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| 1 In 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, |
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| 2 and 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, |
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| 3 and 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. |
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| 4 And 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, |
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| 5 and 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; |
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| 6 only, 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, |
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| 7 for 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. |
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| 8 And 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 |
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| 9 And Jehoahaz lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and reign doth Joash his son in his stead. |
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| 10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah reigned hath Jehoash son of Jehoahaz over Israel, in Samaria sixteen years, |
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| 11 and 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. |
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| 12 And 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 |
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| 13 And Joash lieth with his fathers, and Jeroboam hath sat on his throne, and Joash is buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel. |
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| 14 And 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 – 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 saith to him, 'Take bow and arrows:' and he taketh unto him bow and arrows. |
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| 16 And 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, |
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| 17 and 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.' |
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 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 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 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.' |
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 dieth, and they bury him, and troops of Moab come in to 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 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. |
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 Aram hath oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz, |
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| 23 and 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. |
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| 24 And Hazael king of Aram dieth, and reign doth Ben-Hadad his son in his stead, |
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| 25 and 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. |
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