Commentaria in IV Regum
Chapter 13. Synopsis of the Chapter
There reign in Israel in succession Joachaz, Joas and Jeroboam, v. 14; the dying Eliseus promises king Joas a threefold victory over the Syrians, and, v. 21, though dead, raises a dead man by the touch of his bones. Finally, v. 24, Hazael dies, and is succeeded by Benadad his son, whom Joas defeats in three battles according to the oracle of Eliseus.
1. In the three and twentieth year of Joas the son of Ochozias, king of Juda, Joachaz the son of Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria seventeen years. 2. And he did evil before the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, and he departed not from them. 3. And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benadad the son of Hazael, all days. 4. And Joachaz besought the face of the Lord, and the Lord heard him: for he saw the distress of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them: 5. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, and they were delivered out of the hand of the king of Syria, and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as yesterday and the day before. 6. But yet they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them: and there remained also a grove in Samaria. 7. And there were not left to Joachaz of the people, but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen: for the king of Syria had slain them, and had brought them low like dust in the threshing floor.
8. And the rest of the acts of Joachaz, and all that he did, and his valour, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 9. And Joachaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joas his son reigned in his stead. 10. In the thirty-seventh year of Joas king of Juda, Joas the son of Joachaz reigned over Israel in Samaria sixteen years, 11. And he did that which is evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them. 12. And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, and his valour, how he fought against Amasias king of Juda, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? 13. And Joas slept with his fathers: and Jeroboam sat upon his throne. And Joas was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 14. Now Eliseus was sick of the illness whereof he died: and Joas king of Israel went down to him, and wept before him, and said: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. 15. And Eliseus said to him: Bring a bow and arrows. And when he had brought him a bow and arrows, 16. He said to the king of Israel: Put thy hand upon the bow. And when he had put his hand, Eliseus put his hands over the king’s hands, 17. And said: Open the window to the east. And when he had opened it, Eliseus said: Shoot an arrow. And he shot. And Eliseus said: The arrow of the salvation of the Lord, and the arrow of the salvation against Syria: and thou shalt strike the Syrians in Aphec, till thou consume them. 18. And he said: Take arrows. And when he had taken them, he said to him: Strike with an arrow upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stood still. 19. And the man of God was angry with him, and said: If thou hadst struck five or six or seven times, thou hadst smitten Syria even to utter destruction: but now three times shalt thou smite it. 20. And Eliseus died, and they buried him. And the rovers from Moab came into the land the same year. 21. And some that were burying a man, saw the rovers, and cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. And when it had touched the bones of Eliseus, the man came to life, and stood upon his feet. 22. Now Hazael king of Syria afflicted Israel all the days of Joachaz, 23. And the Lord had mercy on them, and returned to them because of his covenant, which he had with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob: and he would not destroy them, nor utterly cast them away, unto this present time. 24. And Hazael king of Syria died, and Benadad his son reigned in his stead. 25. And Joas the son of Joachaz took the cities out of the hand of Benadad the son of Hazael, which he had taken out of the hand of Joachaz his father by the right of war: three times did Joas beat him, and restored the cities of Israel.
1. IN THE THREE AND TWENTIETH YEAR OF JOAS THE SON OF OCHOZIAS, KING OF JUDA, JOACHAZ THE SON OF JEHU REIGNED OVER ISRAEL.—In the time of Joas king of Juda, namely in the tenth year of his reign, Carthage, the rival of Rome, was founded by Dido, who sailed from Tyre to Africa in the reign of Pygmalion and founded it, as Josephus relates from the annals of the Tyrians in book 1 Against Apion; Tornielli, Gordon, Salianus and Scaliger follow him, although others would have it founded at another time. For on this matter the opinions of various writers differ. According to this opinion Carthage was founded one hundred and thirty years before Rome. Again, in the fourteenth year of Joas, Lycurgus gave laws to the Spartans, which the Gentiles extol, but they are far inferior to Christian laws; for they permit women to live luxuriously and to commit adultery, and boys and youths to steal, that they may become cunning, and that each may guard his own property more diligently. Wherefore Aristotle disapproves and blames them, Politics, book 2, ch. 9. In the same fourteenth year of Joas the Olympic contests began, and from them the Olympiads were named and reckoned, instituted or rather restored by Iphitus king of Elis, who was a contemporary of Lycurgus, as Salianus teaches from Plutarch in his Lycurgus, Aristotle and Pausanias. The names of the victors in the Olympic games, however, began to be recorded after 27 Olympiads, namely in the 28th Olympiad, in which Corebus is recorded as the first victor; wherefore the Olympiads are commonly numbered from this Olympiad, and the 28th is called the first, which according to Salianus’s reckoning falls in the first year of Joatham king of Juda, which was the year of the world 3278, 773 before Christ, although others assign these years differently; for nowhere is there greater diversity of opinions than in chronology.
5. AND THE LORD GAVE ISRAEL A SAVIOUR.—Who is this saviour? Some think he was the Angel, the president and guardian of Israel, who fought for him against the Syrians and conquered, as the Angel fought for Ezechias against Sennacherib, slaying 185 thousand Assyrians. Others will have it that he was a man and a certain leader sent by God, but not named in Scripture, and therefore unknown and uncertain to us. Others better think he was Eliseus. So Cajetan. Or certainly Joas king of Israel, strengthened by Eliseus, who thrice overcame the Syrians, as follows. Wherefore during the whole time of Joachaz Israel was afflicted by the Syrians, as is said in v. 22. But Joas, succeeding after Joachaz, humbled the Syrians and restored liberty to Israel. Hence Joachaz, praying to God for the salvation of Israel, obtained it for the time of the reign not of himself but of his son Joas. So Abulensis.
7. AND THERE WERE NOT LEFT TO JOACHAZ OF THE PEOPLE BUT FIFTY HORSEMEN.—This verse confirms what I have already said: wherefore it is to be joined with v. 3, and placed before v. 4, where by a transposition the prayer of Joachaz, his being heard, and the promise of deliverance to be made by Joas are inserted. So Sanchez.
AND HAD BROUGHT THEM LOW LIKE DUST IN THE THRESHING FLOOR,—that is, Hazael crushed and ground down the Israelites, as chaff and dust are wont to be crushed and ground on the threshing floor. So Abulensis.
8. AND HIS VALOUR,—Joachaz, though conquered by Hazael as the more powerful, yet bore himself bravely in battles, and defended himself as far as he could.
14. NOW ELISEUS WAS SICK OF THE ILLNESS WHEREOF HE DIED: AND THE KING OF ISRAEL (Joas) WENT DOWN TO HIM, AND WEPT BEFORE HIM, AND SAID: MY FATHER, MY FATHER,—you are my father and the father of Israel, as one who defended me and my kingdom more than a great multitude of horsemen and chariots; you therefore, while living, as a charioteer drove and ruled the kingdom of Israel; now that you are dying, who will defend me and mine against Hazael and the Syrians? Eliseus cried the same to Elias when he was taken up to heaven, chapter 2, v. 12; see what was said there.
16. HE SAID TO THE KING OF ISRAEL: PUT THY HAND UPON THE BOW. AND WHEN HE HAD PUT HIS HAND, ELISEUS PUT HIS HANDS OVER THE KING’S HANDS,—to signify that his help would be with him, even though absent, indeed dead; for God would give him victory on account of his merits; and that he himself in limbo would pray to God for it and would certainly obtain it. After death, therefore, the force and power of Eliseus was alive, and he wrought wonders even when dead as he was wont to do while living. So Abulensis, Cajetan and others. Hence let heretics learn that the Saints, especially those reigning in heaven after Christ, are powerful through God, so that they can and will help us when we invoke them.
Let princes and other men learn here how much the prayer and merits of holy men avail, and that unless they themselves put their hands upon our hands and works, we labour in vain.
Tropologically, let the Teacher apply to the mouth of preaching the hand of good works, so that what he teaches by word he may first teach by example. Thus preaching will be effective, and will persuade the hearers of what it preaches. So Angelomus and Eucherius.
17. OPEN THE WINDOW TO THE EAST (that you may shoot a victorious arrow against the Syrians, who are to the east of Israel). AND WHEN HE HAD OPENED IT, ELISEUS SAID: SHOOT AN ARROW. AND HE SHOT. AND ELISEUS SAID: THE ARROW OF THE SALVATION OF THE LORD, AND THE ARROW OF THE SALVATION AGAINST SYRIA,—as if to say: I pray God that the arrows of you and your soldiers (which I represent by this arrow of mine and its shot) and your arms, fights and battles, he may favour, direct and strengthen, so that they may strike, slay and subdue the Syrians; and I not only pray this, but as a prophet I foretell it to you from the mouth of God, and promise you victory over the Syrians, whence he adds:
AND THOU SHALT STRIKE THE SYRIANS IN APHEC.—He alludes to the rite of the ancients, who declared war on their enemies and began the battle by shooting an arrow or dart into the hostile land, as the Romans did, as Servius testifies on those words of Turnus in Virgil, Aeneid 9:
“Lo,” he said, and hurling a spear, he sent into the air the first beginning of the fight.
The Greeks did the same; hence as soon as he touched Persia, “Alexander (the Great) first cast a spear as into the enemy’s land,” says Justin, book 11. See Gellius, book 16, ch. 4, and Alexander of Alexandria, Genialium dierum, book 4, ch. 2.
Tropologically Angelomus: “When the Lord by his examples,” he says, “directs and strengthens the actions of Teachers, he commands them to open the eastern window and to shoot an arrow, because he exhorts his own first to be enlightened by the light of knowledge and true doctrine, and then to send forth, like darts, words. And a little after: The arrow of the salvation of the Lord, and the arrow of the salvation against Syria; and thou shalt strike Syria in Aphec, till thou consume it. The arrow of the salvation of the Lord, therefore, is holy preaching, when it is fittingly delivered, and the most certain slaying of spiritual enemies, if it is carried on with perseverance. Nor is it right that the dispenser of the words of God should ever grow slothfully torpid, to whom it is commanded to have care of the flock of the Lord; for it greatly harms devout hearers if sloth prevails among Teachers. For the Prophet says: Cry, cease not.” So also Eucherius.
IN APHEC.—Aphec was a city in the tribe of Issachar, famous for the slaughter of enemies; for Josue slew the king of Aphec: “In it the Philistines pitched their camp to fight against Israel, and afterwards against Saul; there also the Syrians fought against Achab king of Israel, when they said: The gods of the hills are their gods, let us fight against them in the valleys and plains, and we shall overcome them; where also Benadad king of Syria was conquered,” says Adrichomius.
TILL THOU CONSUME IT,—understand: unless you hinder it, as happened. For Joas, striking the ground only thrice, struck the Syrians only thrice, whom he would certainly have destroyed more often, and to utter destruction, if he had struck the ground more often, as is plain from v. 19.
19. IF THOU HADST STRUCK FIVE OR SIX OR SEVEN TIMES, THOU HADST SMITTEN SYRIA EVEN TO UTTER DESTRUCTION.—That was the will and decree of God, who had so freely disposed and decreed that Joas should smite Syria as many times as he struck the ground; which decree of God Eliseus knew, but by God’s command did not wish to make it known to king Joas, that it might be left to his choice to strike the ground as many times as he wished. For if Joas had known the decree of God, he would certainly have struck the ground with the arrow more often.
In like manner God attributed the victory of Josue over Amalec to the stretching out of the hands and the prayer of Moses, Exodus 17:11; and the victory of the same Josue over the Chanaanites to the lifting up of Josue’s shield, Josue 8:18. Further, that Joas struck the ground only thrice, and therefore struck the Syrians only thrice, Abulensis attributes to his sins and the worship of the calves. For it was strange and unworthy that a king so often warned by Eliseus, seeing his miracles, and even gaining victories over the Syrians by God’s help, had not given up the worship of the calves and turned himself wholly to the veneration of the true God, who had been so kind to him. It is likely that he worshipped the true God, whom he had come to know through Eliseus, and at the same time the gods of his fathers, namely the golden calves of Jeroboam. For his father Joachaz worshipped both, as is plain from vv. 4 and 6. Hence God, thundering against him and the kings of Israel like him, says through Osee 10:2: “Their heart is divided, now they shall perish.”
20. AND ELISEUS DIED, AND THEY BURIED HIM.—There is no doubt that king Joas was present at his dying, and that the sons of the prophets, his disciples, already spread through all Israel, received from him his last counsels of holiness and religious life. The Hebrews assert in the Seder Olam that the prophet Amos, brother of king Amasias and father of Isaias, was also present. Eliseus prophesied about 66 years under six kings of Israel, namely under Achab, Ochozias, Joram, Jehu, Joachaz and Joas. He lived a hundred years and more, eighty of them in religious discipline, and died in the year of the world 3104, says Salianus, in the eighth year of Amasias king of Juda, the tenth of Joas king of Israel, 849 years before Christ. He is enrolled in the catalogue of Saints in the Roman Martyrology on 14 June, where we read: “At Samaria in Palestine, the holy prophet Eliseus, whose tomb, St. Jerome writes, the demons dread.” Hear St. Jerome writing on the beginning of the prophet Abdias: “The tomb of Abdias, with the mausoleum of Eliseus and of John the Baptist, is held in veneration at Sebaste, formerly Samaria.” The same in the epitaph of Paula adds: there the demons roar under various torments, and men howl before the tombs of the saints like wolves, roar like lions, hiss like serpents, bellow with the lowing of bulls. Cedrenus reports that in the time of the Emperor Leo the Great the relics of Eliseus were translated to Alexandria.
Hence Julian the Apostate, mingling the bones of Eliseus with the bones of the Baptist, wished to burn them, as the life of St. Artemius has it in Lipomanus.
For the praises of Eliseus see Ecclesiasticus 48:13: “In Eliseus,” it says, “the spirit of Elias was filled, in his days he feared not the prince, and no man was able to overcome him in power”; see what was said there. Finally Osee succeeded Eliseus in prophecy, who prophesied under Ozias the son of Amasias king of Juda, then Isaias, Amos, Jonas and the other prophets greater and lesser.
21. AND WHEN IT HAD TOUCHED THE BONES OF ELISEUS, THE MAN CAME TO LIFE.—Wonderful was the power and holiness of Eliseus, that dead he raised a dead man to life. He was in this a type of Christ, by whose grace and the touch of whose merits, who died on the cross, we shall all rise again. So Angelomus, Eucherius and others. Hence Ecclesiasticus gives this praise to Eliseus, chapter 48, v. 14: “And after death his body prophesied.” “Prophesied,” that is, wrought a miracle by raising a dead man. For miracles were the works of the Prophets, that is, of the holy men and Teachers of Israel.