2 Raja-raja 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 Raja-raja 3:26

3:26 When the king of Moab realized he was losing the battle, ²  he and 700 swordsmen tried to break through and attack ³  the king of Edom, but they failed.

2 Raja-raja 8:3

8:3 After seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ask the king to give her back her house and field. ⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 9:20

9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; ⁵  he drives recklessly.”

2 Raja-raja 9:30

9:30 Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, ⁶  fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window.

2 Raja-raja 10:10

10:10 Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” ⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 17:7

A Summary of Israel’s Sinful History

17:7 This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of ⁸  Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped ⁹  other gods;

2 Raja-raja 17:9

17:9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ¹⁰  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ¹¹ 

2 Raja-raja 17:41

17:41 These nations are worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons do just as their fathers have done, to this very day.

2 Raja-raja 18:24

18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. ¹² 

2 Raja-raja 19:9

19:9 The king ¹³  heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. ¹⁴  He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them:

2 Raja-raja 19:20

19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. ¹⁵ 

[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.

[3:26]  ² tn Heb “and the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him.”

[3:26]  ³ tn Heb “he took with him seven hundred men, who drew the sword, to break through against.”

[8:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”

[9:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”

[9:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “she fixed her eyes with antimony.” Antimony (פּוּךְ, pukh) was used as a cosmetic. The narrator portrays her as a prostitute (see Jer 4:30), a role she has played in the spiritual realm (see the note at v. 22).

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the Lord to the ground that which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab. The Lord has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.”

[17:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “and from under the hand of.” The words “freed them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “feared.”

[17:9]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayÿkhappÿ’u), translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root חָפַה (khafah), “to cover,” and translate “they did it in secret” (see BDB 341 s.v. חָפָא). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see HALOT 339 s.v. חפא). In this case Israel claimed that the Lord authorized their pagan practices.

[17:9]  ¹¹ sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.

[18:24]  ¹² tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”

[19:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”