2 Raja-raja 6:8

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade ¹  at such and such ²  a place.”

2 Raja-raja 14:11

14:11 But Amaziah would not heed the warning, ³  so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. ⁴  He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face ⁵  in Beth Shemesh of Judah.

¹ tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.

² sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.

³ tn Heb “did not listen.”

⁴ tn Heb “went up.”

⁵ tn Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.”