2 Raja-raja 2:12

2:12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” ¹  Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.

2 Raja-raja 2:17

2:17 But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah. ² 

2 Raja-raja 13:18

13:18 Then Elisha ³  said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. ⁴  He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped.

2 Raja-raja 25:24

25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ⁵  He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”

[2:12]  ¹ sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.

[2:17]  ² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:18]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he took [them].”

[25:24]  ⁵ tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.