He said, “Open the window eastward;” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. He said, “Yahweh’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you will strike the Syrians in Aphek, until you have consumed them.”
Parallel Translations
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He said, “Open the window eastward;” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he shot. He said, “Yahweh’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for you will strike the Syrians in Aphek, until you have consumed them.”
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And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
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And he said: 'Open the window eastward'; and he opened it. Then Elisha said: 'Shoot'; and he shot. And he said: 'The LORD'S arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory against Aram; for thou shalt smite the Arameans in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.'
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 13:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 20:26 At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
- 2 Kings 5:10-14 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.’ Aren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them, and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’ ” Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- John 11:39-41 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- Exodus 4:2 Yahweh said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”
- Exodus 4:17 You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”
- Judges 7:9-20 That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp. You will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.” Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp. The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude. When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” His fellow answered, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has delivered Midian into his hand, with all the army.” It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. Then he returned into the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for Yahweh has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!” He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all them trumpets and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers. He said to them, “Watch me, and do likewise. Behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon!’ ” So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch. Then they blew the trumpets and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they shouted, “The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon!”
- 1 Samuel 4:1 The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
- 2 Samuel 5:24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then stir yourself up; for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”
- John 2:5-8 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, toward Syria: so that he did not…
That is, toward Syria: so that he did not only prophesy with words, but also confirmed him by these signs that he should have the victory.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 13:17 And he said, Open the window eastward.…
2Ki 13:17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened [it]. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed [them].
Ver. 17. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot.] The old Romans were wont to denounce war against their enemies by shooting an arrow or dart into their country, {a} Alexander the Great did the like when he first set foot in Persia, as Justin reporteth. {b}
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Till they have consumed them.] Usque ad consumere, vel usque ad consummare.
{a} Serv. in Virg.
{b} Hist., lib. ii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Eastward; either towards Syria, which lay north-eastward from the…
Eastward; either towards Syria, which lay north-eastward from the land of Israel; or towards the Israelites’ land beyond Jordan, which lay eastward from Canaan, and which was now possessed by the Syrians. Either way this arrow is shot against the Syrians, as a token what God intended to do against them.
In Aphek; not in the city, but in the territory of it, where it seems there was a great battle to be fought between the Israelites and Syrians. Of Aphek, see 1Sa 4:1; 29:1; 1Ki 20:30, though it is possible there might be several cities of that name. Or, as in Aphek, i.e. thou shalt smite them as they were smitten in the city and territory of Aphek, i.e. utterly destroy them; see 1Ki 20:26,29,30; the particle as being oft understood, as hath been formerly and frequently proved.
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Till thou have consumed them, i.e. the Syrians; not all that people, but their armies, or at least that which was to be at Aphek, where a dreadful battle was to be fought. Or if this be meant of all the Syrian armies, this is to be understood conditionally, if he did not hinder it by his unbelief or neglect, signified in the following verses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the man of God was wroth with him,....…
And the man of God was wroth with him,.... Because he ceased smiting, and smote no oftener; for it was revealed to the prophet, by an impulse upon his mind, that by the number of times he smote on the ground, it would be known how often he should get the victory over his enemies; but this was to be left to the king's own will, how often he would smite, and thereby the prophet would know also with what spirit he would pursue his victories, and the advantages he would gain:
and said, thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria until thou hadst consumed it; as a nation, as well as routed their several armies:
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whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice; beat them only three times in battle, according to the number of his smitings on the ground.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Eastward - Toward Syria, which lay northeastward, from the…
Eastward - Toward Syria, which lay northeastward, from the land of Israel: this arrow is shot against the Syrians, as a token what God intended to do against them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. Open the window eastward] This was towards…
Verse 17. Open the window eastward] This was towards the country beyond Jordan, which Hazael had taken from the Israelites.
The arrow of - deliverance from Syria] That is, As surely as that arrow is shot towards the lands conquered from Israel by the Syrians, so surely shall those lands be reconquered and restored to Israel.
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It was an ancient custom to shoot an arrow or cast a spear into the country which an army intended to invade. Justin says that, as soon as Alexander the Great had arrived on the coasts of Iona, he threw a dart into the country of the Persians. "Cum delati in continentem essent, primus Alexander jaculum velut in hostilem terram jacit." - Just. lib. ii.
The dart, spear, or arrow thrown, was an emblem of the commencement of hostilities. Virgil (AEn. lib. ix., ver. 51) represents Turnus as giving the signal of attack by throwing a spear: -
Ecquis erit mecum, O Juvenes, qui primus in hostem?
En, ait: et jaculum intorquens emittit in auras,
Principium pugnae; et campo sese arduus infert.
"Who, first," he cried, "with me the foe will dare?"
Then hurled a dart, the signal of the war.
PITT.
Servius, in his note upon this place, shows that it was a custom to proclaim war in this stay: the pater patratus, or chief of the Feciales, a sort of heralds, went to the confines of the enemy's country, and, after some solemnities, said with a loud voice, I wage war with you, for such and such reasons; and then threw in a spear. It was then the business of the parties thus defied or warned to take the subject into consideration; and if they did not, within thirty days, come to some accommodation, the war was begun.
Thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek] This was a city of Syria, and probably the place of the first battle; and there, it appears, they had a total overthrow. They were, in the language of the text, consumed or exterminated.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Eastward - Syria of Damascus lay partly east, but…
Eastward - Syria of Damascus lay partly east, but still more north, of the holy land. The arrow was to be shot, eastward, not so much against Syria itself as against the scene of the recent Syrian successes, Gilead 2Ki 10:33, which was also to be the scene of Joash’s victories over them. Aphek is almost due east from Shunem, where it is not unlikely that Elisha now was.
The arrow ... - literally, “An arrow of deliverance from the Lord, and an arrow of deliverance against Syria; and thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, even to consuming.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain East, looking towards Galgaad, (Hadock) which the Syrians occupied.…
East, looking towards Galgaad, (Hadock) which the Syrians occupied. (Menochius) --- These actions were all significative and prophetical. The throwing of a dart was formerly the mode of declaring war. (Virgil, Æneid ix.) Justin (ii.) says, "Alexander first threw a javelin, as against a hostile country." Thus also the ancients took possession. (Varro) (V. Max. iii., &c.) The people of Andros and Chalicis, sent each a deputy to seize Acanthos, when it had been abandoned by its inhabitants. The man from Andros, perceiving the other before him, threw his dart at the gate, and it was decided that he had thus lawfully obtained possession. (Plutarch, q. Græc.; Selden, Mare. Claus. iv.) --- The action of Joas may be considered in both lights. --- Them. We do not read the particulars of this battle: but it must have been very bloody. One of the three victories (ver. 25.) of Joas was probably obtained at Aphec, (Calmet) a place memorable for the victory of Achab, over the same Syrians, 3 Kings xx. 26. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Open the window eastward — Israel’s relation to…
17. Open the window eastward — Israel’s relation to Syria was now a subject of the greatest concern to both king and prophet, and therefore uppermost in their minds.
The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance — That is, this arrow, shot towards the enemy’s country, signifies the deliverance which the Lord will soon grant Israel from the Syrian yoke. The casting of a spear or shooting of an arrow into an enemy’s country was a common signal for the beginning of hostilities. Thus Alexander the Great is said to have hurled a dart into his enemy’s land when he came to the borders of the Persian territory.
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Thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek — To the symbol he adds a verbal prophecy. At Aphek the Syrians had previously suffered defeat. 1Ki_20:26-30.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. And he said, Open the window] That there…
17. And he said, Open the window] That there might be a free space for the arrow to be shot through. The command must be directed to some attendant, as the king was holding the bow ready to shoot when he was bidden. The windows of this time were merely open gratings, not filled with anything transparent.
eastward] Because eastward from Samaria lay the land of Gilead, the country on which the Syrians were so constantly making their attacks, and which they now had to a great degree in their possession.
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The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance] R.V. The Lord’s arrow of victory. The R.V. represents more exactly the force of the Hebrew, which describes this arrow of victory as belonging to the Lord, i.e. as being specially directed by Him, and so assured of its result.
and the arrow of deliverance from Syria] R.V. even the arrow of victory over Syria. The sentence is in apposition with the previous clause. The former looks to the prompter of the battle, the latter clause to the result.
in Aphek] This is probably the place of that name which was on the east of the sea of Galilee. See note on 1Ki_20:26. The region east of the Jordan was the constant battle-ground between Israel and Syria. See above on 2Ki_10:32-33.
till thou have consumed them] This was the prophet’s thought and the purport of his message. The lack of zeal in Joash by the giving of only three strokes when Elisha hoped for five or six, diminished the completeness of the victory which God had promised.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) The window.—Or, lattice. Probably a lattice opening outwards.
(17) The window.—Or, lattice. Probably a lattice opening outwards.
Eastward.—In the direction of Gilead, which was occupied by the Syrians (2Ki_10:33).
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Shoot.—The old illustration of declaring war by shooting an arrow into the enemy’s country (Æn. ix. 57) is not without bearing on this case, though it obviously does not exhaust the meaning of the act.
(17) And he said—i.e., Elisha said.
The arrow of the Lord’s . . . Syria.—Literally, An arrow of victory for Jehovah, and an arrow of victory over Aram!
In Aphek.—Jos_13:4; 1Ki_20:26. The scene of former defeats was to become that of triumph.
Till thou have consumed them.—Literally, unto finishing. The annihilation of the opposing army at Aphek, not of the entire forces of Syria, is predicted. (See 2Ki_13:19.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And he said, Open the window. Though glass was…
And he said, Open the window. Though glass was unknown, or at any rate not applied to windows, yet the windows of sitting-rooms, and still more of bedrooms, had latticed shutters, which partially excluded the light and the air, and could be opened and closed at pleasure. (see the comment on 2Ki_1:2) The prophet ordered the shutter to be opened, that the king might shoot from the window. He addressed, not the king, whose hands were both engaged, but his own servant, or one of the royal attendants. Eastward. Not so much in the direction of Syria, which was north-east of the Israelite territory, as in the direction of Gilead and Bashan, which had been the scene of Hazael"s victories, (2Ki_10:33) and was now to be the scene of his reverses. Aphek lay almost duo east of Shunem, where it is probable that Elisha was. And he opened it; or, and one opened it, or they opened it. The Hebrew idiom allows of this indefinite use of the third person singular. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And hei.e. Elishasaid, The arrow of the Lord"s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria ; rather, an arrow. "This is," the prophet meant to say, "an arrow symbolical of deliverance about to come from Jehovah, of deliverance from the cruel oppression of the Syrians and not merely of deliverance, but of victory. For thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek. The Aphek intended is probably that which lay east of the Sea of Galilee, at the distance of about three miles, in lat. 32 49" nearly. This place was on the direct route between Samaria and Damascus, and had already been the scene of one great victory gained by Israel over Syria. (1Ki_20:26-30) The site is marked by the modern village of Fik. Till thou have consumed them; literally, till consuming i.e. , till the army which thou shalt defeat at that place is destroyed utterly. We have no account of the fulfillment of this prophecy, but may regard the defeat as one of those touched on in ver. 25.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Elisha continues to talk to Joash, king of Israel.
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Open the window eastward
"open the window that faces east" or "open that window towards the east"
so he opened it
Since this happens after Joash takes the bow and arrows, he may have had a servant open the window. AT: "So a servant opened it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
he shot
"Joash shot the arrow"
This is Yahweh's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram
The relationship between the arrow and victory can be stated explicitly. AT: "This arrow is a sign from Yahweh that he will give you victory over Aram" or "This arrow symbolizes the victory Yahweh will give you over Aram" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Aphek
This was a city in the land of Israel. (See: How to Translate Names)
But the man of God was angry with him
"But Elisha was angry with King Joash"
until you annihilated it
"until you completely destroyed it" or "until they were completely wiped out"
translationWords
Aram
consume
God
anger
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.