The prophet elisha in the second book of kings, the old testament in paintings. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of elisha. Book of second kings overview insight for living ministries. The first book of kings begins with the elderly king david naming solomon, his son by bathsheba, as king of israel and judah to succeed him. An angel of god warned elijah the prophet and elijah, wearing. He appeared on the 1850 georgia census, but not on the 1860. Elishas story is related in the book of kings second scroll, chapters 214 in the hebrew bible in judaism, part of the neviim. And ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in samaria, and was sick. The second book of the kings and moab rebelled against israel after the death of ahab. Second kings features many unique events and people. In the second chapter of two kings, elisha asks elijah for a doubleshare of his spirit before he flies away in gods whirlwind. For an outline of both 1 and 2 kings see introduction to 1 kings.
It contains a history of the kings of judah and of israel from the last days of david till the capture of zedekiah by nebuchadnezzar. The second book of kings continues the line of kings in the divided kingdom, the ten. The cast of characters in 2 kings is pretty sprawling, and theres no real protagonist or one hero, butif you had to pick oneelisha would probably be the top guy, given the number of chapters he appears in. This book relates the transactions from the death of saul until the end of davids reign, being a history for the space of about fortysix years. King solomon reigned over the united kingdom of israel circa 960 to 922 bc, and built the temple of solomon in jerusalem in. The tradition is that the prophet jeremiah was the author of both 1 and 2 kings. They will lead the people into idol worship and apostasy from yahwehs covenant. Elisha died and his bones had been placed in a tomb. Elisha prayed before the lord and said, strike this people with blindness. The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. The second book of kings the reigns of kings jehoram and. The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of god comes through the preexilic prophets, who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 kings.
Second kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. The two books of kings, originally a single book, is the tenth of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. Shutting heaven and stopping the rain for three years. Enoch was the only other man in the bible to do so genesis 5. In 2 kings, he says a lot about another prophet called elisha. Go inquire of baalzebub, the god of ekron, whether i will recover from this injury. The author of 2 kings believes that the people should obey the laws in the book of deuteronomy. The waters of the jordan river rolled back twice 2 kings 2. But in the hebrew text of 2 kings it is used almost more frequently, especially for elisha. An angel of god warned elijah the prophet and elijah, wearing nothing but a hair cloak and a leather. Elisha is called to stand against israels rebellious kings throughout a long career 2 kings 2. And ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in samaria, and was sick. One could almost say that this israelite king performed the same function as ben hadad.
Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of second kings in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. Fourth book of the second canonical division of the hebrew bible, the prophets. The king sent messengers to consult baalzebub, god of ekron and ask him for recovery from his illness. The prophet elishas attention to ordinary work 2 kings 2. Elijahs eight miracles from first and second kings. Commonly called the fourth book of the kings then moab rebelled against israel after the death of ahab. Join facebook to connect with elisha graves and others you may know. And when they came down to him, elisha prayed unto the lord, and said, smite this people, i pray thee, with blindness.
According to this story, he was a prophet and a wonderworker of the northern kingdom of israel who was active during the reign of joram, jehu, jehoahaz, and jehoash joash. The second book of the kings the king james bible version. The second book of kings, which has more than its share of bloodshed and evil, finishes on a note of peace and kindness. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. The author writes much about the kings that affected the religion in each kingdom. The second book of the kings is a continuation of the history of the kingdoms of israel and judah up to the time of the captivities.
An introduction to the books of first and second kings. It continues the story of the kings over the divided. The second book of kings in the books of 1 and 2 kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the northern kingdom of israel. The second book of the kings arno clemens gaebelein. In the opening chapters elijah the prophet is seen once more in his final ministrations, followed by his translation. The present division into two books was first made by the lxx.
Near the temple was a ritual burial ground where many jars were found containing the remains of. The divided kingdoms of israel and judah the miracles of elisha previous kings 2 lessons list next. This summary of the book of 2 kings provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 kings. It concludes the deuteronomistic history, a history of israel also comprising the books of joshua and judges and the book of samuel, which biblical commentators believe was written to provide a theological explanation for the destruction of the. Oil multiplied, the grain increased daily, the widow woman. He was most likely a prophet, because many of the historical events. Elisha is mentioned but once in all the later books of scripture. Bible american standard2 kings wikisource, the free. Both of these prophets had to minister in times of terrible national decay, and we can see, in moving from the ministry of elijah to that of elisha, a transition that took place in the history of israel. Elijah and elisha are by far the most prominent prophets in the books of kings and chronicles, and of the two, elisha is especially notable for the attention he pays to the work of ordinary israelites. Once while some israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders. Elisha was, according to the hebrew bible, a prophet and a wonderworker. The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b. But elisha said, as surely as the lord lives and as you live, i will not leave you.
The book of kings by james thackara has a great premise. The life and times of elisha the prophet grave matters or. The book was divided into the two books of first kings and second kings in the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, and continues as such in the latin vulgate and our christian old testament of the bible. Through a careful reading of biblical scripture, the book unveils the spiritual truth of the word of god, which for most people today has lost its true purpose and meaning. Other prophets also witnessed and suffered for their faithfulness. The two books of kings formed originally but one book in the hebrew scriptures. In 2 kings 2, we have story of the translation of elijah which also begins the ministry of elisha.
The second book of kings continues the history of the two separated kingdoms, judah and israel. The author is neither indicated in the text nor known by scholars. The spirit of elijah rested on elisha, and yet he is not conveyed to heaven in a fiery chariot as elijah was, but goes the common way of all flesh out of the world, and is visited with the visitation of all men. It concludes the deuteronomistic history, a history of israel also comprising the books of joshua and judges and the book of samuel, which biblical commentators believe was written to provide a theological explanation for the. Ahaziah had fallen from the balcony of his upper room in samaria and he lay ill in bed when the moabites rebelled against israel. Elisha died, and they buried him in or near samaria. Joash passed away and was buried, succeeded by his son, jeroboam. In 1 kings, the author said a lot about the prophet called elijah. Ive been told he was in the 27th battalion, georgia infantry nonconscripts.
The second book of kings elisha and the end of the house of ahab 11after ahabs death moab rebelled against israel. Elijah is called man of god by others and by himself in in 1. Since 1 and 2 kings were originally on book, see the introduction to 1 kings for a discussion of these matters. Beloved heavenly father, the miracles of your prophet elijah were surpassed by elisha, and the miracles of elisha were surpassed by your supreme prophet, jesus christ. He may have moved to alabama because he married for the second time to martha miller in attala, gadsten, alabama about 1860. As stated in the introduction to the book of kings, both books were originally undivided. The prophet elijah left this earth without dying 2. King james bible the second book of the kings commonly called, the fourth book of the kings.
The second book of kings the prophet elisha ahaziah had fallen from the balcony of his upper room in samaria and he lay ill in bed when the moabites rebelled against israel. The second book of kings or the fourth book of kings. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of god. When he had taken it, elisha put his hands on the kings hands. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. Contents continuing where 1 kings concluded with ahaziah, 2 kings traces the decline and captivity of both israel and judah. To carry out the responsibility as a prophet to israel, elisha would need the same spirit that elijah had shown, that of courage and fearlessness. Agape bible study, study of the the second book of kings. As we noted in the previous chapter, 1 and 2 kings originally comprised one book of history.
And elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city. A year after elishas death and burial or, in the following spring a body was placed in his grave. The second book of kings the prophet elisha the art of painting. Andjoash 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.
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