2 Kings 13

2 Kings 13:1-9

III. THE REIGN OF JEHOAHAZ IN THE NORTH 13:1-9

**TRANSLATION

(1) In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; and he reigned seventeen years. (2) And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin; he did not turn from it. (3) And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael all those days. (4) And Jehoahaz sought the face of the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Aram oppressed them. (5) And the LORD gave to Israel a deliverer, and they went out from under the hand of Aram, and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as fan former days. (6) But they did not turn from the sins of the house of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin, but walked therein; and also the Asherah remained In Samaria. (7) Neither did he leave to Jehoahaz any people except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry; for the king of Aram had destroyed them and had made them like the dust by threshing. (8) And the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all which he did, and his valor, are they not written In the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (9) And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they burled him In Samaria; and Jehoash his son reigned In his place.

COMMENTS**

In chapter 13 the account of the Northern Kingdom is taken up where it left off at the end of chapter 9 with the death of Jehu. Jehoahaz succeeded his father on the throne and ruled for seventeen years (2 Kings 13:1). Like all previous kings of Israel, Jehoahaz sinned by continuing to condone the calf worship at Dan and Bethel. Jehu had been chastised by God for failing to purge the land of this theological corruption (2 Kings 10:32-33), and Jehoahaz, because of his obstinacy in this respect, was punished even more severely (2 Kings 13:2). God delivered Israel into the hand of the ruthless Aramean Kings Hazael and Benhadad II all the days, i.e., all the days that God had appointed for the calamity[571] (2 Kings 13:3).

[571] The phrase all the days might be taken to mean all the days of Jehoahaz were it not for the fact that Hazael outlived Jehoahaz and therefore there would be no opportunity for Benhadad, Hazael’s son, to fight against him. Of course it is possible that Benhadad warred against Jehoahaz in the capacity of a general in the army of his father.

In the midst of this Aramean oppression, Jehoahaz repented and cried out to God for deliverance. It is true that Jehoahaz did not abandon the practice of the calf worship, perhaps because he did not suspect that this was the sin which had provoked the anger of the Lord. But he did repent; and God accepted that repentance as imperfect as it was. God delivered His people from the destruction which they otherwise might have experienced at the hands of the Aramean Kings (2 Kings 13:4). But that deliverance did not come during the reign of Jehoahaz. God raised up one who would deliver His people from their oppressors. The deliverer referred to in 2 Kings 13:5 may be Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, who began to extricate Israel from the grasp of the Arameans. But more likely the reference is to Jeroboam II who was able to restore all the borders of Israel. Following the deliverance from the Aramean hegemony, the people of God dwelt in their tents as in former days. The word tents is a mere idiomatic way of referring to their homes. The peaceful conditions which prevailed in former days, i.e., prior to the Aramean oppression, were restored (2 Kings 13:5).

Eleventh King of Israel JEHOAHAZ BEN JEHU 814-798 B.C. (Yabweb seized)

2 Kings 13:1-9

Synchronism Jehoahaz 1 = Jehoash 23 Contemporary Prophet Elisha

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn. Proverbs 29:2

After jumping ahead to the repentance of Jehoahaz and the subsequent deliverance which God granted to Israel, the author reverts to the theme of the failings of this king. Again he mentions that Jehoahaz walked in the sinful paths of the house of Jeroboam by which he refers to the calf worship which had persisted in the Northern Kingdom from the days of Jeroboam I. The author now adds that Jehoahaz did not remove the Asherahthe wooden image of the consort of Baalfrom Samaria. This Asherah (KJV, grove [572]) had been set up at Jezebel’s suggestion (1 Kings 16:33) by Ahab. It is surprising that Jehu did not remove this last vestige of the Ahab-Jezebel era during his long reign; but for some reason or other, it was spared and was still standing in the days of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:6). 2 Kings 13:7 amplifies the thought of the Aramean oppression alluded to already in 2 Kings 13:4. Hazael had such control over Israel that he was able to limit the standing army of the nation to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry men. Jehoahaz was, it would appear, a vassal subject of Hazael. This sad state of affairs had come about because the Arameans had inflicted heavy casualties upon the Israelite army. The phrase had made them like the dust by threshing (2 Kings 13:7) may be a figurative way of describing the utter destruction which Hazael had inflicted on the armies of Israel. The phrase may also be an allusion to the execution of prisoners by driving threshing implements over thema barbaric practice known to have been practiced by the Arameans (cf. Amos 1:3). Though humiliated and reduced to subjection by the Arameans, Jehoahaz had distinguished himself by personal courage in the course of the war (2 Kings 13:8). When he died, Jehoahaz was buried in Samaria where all the kings since the time of Omri were buried (2 Kings 13:9).

[572] The mistranslation grove originated with the Septuagint translators who uniformly rendered the Hebrew word by alsos.

2 Kings 13:1-25

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE KINGDOMS AT HIGH TIDE

2 Kings 13:10 to 2 Kings 15:7

Help came to Israel in the midst of the Aramean oppression from an unexpected quarter. In 802 B.C. the Assyrian king Adadnirari III attacked Damascus and inflicted serious casualties on Benhadad II. From that point on, Israel began to gradually recover her lost territories and emerge from the half century of humiliating submission to Damascus. The text under study in this chapter deals with (1) the period of recovery (2 Kings 13:10 to 2 Kings 14:22); and (2) the heyday period of both Israel and Judah (2 Kings 14:23 to 2 Kings 15:7).

REVIEW OF CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. How did each of the following figure in the events of this chapter?

1. Jehoash

2. Elisha

3. Azariah

4. Amaziah

5. Hazael

6. Jonah 3. Jeroboam

7. Benhadad

8. Jotham

B. What happened at each of the following locations?

1. Samaria

2. Joktheel

3. Lachish

4. Aphek

5. Edom

6. Elath

7. Selah

8. Beth-shemesh

9. Gath-hepher

C. Of what importance were each of the following?

1. bow and arrows

2. ten thousand men

3. bones

4. four hundred cubits

5. three times

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why did king Joash refer to Elisha as the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof?

Explain what was meant by the two symbolic acts per formed in the death chamber of Elisha.

How did Amaziah manifest obedience to the Lord in the early part of his reign?

What war crime did Amaziah commit in Edom?

How does the career of Amaziah illustrate the folly of pride?

Explain the fable which Jehoash of Israel wrote in reply to a challenge from Amaziah.

Why does the author of Kings devote so little attention to the prosperous reigns of Jeroboam and Azariah (Uzziah)?

How did Azariah come to be a leper?

Drawings by Horace Knowles

2 Kings 13:10-13

I. THE PERIOD OF RECOVERY 13:10-14:22

The reigns of Jehoash in Israel (2 Kings 13:10-13) and Amaziah in Judah (2 Kings 14:1-22) may be regarded as transitional. During their reigns, Israel and Judah gradually began to recover from the almost half century of total domination by the Arameans. Sandwiched between the discussion to these two transitional kings is the last narrative pertaining to Elisha (2 Kings 13:14-25).

A. THE REIGN OF JEHOASH OF ISRAEL 13:10-13

**TRANSLATION

(10) In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria; and he reigned sixteen years. (11) And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did not torn from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin; he walked in it. (12) And the rest of the acts of Joash and all which he did, and his might with which he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the king of Israel? (13) And Joash slept with his father, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

COMMENTS**

Joash is the shortened form of Jehoash. According to 2 Kings 13:10 both the Northern and Southern kingdoms were ruled by monarchs who bore the name Joash. This coincidence in names lasted for the space of three yearsfrom the thirty-seventh to the fortieth and final year of the Southern Joash. The Northern Joash (Jehoash) ruled on after the death of his Southern namesake for thirteen years (2 Kings 13:10). A problem in the synchronisms between the two kingdoms occurs in 2 Kings 13:10 which has been painstakingly worked out by Edwin Thiele.[573]

[573] Thiele, MNHK, tables VI and VII. Thiele proposed to solve the discrepancy in the mathematics of the Jehoahaz-Joash synchronism by postulating a change in the method of tabulating regnal years in both kingdoms in the year 798 B.C. When this is taken into account, no discrepancy exists in the Biblical text.

Twelfth King of Israel JOASH (or JEHOASH) 798-782 B.C. (Yahweh-gifted)

2 Kings 13:10-25; 2 Kings 14:8-16

Synchronism Jehoash 1 = Joash 37 Contemporary Prophet Elisha

A man shall not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. Proverbs 12:3

Jehoash followed in the footsteps of his father by continuing to condone and participate in the calf worship inaugurated by Jeroboam (2 Kings 13:11). 2 Kings 13:12-13 are cast in the form of the concluding summary with which the author usually closes out his discussion of the individual kings. No further information about Jehoash is given here save that he fought with Amaziah king of Judahan episode which the author will discuss in detail in chapter 14and that he was buried in Samaria. Following this concluding summary the author does not follow his usual practice of moving on immediately to the next king, but on the contrary relates further information about the reign of Jehoash.

2 Kings 13:14-25

B. THE FINAL PREDICTION OF ELISHA 13:14-25

The prophetic ministry of Elisha which had spanned over half a century, came to a close in the early years of Jehoash of Israel. His death-bed prophecy concerned the recovery of Israelite territories from the hands of the Arameans. The author relates (1) how Elisha ordered the king to perform certain symbolic acts (2 Kings 13:14-19); (2) how the power of Elisha was manifested even after his death (2 Kings 13:20-23) and (3) how the final prophecy of Elisha was fulfilled (2 Kings 13:22-25).

1. THE PREDICTIVE SYMBOLIC ACTIONS (2 Kings 13:14-19)

**TRANSLATION

(14) Now Elisha became ill with a terminal illness, and Jehoash king of Israel went down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. (15) And Elisha said unto him, Take a bow and arrows. And he took unto him a bow and arrows. (16) And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand upon the bow; and he put his hand upon the bow; and Elisha put his hand upon the hand of the king. (17) And he said, Open the window toward the east; and it was opened. And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the deliverance of the LORD, even the arrow of the deliverance against Aram; for you shall smite Aram in Aphek until you have consumed them. (18) And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them, And he said to the king of Israel, Smite the ground. And he smote three times, and stopped. (19) And the man of God was wroth with him: Had you smitten five or six times then you would have smitten Aram until you consumed it; but now three times you shall smite Aram.

COMMENTS**

By the time Johoash ascended the throne of Israel the prophet Elisha must have been at least eighty years of age. The terminal illness referred to here must be the result of the natural deterioration of his body. The visit of a king to the bedside of a prophet must have been unprecedented. Such kindness, sympathy and consideration seem out of character for monarchs of that time. What a pathetic scene is described in 2 Kings 13:14the king leaning over the dying prophet and weeping. Realizing that the old man of God was departing the earth, the king bestowed upon him the familiar titles which were addressed to Elijah upon his exodus: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. The term father recognized Elisha as the spiritual leader and teacher of the nation; chariot depicted him as national defender. When Elijah left the earth he left a capable successor; but now with the death of Elisha, there was no one to take up the reins of spiritual leadership. The king realized that a great era of God’s dealings with man was coming to an end.

Moved by the compassion of the king, Elisha mustered his strength to give Jehoash assurance that God would still stand by His people. The old prophet instructed the king to take a bow and arrows from one of the soldiers who naturally would have accompanied the king on this visit (2 Kings 13:15). The prophet then instructed the king to place his hands on the bow as one would normally do when about to shoot that weapon. When the king assumed this position Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands, i.e., he arose from his bed and also took the position of an archer covering the king’s two hands with his own. The shooting of the arrow would then appear to be a joint act of the prophet and the king (2 Kings 13:16). The prophet then ordered one of the servants to open the shutter on the window facing the east. This was the direction of Gilead and Bashan where the Arameans had won such impressive victories. The king was then instructed to release the arrow, and as he did so Elisha explained the symbolic significance of what was taking place. The arrow symbolized deliverance from the cruel Aramean oppression. The abstract and symbolic is immediately followed by a concrete prediction: Israel would inflict an utterly crushing defeat upon the Aramean at Aphek in Gilead, a spot where once before Israel had defeated these same invaders (1 Kings 20:26-30). Aphek was on the direct route between Samaria and Damascus, and thus would be a likely spot for such a decisive battle (2 Kings 13:17). No record exists of the fulfillment of this prophecy, but this victory is doubtlessly alluded to in 2 Kings 13:25.

A second symbolic act was to follow on the first. The king was instructed to take in hand the arrows remaining in the quiver and to smite them upon the ground.[574] Jehoash smote the arrows against the floor three times and then paused thinking he had done enough. He did not enter into the spirit of the symbolic act, which represented the smiting and slaying of enemies. Perhaps he had not much faith in the virtue of the symbolism which he may have even thought to be childish (2 Kings 13:18). Elisha was angry at this evident lack of enthusiasm. If this king had been earnestly desirous of victory and had had faith in the symbolical action as divinely directed, he would have kept smiting until instructed to stop, or at any rate would have smitten the floor five or six times instead of three. From his prophetic perspective Elisha could see the great opportunity which was forfeited because of Jehoash’s lethargic response. Had the king entered into the spirit of this occasion, the complete extrication from the Aramean yoke might have been anticipated by fifteen or twenty years. As it was, it remained for Jeroboam, Jehoash’s son, to recover completely the territory lost to Aram. Jehoash would only enjoy partial success against the enemies. He would defeat them but thrice (2 Kings 13:19).

[574] Keil thinks the command is to shoot the arrows from the window into the ground beneath. But the most ancient explanation, that of the Septuagint, is to be preferred, viz., strike upon the ground.

2. THE POST-MORTEM POWER OF ELISHA (2 Kings 13:20-21)

**TRANSLATION

(20) And Elisha died, and they buried him. And bands of Moabites came into the land at the coming of the year. (21) And it came to pass as a man was being buried, that behold they saw a band, and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha; and when the man came and touched the bones of Elisha; he revived, and rose upon his feet.

COMMENTS**

Shortly after the visit of Jehoash, Elisha died of his ailment. Unlike his predecessor Elijah, he was buried near his home. Josephus (Ant., IX, 8.6) says his funeral was magnificent. Because of the weakness of Israel at this time, marauding bands of Moabites invaded Israel at the beginning of each year, i.e., in the spring of the year[575] (2 Kings 13:20). Some time after the death of Elisha, some Israelite men were carrying the corpse of some unidentified man out for burial when the funeral party spotted one of these bands of raiders. With no time for ceremony, the burial party hastily and perhaps somewhat roughly cast the corpse into the nearest sepulcher which just happened to be the one where lay the bones of Elisha. When that corpse touched the bones of Elisha, the dead man revived and stood up inside the sepulcher (2 Kings 13:21).

[575] The first month of the Hebrew year corresponds roughly to what in the modern calendar would be March/April. Amos 2:1 may allude to these Moabite raids.

3. THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY OF ELISHA

(2 Kings 13:22-25).

**TRANSLATION

(22) Now Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. (23) But the LORD was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and He turned unto them for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He did not desire to destroy them nor cast them away from His presence as yet. (24) And Hazael the king of Aram died; and Benhadad his son ruled in his place. (25) And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took the cities from the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in war; three times Jehoash smote him and recovered the cities of Israel.

COMMENTS**

Having parenthetically related the extraordinary miracle wrought through the instrumentality of Elisha’s corpse, the author returns to the subject of the Aramean oppression. The closing verses of chapter 13 are intended to demonstrate how the final predictions of Elisha were fulfilled. To reintroduce this subject, the author repeats what he has already stated in 2 Kings 13:3, viz., that Hazael oppressed the children of Israel throughout the days of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:22). But even in His wrath, the Lord was gracious to Israel and preserved His people from total destruction at the hands of Hazael. For the sake of his covenant with the grand patriarchs of Genesis, He kept the cause of Israel before His mind continually. That covenant had pledged the Lord to be the God of Israelto watch over and to protect themso long as they did not utterly cast off their allegiance to Him (cf. 2 Kings 17:7-18). There would be a time, so the author now hints, when God would be forced to cast off this people, but not as yet (2 Kings 13:23). That tragic blow would fall upon Israel within a century.

Hazael had given his eldest son the name of the great king from whom he had usurped the throne, and this son, Benhadad, succeeded his father on the throne in Damascus (2 Kings 13:24). For a time Benhadad was able to intensify the Aramean oppression of Israel by capturing certain unidentified cities from Jehoahaz.[576]

[576] Whether Benhadad captured these cities after he ascended the throne or as general of the armies of his father is difficult to determine. 2 Kings 13:22 suggests (but does not necessitate) that Hazael outlived Jehoahaz, in which case Benhadad could only have captured cities referred to in 2 Kings 13:25 in his capacity as general. However John C. Whitcomb in his chart on the Old Testament Kings and Prophets has Benhadad coming to the throne three years prior to the death of Jehoahaz.

Sometime subsequent to the predictions made by Elisha on his death-bed, these cities were retaken by Jehoash. Three times Jehoash defeated Benhadad, though he was not able to completely extricate the nation from the Aramean grip. Much, if not most, of the Trans Jordan territories remained firmly under the control of Benhadad until the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 13:25).