And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
The man of God was angry with him and said, 'You should have struck five or six times! Then you would have completely defeated Syria. But now you will only defeat Syria three times.'
The prophet Elisha was upset because King Joash's lack of enthusiasm in a symbolic act meant he would have limited victory over his enemies instead of total triumph.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during the reign of King Joash of Israel, when Syria (Aram) was repeatedly attacking and oppressing Israel. The prophet Elisha was on his deathbed and had just performed a symbolic archery ritual with the king, followed by instructing him to strike arrows on the ground - but Joash only struck three times instead of continuing.
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