2 Kings 2:12

2:12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” ¹  Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.

2 Kings 5:13

5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, ²  if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, ³  you would have been willing to do it. ⁴  It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” ⁵ 

2 Kings 8:9

8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ⁶  He took along a gift, ⁷  as well as ⁸  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ⁹  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ¹⁰  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Kings 13:14

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. ¹¹  King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. ¹²  He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot ¹³  and horsemen of Israel!” ¹⁴ 

¹ sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.

² tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.

³ tn Heb “a great thing.”

⁴ tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”

⁵ tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).

⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

⁸ tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”

⁹ sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

¹⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

¹¹ tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”

¹² tn Heb “went down to him.”

¹³ tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”

¹⁴ sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.