2 Reis 13

BLIVRE · Chapter 13/25

1No ano vinte e três de Joás filho de Acazias, rei de Judá, começou a reinar Jeoacaz filho de Jeú sobre Israel em Samaria; e reinou dezessete anos.

2E fez o que era mau aos olhos do SENHOR, e seguiu os pecados de Jeroboão filho de Nebate, o que fez pecar a Israel; e não se separou deles.

3E acendeu-se o furor do SENHOR contra Israel, e entregou-os em mão de Hazael rei da Síria, e em mão de Ben-Hadade filho de Hazael, por longo tempo.

4Mas Jeoacaz orou à face do SENHOR, e o SENHOR o ouviu: porque olhou a aflição de Israel, pois o rei da Síria os afligia.

5(E deu o SENHOR salvador a Israel, e saíram de sob a mão dos sírios; e habitaram os filhos de Israel em suas moradas, como antes.

6Contudo isso não se apartaram dos pecados da casa de Jeroboão, o que fez pecar a Israel: neles andaram; e também o bosque permaneceu em Samaria.)

7Porque não lhe havia restado gente a Jeoacaz, a não ser cinquenta cavaleiros, e dez carros, e dez mil homens a pé; pois o rei da Síria os havia destruído, e os havia posto como pó para pisar.

8Os demais dos feitos de Jeoacaz, e tudo o que fez, e suas valentias, não estão escritos no livro das crônicas dos reis de Israel?

9E descansou Jeoacaz com seus pais, e sepultaram-no em Samaria: e reinou em seu lugar Joás seu filho.

10O ano trinta e sete de Joás rei de Judá, começou a reinar Joás filho de Jeoacaz sobre Israel em Samaria; e reinou dezesseis anos.

11E fez o que era mau aos olhos do SENHOR: não se separou de todos os pecados de Jeroboão filho de Nebate, o que fez pecar a Israel; neles andou.

12Os demais dos feitos de Joás, e todas as coisas que fez, e seu esforço com que guerreou contra Amasias rei de Judá, não estão escritos no livro das crônicas dos reis de Israel?

13E dormiu Joás com seus pais, e sentou-se Jeroboão sobre seu trono: e Joás foi sepultado em Samaria com os reis de Israel.

14Estava Eliseu enfermo daquela sua enfermidade de que morreu. E desceu a ele Joás rei de Israel, e chorando diante dele, disse: Meu pai, meu pai, carro de Israel e seus cavaleiros!

15E disse-lhe Eliseu: Toma um arco e umas flechas. Tomou ele então um arco e umas flechas.

16E disse Eliseu ao rei de Israel: Põe tua mão sobre o arco. E pôs ele sua mão sobre o arco. Então pôs Eliseu suas mãos sobre as mãos do rei,

17E disse: Abre a janela de até o oriente. E quando ele a abriu disse Eliseu: Atira. E atirando ele, disse Eliseu: Flecha de salvação do SENHOR, e flecha de salvação contra Síria: porque ferirás aos sírios em Afeque, até consumi-los.

18E voltou-lhe a dizer: Toma as flechas. E logo que o rei de Israel as tomou, disse-lhe: Fere a terra. E ele feriu três vezes, e cessou.

19Então o homem de Deus, irou-se com ele, lhe disse: A ferir cinco ou seis vezes, feririas a Síria, até não restar ninguém: porém agora três vezes ferirás a Síria.

20E morreu Eliseu, e sepultaram-no. Entrado o ano vieram tropas de moabitas à terra.

21E aconteceu que ao sepultar uns um homem, subitamente viram uma tropa, e lançaram ao homem no sepulcro de Eliseu: e quando o morto chegou a tocar os ossos de Eliseu, reviveu, e levantou-se sobre seus pés.

22Hazael, pois, rei da Síria, afligiu a Israel todo o tempo de Jeoacaz.

23Mas o SENHOR teve misericórdia deles, e compadeceu-se deles, e olhou-os, por amor de seu pacto com Abraão, Isaque e Jacó; e não quis destruí-los nem lançá-los de diante de si até agora.

24E morreu Hazael rei da Síria, e reinou em seu lugar Ben-Hadade seu filho.

25E voltou Joás filho de Jeoacaz, e tomou da mão de Ben-Hadade filho de Hazael, as cidades que ele havia tomado da mão de Jeoacaz seu pai em guerra. Três vezes o bateu Joás, e restituiu as cidades a Israel.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jehoahaz and then Jehoash reign in Israel under constant Syrian oppression. Elisha, now old and near death, gives Jehoash one last symbolic prophecy about limited victories over Syria. Even after his death, Elisha's bones raise a man to life when he accidentally touches them.

Explanation

This chapter shows Elisha's prophetic power extending literally beyond his own death, an extraordinary sign that reinforces his standing as one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. Elisha's rebuke of Jehoash for striking the ground with the arrows only three times (instead of more) teaches an important lesson about limited faith: God was willing to give more victories than the king had faith to ask for, a principle that applies far beyond this specific military context.

Fun facts

  • The act of 'striking the arrows on the ground' was a symbolic prophetic war rite, similar to other dramatized prophetic gestures seen throughout the books of Kings, physically representing future victories through a present action.
  • The resurrection through contact with Elisha's bones is the only recorded post-death miracle attributed to a prophet in the Old Testament, and Christian commentators cite it as a symbolic parallel to the power of resurrection associated with Jesus.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Reis 13:1Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, begins to reign over Israel (northern kingdom) in the twenty-third year of Joash of Judah (south), and reigns seventeen years.
  2. 2 Reis 13:2Jehoahaz also does what is evil, carrying on the sin of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam, the pattern repeated in nearly every king of the north.
  3. 2 Reis 13:3Even though Jehoahaz is described as a king who did what was evil, he still cries out to God at the height of the Syrian oppression and receives relief. It's a reminder that, in the book of Kings, divine help doesn't always depend solely on the religious merit of the king who prays.
  4. 2 Reis 13:4Jehoahaz pleads with the Lord because of the Syrian oppression over Israel (north), and the Lord hears the request, seeing the people's suffering.
  5. 2 Reis 13:5The Lord provides a deliverer, and Israel (north) manages to escape Syrian domination, going back to living normally as before.
  6. 2 Reis 13:6Even relieved of the Syrian oppression, the Israelites don't abandon the sin of the house of Jeroboam; the Asherah pole even remains standing in Samaria.
  7. 2 Reis 13:7Syria had reduced Jehoahaz's army to almost nothing: only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, crushed like dust.
  8. 2 Reis 13:8The closing formula points to the chronicles of the kings of Israel (northern kingdom) for the rest of Jehoahaz's deeds.
  9. 2 Reis 13:9Jehoahaz dies and is buried in Samaria; his son Jehoash takes the throne of Israel (north) in his place.
  10. 2 Reis 13:10Jehoash begins to reign over Israel (north) in the thirty-seventh year of Joash of Judah (south), and reigns sixteen years.
  11. 2 Reis 13:11Jehoash also does what is evil, never turning away from any of the sins of Jeroboam.
  12. 2 Reis 13:12The closing formula mentions Jehoash's war against Amaziah, king of Judah (south) — a conflict detailed in the next chapter.
  13. 2 Reis 13:13Jehoash dies and is buried in Samaria among the kings of Israel (north); Jeroboam, his son, takes the throne after him.
  14. 2 Reis 13:14The gesture of striking the arrows on the ground was a symbolic prophetic act: each strike represented a future victory over Syria. The king strikes only three times out of a lack of enthusiasm, and Elisha grows angry because it limits the scope of the victory he could have had.
  15. 2 Reis 13:15Now near the end of his life, Elisha tells King Jehoash to get a bow and arrows, preparing one last prophetic gesture.
  16. 2 Reis 13:16Elisha puts his own hands over the king's hands on the bow — a symbolic gesture of transferring blessing and power into the shot that follows.
  17. 2 Reis 13:17Elisha tells the king to open the window toward the east and shoot, declaring this arrow a sign of the Lord's victory over Syria at Aphek.
  18. 2 Reis 13:18Elisha tells the king to strike the arrows against the ground; he strikes only three times and stops, not knowing the number mattered.
  19. 2 Reis 13:19Elisha grows angry with the king for stopping too soon: if he had struck five or six times, he would have defeated Syria completely; now he will only win three times.
  20. 2 Reis 13:20Even after being buried, Elisha's body still carries a power associated with the prophet. A corpse hastily thrown into the same tomb, on touching his bones, comes back to life, a posthumous miracle that closes out the two prophets' story with one last spectacular sign.
  21. 2 Reis 13:21A group burying a man sees raiders approaching and hastily throws the body into Elisha's tomb; on touching the prophet's bones, the dead man comes back to life.
  22. 2 Reis 13:22Hazael, king of Syria, oppresses Israel (north) throughout the whole reign of Jehoash.
  23. 2 Reis 13:23Even so, the Lord has mercy on Israel because of the ancient covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, unwilling to destroy them or cast them off completely.
  24. 2 Reis 13:24Hazael, king of Syria, dies, and his son Ben-hadad takes the Syrian throne in his place.
  25. 2 Reis 13:25Jehoash recovers the cities lost to Syria, but only to a limited extent, echoing Elisha's warning about the arrows struck only three times on the ground. The victory comes, but incomplete, exactly as the prophet had warned.

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