2 Kings 13:16

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
king	לְמֶ֣לֶךְ le.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
Put	הַרְכֵּ֤ב har.Kev	H7392	to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
hand	יָֽדְךָ֙ ya.de.Kha	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
bow	הַקֶּ֔שֶׁת ha.Ke.shet	H7198	a bow · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
put	וַיַּרְכֵּ֖ב vai.yar.Kev	H7392	to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand	יָד֑וֹ ya.Do	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Elisha	אֱלִישָׁ֛ע 'e.li.Sha'	H477	Elisha · proper noun, a man's name
put	וַיָּ֧שֶׂם vai.Ya.sem	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hands	יָדָ֖יו ya.Dav	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
king’s	הַמֶּֽלֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hands	יְדֵ֥י ye.Dei	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct

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

Genesis 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the sheph…
2 Kings 4:34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he s…
Psalms 144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:15

Take bow and arrows--Hostilities were usually proclaimed by a herald, sometimes by a king or general making a public and formal discharge of an arrow into the enemy's country. Elisha directed Joash to do this, as a symbolical act, designed to intimate more fully and significantly the victories promised to the king of Israel over the Syrians. His laying his hands upon the king's hands was to represent the power imparted to the bow shot as coming from the Lord through the medium of the prophet. His shooting the first arrow eastward--to that part of his kingdom which the Syrians had taken and which was east of Samaria--was a declaration of war against them for the invasion. His shooting the oth…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:15

Take bow and arrows - The bow, the arrows, and the smiting on the ground, were all emblematical things, indicative of the deliverance of Israel from Syria.

John Gill on 2 Kings 13:16

And he said unto the king of Israel, put thine hand upon the bow, and he put his hand upon it,.... His left hand: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands; on both his hands, which were put, the one on the bow, the other on the arrow (m); hereby signifying, that though the king would draw the bow in battle, the Lord, whom the prophet represented, would give the success; and that it would be by his help, and through his blessing on his arms, that he would obtain victory over his enemies. (m) See Virgil. Aeneid. 11. ver. 831, 862.

Dictionary and topics

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
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).

2 Kings 13:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:10-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:15

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:15

John Gill on 2 Kings 13:16

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 13:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:10-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:15

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:15

John Gill on 2 Kings 13:16

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 13:14-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 13:15-17

Rashi on 2 Kings 13:13