The last scene of Elisha’s life is a strange one. A dying prophet, a weeping king, a bow, and an instruction with no explanation attached to it.
The king does what he is told. He simply does not do very much of it, and the prophet’s reaction tells you that the size of the response was the whole point.
The Story of Elisha’s Last Arrows
Elisha had fallen sick with the illness he would die of. Joash the king of Israel came down to him, wept over his face, and called him my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. It is the same cry Elisha himself had made when Elijah was taken up.
Elisha told him to take a bow and arrows, and to put his hand on the bow. Then the prophet put his own hands on the king’s hands. He told him to open the window eastward, toward the territory Syria had taken, and to shoot.
As the arrow flew, Elisha named it: the arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. He told the king he would strike the Syrians in Aphek until they were finished.
Then came the second instruction. Take the arrows, Elisha said, and strike the ground. The king struck three times and stopped. Nothing in the text says he was told how many times to strike.
The man of God was angry with him. He told the king he should have struck five or six times, and then he would have defeated Syria completely. As it was, he would beat Syria only three times.
Elisha died and was buried. The chapter closes with one last scene: as a man was being buried, a raiding band appeared, and the burial party threw the body into Elisha’s tomb. When it touched the prophet’s bones, the man revived and stood up on his feet.
Key Verses
“O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” 2 Kings 13:14
“The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria” 2 Kings 13:17
“Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed” 2 Kings 13:18
“Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times” 2 Kings 13:19
“Touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet” 2 Kings 13:21
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Elisha’s Last Arrows Teaches Us
The king is not punished for disobeying. He does exactly what he is asked, and the problem is that he treats a symbolic act as a formality to get through. Three strikes was enough to satisfy the instruction and not enough to mean anything.
The detail that Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands is easy to pass over. The shot is presented as something they do together, the prophet’s strength on the king’s, which makes the half-hearted follow-up more pointed rather than less.
The closing scene is deliberately understated. Elisha’s ministry began by asking for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and it ends with life coming from his grave after his death. The chapter offers no commentary on it at all.
Bring the stories home. Explore Bible Stick Figures coloring books and printables that pair simple art with Scripture. Visit the shop →
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Joash is this?
This is Joash, also called Jehoash, king of Israel, the northern kingdom. He is a different person from the Joash of 2 Kings 11 who was hidden in the temple and reigned in Judah, which is a common point of confusion.
Why did Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands?
The passage does not explain it. The effect is that the shot is made together, with the prophet’s hands on the king’s, before Elisha names the arrow as the arrow of the LORD’s deliverance.
Why was Elisha angry about three strikes?
He told the king he should have struck five or six times, and that he would then have defeated Syria completely. Because he stopped at three, he would defeat Syria only three times. The number of strikes stood for the extent of the victory.
Was the king told how many times to strike?
No. He was told to strike the ground, without a number. That is what makes the moment a test of how he responded rather than a matter of following an exact order.
What happened at Elisha’s tomb?
After Elisha died, a burial party spotted a raiding band and hurriedly put a body into Elisha’s tomb. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, he revived and stood up on his feet.