2 Kings 13:18

18 Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" so Joash took them. Elisha then said to Israel's king, "Hit the ground with them!" Joash hit the ground three times and stopped.

2 Kings 13:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 13:18

And he said, take the arrows, and he took them
The rest of them:

and he said unto the king of Israel,
smite upon the ground; the floor of the room in which the prophet lay:

and he smote thrice, and stayed;
made a stop, ceased smiting; he might think this action trifling, and beneath him, only was willing to please the prophet, but did not do it with a good will, and therefore smote no more; though this was an emblem of his smiting the Syrians, which he might not understand.

2 Kings 13:18 In-Context

16 Elisha then said to Israel's king, "Put your hand on the bow." So Joash put his hand on the bow. Elisha then put his hands over the king's hands

17 and said, "Open the window to the east." The king did so. "Now shoot!" Elisha told him. Joash shot, then Elisha announced, "That's the LORD's rescue arrow! The rescue arrow against the Arameans! You will finish the Arameans off at Aphek."

18 Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" so Joash took them. Elisha then said to Israel's king, "Hit the ground with them!" Joash hit the ground three times and stopped.

19 The man of God became angry with him. He said, "If only you had struck five or six times, you would have finished the Arameans off. As it is, you will defeat them only three times."

20 So Elisha died, and he was buried. Sometimes Moabite raiding parties used to come into the land each spring.