Please read Chapters 1-10 of II Kings. Please read also Chapter 17. We'll be focusing on two themes: whether or not the story of Elisha has the makings of tragedy and whether or not the story of the nation of Israel as a whole has the makings of tragedy.Greek tragedies stand out, not only for their overall message, but also for the many "gems" of wisdom and beautifully phrased insights into the human condition included in the choral passages. Please cite here one or two lines from the assigned chapters that seem to you equivalent in function/form to the choral sections of Greek tragedies. If you don't think it particularly useful to view II Kings as tragedy, cite instead a line or two that you consider a good example of historical/biographical insight, or that reflects the prophetic character of the book.
I love how 2 Kings 4:43 is almost an example of prophecy in two ways. The verse reads, "But Elisha answered, 'Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: 'They will eat and have some left over.''" First, Elisha is relaying what the Lord has already said, either to him or others along with Elisha. As a prophet, he's speaking the Lord's word to the people. Going even deeper, though, this seems to mirror the feeding of the four thousand and five thousand by Jesus in the New Testament. I can't help but think this passage is somehow connected to future events, thus acting as an example of prophecy.
ReplyDeleteElisha's life is also a tragedy. In 2 Kings 2:15 he finds the cloak of Elijah signifying his death. It was a sad way to find out your ally passed. Another tragedy was the famine in Samaria which happened during his war. The nation of Israel is a tragedy as a whole. One key example is the Moab revolt that proceeded the famine and yet another war. It seems like the wrong place to be. Israel's Greek tragedy was in how it was exiled in 2 Kings 17. They were invaded and conquered and everything that did go wrong did. Also in 2 Kings 9 Jezebel's death could be seen as insight because she knew she was going to die and then mysteriously died kind of like she had nothing left to live for.
ReplyDeleteI think whats going on with Israel is a tragedy. All of these years it seems that they can't get it together. From worshipping other God's, to following the fashions of other nations, Israel is being punished continually and no one seems to ask why or remember the God of Israel. Multiple times God has shown that he is who he is. One story that i took a liking to was the story of Naaman, the Syrian, who came to Elisha to be healed of Leprosy. Once given instruction he questioned it but later decided to follow those instructions. When he did he was healed. Israel also has made those same committments to God. Yet still they fall short of obeying.
ReplyDeletekenneth dennis
Delete"...I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me"
ReplyDelete"...Thou has asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so."
Elisha in this instance could've asked for anything, riches, women, status, anything... But instead he asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah which was likened unto Gods own spirit. This shows Elishas dedication intaking over after Elijah and that he was wise to know he could not do his job with his own strength, but that of Gods. A great character in the prophet Elisha.
"But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?'"
ReplyDelete"So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children - as their fathers did, so they do to this day."
By this point, God has delivered Israel out of plenty of bad situations and enemies; He had performed miracles, and had sent multiple prophets to speak the truth. And clearly, the people are at least aware of his presence - they do fear him by the end of chapter 17! Despite this fear, they do not worship him.
And as their parents did, the children will follow in the footsteps of those that came before them. It causes an endless cycle that will lead Israel to its destruction, one they cannot save themselves from.
A perfect tragedy.
8: 10-12 "And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” This is the epitome of the unheeded prophet. Elisha has time and time again come out against the actions of the regions kings and their subordinates. Every time that Elisha warns a king, he is seemingly ignored. In this verse, he doesn't even try to warn Hazael, he just tells him what's going to happen. Elisha just seems burnt out.
ReplyDeleteIn that similar vein of the unheeded prophet, 7:2 "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it." Elisha warns this guy that he's going to die the next day and he just doesn't listen. Time and time again Elisha is ignored and not listened to.
2 Kings 10:28–29
ReplyDeleteSo Jehu eliminated Baal from Israel.
However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—namely, the worship of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan.
Elisha’s disciple anointed Jehu as king in obedience to the word of the Lord. And following God's command, Jehu struck down the house of Ahab. Yet in the end, Jehu also walked down the same path.
The tragedy lies in this: even though he was chosen as a new king to destroy a sinful dynasty, Jehu failed to reflect deeply on the sins that brought about their downfall.
He simply removed the former regime to become king himself, only to repeat the very same sins.
Sophia Lee
Dylan Schimke
ReplyDeleteTwo lines that stuck out to me were not "beautiful" but they teach a very good lesson. In 2 Kings 5:26-27, Elisha talks to his servant Gehazi, "But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow." I think this is a great lesson of how greedand deciept will lead to harmful things. It is also a great lesson of how when you try to decieve someone, you are not alone, God is watching and will judge you fairly like Elisha did to Gehazi. I personally find these passages the most moving because I imagine myself committing these sins and being punished the same way, which makes me really think about my actions in the future.
In chapter 9 verses 36-37, it says: "This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: 'In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field..."'
ReplyDeleteThese verses remind me very much of the choral sections in Greek tragedies. I don't necessarily think that these verses are beautiful (quite the opposite, really), but they have a similar feel to a Greek tragedy. In stories with leaders as one of the main characters, oftentimes they have a downfall that is sung by the chorus. These verses here are describing the downfall and destruction of Jezebel, just as if it were written by Aeschylus or Sophocles.
Lauren
2 Kings 17:5-6
ReplyDeleteThe king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
I believe these couple verses defend 2 Kings as historical. It describes the invasion of Assyria and also the time and year of Israel's King. This book is way to descriptive of events and places. I do find the stories somewhat tragic and maybe poetic, but I'd say a lot more historical.
The narrative unfolds with Dramatic Intensity, focusing on the prophet Elijah's miracles and the violent political tensions with Israel, including the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Despite Elijha's prophetic role and deeds, he cannot halt the nation's moral decay into destruction. The nation itself is portrayed tragically; it rejects divine guidance, leading to its downfall. The fall is framed not as a political failure but as a spiritual one.
ReplyDelete11 Kings 17:15
line that echoes the moral reckoning often found in Greek tragedy choruses.
2nd Kings 9:31
When Jezebel mocks Jehu, asking, “Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?”—a moment of bitter irony that encapsulates the violent cycles of betrayal and retribution in Israel’s history. These lines serve as reflective insights and narrative commentary, much like the Greek chorus, emphasizing the consequences of hubris and disobedience.
(Another one that I thought I completed)