John Gill's Exposition on 2 Kings 13:17

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

And he said, open the window eastward, etc.] Syria lying east of the land of Israel, as the Jewish commentators in general observe, and for which they quote (<230912>Isaiah 9:12), but it lay northeast, or rather more to the north; wherefore this may respect the eastward part of the land of Israel, which the Syrians had got possession of, and should be recovered, as this sign showed, (see <121033>2 Kings 10:33), and he opened it: then Elisha said, shoot, and he shot; the arrow, out of the window, being opened: and he said, the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; meaning, that that arrow was a sign of the Lord’s deliverance of Israel from the Syrians, by whom they had been sadly oppressed, and reduced very low: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou hast consumed them; not the whole nation, but that army they should bring thither; which was a city in the land of Israel, where the Syrians were routed in Ahab’s time; 100,000 were slain near it on one day, and 27,000 by the fall of the wall of it, (<112026>1 Kings 20:26,29,30) hence some read the words here, “as in Aphek.”

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