2 Kings 13:18
in 2 Kings 13Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Take the arrows; and he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed.
KJV
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
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This verse in 2 Kings 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSmite upon the ground - As he was ordered to take his arrows, the smiting on the ground must mean shooting arrows into it. He smote thrice, and stayed - The prophet knew that this shooting was emblematical: probably the king was not aware of what depended on the frequency of the action; and perhaps it was of the Lord that he smote only thrice, as he had determined to give Israel those three victories only over the Syrians.
This site's exposition
Take bow and arrows
on 2 Kings 13:15-19
The prophet's hands over the king's hands on the bow mark the arrow as the LORD's own act worked through a human hand, and the shot east through the open window is named outright, the arrow of the Lord's deliverance against Syria. Smiting the ground was the same kind of act, and Joash stops at three strokes where the man of God expected five or six, a king asked to keep asking and settling instead for a token obedience. Elisha's anger names the cost precisely: thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice, the measure of the asking returned as the measure of the victory.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And Jehu, king of Israel, died, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said, take the arrows, and he took them,.... The rest of them: and he said unto the king of Israel, smite upon the ground; the floor of the room in which the prophet lay: and he smote thrice, and stayed; made a stop, ceased smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might not understand.
The mentioning of this immediately upon the death of Elisha intimates that the removal of God's faithful prophets is a presage of judgments coming. When ambassadors are recalled heralds may be expected. What power there was in his dead body: it communicated life to another dead body,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The particular application of them to Elisha, who, by his counsels and prayer, had obtained many glorious victories for Israel, shows that the king possessed some measure of faith and trust, which, though weak, was accepted, and called forth the prophet's dying benediction.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
His laying his hands upon the king's hands was to represent the power imparted to the bow shot as coming from the Lord through the medium of the prophet. His shooting the first arrow eastward--to that part of his kingdom which the Syrians had taken and which was east of Samaria--was a declaration of war against them for the invasion.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2303: “Three Arrows—or Six?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IT is a very difficult task to show the meeting place of the purpose of God and the free agency of man. One thing is quite clear—we ought not to deny either of them, for they are both facts. It is a fact that God has purposed all things both great and little. Neither will anything happen but according to His eternal purpose and decree. It is also a sure and certain fact that, oftentimes, events hang upon the choice of men. Their will has a singular potency. In the case before us, the arrows are in the hands of the king of Israel and, according to whether he shall shoot once, twice, three times, or five or six times, so will the nation's history be affected. Now, how these two things can both be true, I cannot tell you. Neither, probably, after long debate, could the wisest men in Heaven tell you, not even with the assistance of cherubim and seraphim! If they could tell you, what would you know, and in what way would you be benefited if you could find out this secret? I believe that it would be as difficult to show that these two things do not agree, as it is to show how they can agree. They are two facts that run side by side, like parallel lines. Things are often left to the will of men, yet everything does come to pass, in the end, according to the will of God! Can you not believe them both? And is not the space between them a very convenient place to kneel in, adoring and worshipping Him whom you cannot understand? If you could understand your religion, it would be one that did not come from God—it would have been made by a man of limited capacity, like yourselves, who was, therefore, able to make what you can comprehend. But inasmuch as there are mysteries in your faith, to the top of which you cannot climb, be thankful that you need not climb them. But sometimes a practical question about these two points does arise.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2303: “Three Arrows—or Six?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IT is a very difficult task to show the meeting place of the purpose of God and the free agency of man. One thing is quite clear—we ought not to deny either of them, for they are both facts. It is a fact that God has purposed all things both great and little. Neither will anything happen but according to His eternal purpose and decree. It is also a sure and certain fact that, oftentimes, events hang upon the choice of men. Their will has a singular potency.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Smite upon the ground - Some prefer to render - “Shoot to the ground;” i. e. “Shoot arrows from the window into the ground outside, as if thou wert shooting against an enemy.”
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֛אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קַ֥ח | kach | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הַחִצִּ֖ים | hachitzim | the arrows | H2671 → | 53 times |
| וַיִּקָּ֑ח | vaiyikach | and he took [them] | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְמֶֽלֶךְ־ | lemelekh- | to [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַךְ־ | hakh- | strike | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אַ֔רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיַּ֥ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| שָֽׁלֹשׁ־ | shalosh- | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| פְּעָמִ֖ים | peamim | times | H6471 → | 118 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃ | vaiyaamod | and he stopped | H5975 → | 521 times |
וַיֹּ֛אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
קַ֥חtake
kachH3947 →966 times
הַחִצִּ֖יםthe arrows
hachitzimH2671 →53 times
וַיִּקָּ֑חand he took [them]
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לְמֶֽלֶךְ־to [the] king of
lemelekh-H4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַךְ־strike
hakh-H5221 →499 times
אַ֔רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
וַיַּ֥ךְand he struck
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
שָֽׁלֹשׁ־three
shalosh-H7969 →432 times
פְּעָמִ֖יםtimes
peamimH6471 →118 times
וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃and he stopped
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 17:11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:8
Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.
- James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
- Psalms 56:9
Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side.
- 1 Timothy 2:8
Through
2 Kings 4:6When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
it leads to
- Matthew 14:20
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
- 2 Kings 13:19
But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end…
- Luke 6:19
The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
- Matthew 15:37
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
- Matthew 14:20
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2303: “Three Arrows—or Six?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 13:14-19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.