2 Kings 13:17

17 Then he said; Let the window be open to the east: and he got it open. Then Elisha said, Let the arrow go; and he let it go. And he said, The Lord's arrow of salvation, of salvation over Aram; for you will overcome the Aramaeans in Aphek and put an end to them.

2 Kings 13:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 13:17

And he said, open the window eastward
Syria lying east of the land of Israel, as the Jewish commentators in general observe, and for which they quote ( Isaiah 9:12 ) , but it lay northeast, or rather more to the north; wherefore this may respect the eastward part of the land of Israel, which the Syrians had got possession of, and should be recovered, as this sign showed, see ( 2 Kings 10:33 ) ,

and he opened it: then Elisha said, shoot, and he shot;
the arrow, out of the window, being opened:

and he said, the arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of
deliverance from Syria;
meaning, that that arrow was a sign of the Lord's deliverance of Israel from the Syrians, by whom they had been sadly oppressed, and reduced very low:

for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou hast consumed
them;
not the whole nation, but that army they should bring thither; which was a city in the land of Israel, where the Syrians were routed in Ahab's time; 100,000 were slain near it on one day, and 27,000 by the fall of the wall of it, ( 1 Kings 20:26 1 Kings 20:29 1 Kings 20:30 ) hence some read the words here, "as in Aphek."

2 Kings 13:17 In-Context

15 Then Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows: and he took bow and arrows.

16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow: and he put his hand on it; and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

17 Then he said; Let the window be open to the east: and he got it open. Then Elisha said, Let the arrow go; and he let it go. And he said, The Lord's arrow of salvation, of salvation over Aram; for you will overcome the Aramaeans in Aphek and put an end to them.

18 And he said, Take the arrows: and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Send them down into the earth; and he did so three times and no more.

19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, If you had done it five or six times, then you would have overcome Aram completely; but now you will only overcome them three times.