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 13:14

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. ²  King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. ³  He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot ⁴  and horsemen of Israel!” ⁵ 

Psalms 46:9

46:9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth; ⁶ 

he shatters ⁷  the bow and breaks ⁸  the spear;

he burns ⁹  the shields with fire. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 39:9-10

39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling ¹¹  – the shields, ¹²  bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take ¹³  wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, ¹⁴  declares the sovereign Lord.

[2:12]  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.

[13:14]  ² tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”

[13:14]  ³ tn Heb “went down to him.”

[13:14]  ⁴ tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”

[13:14]  ⁵ sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.

[46:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the] one who causes wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” The participle continues the description begun in v. 8b and indicates that this is the Lord’s characteristic activity. Ironically, he brings peace to the earth by devastating the warlike, hostile nations (vv. 8, 9b).

[46:9]  ⁷ tn The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Ps 29:5). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3). The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ⁸ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries along the generalizing emphasis of the preceding imperfect.

[46:9]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form carries on and emphasizes the generalizing nature of the description.

[46:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “wagons he burns with fire.” Some read “chariots” here (cf. NASB), but the Hebrew word refers to wagons or carts, not chariots, elsewhere in the OT. In this context, where military weapons are mentioned, it is better to revocalize the form as עֲגִלוֹת (’agilot, “round shields”), a word which occurs only here in the OT, but is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic.

[39:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”

[39:9]  ¹² tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.

[39:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

[39:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”