Bible Strands
2 Kings 13:14
When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jehoash king of Israel visits the dying prophet Elisha during his final illness. Jehoash speaks to Elisha while weeping over him.
The words — The Hebrew חָלָ֣ה (cha.Lah) means “he became sick,” and חָלְי֔/וֹ (chal.Y/o) translates to “his sickness.”
The thread — The exclamation “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel” first appears when Elisha addresses Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12. The motif of royal distress over a prophet’s illness also echoes Joseph’s response to news of his father’s sickness in Genesis 48:1.
Why it lands — The text records a king weeping over a dying prophet. Readers observe how political and spiritual authority intersect at the threshold of life and death.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 2:12 As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.
- Philippians 2:26 For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
- Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
- 2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
- John 11:3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
- Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.
- Mark 6:20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John’s words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.
- 2 Kings 6:21 And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- Psalms 12:1 For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
- Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is built up, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.