Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Kings 13:14

"Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died: and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over him, and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" — 2 Kings 13:14 (ASV)

This passage describes the closing scene of Elisha’s life. It was now at least sixty-three years since his call, so at this time he was very possibly over ninety years old. He seems to have lived in almost complete retirement from the time he sent the young prophet to anoint Jehu as king (2 Kings 9:1). Now, it was not he who sought the king, but the king who sought him. Apparently, the special function of the two great Israelite prophets (Elijah and Elisha) was to counteract the noxious influence of the Baalistic rites; when these practices ceased, their extraordinary ministry came to an end.

The chariot of Israel ... - Joash must have known the circumstances of Elijah’s removal, which were perhaps already recorded in the “Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.” He must have intended to apply to Elisha the prophet’s own words from that solemn occasion: “You too are about to leave us and to follow Elijah—you who have been, since his departure, what he was while he remained on earth, the true defense of Israel.”