2 Kings 13:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Kings 13:14
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.
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sickness
חָלְי֔וֹchal.Yo
H2483
malady · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
died
יָמ֖וּתya.Mut
H4191
to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Joash
יוֹאָ֣שׁyo.'Ash
H3101
Joash · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶֽלֶךְMe.lekh-
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
down
וַיֵּ֨רֶדvai.Ye.red
H3381
to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wept
וַיֵּ֤בְךְּvai.Ye.vek
H1058
to weep · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
face
פָּנָיו֙pa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
said
וַיֹּאמַ֔רvai.yo.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
father
אָבִ֣י'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
father
אָבִ֔י'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
chariot
רֶ֥כֶבRe.khev
H7393
a vehicle · noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
horsemen
וּפָרָשָֽׁיוu.fa.ra.Shav
H6571
a steed (as stretched out to a vehicle · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took…
Philippians 2:26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
Genesis 48:1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ep…
2 Kings 20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set…
John 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away f…
Mark 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard hi…
2 Kings 6:21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:10-19
We have here Jehoash, or Joash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu, upon the throne of Israel. Probably the house of Jehu intended some respect to the house of David when they gave this heir-apparent to the crown the same name with him that was then king of Judah.
I. The general account here given of him and his reign is much the same with what we have already met with, and has little in it remarkable, Kg2 13:10-13. He was none of the worst, and yet, because he kept up that ancient and politic idolatry of the house of Jeroboam, it is said, He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. That one evil was enough to leave an indelible mark of infamy upon his name; for, how little ev…
Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died--Every man's death is occasioned by some disease, and so was Elisha's. But in intimating it, there seems a contrast tacitly made between him and his prophetic predecessor, who did not die.
Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face--He visited him where he was lying ill of this mortal sickness, and expressed deep sorrow, not from the personal respect he bore for the prophet, but for the incalculable loss his death would occasion to the kingdom.
my father, my father! &c.--(See on Kg2 2:12). These words seem to have been a complimentary phrase applied to one who was thought an eminent guardian and deliverer of…
Now Elisha was fallen sick - This is supposed to have taken place in the tenth year of Joash; and if so, Elisha must have prophesied about sixty-five years.
O my father, my father - "What shall I do now thou art dying? thou art the only defense of Israel." He accosts him with the same words which himself spoke to Elijah when he was translated; see Kg2 2:12 (note), and the note there.
John Gill on 2 Kings 13:14
The Church Fathers
"Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And Jehu, king of Israel, died, and Jehoahaz, his son, took his place for seventeen years and died. And his son Joash reigned; he reestablished the kingship which had been troubled by his father, and fought impiety. Elisha helped him with words and actions. And when the prophet was struck with a fatal disease, the king came to him and, seeing that his death was imminent, began to weep like a son deprived of his father and said, "My father, my father," and so on. This is also the word that Elisha said at the moment of Elijah's ascension to heaven. And the meaning of both words is one, and we have explained it above.Then he calls the prophet "chariots and horsemen of Israel," because the peace of the kingdom and the victories of Israel depended on his prayer and rule. The prophet, on his part, rewarded the love of his tears and "said to him, 'Take a bow and arrows.' Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands" and ordered him to open the window turned eastwards and to shoot the arrow. And he shot the arrow. And Elisha said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Indeed, the window was turned towards Aram. "You shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until you have made an end of them." This passage suggests two spiritual meanings. The first is that God has bound the victory of the children of Israel to that sign, which is not a new thing: it existed for many centuries, [as was demonstrated] a few centuries before when the Lord made the plagues of Egypt and the liberation of the people depend on the lifting of the rod of Moses, and the destruction of Amalek on the lifting of his hands during the prayer and the destruction of the city of Ai on the lifting of the javelin of Joshua. It was appropriate that that situation was carried out in that manner, so that the people might clearly recognize with certainty the aid that God had given them and, at the moment of receiving such grace, the memory of grace might penetrate into their hearts. But only Elisha clearly knew the mystery, whereas it was hidden to the king; otherwise, he would have not struck the ground three times but ten. And since he was hesitant and drew back, Elisha blamed him—not…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chariot — A vehicle generally used for warlike purposes. Sometimes, though but rarely, it is spoken of as used for peaceful purposes. The first mention of the chariot is when Joseph, as a mark of distinction,…
Elisha — God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his…
Pekah — Open-eyed, the son of Remaliah a captain in the army of Pekahiah, king of Israel, whom he slew, with the aid of a band of Gileadites, and succeeded (B.C. 758) on the throne (2 Kings 15:25). Seventeen…
Arrow · Shot by Joash as a sign against the Syrians — Shot by Joash as a sign against the Syrians
Death Of Saints, The · Exemplified: Elisha — Exemplified: Elisha
Elisha · General references — General references
Jehoash · .Succes — .Succes
Kings · Who reigned over Israel: Jehoash or Joash — Who reigned over Israel: Jehoash or Joash
Syria · Elisha predicted to Joash his three victories over — Elisha predicted to Joash his three victories over
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died,.... The prophets do not live for ever; this sickness was unto death; Elisha died, and was not translated as Elijah was:
and Joash the king came down unto him; from his palace to the prophet's house, to visit him in his sickness; which was an instance of great condescension and respect, and especially in a wicked prince that could not be reformed by him:
and wept over his face; held his head over him, and wept, perceiving he was near his end, and sensible that his death would be a public loss; the nation having often reaped the benefit of his prayers, though his counsel and advice were neglected and despised:
and said, O my father…
Illness and Death of the Prophet Elisha. - Kg2 13:14. When Elisha was taken ill with the sickness of which he was to die, king Joash visited him and wept over his face, i.e., bending over the sick man as he lay, and exclaimed, "My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and horsemen thereof!" just as Elisha had mourned over the departure of Elijah (Kg2 2:12). This lamentation of the king at the approaching death of the prophet shows that Joash knew how to value his labours. And on account of this faith which was manifested in his recognition of the prophet's worth, the Lord gave the king another gracious assurance through the dying Elisha, which was confirmed by means of a symbolical action…
Jehoash wept over Elisha, showing that a faint glow of spiritual consciousness still existed in him. • the chariots and charioteers of Israel: Jehoash’s tribute to Elisha is reminiscent of Elisha’s words at Elijah’s departure (2:12).
Rashi on 2 Kings 13:13
And Yorovom sat on his throne. He was his [Yoash’s] son. There is reason to wonder why these two verses were written here, for [Scripture] continues and tells about events of Yoash, and then repeats, “The rest of Yoash’s deeds, etc.,3Below 14:15. and Yehoash slept with his forefathers, etc.,”4Ibid. v. 16. I therefore say that they [i.e., these two verses] were written [here] for the sole purpose of causing a break, so as not to juxtapose Elisha’s death with a verse [dealing] with idolatry,5Alternatively, the verses are inserted here to indicate that Yorovom was placed on the throne by his father during his lifetime, and he ruled for two years.—Radak by saying, “He did what was evil, etc.,6v.…
