Identity of the Anonymous Deliverer

The identity of the deliverer whom God sent in answer to Jehoahaz’s prayer is unknown (2 Kgs 13:5). Proposed candidates based on clues in the narrative and historical considerations include (see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 143):

• Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, who defeated Ben-hadad of Aram on three occasions, recapturing Israelite towns that had been lost (2 Kgs 13:25).

• Jeroboam II, son of Jehoash and grandson of Jehoahaz, who recovered lost territories and was used by God to “save” Israel (2 Kgs 14:25, 27).

• Adad-Nirari III, who reestablished his Assyrian kingdom as the dominant military force in the region, thereby greatly diminishing Aramaean power (Mazar, “Aramean Empire,” 115). An Assyrian source confirms an Assyria-Israel alliance during this period, recording that Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, gave tribute to Adad-Nirari (Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 335).

• Elisha, who is referred to as “the chariots and horsemen of Israel” (2 Kgs 13:14 NIV) and who prophesied victory over Aram. This final prophecy at the end of Elisha’s life was fulfilled by Jehoash’s repeated victories over Ben-hadad of Aram (Miller, “The Elisha Cycle,” 442f).

Olley suggests that the lack of a name for the deliverer shifts emphasis to “Yahweh himself as the ‘deliverer’ ” of His people (Olley, “2 Kings 13,” 204).