Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash 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.
Now Elisha had become sick with the illness that would kill him. When Joash, the king of Israel, came to visit him, he wept over Elisha's face and cried out, 'My father, my father! You are Israel's chariot and horsemen!'
The writer is showing us the deep respect King Joash had for the dying prophet Elisha, calling him Israel's greatest spiritual strength and protection.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred near the end of Elisha's long ministry as a prophet in Israel, likely around 800 BC. King Joash recognized that Elisha had been Israel's spiritual guardian and source of divine guidance for decades. The phrase 'chariot of Israel and horsemen thereof' was the same cry Elisha himself had made when his mentor Elijah was taken up to heaven.
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