2 Reis 13
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
2 Reis 13
NJB (MT versing) Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel The Reign of Jehoahaz of Israel King Jehoahaz of Israel The Reign of Jehoahaz in Israel (814-798) 13:1-9 13:1-7 13:1-9 13:1-7 13:1-2 13:3-7 13:8-9 13:8-9 13:8-9 Jehoash Reigns in Israel The Reign of Jehoash of Israel King Jehoash of Israel The Reign of Jehoash in Israel (798-713) 13:10-13 13:10-11 13:10-13 13:10-13 13:10-11 13:12-13 13:12-13 Death of Elisha Death of Elisha Death of Elisha The Death of Elisha The Death of Elisha 13:14-19 13:14-19 13:14-19 13:14 13:14-17 13:15-17 13:18-19 13:18-19 13:20-21 13:20-21 13:20-21 13:20-21 13:20-21 Israel Recaptures Cities from Syria War Between Israel and Syria Victory Over the Arameans 13:22-23 13:22-23 13:22-23 13:22-23 13:22-25 13:24-25 13:24-25 13:24-25 13:24-25 Etc.
2 Reis 13:1-9
13:1 "Jehoahaz. . .reigned seventeen years" See SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY. ▣ "He did evil in the sight of the Lord" See note at 2 Kings 12:2. SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE GOD ▣ "ths sins of Jeroboam" This was the first King of Israel who set up the golden calves at Dan and Bethel as rival temples to Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. Originally these rival temples were for the worship of YHWH but the "calves" lent imagery to Ba'al worship. 13:3 "the anger of the Lord" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE. ▣ "into the hand of" See SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND. ▣ "Ben-hadad" This would be the third Syrian king by this name. son of Tabrimmon in Asa, king of Judah's day ‒ 1 Kgs. 15:18,20; 2 Chr. 10:2,4 in Ahab, King of Israel's day ‒ 1 Kgs. 20; 2 Kgs. 6:24; 8:7,9 son of Hazael, King of Syria ‒ 2 Kgs. 13:3,24,25; Amos 1:4 At this period Assyria had other interests (i.e., Babylon to the southeast) than Syria/Canaan, so Syria reasserted its influence over Israel. But with the reign of Adad-nirari III, Assyria's attention returned to the west. 13:4-5 The ever available mercy of YHWH is amazing (cf. v. 23). The Israeli king who did evil in YHWH's evaluation, beseeched Him to deliver Israel from the prophesied hand of Hazael, and He did!! Again, the relationship between God and mankind involves both the character of God action of a repentant person See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT) and SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT. The continuing sins of Jehoahaz in v. 6 made YHWH's mercy fall short of its intended goal! Jehoahaz turned to YHWH but not from the golden calf worship sites! 13:5 NASB, NKJV, REB, JPSOA "a deliverer" NRSV, NJB, Peshitta "a savior" "a leader" "deliverance" The MT has a Hiphil ACTIVE PARTICIPLE (BDB 446, KB 448), which means "deliver." This terminology is similar to the book of Judges. In the OT "salvation" and "deliverance" are synonymous. SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (OT Term) ▣ "from under the hand" See note at v. 3. ▣ "in their tents" This is imagery from the wilderness wandering period when Israel lived in tents. It became an idiom for "go home." NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 301, suggests it was an idiom for release from military service. Most of Israel's army was volunteer. 13:6 "Nevertheless" What a sad verse in light of vv. 4-5. ▣ "the Asherah" This was the wooden symbol for the female fertility goddess of Canaan. It was either a live tree, symbol of the tree of life a carved stake, symbol of the tree of life King Ahab had built a special house for Ba'al in Samaria and placed in it a large piller and Asherah (cf. 1 Kgs. 16:31-33). It is surprising that Jehu's campaign to remove Ba'al worship from Israel did not include the burning of this idol (i.e., 2 Kgs. 10:26-28). Since one cannot burn a stone pillar, possibly v. 26 does refer to a burning of an Asherah pole, but one was remade to replace the burnt one. SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE 13:7 "he" The SINGULAR PRONOUN is undefined. It could refer to YHWH YHWH's designated deliverer (v. 5) Hazael, King of Syria even the Assyrian king, Adad-nirari III, who attacked Syria and thereby diverted Syria's military forces to the north Zakur of Hamath, another strong leader of a nation just north of Syria. Information about him is known from basalt stele, called "the stele of Zakur." All history is in YHWH's hands (i.e., Deut. 32:8). SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF ASSYRIA ▣ NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NJB, Peshitta "army" TEV, REB "armed forces" "a force" "a people" The MT has a MASCULINE SINGULAR NOUN (BDB 766 I) which means "people," but in some contexts, it can mean "army" (cf. Exod. 14:6; 1 Kgs. 16:15; 2 Kgs. 8:21). ▣ "threshing" This was an agricultural process to separate grain from its husk. It became an idiom for military victory (cf. Isa. 21:10; Jer. 50:11; Micah 4:13). 13:9 "slept with his fathers" This is an idiom for being buried in the family tomb. In the ANE "sleep" was a euphemism for "death" (cf. v. 13).
2 Reis 13:10-13
13:10 NASB, NKJV, NRSV, TEV, NJB, JPSOA, LXX, Peshitta "thirty-seventh year" "thirty-ninth year" The MT has "thirty-seven " (as does Josephus, Antiq. 9.8.6) and the UBS Text Project, p. 357, gives it an "A" rating (highly probable). The problem comes in Josephus (Antiq. 9.8.5) reading "in the twenty-first year of Joash" in v. 1. See Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, pp. 56-60.
2 Reis 13:14-19
13:14-19 This describes a prophetic event. Its symbolism is bow as an instrument of war striking the ground as imagery for military victory the lack of enthusiasm by Joash, the King of Israel, in striking the ground with the arrows only three times, limiting his victory See NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 242-243 and vol. 3, p. 946, #3, for arrow symbolism. 13:14 "Elisha became sick" Death is the normal and expected end to a human life. Life, health, and death are in the hand of YHWH, not fate, chance, or luck. Healing is possible but not promised. SPECIAL TOPIC: HEALING ▣ "My father, my father" See full note at 2 Kings 2:12. ▣ "the chariots of Israel and its horsemen" In 2 Kgs. 2:12 it seems to refer to the unseen military of YHWH (i.e., Lord of Hosts, cf. 2 Kgs. 6:17), but here it seems to refer to "the man of God," Elisha. ▣ Joash, King of Israel, came down to him and wept over him. Notice the king comes to Elisha, who is very old and bed ridden at this point. I think he wept, not for the prophet but for himself. His protector would be gone!
2 Reis 13:20-21
13:20-21 Elisha was buried in a cave or burial chamber. He was laid on a shelf and his body deteriorated there. Later, a marauding band of Moabites put one of their own dead people on this same shelf (i.e., over Elisha's decayed body) and the Moabite raider came back to life. This miracle was a way to magnify Elisha (i.e., Ecclesiasticus [also known as "Wisdom of Ben Sirach"] 48:13,14) was YHWH's gift of Elijah and Elisha to the northern kingdom as a way to encourage them to repent (as Johoahaz did, v. 4), and seek YHWH in faith and practice was like several of Elisha's miracles which had no stated or obvious purpose. If one asks the hermeneutical question, "why record this?" I wonder if the purpose is related to Elisha wanting a double portion of Elijah's spirit. There are seven recorded miracles of Elijah and fourteen for Elisha (i.e., rabbi's theory).
2 Reis 13:22-23
13:22-25 This is the historical account of the prophecy from vv. 15-19. 13:23 "the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT). ▣ "His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS. ▣ "until now" This is a textual marker of a later editor/scribe.
2 Reis 13:24-25
13:25 "the cities" This probably refers to the trans-Jordan area north of the Dead Sea.