So Hazael the king of Syria died, and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. This was Benhadad the third; the first of this name was of the Damascene kings; but though the kingdom was now in another family, yet this name, being respectable with the Syrians, was retained in it. read more
REIGNS OF JEHOAHAZ , SON OF JEHU , AND JOASH , SON OF JEHOAHAZ , OVER ISRAEL . NOTICES OF ELISHA . WAR OF ISRAEL WITH SYRIA . read more
THE REIGN OF JOASH . The writer passes from the reign of Jehoahaz, Jehu's son, to that of Joash, Jehu's grandson, which he seems to have intended at first to dispatch in the short space of four verses ( 2 Kings 13:10-13 ). He afterwards, however, saw reason to add to his narrative, first, an account of an interview between Joash and Elisha, shortly Before the death of the latter ( 2 Kings 13:14-19 ); secondly, an account of a miracle wrought soon afterwards by means of Elisha's... read more
Joash's victories. We have in the closing verses a record of the fulfillment of the promise given through Elisha. Notice— I. THE GROUND OF THESE VICTORIES . While God had respect to the prayer of Jehoahaz, there was a deeper ground for his interposition to save Israel. He was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, we are told, because of his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. More specifically, we have as grounds: 1. Love to the... read more
So Hazael King of Syria died ; rather, and Hazael … died . His death is a new fact, not involved in anything that has been previously stated. It appears by 2 Kings 13:22 that he outlived Jehoahaz. And Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. Hazael, the usurper, gave his eldest son the name of the monarch whom he had murdered. It was an old royal name in Syria ( 1 Kings 15:18 ), having been borne by at least two of Hazael's predecessors. The meaning which has been assigned to it... read more
So Hazael ... died - literally, “And Hazael died,” a fact not mentioned before. read more
13:1-17:41 HISTORY TO THE FALL OF ISRAELAfter the anti-Baal revolution (13:1-14:22)Jehu’s son Jehoahaz followed the sins of earlier Israelite kings, and so did his people. The Syrian attacks foreseen by Elisha were so severe that, had God not mercifully intervened, the whole population would have been left homeless and the entire army destroyed (13:1-9).The next king, Jehoash, learnt from Elisha that he would win three battles against Syria. He would have won more, had he not lacked faith in... read more
Ben-hadad. Probably the third of that name. Compare 1 Kings 15:18 . read more
5. Jehoash’s evil reign in Israel 13:10-25Again two kings with the same name ruled over the Northern and Southern Kingdoms at the same time, though they ruled contemporaneously for only about two years (798-796 B.C.). Jehoash of Israel’s dates are 798-782 B.C., and Jehoash of Judah’s are 835-796 B.C. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 13:20-25
We must here attend, I. The sepulchre of Elisha: he died in a good old age, and they buried him; and what follows shows, 1. What power there was in his life to keep off judgments; for, as soon as he was dead, the bands of the Moabites invaded the land?not great armies to face them in the field, but roving skulking bands, that murdered and plundered by surprise. God has many ways to chastise a provoking people. The king was apprehensive of danger only from the Syrians, but, behold, the Moabites... read more