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2 Kings 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the second part of the
Books of Kings The Book of Kings (, ''Sefer (Hebrew), Sēfer Malik, Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Is ...
in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
of the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the reigns of
Jehu Jehu (; , meaning "Jah, Yah is He"; ''Ya'úa'' 'ia-ú-a'' ) was the tenth king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), northern Kingdom of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab. He was the son of Jehoshaphat (father ...
's son, Jehoahaz, and Jehu's grandson, Jehoash, in the kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jehoash, the king of Judah, as well as the events around the death of Elisha. The narrative is a part of a major section 2 Kings 9:1–15:12 covering the period of Jehu's dynasty.


Text

This chapter was originally written in the
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...
and since the 16th century is divided into 25 verses.


Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
are of the
Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
tradition, which includes the
Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...
(895),
Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...
(10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). There is also a translation into
Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
known as the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include
Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...
(B; \mathfrakB; 4th century) and
Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...
(A; \mathfrakA; 5th century).


Analysis

This chapter contains an underlying typology of
the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
and Conquest, linking also to passages in the
Book of Judges The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the ...
with the recurring pattern: worship of idols provoking the jealousy and anger of
YHWH The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from right to left, a ...
, then Israel is delivered into the hands of foreign nations, until the people cry for help, so YHWH sends a savior to deliver them, returning them to true worship until the savior (or 'judge') dies and the cycle starts again (). This pattern is 'grounded in the foundational exodus pattern': YHWH responds to the cry of the people, remembers their covenant with him, raises Moses as a savior and delivers Israel from Egypt.


Jehoahaz, king of Israel (13:1–9)

Jehu's son Jehoahaz became the king of Israel during the long reign of Joash, the king of Judah. This is a period of a relatively long and internally stable dynasty, but starkly in contrast to problems from abroad, as
Aram-Damascus Aram-Damascus ( ) was an Arameans, Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant. Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later years b ...
became the superpower in the region, with bitter consequences for Israel (cf. ). The oppression of the Syrian kings, Hazael and his son Ben-hadad is seen as the result of God's anger on Israel's faithlessness, more specifically, 'the sins of Jeroboam' (cf. with ; ; , etc.). Like Israel at the time of the judges, Jehoahaz asked God for help and was provided a 'savior' (). However, Israel kept adhered to 'the sins of Jeroboam' and additionally worshipped Asherah in Samaria.


Verse 1

:''In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.'' *"In the 23rd year of Joash the son of Ahaziah": According to Thiele's
chronology Chronology (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , , ; and , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the deter ...
, following " non-accession year method", Jehoahaz the son of
Jehu Jehu (; , meaning "Jah, Yah is He"; ''Ya'úa'' 'ia-ú-a'' ) was the tenth king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), northern Kingdom of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab. He was the son of Jehoshaphat (father ...
became the king of Israel starting between September 814 BCE and April 813 BCE until his death between September 798 BCE and April 797 BCE. *" Joash": this name is spelled as "Jehoash" in .


Jehoash, king of Israel, and the death of Elisha (13:10-25)

The passage about Jehoahaz' son, Jehoash, the king of Israel (his name is spelt 'Joash' in , and 14:1) is unusually structured: * the introductory formula ( verse 10) * the rating as king () * the (early) concluding formula (). The following passages are still related to Jehoash with the concluding formula repeated in . This peculiarity could be a result of the insertion of two Elisha legends (verses 14–19 and 20–21) into the narrative context using verses 12–13 and 22–25. The first legend shows Elisha acting as military support against the Arameans (cf. 2 Kings 67). Jehoash held the prophet
Elisha Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, a ...
in honor, and wept by his bedside while he was dying, addressing him in the words Elisha himself had used when
Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...
was carried up into heaven (): "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof" (; 2 Kings 14), During the visit, Elisha had Jehoash perform certain prophetic tasks. The king did not know what he was doing, and was only given explanation after the deed. The arrow shot to the east is an indication of future victory against Aram, significantly shows ‘how far south the Arameans had advanced’ into the territory of Israel in the eastbank (cf. ) and the point from where they are to be pushed back. The use of obscure sign language in the prophecies is found in other books of prophets (e.g. ; ; Jeremiah 2728; Ezekiel 45; 12, amongst others). The prophecy was fulfilled with successive victories of Jehoash over the Syrians, enabling him to retake from them the towns which Hazael had captured from Israel."Jehoash", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref> The attack by a band of Moabites in the second short legend indicates that the northern kingdom was so severely weakened after Jehu's coup that not only the Arameans, but other neighboring tribes also took advantage of the situation. The hasty burial of a body in Elisha's grave (probably a burial cave) results in a
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
, which displays Elisha's miraculous death-defying powers even beyond his own death, just as during his lifetime (). Verses 22–25 clarify that the story fits Jehoash, not Jehoahaz, because Jehoahaz suffered lifelong pressure from Hazael and Ben-hadad (13:3), whereas Jehoash did not (cf. ; ).


Verse 10

:''In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.'' *"'In the 37th year of Joash king of Judah": according to Thiele's chronology, following the "non-accession year method", Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became the co-regent on the throne of Israel with his father in April 799 BCE then reign alone after his father's death starting between September 798 BCE and April 797 BCE until his death between September 782 BCE and April 781 BCE. He died soon after the battle against Amaziah the king of Judah and was buried in
Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
. *" Jehoash (the son of Jehoahaz)" ( ''Yəhō’āš''): is an alternate spelling of "Joash" ( ''Yō’āš''; ) in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25. The name means “
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
has given”.Joash, Jehoash; New Bible Dictionary. Douglas, J.D., ed. 1982 (second edition). Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL, USA. , p. 597-598


Archeology

The excavation at
Tell al-Rimah Tell al-Rimah (also Tell ar-Rimah) is an archaeological settlement mound, in Nineveh Province, Iraq, roughly west of Mosul and ancient Nineveh in the Sinjar region. It lies 15 kilometers south of the site of Tal Afar. It has been proposed that ...
yields a
stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
of
Adad-nirari III Adad-nīrārī III (also Adad-nārārī, meaning "Adad (the storm god) is my help") was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Family Adad-nīrārī was a son and successor of king Shamshi-Adad V, and was apparently quite young at the time of hi ...
which mentioned "Jehoash the Samarian" and contains the first cuneiform mention of
Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
by that name. The inscriptions of this "Tell al-Rimah Stele" may provide evidence of the existence of King Jehoash, attest to the weakening of Syrian kingdom (cf. ), and show the vassal status of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians. A postulated image of Jehoash is reconstructed from plaster remains recovered at Kuntillet Ajrud.Pirhiya Beck (1982) The Drawings from Horvat Teiman (Kuntillet 'Ajrud), Tel Aviv, 9:1, 3-68, DOI: 10.1179/033443582788440827Tallay Ornan (2016) Sketches and Final Works of Art: The Drawings and Wall Paintings of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud Revisited, Tel Aviv, 43:1, 3-26, DOI: 10.1080/03344355.2016.1161374 The ruins were from a temple built by the northern Israel kingdom when Jehoash of Israel gained control over the kingdom of Judah during the reign of Amaziah of Judah.Nir Hasson
A strange drawing found in Sinai could undermine our entire idea of Judaism
Is that a 3,000-year-old picture of god, his penis and his wife depicted by early Jews at Kuntillet Ajrud?. Haaretz.com. April 4, 2018


See also

*Related Bible parts: 2 Kings 9, Hosea 1


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
translations: *
Melachim II - II Kings - Chapter 13 (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org *
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
2 Kings chapter 13. Bible Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings 2 13 13 Second Book of Kings chapters">13 Aram-Damascus Elisha">Aram-Damascus">Second Book of Kings chapters">13 Aram-Damascus Elisha