And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
And he said, 'Take the arrows.' So he took them. Then he said to the king of Israel, 'Strike the ground with them.' The king struck the ground three times and then stopped.
The prophet told the king to strike the ground with arrows, but the king only struck three times before stopping.
📚 Historical Context
This scene occurs when the dying prophet Elisha is giving his final prophecy to King Jehoash of Israel. Elisha had just performed a symbolic act with a bow and arrow representing victory over Syria, and now he's testing the king's faith and determination through this second symbolic action. The number of times the king struck would determine how many victories Israel would have over their Syrian enemies.
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