2 Kings

KEY PLACES IN

2 KINGS

sell. For another tamily in Shunem, he

raised a son from the dead (4:1-37).

4 Gilga! Elisha cared for the young

prophets in Gilgal—he removed poison

from a stew, made a small amount of

food feed everyone, and even caused

an ax head to float so it could be

retrieved. It was to Elisha that Naaman,

a commander in the Aramean army,

;. ne came to be healed of leprosy (4:38 —

Mediterranean: on i 6:7).

Sea; 5 Dothan Although he cured an Ara-

ee mean commander's leprosy, Elisha was

loyal to Israel. He knew the Aramean

army’s battle plans and kept \srael’s

king informed. The Aramean king

tracked Elisha down in Dothan and

surrounded the city, hoping to kill him.

But Elisha prayed that the Arameans

would be blinded; then he led the

blinded army into Samaria, Israel's

capital city (6:8-23).

6 Samaria But the Arameans didn’t

learn their lesson. They later besieged

Samaria. Ironically, Israel’s king

thought it was Elisha’s fault, but Elisha

said food would be available in abun-

dance the next day. True to Elisha’s

word, the LORD caused panic in the

Aramean camp, and the enemy ran,

leaving their supplies to Samaria’s

starving people (6:24—7:20).

7 Damascus Despite Elisha’s loyalty

to Israel, he obeyed God and traveled

to Damascus, the capital of Aram.

King Ben-hadad was sick, and he

sent Hazael to ask Elisha if he would

recover. Elisha knew the king would

die and told this to Hazael. But Hazael

then murdered Ben-hadad, making

himself king. Later, Israel and Judah

joined forces to fight this new Aramean

threat (8:1-29).

8 Ramoth-gilead As Israel and Judah

warred with Aram, Elisha sent a young

prophet to Ramoth-gilead to anoint

Jehu as Israel’s next king. Jehu set

i out to destroy the wicked dynasties of

ines (++) indi i Israel and Judah, killing kings Joram The broken lines (} indicate modern boundaries. and Ahaziah, and wicked Queen Jezebel. The history of both Israel and Judah was much affected by the He then destroyed King Ahab’s family and all the Baal worshipprophet Elisha’s ministry. He served Israel for 50 years, fighting ers in Israel (9:1-—11:1). the idolatry of its kings and calling its people back to God. 9 Jerusalem Power-hungry Athaliah became queen of Judah

when fer son Ahaziah was killed. She had all her grandsons 1 Jericho Elijah’s ministry had come to an end. He touched his killed except Joash, who was hidden by his aunt. Joash was cloak to the Jordan River, and he and Elisha crossed on dry crowned king at the age of seven and overthrew Athaliah. ground. Elijah was taken by God in a whirlwind, and Elisha Meanwhile in Samaria, the Arameans continued to harass

returned alone with the cloak. The prophets in Jericho realized Israel. Israel’s new king met with Elisha and was told that he that Elisha was Elijah's replacement (1:1—2:25). would be victorious over Aram three times (11:2-—13:19). 2 Wilderness of Edom The king of Moab rebelled against Israel, Following Elisha’s death came a series of evil kings in Israel.

so the nations of Israel, Judah, and Edom decided to attack Their idolatry and rejection of God caused their downfall. from the wilderness of Edom but ran out of water. The kings The Assyrian Empire captured Samaria and took most of the

consulted Elisha, who said God would send both water and Israelites into captivity (13:20—17:41). Judah had a short

victory (3:1-27). reprieve because of a few good kings who destroyed idols 3 Shunem Elisha cared for individuals and their needs. He and worshiped God. But many strayed from God. So Jerusa-

helped a woman clear a debt by giving her a supply of oii to lem fell to the next world power, Babyton (18:1—25:30).