Chapter 3
Melachim ב (Kings II (A Teachers' Guide
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Chapter 3
Verse 1:
ויהורם בן אחאב מלך על
ישראל בשומרון בשנת שמונה עשרה ליהושפט מלך יהודה וימלוך שתים עשרה שנה
ויהורם בן אחאב מלך
על ישראל בשומרון
This story is a continuation of the story of the miracles performed by Elisha. (Rashi)
Verse 2:
ויעשה הרע בעיני ה' רק לא כאביו וכאימו ויסר את מצבת הבעל אשר
עשה אביו
רק לא כאביו וכאימו
ויסר את מצבת הבעל
Yehoram removed the Ba'al idol that his father established. He did not remove the Asherah, since his mother was still alive. (Radak).
Verse 3:
רק בחטאות ירבעם בן נבט אשר החטיא את ישראל דבק לא סר ממנה
רק בחטאות ירבעם בן
נבט... דבק
While not worshipping the Ba'al and the Asherah, Yehoram did worship the golden calves set up by Yerovam. (Radak)
All the kings of the kingdom of Israel served the golden calves, because they were afraid that without this, the people would go up to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple there, and their monarchy would dissolve. (Rashi)
See also Melachim I 12:26-29.
Verse 4:
ומישע מלך מואב היה
נוקד והשיב למלך ישראל מאה אלף כרים ומאה אלף אילים צמר
ומישע מלך מואב
* There is a long historical connection between the Children of Israel and Moav:
1. They are cousins of each other. See Bereishit 19:30-37.
2. The Moabites hired Bil'am to try and curse the Children of Israel. See Bemidbar 22:1-6.
3. The Moabites did not greet the Children of Israel with bread and water when the Children of Israel were wandering in the desert. See Devarim 23:4-8.
4. In the days of the Judges, the Children of Israel were under the rule of Eglon, King of Moav. See Shoftim 3:12-15, 26-30.
5. In the times of Shaul Hamelech, we find David hiding his family from Shaul in Moav. All but one of his brothers were killed by Moav. See Shmuel I 20:3-4. See also Bemidbar Rabba 14:1.
6. The Moabites were defeated by David Hamelech and became vassals of his kingdom. See Shmuel II 8:1-3. Here we see that in the days of Ahav Mesha, the king of Moav, was a vassal of the kings of Israel..
נוקד
He was the owner of herds of sheep. This name reflects the unique feature of these sheep - spotted and speckled. (Metzudat David)
והשיב
He paid the same tax each and every year. (Metzudat David)
Verse 5:
ויהי כמות אחאב ויפשע מלך
מואב במלך ישראל
במלך ישראל
The rebellion was against Ahazyahu, Yehoram's brother who reigned before him, as well as against Yehoram. (Radak).
The students should be able to refer back to Melachim II 1:1, where Moav's rebellion was first mentioned.
Verse 7:
וילך וישלח אל יהושפט מלך יהודה לאמור מלך מואב פשע בי התלך אתי אל מואב למלחמה ויאמר אעלה כמוני כמוך כעמי כעמך כסוסי כסוסיך
ויאמר אעלה כמוני
כמוך
Yehoshafat agreed to Yehoram's request, since Amon and Moav had conducted wars against parts of the Kingdom of Yehudah. See Divrei Hayamim II 20:1.
Note: The students should be given an overview of Divrei Hayamim, since it will be used as a complementary text throughout the year.
According to Abarbanel, the purpose of Divrei Hayamim was to show the returnees from Babylon that the kingship of David is special. The Abarbanel divides the book into three parts:
- The genealogy until David Hamelech
- Positive stories of David's kingship
- The history of the kingdom of Yehudah - headed by the descendants of David Hamelech - leaving out the stories of the Kingdom of Israel.
Unlike the book of Melachim, the stories in Divrei Hayamim are brought there as a historical record, and not only in order to teach a moral lesson.
Verse 8:
ויאמר אי זה הדרך נעלה
ויאמר דרך מדבר אדום
דרך מדבר אדום
1. This route enabled them to go undetected. Edom at this time was under the rule of the Kingdom of Yehudah, and therefore was forced to join the war efforts. (Metzudat David, Ralbag)
See Da'at Mikra, Melachim, p. 479 (תע"ט), for a map of their route.
Verse 10:
ויאמר מלך ישראל אהה
כי קרא ה' לשלושת המלכים האלה לתת אותם ביד מואב
לתת אותם ביד מואב
1. They were so thirsty that they would be unable to fight the enemy. (Metzudat David)
2. The soldiers would have to disperse in order to find water, and then they would be easy targets for the enemy. (Radak).
Verse 11:
ויאמר יהושפט האין פה
נביא לה' ונדרשה את ה' מאותו ויען אחד מעבדי מלך ישראל ויאמר פה אלישע בן שפט אשר
יצק מים על ידי אליהו
האין פה נביא לה'
1. Yehoshafat wanted a prophet, who could pray for water. (Malbim)
2.* Yehoshafat made this same statement in the previous war that he waged together with the Kingdom of Israel - see Melachim I 22:7. These statements are an indication of his righteousness. See also verse 14 in chapter 3.
פה אלישע בן שפט
1. Hashem commanded Elisha to join the forces going to the war, in order to perform miracles, as a way of persuading Yehoram to repent and mend his ways. (Radak).
2.* Elisha wanted to participate in the war as a way of empathizing with the people's pain. (Mussar Hanevi'im)
A similar idea is found in Rashi on Shemot 3:2, where Hashem appears to Moshe Rabbeinu by way of the burning bush.
Radak focuses on the special relationship between Hashem and His people, while Mussar Hanevi'im focuses on the relationship between the prophet and the people.
אשר יצק מים על ידי
אליהו
1. This phrase underscores the special relationship that Elisha had with Eliyahu: He was Eliyahu's main disciple. This phrase - "pouring water on the hands of Eliyahu" - presents Elisha's role as a meshamesh - a man-servant, more than that of a student. This teaches us that "גדולה שימושה של תורה יותר מלימודה" - it is greater to serve the [conveyors of] Torah than to learn from them. (Berachot 7a, and Radak)
* The Torah does not teach us the middot - the personal traits such as humility and patience - that one should attain, since these depend on the circumstances in each case: there are times when one must be merciful, and others in which one must act with cruelty. The only way to learn proper behavior is, therefore, by observing of the behavior of a teacher. (Mussar Hanevi'im)
2. This phrase is referring to the event on Har Hacarmel, where, according to the Midrash in Yalkut Shimoni (taken from Tanna devei Eliyahu 214), Elisha helped Eliyahu pour water into the trench around the altar. This action resulted eventually in rainfall. See Melachim I 18:34, 45. The servants mentioned this in particular, since water was what they needed at that moment, and this event showed that he had had "experience" performing such miracles. (Radak, Malbim)
Instead of presenting this connection immediately, one can lead
the students to it by mentioning that in chapter 18 of Melachim I we find a
Eliyahu dealing with water. The students should find the relevant verse, and be
able to understand that the connection is based on the word יצק used in both places. They should be able
to figure out for themselves why this story is relevant to our chapter
here.
3.* This phrase shows the commitment Elisha had to Eliyahu, to the point of even giving him a cup of water when needed. See the last part of the Radak's commentary.
* One can understand the statement "גדולה שימושה של תורה יותר מלימודה" in two different ways: The approach of the Mussar Hanevi'im commentary is that the supremacy of the teacher enables the student to understand the Torah in a more complete fashion. The last part of Radak's commentary focuses more on the strength of the commitment of the student - both intellectual and emotional - to the Torah lifestyle.
Verse 12:
ויאמר יהושפט יש אותו
דבר ה' וירדו אליו מלך ישראל ויהושפט ומלך אדום
יש אותו דבר ה'
The only reason this prophet came to the war, was to deliver the word of G-d. (Metzudat David)
וירדו אליו
They - three kings - came personally to the prophet to show proper respect to Hashem and to His prophet, as they were in a time of trouble. (Radak)
מלך ישראל ויהושפט
ומלך אדום
The title melech - king - does not appear before Yehoshafat's name, since he removed his royal clothes in deference to the prophet. (Radak, Malbim)
Verse 13:
ויאמר אלישע אל מלך ישראל מה לי ולך לך אל נביאי אביך ואל נביאי אמך ויאמר לו מלך ישראל אל כי קרא ה' לשלושת המלכים האלה לתת אותם ביד מואב
מה לי ולך, לך אל
נביאי אביך ואל נביאי אמך
1. Elisha told the king that one can pray only for a person who believes in Hashem. (Mussar Hanevi'im)
2. This statement is similar to Eliyahu's challenge to the Jews, on Har Hacarmel. See Melachim I 18:21.
ויאמר לו מלך ישראל
אל כי קרא ה' לשלושת המלכים האלה לתת אותם ביד מואב
1.* The king pleads here that during times of trouble, the prophet should not focus on negative things; rather, he should focus on what might encourage Hashem's mercy. (Radak, Targum Yonatan)
2. Yehoram agreed that if all this were a natural occurrence, he would have gone to the Ba'al, but since it affected all three kings, he saw it was Divine Providence, and therefore only Hashem could help him. (Abarbanel)
Verse 14:
ויאמר אלישע חי ה'
צבקות אשר עמדתי לפניו כי לולי פני יהושפט מלך יהודה אני נושא אם אביט אליך ואם
אראך
אשר עמדתי לפניו
"Standing before" Hashem, means praying to him. (Metzudat David)
Verse 15:
ועתה קחו לי מנגן והיה
כנגן המנגן ותהי עליו יד ה'
ועתה קחו לי מנגן
1. Since the prophet had been angry, he now needed music to revive his spirits. (Rashi on Pesachim 66:)
* Another example of the power of music is seen with Shaul Hamelech. See Shmuel I 10:5.
2.* The spirit of Hashem had departed from Elisha, because of his mourning over Eliyahu's ascension, and therefore he needed music to revive the spirit of prophecy within him. (Radak)
The first approach is critical of Elisha for having gotten angry at Yehoram, and explains the sequence of the events - anger => request for a musician. The other approach focuses positively on Elisha, emphasizing the depth of his connection to Eliyahu, so much so that he mourned for him as if he were a parent.
Verse 16:
ויאמר כה אמר ה' עשה
הנחל הזה גבים גבים
כה אמר ה' עשה הנחל
הזה גבים גבים
1. Elisha commanded the people to make ditches to collect all the water that would soon arrive miraculously. (Malbim)
2.* Elisha commanded that the stream will, by itself, create ditches (not that the Jewish forces should do it - in which case it would have said עשו, or תעשו). (Da'at Sofrim and Targum Yonatan)
Verse 17:
כי כה אמר ה' לא תראו
רוח ולא תראו גשם והנחל ההוא יימלא מים ושתיתם אתם ומקניכם ובהמתכם
לא תראו רוח ולא תראו
גשם
1. This was to underscore the miraculous nature of the event that was about to occur. (Metzudat David)
2.* The lack of wind and rain would set the stage for the next miracle, where the Moabites would think that there is blood in the gorge. (Da'at Sofrim)
Verse 18:
ונקל זאת בעיני ה'
ונתן את מואב בידכם
ונקל זאת בעיני ה'
The miracle of the water would be insignificant compared to the next miracle: the defeat of Moav. (Rashi, Metzudat David)
Verse 19:
והכיתם כל עיר מבצר
וכל עיר מבחור וכל עץ טוב תפילו וכל מעיני מים תסתומו וכל החלקה הטובה תכאיבו
באבנים
וכל עץ טוב תפילו
This clashes with the law of bal tashchit - the prohibition against destroying fruit trees even in time of war. See Devarim 20:19.
The students should look at the source in Devarim and be able to formulate the contradiction between the two verses themselves.
a. Moav was an exception to the rule, due to their contemptible behavior (see verse 4). (Rashi)
b. The command was to destroy the land of Moav completely, because Moav had persisted in their belief in their god, Kmosh, as a savior. The total destruction - even of fruit-trees - was so that they would realize that their god was worthless. (Da'at Sofrim)
עיר מבחור
"Selected" city. (Metzudat David)
תכאיבו
You will destroy the fields by throwing rocks into them. It
is called "pain", because when a living being is bombarded with rocks, he suffers pain.
(Metzudat David)
Verse 20:
ויהי בבוקר כעלות
המנחה והנה מים באים מדרך אדום ותימלא הארץ את המים
ויהי בבוקר כעלות
המנחה
1.* These phrases refer to two different periods of time: The rain began to fall in Edom early in the morning (boker), and the water reached them in the afternoon (ka'alot hamincha). (Rashi)
This is similar to the timing of Eliyahu's miracle on Har Hacarmel. See Melachim I 18:36. (Da'at Sofrim)
2. The water (either as rain in Edom, or else as a gushing river) arrived in the morning, at the time that the daily mincha offering was brought in the Temple in Jerusalem. (Radak)
One can ask the students which view seems to fit best with verse 22 - which also contains the word boker.
Verse 22 seems to lend support to the view of the Radak. Otherwise, we have to say that the war began the day after the miracle of the water. See Da'at Sofrim.
Verse 21:
וכל מואב שמעו כי עלו
המלכים להלחם בם וייצעקו מכל חוגר חגורה ומעלה ויעמדו על הגבול
וייצעקו
The people gathered, following a call to arms which sounded. (Metzudat Zion)
ויעמדו על הגבול
They stood on their border to defend themselves against the coming attack. (Radak).
Verse 22:
וישכימו בבוקר והשמש
זרחה על המים ויראו מואב מנגד את המים אדומים כדם
ויראו מואב מנגד את
המים אדומים כדם
The water looked red because of the reflection of the rays of the sun in the early morning. Moav had never seen water there before, so they had a further reason to assume that it was blood, especially from their particular vantage point (mineged - from far away). (Rashi)
Verse 23:
ויאמרו דם זה החרב
נחרבו המלכים ויכו איש את רעהו ועתה לשלל מואב
החרב נחרבו המלכים
They assumed that the armies of the three kings had fought among themselves. (Metzudat David, Radak)
ועתה לשלל מואב
They approached the area unprepared for war, since they expected the armies to be devastated, leaving them to pick up the spoils. (Metzudat David, Abarbanel)
Verse 24:
ויבואו אל מחנה ישראל
ויקומו ישראל ויכו (קרי)/ויבו (כתיב) את מואב וינוסו מפניהם ויכו בה והכות את מואב
ויבו (כתיב)/ויכו
(קרי)
According to the kri they hit Moav continuously, again and again. (Metzudat David)
Verse 25:
והערים יהרוסו וכל
חלקה טובה ישליכו איש אבנו ומלאוה וכל מעין מים יסתומו וכל עץ טוב יפילו עד השאיר
אבניה בקיר חרשת ויסובו הקלעים ויכוה
והערים יהרוסו
They destroyed the cities. (Rashi)
עד השאיר אבניה בקיר
חרשת
Charashet was the capital city, and the strongest one. In the other cities they were able to destroy the entire city, including its walls. In Charashet, they destroyed the city itself, but were unable to remove the stones of its walls. (Radak, Malbim)
ויסובו הקלעים ויכוה
They hurled large stones on the wall of Charashet, to destroy it as well. (Metzudat David)
Verse 26:
וירא מלך מואב כי חזק
ממנו המלחמה ויקח אותו שבע מאות איש שולף חרב להבקיע אל מלך אדום ולא יכולו
להבקיע אל מלך אדום
The king of Moav tried to leave the city and fight with the king of Edom - either because the king of Edom was the closest to the city, or because he hated him more than he hated the others. (Radak, Abarbanel)
Verse 27:
ויקח את בנו הבכור אשר
ימלוך תחתיו ויעלהו עולה על החומה ויהי קצף גדול על ישראל ויסעו מעליו וישובו לארץ
This is a very problematic verse: it is not clear who was
sacrificed by the king of Moav, to whom, and why.
ויקח את בנו הבכור
1. The king of Moav realized that he couldn't defeat the king of Edom, so he took the son of the king of Edom, and offered him up as a sacrifice. (Radak, Abarbanel)
2. The king of Moav sacrificed his own son. (Rashi)
ויעלהו עולה
The king of Moav asked his advisors what special power the Jews had, that so many miracles happened to them. They responded by telling him the story of Akedat Yitzchak. Upon hearing this, he decided to sacrifice his own son:
1.* According to Radak, he sacrificed his son to Hashem.
2. According to Rashi, he sacrificed his son to his god.
על החומה
1. He sacrificed the heir of the king of Edom on the wall of the city, so that the king of Edom would be able to see what he was doing. (Radak)
2. The letter ו' is missing from the word חמה, to teach us that he sacrificed his child to the sun - his god. (Rashi)
ויהי קצף גדול על
ישראל
1. The king of Edom was angry at the Jews for not saving his son. (Radak).
2. Hashem was angry at the Jews:
a.* The king of Moav was sincere in his desire to serve Hashem, and compared to that sincerity, the Jews' worship of Hashem seemed very deficient. (Abarbanel)
b. This action of idol worship reminded Hashem that His people, the Jews, were also worshipping idols, and therefore were not worthy of miracles. (Rashi)
After the initial reading of verse 27, the students should try and figure out the two options of interpreting the word בנו. They should be able to use verse 26 to support both opinions. (This verse shows the desperation of the king of Moav, which could have motivated him to sacrifice his own son, and it also brings in the king of Edom as a subject, which could continue on to the next verse.)
Upon completing the study of this verse, the students should translate it according to each view.
* The students can be shown Amos 2:1 and asked which view is supported by this verse.
There are many similarities between this story and the story of Eliyahu on Har Hacarmel - Melachim I 18. One can assign the students the task of drawing as many parallels as they can, and deriving the lessons that can be learned from this comparison.
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