2 Kings 2:12

2:12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!”¹ Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.

2 Kings 2:17

2:17 But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah.²

2 Kings 4:40

4:40 The stew was poured out³ for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it.

2 Kings 6:30

6:30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes.⁴

2 Kings 19:18

19:18 They have burned the gods of the nations,⁵ for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.⁶

¹sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.

²tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Heb “and they poured out [the stew].” The plural subject is probably indefinite.

⁴tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”

⁵tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

⁶tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”