2 Kings 13:4
in 2 Kings 13Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him because He saw the oppression that the king of Aram had inflicted on Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehoahaz besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened unto him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed them.
KJV
And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.
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This verse in 2 Kings 13
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the extremity of his distress, Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and was heard, not on his own account (Ps 66:18; 15:8), but that of the ancient covenant with the patriarchs (2Ki 13:23).
This site's exposition
Jehoahaz besought the Lord
on 2 Kings 13:4-6
Under Hazael's oppression Jehoahaz prays, and the LORD hears him and gives Israel a saviour, though the text withholds the man's name here and Gill and the bench identify him only later at verse 25 as Jehoahaz's own son Joash, the deliverance arriving after the father who prayed for it is dead. The parenthesis that closes the unit is the chapter's own commentary on the prayer: the sins of the house of Jeroboam remain, and the grove Ahab set up still stands in Samaria. Mercy answers the cry without waiting for the reform that never comes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Need will drive them to it. It was the ancient honour of Israel that they had God nigh unto them in all that which they called upon him for ( Deut. iv. Though he might justly have rejected the prayer as an abomination to him, yet the Lord hearkened unto Jehoahaz, and to his prayer for himself and for his people (
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And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he saw the oppression of Israel--that is, commiserated the fallen condition of His chosen people. The divine honor and the interests of true religion required that deliverance should be granted them to check the triumph of the idolatrous enemy and put an end to their blasphemous taunts that God had forsaken Israel (De 32:27;
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The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְחַ֥ל | vaychal | and he entreated | H2470 → | 76 times |
| יְהוֹאָחָ֖ז | yehoachaz | Jehoahaz | H3059 → | 20 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע | vaiyishma' | and he listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רָאָה֙ | raah | he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לַ֣חַץ | lachatz | [the] oppression of | H3906 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לָחַ֥ץ | lachatz | he oppressed | H3905 → | 19 times |
| אֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָֽם׃ | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
וַיְחַ֥לand he entreated
vaychalH2470 →76 times
יְהוֹאָחָ֖זJehoahaz
yehoachazH3059 →20 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤עand he listened
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רָאָה֙he saw
raahH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
לַ֣חַץ[the] oppression of
lachatzH3906 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לָחַ֥ץhe oppressed
lachatzH3905 →19 times
אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲרָֽם׃Aram
ʾaramH758 →143 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
Jeremiah 33:3Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Isaiah 48:6
You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Jeremiah 29:12
Through
Exodus 3:7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
it leads to
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- Psalms 106:44
Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress.
- Exodus 2:23–25
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Psalms 145:19
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.