English · KJV

2 Kings 13

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Jehoahaz Reigns Over Israel 1–9

1
In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. ​
2
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. ​
3
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, 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. ​
4
And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. ​
5
(And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. ​
6
Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) ​
7
Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. ​
8
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
9
And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

Jehoash Succeeds His Father 10–13

10
In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. ​
11
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
12
And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13
And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha's Dying Prophecy 14–19

14
Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. ​
15
And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16
And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. ​
17
And he said, Open the window eastward. 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 thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. ​
18
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. ​
19
And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. ​

Death and Posthumous Miracle of Elisha 20–21

20
And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. ​
21
And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. ​

God's Covenant Faithfulness and Deliverance 22–25

22
But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23
And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. ​
24
So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.
25
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. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Kings 13

Verse 1

Jehoahaz the son of Jehu — The second king of Jehu's line, who ruled seventeen years from Samaria. Jehu was told 'thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel' (2 Kgs 10:30), and 2 Kgs 15:12 records that it came to pass; Jehoahaz stands second in that line.

Verse 2

the sins of Jeroboam — The two golden calves set 'in Bethel, and the other… in Dan' (1 Kgs 12:28–29). 'Followed' is literally walked after them. Jehu, who 'destroyed Baal out of Israel', had still not departed from them (2 Kgs 10:28–29), and his son keeps the same road: 'he departed not therefrom'.

Verse 3

into the hand of Hazael — Elijah had been sent to anoint Hazael king over Syria (1 Kgs 19:15–17), and Elisha foretold the harm he would do (2 Kgs 8:12). The anger 'kindled' (charah, burned) and the delivery 'into the hand' follow Judg 2:14, where the KJV reads 'hot' and 'into the hands of spoilers'. The oppression lasted through Hazael and his son Benhadad.

Verse 4

the LORD hearkened unto him — The ground given is that 'he saw the oppression' (lachats), the word of Ex 3:9, 'I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them'. The hearing rests on the LORD's seeing of Israel's affliction; v.6 records that the sins of Jeroboam were still not left.

Verse 5

a saviour — Yasha, to deliver. The deliverer is not named here. Neh 9:27 describes the pattern: 'thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies'; 2 Kgs 14:27 says the LORD 'saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash'. Israel 'dwelt in their tents' again.

Verse 6

the grove — Asherah, the image of a goddess, which Deut 7:5 commands to cut down; 'Ahab made a grove' in Samaria (1 Kgs 16:33). Though Jehu had destroyed Baal (2 Kgs 10:28), the grove still stood, and the people 'walked therein' in the sins of Jeroboam.

Verse 7

fifty horsemen, and ten chariots — Of Israel's army only these and 'ten thousand footmen' remained. 'Dust by threshing' is the figure of Amos 1:3, 'they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron'. 2 Kgs 10:32 gives the start: 'the LORD began to cut Israel short'. Chariots and horsemen return in v.14.

Verse 10

Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz — One name in two spellings: this king is Jehoash here and Joash in v.12 and v.25, while the king of Judah named in the same verse is Joash. He reigned sixteen years, and his reign holds Elisha's death, which is recorded in vv.14–20.

Verse 14

the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof — Elisha's own cry as Elijah was taken up (2 Kgs 2:12), now said over him. Israel's army had been reduced to 'ten chariots' and fifty horsemen (v.7); the king names the prophet as what defends Israel in their place. He 'wept over his face'.

Verse 16

Put thine hand upon the bow — Elisha lays his hands on the king's hands, so the arrow of v.17 is the king's act under the prophet's. It is called 'the arrow of the LORD'S deliverance', not of the king's. Compare the bow whose hands 'were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob' (Gen 49:24).

Verse 17

the arrow of the LORD'S deliverance — Teshua, rescue, a noun of the family of the verb behind 'saviour' in v.5. Aphek is where Benhadad fought Israel and 'the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day' (1 Kgs 20:26, 29). 'Consumed' is the word Elisha uses again in v.19.

Verse 18

Smite upon the ground — The command gave no number. The king struck 'thrice, and stayed'. The verb is nakah, the same as 'thou shalt smite the Syrians' in v.17, so the number of blows stands for the number of victories (v.19).

Verse 19

five or six times — 'Then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it', the very outcome promised in v.17; 'whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.' The word to the king is limited by what he did with the arrows. V.25 records the three victories.

Verse 20

the bands of the Moabites — Gedud, a raiding company, the word used of the Syrian companies in 2 Kgs 5:2 and of Chaldean bands in 2 Kgs 24:2. They invade 'at the coming in of the year'. The burial in v.21 takes place with a raiding band in sight.

Verse 21

touched the bones of Elisha — Chayah, to live, the verb of 2 Kgs 8:5, where Elisha 'restored a dead body to life'. A bone or a grave made the toucher 'unclean seven days' (Num 19:16); here it gives life. The burial party saw 'a band of men', the word of v.20, and cast the body into the sepulchre.

Verse 23

because of his covenant — Israel is spared for 'his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', as at the beginning when 'God remembered his covenant' in Egypt (Ex 2:24). 'As yet' marks that the sparing was not final: later Israel was 'removed… out of his sight' (2 Kgs 17:18).

Verse 25

Three times did Joash beat him — The three victories are the 'thrice' of v.19, and they recover 'the cities of Israel' taken in the days of Jehoahaz. Benhadad is 'the son of Hazael' (v.24), a later king of that name than the Benhadad of 1 Kgs 20. The deliverance is real and limited.