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 4:29

4:29 Elisha 2  told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, 3  and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! 4  Place my staff on the child’s face.”

2 Kings 10:30

10:30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” 5 

2 Kings 13:14

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. 6  King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. 7  He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot 8  and horsemen of Israel!” 9 

1 sn 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.

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

3 tn Heb “take my staff in your hand.”

4 tn Heb “If you meet a man, do not greet him with a blessing; if a man greets you with a blessing, do not answer.”

5 tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes – according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab – sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.

sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.

6 tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”

7 tn Heb “went down to him.”

8 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”

9 sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.