Глава 13

1–25. Reign of Jehoahaz (1–9) and Joash (10–25) of Israel. 2 Kings 13:1. In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years, 2 Kings 13:2. and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and did not depart from them. 2 Kings 13:3. And the anger of the Lord 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 the days. 2 Kings 13:4. And Jehoahaz prayed before the face of the Lord, and the Lord heard him, because he saw the oppression of the Israelites, as the king of Syria oppressed them. 2 Kings 13:5. And the Lord gave the Israelites a deliverer, and they came out from under the hand of the Syrians, and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as the day before and the day before. 2 Kings 13:6. However, they did not retreat from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin; they walked in them, and the oak grove stood in Samaria. 2 Kings 13:7. Jehoahaz had only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot troops left, because the king of Syria had destroyed them and turned them into dust to be trampled upon. 2 Kings 13:8. The rest of Jehoahaz and all that he did and his courageous deeds is written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 2 Kings 13:9. And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Joash his son reigned in his stead. The struggle with Syria, begun by the dynasty of Omri (Ahab, (1 Kings 20:1) and (1 Kings 22:1) and Joram (2 Kings 8:28–29,9:14–15)), continued during the dynasty of Jehu: both under Jehu himself (2 Kings 10:32–33) and under his son Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:3,22), and all this time unsuccessfully for the kingdom of Israel; It was only for the sake of Jehoahaz’s repentant prayer that Jehovah subsequently gave the Israelites a deliverer (moshia, v. 5) from the same dynasty of Jehu - in the person of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:26–27): the time of this king was a period of prosperous and peaceful state of the kingdom of Israel. But the kingdom of Israel could not have complete prosperity, since all its kings adhered to the ungodly cult of calves, and from time to time paganism appeared here; despite the reform of Jehu (2 Kings 10:26), traces of paganism remained in Samaria, for example, the oak grove of Asherah Asherah planted here by Ahab (v. 6, cf. 1 Kings 16:32). This more and more led the power of the kingdom of Israel to decline (v. 7), under the incessant blows of Hazael of Syria (v. 22). Determination of the years of Jehoahaz's reign in v. 1: reigned in the 23rd year of Joash of Judah and reigned for 17 years (hence, until the 40th year of Joash of Judah), does not agree with the date of Art. 10, according to which already in the 37th year of Joash of Judah, the same name Joash, the son of Johaz, reigned in Israel (hence, Joahaz could reign only 14 years); Apparently, of the two numbers 23 and 37, the first is erroneous and perhaps should be corrected to 21 (see K. Bahr. Die Bucher der Konige, s. 358). 2 Kings 13:10. In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Joash the son of Jehoahaz reigned over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years, 2 Kings 13:11. and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; kept up with all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, but walked in them. 2 Kings 13:12. The rest of Joash and all that he did and his courageous deeds, how he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, is written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 2 Kings 13:13. And Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Here they are combined into one: a) the usual introduction (verses 10-11) and b) the conclusion (verses 12-13), which should have been at the end of the chapter (for verse 25). The war between Joash of Israel and Amaziah of Judah is told. 2 Kings 13:14. Elisha fell ill with an illness from which he later died. And Joash the king of Israel came to him and wept over him, and said: My father! my father! the chariot of Israel and his cavalry! 2 Kings 13:15. And Elisha said to him, Take the bow and arrows. And he took a bow and arrows. 2 Kings 13:16. And he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he laid down his hand. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands, 2 Kings 13:17. and said: Open the window to the east. And he opened it. And Elisha said, Shoot. And he fired. And he said: This arrow of deliverance is from the Lord and the arrow of deliverance is against Syria, and you will completely defeat the Syrians in Aphek. 2 Kings 13:18. And [Elisha] said, Take the arrows. And he took it. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite the land. And he struck three times and stopped. 2 Kings 13:19. And the man of God was angry with him and said: You would have to strike five or six times, then you would have beaten the Syrians completely, but now you will only defeat the Syrians three times. 2 Kings 13:20. And Elisha died, and they buried him. And hordes of Moabites came into the land the next year. 2 Kings 13:21. And it came to pass that when they were burying one man, when they saw this horde, those who were burying them threw that man into the tomb of Elisha; and when he fell, he touched the bones of Elisha, and came to life, and rose to his feet. Under Joash of Israel, the great prophet of God Elisha died. There are two stories here: about the death of the prophet and his prediction before his death of the victory of Joash over the Syrians (verses 14-19) and about the posthumous miracle of the prophet Elisha - the resurrection of the dead from touching the relics of the prophet (verses 20-21). The appeal of Joash to Elisha (v. 14) is identical in letter and meaning with the appeal of the prophet Elisha himself to the prophet Elijah during his ascension (2 Kings 2:12). To the question: “Why did the prophet announce a future victory with a bow and arrow?” (v. 15), blessed. Theodoret (question 42; answers: “They did not believe words so much as they believed predictions through deeds”); in this case, the symbolic action directly expressed the reality of war and victory it signified. The position of Elisha's hands on the king's hands (v. 16) could indicate the prayerful assistance of the prophet, therefore, of Jehovah to the king of Israel in the upcoming struggle with the Syrians; the direction of the shot to the east (v. 17) referred to the Syrians who occupied the eastern Jordanian cities and regions of the kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 10:33). For the position of Afek, see comments on (1 Kings 20:26); the mention of Aphek here was all the more appropriate because it recalled Ahab’s victory over the Syrians at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26–29). The further symbolic action commanded to the king by the prophet is immediately explained (vv. 18–19); instead of “got angry” (Heb. iktsos, v. 19), LXX: ἐλυπὶθη, slav. "insult". The prophet Elisha died at a very old age, ca. 100 years: he entered the prophetic ministry under Ahab (1 Kings 19:19) - about 900 BC, and died under Joash, in the thirties of the 9th century. (c. 835). By blessing Jerome (Epit Pauiae), the grave of the prophet was pointed out near Samaria (cf. 2 Kings 5:9,6:32). Posthumous miracle of the prophet, according to blessed. Theodoret, had the following meaning: “The prophet, after death, resurrected the dead man brought to him, so that this miracle would testify to the grace he had received against the teacher.” In addition, the temporary purpose of the miracle could be to inspire Israel to fight its enemies, and the eternal and significant purpose was to testify to the truth of the general future resurrection of the dead (in particular, here one can see a justification for the church veneration of the relics of saints). 2 Kings 13:22. Hazael king of Syria oppressed the Israelites all the days of Jehoahaz. 2 Kings 13:23. But the Lord had mercy on them, and had mercy on them, and turned to them for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and did not want to destroy them, and did not reject them from His presence until now. 2 Kings 13:24. And Hazael king of Syria died, and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. 2 Kings 13:25. And Joash the son of Jehoahaz took back from the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken by war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. Joash defeated him three times and took back the cities of Israel. Despite the continuous pressure of the conquest of the Syrians, Jehovah, for the sake of the covenant with Israel, showed him mercy: under Benhadad III (Benhadad I - in (1 Kings 15:18); Benhadad II - (1 Kings 20:1), etc.), the son of Hazael, Joash managed to recapture from the Syrians some of those captured by them under Jehoahaz (according to the wedge-shaped inscriptions, the Syrian king of this time Marl, probably identical with Benhadad III of the Bible, was defeated by the Assyrian king Ramman-Birori III, and this may have facilitated the victory of Joash over the Syrians). But the complete, albeit short-term restoration of the ancient borders of the kingdom of Israel occurred only under the son of Joash, Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). You might be interested in: