John Gill Commentary 2 Kings 13

Ver. 1. In the twenty and third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king
2 Kings 13:2

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord
Committed idolatry:

and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel
to sin ;
worshipping the golden calves:

he departed not therefrom ;
from the worship of them.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
Or towards it, as he was ordered, the rod being in his hand, as before observed:

and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared ;
being no longer detained by a superior power, contrary to the nature of it, to stand still as an heap, andfirm as a wall, its waves came down and rolled with their usual force and strength, or it returned to itsusual course:

at the appearance of the morning in its strength ;
when the morning looked forth in its first light and brightness, when it was broad day:

and the Egyptians fled against it ;
against the waves that came rolling down upon them: or "at meeting it" ^F21 , for as they turnedtheir backs on the Israelites and fled, the waters of the sea met them, as well as fell on each side of them,or rather over them, and followed after them, and closed and shut them up on all sides; so that it was invain for them to flee, for let them go which way they would, the sea was against them:

and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea ;
or shook them "off" or "out" ^F23 ; out of their chariots, blew them out with the wind; for asthere was a wind made use of to divide the waters of the sea, and make the bottom of it dry, there wasanother to cause the waters to return to their former place; see (Exodus 15:10) or the waves of the seadashed them out of their chariots, or through the force of them they were overturned in it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (wtarql) "in occursum ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "obviam mare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
• F23: (renyw) (exetinaxe) Sept. "et excussit", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "sic excussit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel
They doing as their kings did:

and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into
the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all [their] days ;
the word "their" should not be supplied, since it was not true that Israel was delivered into the hands of both those kings of Syria as long as they lived; for they were delivered out of the hands of Benhadad, (2 Kings 13:25) , but the word "his" should be inserted for it as to be understood of the days of Jehoahaz, see (2 Kings 13:22) .

And Jehoahaz sought the Lord, and the Lord listened to
him
He did not apply in his distress to the calves he worshipped, but to the Lord; who had a regard to his prayer, not for his sake, or any righteousness of his, or even his repentance and humiliation, which were only external; but for the sake of Israel, and because they were oppressed, who were his people, and he their God, though they had sadly departed from him:

for he saw the oppression of Israel ;
not only with his eye of omniscience, but with an eye of mercy and compassion:

because the king of Syria oppressed them ;
by his incursions upon them, and wars with them.

And the Lord gave Israel a saviour
Not an angel sent by him, nor a captain raised up among them, nor the prophet Elisha, who predicted their deliverance, nor Jehoahaz himself, but his son Joash, (2 Kings 13:25)

so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians ;
were not in subjection to them, nor harassed by them, nor in fear of them:

and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as before time ;
in peace and safety.