| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
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)