2 Kings 13:16 - Exposition

And he said to the King of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow— literally, let thine hand ride upon the bow ; i.e. "Take it into active use—place thine hands as thou dost commonly for shooting— and he put his hand upon it —he did as Elisha commanded— and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. Elisha, it would seem, rose from his bed, and took the attitude of an archer, covering the king's two hands with his own hands, and making as if he too was pulling the bow, so that the shooting should be, or at least appear to be, the joint act of himself and the king. The intention was, no doubt, as Keil says, "to show that the power which was to be given to the bow-shot" was not the king's own power, but "came from the Lord through the mediation of his prophet."