
not said that he began to sit on it, or to reign, nor to reign in his father's
stead; hence it is concluded, as by Kimchi and others, that his father set him
on his throne in his lifetime; and the Jewish chronologyF12Seder
Olam Rabba, c. 19. expressly asserts that he reigned with him one year:
and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; see 2 Kings 13:9, the
history of his life and actions does not cease here, but, after an account of
the sickness and death of Elisha, it is reassumed, which was necessary to
interpose to lead on to it.
2 Kings 13:14 14 Elisha had become sick
with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down
to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots
of Israel and their horsemen!”
YLT
14And Elisha hath been sick
with his sickness in which he dieth, and come down unto him doth Joash king of
Israel, and weepeth on his face, and saith, `My father, my father, the chariot
of Israel, and its horsemen.'
Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died,.... The
prophets do not live for ever; this sickness was unto death; Elisha died, and
was not translated as Elijah was:
and Joash the king came down unto him; from his
palace to the prophet's house, to visit him in his sickness; which was an
instance of great condescension and respect, and especially in a wicked prince
that could not be reformed by him:
and wept over his face; held his head over him,
and wept, perceiving he was near his end, and sensible that his death would be
a public loss; the nation having often reaped the benefit of his prayers,
though his counsel and advice were neglected and despised:
and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof; the same words Elisha said to Elijah, as he went up to heaven,
which very probably Joash had heard of; See Gill on 2 Kings 2:12, and
here, as there, the Targum is,"my master, my master, who was better to
Israel by his prayers than chariots and horsemen.'
2 Kings 13:15 15 And Elisha said to him,
“Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows.
YLT
15And Elisha saith to him,
`Take bow and arrows:' and he taketh unto him bow and arrows.
And Elisha said unto him, take bow and arrows,.... The usual
instruments of war in those days: and he took unto him bow and arrows; which
though they might not be had in the house of the prophet, he could have some
from his guards that attended him.
2 Kings 13:16 16 Then he said to the king
of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and
Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
YLT
16And he saith to the king of
Israel, `Place thy hand on the bow;' and he placeth his hand, and Elisha
putteth his hands on the hands of the king,
And he said unto the king of Israel, put thine hand upon the bow,
and he put his hand upon it,.... His left hand:
and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands; on both his
hands, which were put, the one on the bow, the other on the arrowF13See
Virgil. Aeneid. 11. ver. 831,862. ; hereby signifying, that though the king
would draw the bow in battle, the Lord, whom the prophet represented, would
give the success; and that it would be by his help, and through his blessing on
his arms, that he would obtain victory over his enemies.
2 Kings 13:17 17 And he said, “Open the
east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot.
And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the
arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till
you have destroyed them.”
YLT
17and saith, `Open the window
eastward;' and he openeth, and Elisha saith, `Shoot,' and he shooteth; and he
saith, `An arrow of salvation to Jehovah, and an arrow of salvation against
Aram, and thou hast smitten Aram, in Aphek, till consuming.'
And he said, open the window eastward,.... Syria
lying east of the land of Israel, as the Jewish commentators in general
observe, and for which they quote Isaiah 9:12, but it
lay northeast, or rather more to the north; wherefore this may respect the
eastward part of the land of Israel, which the Syrians had got possession of,
and should be recovered, as this sign showed, see 2 Kings 10:33,
and he opened it: then Elisha said, shoot, and he shot; the arrow,
out of the window, being opened:
and he said, the arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of
deliverance from Syria; meaning, that that arrow was a sign of the Lord's deliverance of
Israel from the Syrians, by whom they had been sadly oppressed, and reduced
very low:
for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou hast consumed
them; not the whole nation, but that army they should bring thither;
which was a city in the land of Israel, where the Syrians were routed in Ahab's
time; 100,000 were slain near it on one day, and 27,000 by the fall of the wall
of it, 1 Kings 20:26 hence
some read the words here, "as in Aphek."
2 Kings 13:18 18 Then he said, “Take the
arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the
ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.
YLT
18And he saith, `Take the
arrows,' and he taketh; and he saith to the king of Israel, `Smite to the
earth;' and he smiteth three times, and stayeth.
And he said, take the arrows, and he took them,.... The rest
of them:
and he said unto the king of Israel, smite upon the ground;
the floor of the room in which the prophet lay:
and he smote thrice, and stayed; made a stop, ceased
smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing
to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote
no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might
not understand.
2 Kings 13:19 19 And the man of God was
angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you
would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will
strike Syria only three times.”
YLT
19And the man of God is wroth
against him, and saith, `By smiting five or six times then thou hadst smitten
Aram till consuming; and now, three times thou dost smite Aram.'
And the man of God was wroth with him,.... Because
he ceased smiting, and smote no oftener; for it was revealed to the prophet, by
an impulse upon his mind, that by the number of times he smote on the ground,
it would be known how often he should get the victory over his enemies; but
this was to be left to the king's own will, how often he would smite, and
thereby the prophet would know also with what spirit he would pursue his
victories, and the advantages he would gain:
and said, thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then
hadst thou smitten Syria until thou hadst consumed it; as a nation,
as well as routed their several armies:
whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice; beat them
only three times in battle, according to the number of his smitings on the
ground.
2 Kings 13:20 20 Then Elisha died, and they
buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the
spring of the year.
YLT
20And Elisha dieth, and they
bury him, and troops of Moab come in to the land, at the coming in of the year,
And Elisha died, and they buried him,.... In
Samaria. Epiphanius saysF14De Vitis Prophet. c. 6. , in Sebastopolis
of Samaria, Samaria itself was called Sebaste in later times; though the Jews
sayF15Cippi Heb. p. 46. he was buried in Mount Carmel, in the cave
of Elijah; according to the Jewish chronologyF16Seder Olam Rabba, c.
19. , he died in the tenth year of Joash, and he prophesied more than sixty
years; sixty six, as Abarbinel, since he began to prophesy in the nineteenth
year of Jehoshaphat; and, according to ClemensF17Stromat. l. 1. p.
326. of Alexandria, when he was forty years of age; but it seems rather, as
Kimchi observes, that he died in the beginning of the reign of Joash, and even
before his father's death, when he was a partner with him in the throne, and
before any salvation or deliverance from the Syrians was wrought:
and the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of
the year; at the spring of the year, when there was fruit on the earth,
those troops of robbers came to plunder and spoil; several of the Jewish
writers observe, that in the word for "coming", ה
is instead of א, and so may be rendered "in that
year", in that selfsame year that Elisha died; and so read the Syriac,
Arabic, and the Vulgate Latin versions.
2 Kings 13:21 21 So it was, as they were
burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put
the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the
bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
YLT
21and it cometh to pass, they
are burying a man, and lo, they have seen the troop, and cast the man into the
grave of Elisha, and the man goeth and cometh against the bones of Elisha, and
liveth, and riseth on his feet.
And it came to pass, as they were burying a man,.... That is,
as they were going to bury him; for as yet they were not come to the place they
designed to bury him at, as appears by what follows:
that, behold, they spied a band of men; one of the
bands of the Moabites, which came to rob and plunder, and which was about the place
where they intended to bury the man; or they supposed would be there by that
time they got to it, or at least before they could bury him, and therefore
being frightened stopped:
and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; that being
nearest, they opened it, or rather rolled away the stone from it, and threw the
body in great haste:
and when the man was let down, and touched the bone's of Elisha; or "went
and touched"F18וילך ויגע "abit et tetigit", Pagninus, Montanus. ;
that is, as Kimchi interprets it, being cast in, he rolled till he came to the
body of the prophet, and touched it:
he revived, and stood upon his feet; which might serve to
confirm the faith of Joash in the predictions of the prophet concerning his
victories; is a proof of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal life, and
an emblem of our being quickened through the death of Christ. The Jews sayF19Pirke
Eliezer, c. 33. this man was Shallum the son of Tikvah, and husband of Huldah
the prophetess, and was a good man, much given to alms, for which he was
rewarded; and they further say, he went to his own house, and lived many years,
and begat children, and particularly Hananeel, mentioned in Jeremiah 32:7,
which is not likely; though others sayF20T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol, 47.
1. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 11. 2. he was a wicked man, Zedekiah the son of
Chenaanah, 1 Kings 22:24 and
therefore not suffered to continue in the prophet's grave; but the former is
more probable; and, according to JosephusF21Antiqu. l. 9. c. 8.
sect. 6. , it was the band of robbers that left this man, whom they had murdered,
in the grave of Elisha. This grave seems to have been in the field, where the
Jews of old, and in later times, buried, as in the field of Hebron, the
potter's field, &c. so the Greeks, as Pausanias relatesF23Corinthiac.
sive, l. 2. p. 97. , and the Romans alsoF24Vid. Kirchman. Funer.
Roman. l. 2. c. 22. , buried by the wayside.
2 Kings 13:22 22 And Hazael king of Syria
oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
YLT
22And Hazael king of Aram
hath oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz,
But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of
Jehoahaz. That he reigned alone, at least, before he took his son Joash to
reign with him.
2 Kings 13:23 23 But the Lord was gracious
to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them
from His presence.
YLT
23and Jehovah doth favour
them, and pity them, and turn unto them, for the sake of His covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and hath not been willing to destroy them, nor to
cast them from His presence as yet.
And the Lord was gracious to them,.... To Israel,
notwithstanding their apostasy from him, and the idolatry of the calves they
were guilty of:
and had compassion on them; being in oppression and
distress:
and had respect unto them; looked upon them with an
eye of pity and mercy:
because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; made so long
ago he still remembered:
and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence
as yet; or suffered them to be carried captive into another land, as he
afterwards did in the times of Hoshea.
2 Kings 13:24 24 Now Hazael king of Syria
died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place.
YLT
24And Hazael king of Aram
dieth, and reign doth Ben-Hadad his son in his stead,
So Hazael the king of Syria died, and Benhadad his son reigned in
his stead. This was Benhadad the third; the first of this name was of the
Damascene kings; but though the kingdom was now in another family, yet this
name, being respectable with the Syrians, was retained in it.
2 Kings 13:25 25 And Jehoash[d] the son of
Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities
which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times
Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.
YLT
25and Jehoash son of Jehoahaz
turneth and taketh the cities out of the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael that
he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father in war; three times hath
Joash smitten him, and he bringeth back the cities of Israel.
And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of
Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of
Jehoahaz his father by war,.... Which were in the countries of Gilead
and Bashan, and belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, 2 Kings 10:33,
three times did Joash beat him: in so many pitched
battles, but where is not said, no doubt one of them was in Aphek, at least, 2 Kings 13:17, and
perhaps the other two on the other side Jordan; this agrees with the three
times he smote the ground, significant thereof, 2 Kings 13:18.
and recovered the cities of Israel; those before mentioned;
otherwise, if those had not been recovered, not ten tribes, only seven and a
half, would have been carried captive by the king of Assyria; whereas JosephusF25Antiqu.
l. 9. c. 14. sect. 1. says expressly, the ten tribes were carried captive.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)