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| 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, for seventeen years. |
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| 2 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not from them. |
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| 3 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled 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 those days. |
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| 4 (And Jehoahaz besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened to him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. |
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| 5 And Jehovah 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 before. |
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| 6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin: they walked therein; and there remained also the Asherah in Samaria.) |
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| 7 For he had left 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. |
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| 8 And 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? |
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| 9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joash his son reigned in his stead. |
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| 10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, for sixteen years. |
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| 11 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah; he departed not from any of the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: he walked therein. |
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| 12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and 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? |
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| 13 And Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat upon his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. |
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| 14 And Elisha fell sick of his sickness in which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof! |
Now Elisha – Elisha's remarkable history as a prophet and representative of God in Israel continued for nearly 65 years. R2354:2
And Joash – Otherwise called Jehoash. R2354:2
Was evidently very humble and had come to realize that Israel's trouble lay in neglecting Jehovah. R2354:3
Wept over his face – Sorrowful that he now would no longer have heavenly counsel; perhaps remorseful that he had not sooner appreciated the privileges which he did enjoy. R2354:3
Chariot ... horsemen – May signify that he regarded Elisha as a host in himself, as the chief defense of the nation. R2354:3
The same words Elisha used of Elijah's taking (2 Kings 2:12). Seems to intimate that that the Elisha c1ass belongs to the spiritually-begotten family. R558:5
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| 15 And Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows. And he took a bow and arrows. |
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| 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands, |
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| 17 and said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it2.And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, An arrow of Jehovah's deliverance, even an arrow of deliverance from the Syrians; and thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou hast consumed them2. |
Shalt smite the Syrians – Jehoash having come to a right attitude of mind, the Lord was pleased to release him and the kings of Israel from Syrian subjection. R2354:3
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| 18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them2.And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
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And he smote thrice – Whether through little faith or lack of patriotism, he struck the arrows in a feeble way, and three times only; not even asking how many times he should strike. R2354:3
And stayed – A lesson that whatever we do should be done with our might. We should keep on smiting until our enemy is vanquished. R2354:5
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| 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then wouldest thou have smitten the Syrians till thou hadst consumed them; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. |
Was wroth with him – Reasoning that if Jehoash had been full of zeal and faith for delivering Israel he would have been more energetic to strike the floor, representing Syria. R2354:5
Till thou hadst consumed – We have a spiritual conflict against a wily foe, and we must smite energetically until victory. R2354:5
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| 20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. |
The Moabites invaded – As a further chastisement, possibly because the faintheartedness of Jehoash became all the more manifest after Elisha's death, and because he and Israel did not serve the Lord with a whole heart. R2354:6
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| 21 And it came to pass as they were burying a man, that behold, they saw the band, and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and the man went down, and touched the bones of Elisha, and he revived, and stood upon his feet. |
He revived – God would remind Israel of his power and his word, by reminding them of Elisha and his words. R2354:6
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| 22 And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. |
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| 23 And Jehovah was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he would not destroy them, neither did he cast them from his presence up to that time. |
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| 24 And Hazael king of Syria died, and Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his stead. |
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| 25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father in the war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel. |
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