2 Kings 13:20

And Elisha died, and they buried him,.... In Samaria. Epiphanius says (n), in Sebastopolis of Samaria, Samaria itself was called Sebaste in later times; though the Jews say (o) he was buried in Mount

And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. Elisha died.

They buried him, in or near Samaria. At the coming in of the year; in the spring, when the fruits of the earth grew ripe.

2 Kings 13:20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.Ver. 20. And Elisha died.] Accisis corporeis viribus gloriosam exhalavit animam. Elisha was one of those few that lived and died with honour. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land.] Here that of Hosea, Hosea 13:1, was fulfilled: "When Ephraim spake, there was trembling, and he exalted himself in Israel: but when he offended in Baal, he died." Before, none durst budge against the name of Ephraim; but after Baal, every paltry adversary trampled upon him as a dead man. Howbeit, for their comfort and confirmation, here is a dead man raised by touching the dead body of Elisha, who had so lately promised them good success against the Syrian: "Thy dead men shall live: together with my dead body shall they arise: awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust." The Hebrews tell us that Amoz, the father of Isaiah the prophet, and brother of king Ahaziah, was present at Elisha’ s death, and that the man raised by the touch of his body suddenly fell down dead again. But it is more likely, say expositors, that he lived and went to the king with his bearers as witnesses of this very great miracle, that he might be the better encouraged to go against the Syrians, as soon after he did. Sedar Olam.

(20) And the bands of the Moabites invaded.—Rather, And troops of Moabites used to invade. They took advantage of the weakened condition of Israel to revenge the devastation of their country described in 2 Kings 3:25. At the coming in of the year.—So the Targum and the LXX. The Syriac, Vulg., and Arabic understand,” in that (or, ‘the same’) year.” The preposition bì has probably fallen out of the Hebrew text: read, bìbô shânâh, “when the year came in”—i.e., in the spring. (Comp. 2 Samuel 11:1.)

Verse 20. And Elisha died] The two prophets, Elijah and Elisha, were both most extraordinary men. Of the former, it is difficult to say whether he was a man, or an angel in a human body. The arguments for this latter opinion are strong, the objections against it very feeble. His being fed by an angel is no proof that he was not an angel incarnate, for God manifest in the flesh was fed by the same ministry. Of him the following from Ecclesiasticus 48:1-11 is a nervous character: - 1. Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. 2. He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number. 3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three times brought down fire. 4. O Elias, how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee! 5. Who didst raise up a dead man from death, and his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the Most High: 6. Who broughtest kings to destruction, and honourable men from their bed: 7. Who heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai, and in Horeb the judgment of vengeance: 8. Who anointedst kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him: 9. Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery horses: 10. Who wast ordained for reproofs in their times to pacify the wrath of the Lord's judgment, before it brake forth into fury; and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. 11. Blessed are they that saw thee, and slept in love; for we shall surely live. Elisha was not less eminent than Elijah; the history of his ministry is more detailed than that of his master, and his miracles are various and stupendous. In many things there is a striking likeness between him and our blessed Lord, and especially in the very beneficent miracles which he wrought. Of him the same author gives this character, Ecclus. 12-14: Elisha was filled with his spirit: whilst he lived he was not moved with the presence of any prince; neither could any bring him into subjection. Nothing could overcome him; and after his death his body prophesied, i.e., raised a dead man to life, as we learn from the following verse. He did wonders in his life, and at his death there his works marvellous; perhaps referring to his last acts with Joash. The bands of the Moabites] Marauding parties; such as those mentioned 2Kg 5:2.

20. And [R.V. Now] the bands of the Moabites invaded the land] If Elisha died in Samaria, and was buried in that neighbourhood, we must suppose Moab to have made great inroads upon Israel if the bands of plunderers could advance close to the royal city. Probably the great devastations of the Syrians on the east of Jordan (2 Kings 10:32-33) made it easier for the Moabites to cross the Jordan and to ravage the lands of Israel to the west of the river. at the coming in of the year] We can see from such passages as 2 Samuel 11:1; 1 Kings 20:22; 1 Kings 20:26; 1 Chronicles 20:1; 2 Chronicles 36:10, that there was a season of the year at which alone it was usual, and perhaps, on account of the climate, possible, for an army to take the field. The general expression is ‘when the year was expired’: but this is very much the same as ‘at the coming in of another year’.

The bands of the Moabites invaded the land - The Moabites had been increasing in strength ever since their revolt from Ahaziah 2 Kings 1:1.

20. Buried him — Josephus says he was honoured with a magnificent funeral, in every respect worthy of a personage so saintly and beloved. Bands of the Moabites — Marauding parties seeking for plunder.