Chapter 3 of Melachim Bet opens the era of the reign of Yehoram son of Achav. Achav died in battle and the dogs licked his blood, as Eliyahu had foretold, because he had stolen the vineyard of Navot the Yizreelite, and his son Yehoram reigned in his place. But we must ask: why does Scripture open here with the details of Yehoram's reign? The answer lies in Elisha's request of his master: 'Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me,' meaning that he should merit to perform twice as many miracles as his master. Rashi cites the midrash in the name of the thirty two principles of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, that we find with Eliyahu eight miracles and with Elisha sixteen, and thereby 'a double portion of your spirit be upon me' is fulfilled. From here onward Scripture begins to count these miracles one after another.
וִיהוֹרָם בֶּן־אַחְאָב מָלַךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן בִּשְׁנַת שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה לִיהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וַיִּמְלֹךְ שְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה׃ - And Yehoram son of Achav became king over Israel in Shomron in the eighteenth year of Yehoshaphat king of Yehudah, and he reigned twelve years.
וַיַּעֲשֶׂה הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה רַק לֹא כְאָבִיו וּכְאִמּוֹ וַיָּסַר אֶת־מַצְּבַת הַבַּעַל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אָבִיו׃ רַק בְּחַטֹּאות יָרָבְעָם בֶּן־נְבָט אֲשֶׁר־הֶחֱטִיא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל דָּבֵק לֹא־סָר מִמֶּנָּה׃ - And he did evil in the eyes of Hashem, only not like his father and his mother, and he removed the pillar of the Baal that his father had made. Only he clung to the sins of Yarovam son of Nevat, who caused Israel to sin, he did not turn away from it.
Yehoram did evil in the eyes of Hashem, but Scripture emphasizes that he was not like his father and his mother. There is here a distinction between two kinds of kings: there were those who clung to the sin of Yarovam because of the advantage it offered, and there were those who clung to it out of spite. What was the advantage? If the king of Israel were to observe the mitzvot, he would be forced to bring the people up to Yerushalayim to offer sacrifices on the three festivals, and there in the courtyard he could not sit, for only kings of the House of David sit in the courtyard. Consequently he would be forced to stand, and everyone would say: behold, the king of Yehudah sits and the king of Israel stands, apparently he is not truly a king, and the people would be drawn after the king of Yehudah. From here it all began; this was the sin of Yarovam. Achav and Izevel made the pillar of the Baal and the Asherah out of spite, whereas Yehoram removed the pillar of the Baal and clung only to the sin of Yarovam, out of concern and fear lest the kingdom fall into the hands of the kings of Yehudah, and not, Heaven forbid, out of spite like his father and mother.
וּמֵישַׁע מֶלֶךְ־מוֹאָב הָיָה נֹקֵד וְהֵשִׁיב לְמֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאָה־אֶלֶף כָּרִים וּמֵאָה אֶלֶף אֵילִים צָמֶר׃ וַיְהִי כְּמוֹת אַחְאָב וַיִּפְשַׁע מֶלֶךְ־מוֹאָב בְּמֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And Meisha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams with their wool. And it was, when Achav died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
'Noked' means a raiser of sheep. And why did Meisha become a shepherd? Because he was subject to the rule of the king of Israel, and was obligated to bring up to him each year a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams of wool - together with their wool, not shorn sheep. When such a heavy tribute is imposed upon a man, he has no choice but to begin raising sheep in great numbers. And when Achav died, Meisha sought an opportunity to cast off the heavy yoke, and therefore 'he rebelled' - he removed the yoke of the king of Israel from upon himself.
וַיֵּצֵא הַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוֹרָם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא מִשֹּׁמְרוֹן וַיִּפְקֹד אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And King Yehoram went out on that day from Shomron and mustered all of Israel.
In Yehoram's eyes this did not find favor: how could he suddenly not fulfill his obligation? And presumably the kingdom was based upon these tributes. Therefore he goes out from Shomron and musters all of Israel, and a muster is done for the purpose of war.
וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶל־יְהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה לֵאמֹר מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב פָּשַׁע בִּי הֲתֵלֵךְ אִתִּי אֶל־מוֹאָב לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶעֱלֶה כָּמוֹנִי כָמוֹךָ כְּעַמִּי כְעַמֶּךָ כְּסוּסַי כְּסוּסֶיךָ׃ - And he went and sent to Yehoshafat king of Yehuda, saying: The king of Moav has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moav to war? And he said: I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
Yehoram asks Yehoshafat to join him, and he has grounds to rely on: as we recall, Yehoshafat and Achav were related by marriage. And the Malbim adds in particular that when Moav rebelled against the king of Israel, they also allied with the Ammonites and with some of the inhabitants of Se'ir and came to fight against Yehoshafat, and they fell in battle. This does not appear here but in Divrei HaYamim II chapter 20. Consequently, when the opportunity fell into his hands to settle accounts with them, Yehoshafat does not miss it and says: 'I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses' - we will fight shoulder to shoulder, and I am ready to invest whatever you are ready to invest.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵי־זֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ נַעֲלֶה וַיֹּאמֶר דֶּרֶךְ מִדְבַּר אֱדוֹם׃ - And he said: Which way shall we go up? And he said: By way of the wilderness of Edom.
The king of Israel asks the king of Yehuda which way to go up, and he answers: by way of the wilderness of Edom. And why? Because Edom was subject to Israel in those days, and as we recall there was 'a king's deputy in Edom.' Yehoshafat's wish was that the king of Edom would also join them, and being three kings it would be easier for them to fight.
וַיֵּלֶךְ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה וּמֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם וַיָּסֹבּוּ דֶּרֶךְ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים וְלֹא־הָיָה מַיִם לַמַּחֲנֶה וְלַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר בְּרַגְלֵיהֶם׃ - And the king of Israel went, and the king of Yehuda, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the camp and for the animals that followed them.
The king of Edom was not truly a king but a deputy, and indeed the king of Israel and the king of Yehuda join with him. But note: they had a nearby route to reach Moav, since Moav borders Israel, in the region beyond the Jordan, in the place where the state of Jordan is today. You cross the Jordan and you arrive. So why enter the wilderness? The answer is that they circled around Mount Se'ir in order to gather the king of Edom to join them, and therefore they were forced to make a detour and go by way of the wilderness. And this is exactly what created the problem for them.
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲהָהּ כִּי־קָרָא יְהֹוָה לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה לָתֵת אוֹתָם בְּיַד־מוֹאָב׃ - And the king of Israel said: Alas, for Hashem has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moav.
Suddenly it becomes clear to them that their going to bring the king of Edom along with them turned out to be their undoing: for now they are in the wilderness and there is no water for the camp and the animals, and consequently the king of Moav could easily defeat them. The king of Israel says: now it becomes clear to me that our deviating from the straight road and not doing the logical thing - crossing the Jordan and fighting Moav directly - but instead bringing Edom with us, was all a plan from Hashem to thwart our design and cause us to fall into the hand of the king of Moav. For logic would not have dictated doing this at all: you have a nearby road, why go by a roundabout way? From this I understand 'for Hashem has called' - Hashem arranged it thus and frustrated our design so that we would do something illogical, in order to cause us to fall into the hand of the king of Moav.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשָׁפָט הַאֵין פֹּה נָבִיא לַיהֹוָה וְנִדְרְשָׁה אֶת־יְהֹוָה מֵאוֹתוֹ וַיַּעַן אֶחָד מֵעַבְדֵי מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר פֹּה אֱלִישָׁע בֶּן־שָׁפָט אֲשֶׁר־יָצַק מַיִם עַל־יְדֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ׃ - And Yehoshafat said: Is there not here a prophet of Hashem, that we may inquire of Hashem through him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said: Here is Elisha son of Shafat, who poured water on the hands of Eliyahu.
Yehoshafat was a righteous king, and he understands that there is something planned here from Hashem. Therefore he asks for a prophet, in order to ask what the way is that we have taken, whether to continue, and what Hashem wants of us. The servant of the king of Israel answers that Elisha son of Shafat is here, 'who poured water on the hands of Eliyahu.' The plain meaning of the verse: this is his disciple, and the disciple is called one who pours water on the hands of his master, since it is the way of the disciple to serve his master even in the most basic of services, such as pouring water on his hands, which is like the service of a servant. Indeed, the more the disciple serves his master, the more he demonstrates greater self-nullification and greater capacity to receive his master's Torah.
So we saw with Yehoshua, who served his master in the most basic of services, and therefore merited all the levels he merited - he would sweep and arrange the benches in the study hall. 'The serving of Torah is greater than its study.' And so we find with the sages, that when a disciple would ask a question, the sage would say to him: go and carry a vessel to the bathhouse. How will you merit to understand? By serving the master, whereby you nullify yourself before him and become a vessel to receive his Torah. However, today, as is brought in the poskim and as Rashi mentions, the primary service of Torah scholars is the study of the Talmud, and therefore this matter of serving Torah scholars is less familiar in our times - certainly there is a mitzvah in it, but the main thing is the study of the Gemara. The reason: in their times a person without a sage could not attain achievements in study, for the entire Oral Torah, from where would you learn it if you had no sage from whom to nurse? But today everything is written and found in the Talmud, and consequently the study of the Gemara is the serving of the sages. And yet we still see among many great leaders that they have trusted household members who serve them: Rav Shach and Rav Yitzchaki, Rav Elyashiv and Rav Efrati, Rav Ovadia Yosef and his son. From here we learn the great importance of serving.
But there is another explanation for why it says specifically "poured water." The Sages say that when Eliyahu was at Mount Carmel, he asked Elisha to take water and pour it over the offering, so that there would be no doubts that some flammable material had been placed there. A miracle occurred, and his ten fingers became like springs of water, until the entire trench was filled with water. This is what is meant by "poured water" - not "served" and not "studied," but rather his hands, as it were, poured water before him. And why does the verse mention specifically this point here? Says the Malbim: because this is exactly what they need now - water. And who is the most fitting person? "Who poured water on the hands of Eliyahu." One through whom a miracle was performed with water is worthy that a miracle with water be performed through him now as well. Therefore they said: there is none more fitting than Elisha.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשָׁפָט יֵשׁ אוֹתוֹ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה וַיֵּרְדוּ אֵלָיו מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוֹשָׁפָט וּמֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם׃ - And Yehoshafat said: The word of Hashem is with him. And the king of Yisrael and Yehoshafat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Seemingly the fitting expression would have been "there is with him the word of Hashem." What does "there is him" mean? The Malbim says something wonderful: surely Elisha had an exemption, or at the very least a deferral - why should he go out with the army, especially since he was presumably not young at that time? Furthermore: with whom is Yehoshafat going out to war? With the wicked Yehoram. What business does Elisha, prophet of Hashem, have joining such a battle? From this Yehoshafat concludes: "there is him" - the very fact that the prophet is present here teaches that the word of Hashem is with him. The disciple of Eliyahu would not go to the camp for nothing but only on a mission; if he is here, he has a mission here.
And in the continuation of the verse: "And the king of Yisrael and Yehoshafat and the king of Edom went down to him." Note the difference in language: regarding Yisrael and Edom it says "king," but regarding Yehoshafat it does not. The Sages say: Yehoshafat wore commoner's garments, so as not to glorify himself before the prophet. It is a time of trouble, and this is not a time to come before the prophet in greatness. Therefore he is not mentioned here in royal garments but as a simple man.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלִישָׁע אֶל־מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל מַה־לִּי וָלָךְ לֵךְ אֶל־נְבִיאֵי אָבִיךָ וְאֶל־נְבִיאֵי אִמֶּךָ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל כִּי־קָרָא יְהֹוָה לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה לָתֵת אוֹתָם בְּיַד־מוֹאָב׃ - And Elisha said to the king of Yisrael: What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Yisrael said to him: No, for Hashem has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moav.
Elisha says to the king of Yisrael: What are you looking for from me? Since when have I become your address? You have prophets - the prophets of your father and mother - go to them. The Malbim explains: the prophet's prayer helps only one who believes in Hashem and in His prophets. A person must bind his soul with the prophet, and then his prayer is beneficial; but one who does not believe in Divine providence, no matter how much they pray on his behalf, it will not help him. Therefore he tells him: you believe in the prophets of Baal, to them you are bound - go to them, perhaps they will help you. But I, how can I help you, if you do not connect with me and do not believe in me or in Hashem?
And here it is fitting to mention that this is also the case when people go to ask a blessing from a tzaddik. There was an incident with the Baba Sali, when two women who had not been blessed with children for many years came to him. He told them to take upon themselves the observance of family purity, and so they did and began going to the mikveh. One conceived within a short time, and the other was still waiting. After a few months they returned to him, one reporting that, thank God, she had conceived, and the other asking: why did my friend conceive and not me? The Rav told her, through his attendant, since he would not speak with women: tell the truth, is it not so that when I blessed you, you did not believe? And she admitted that indeed she had not believed, for she had been to so many doctors, specialists and professors, and what, some old man from Netivot would give her a blessing and that is it? He said to her: your friend believed, and you did not believe. If you believe in Hashem and believe in the blessing - the blessing will work in you. This is what Elisha says: what can I pray on your behalf if you do not believe?
And the king of Yisrael replies "No" - do not reject me, for the decree is not upon me alone but upon three kings, among them Yehoshafat and the king of Edom. And the matter of Divine providence is felt here: "for Hashem has called these three kings." That is: you do not have here a personal, private matter with me alone, there are other people here - do it for their sake if not for ours. Even if I am not worthy, there is one here who is worthy, and I see that there is Divine providence here, and therefore you are required to do this.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלִישָׁע חַי־יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָמַדְתִּי לְפָנָיו כִּי לוּלֵי פְּנֵי יְהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה אֲנִי נֹשֵׂא אִם־אַבִּיט אֵלֶיךָ וְאִם־אֶרְאֶךָּ׃ - And Elisha said: As Hashem of Hosts lives, before whom I have stood, were it not that I regard the presence of Yehoshafat king of Yehudah, I would not look at you nor see you.
'Before whom I stand' - for I am always accustomed to stand before Him in prayer. And Elisha says: were it not for Yehoshafat king of Yehudah present here, I would not look at you nor see you at all. What is the depth of these words? The Malbim explains: one of the conditions for the prophetic flow that descends upon the prophet is that he be among God fearing, whole and righteous people, for the place too is among the conditions for prophecy to take hold. So we find with Shaul, who came upon the band of prophets who were prophesying, and he was told 'and you shall prophesy with them', and people wondered 'is Shaul too among the prophets' - when you are in a place where God pours out the flow, you receive the flow even if you are not at the highest level. In contrast, when the prophet is among the wicked, the holy spirit departs from him. And where do we see this? With Esther, who entered the house of idols and said 'my God, my God, why have You forsaken me', and Chazal say that she entered the house of idols and the Shechinah departed from her, for it was a place of idolatrous images.
Therefore Elisha tells him: your very presence here prevents the flow and causes that I cannot prophesy. But there is another side here as well: 'the face of Yehoshafat king of Yehudah I bear' - Yehoshafat is righteous, and his very presence here assists in receiving the flow. It turns out that the situation is balanced: on one hand there is opposition to receiving the flow, and on the other hand there is assistance.
וְעַתָּה קְחוּ־לִי מְנַגֵּן וְהָיָה כְּנַגֵּן הַמְנַגֵּן וַתְּהִי עָלָיו יַד־יְהֹוָה׃ - And now bring me a musician, and it was, as the musician played, the hand of Hashem came upon him.
Since the situation is balanced - on one hand prevention and on the other hand assistance - Elisha needs an external act to arouse the receiving of the flow, and therefore he asks for a musician, through whom he will come to that spiritual elevation and uplift by which he can receive the flow. The Malbim says: naturally Elisha would not have needed a musician at all, but because here there were these two opposing forces, he needed a musician through whom he would receive the spirit of Hashem.
And Chazal expound an additional reason: Elisha did not immediately merit that the spirit rest upon him, because he was angry at the king of Israel. And anyone who becomes angry, if he is a prophet, his prophecy departs from him. From where do we know this? From Elisha, who needed to dispel his anger by means of the musician. According to Chazal, taking the musician was meant to dispel the anger with which he had turned to the king of Israel, and thereby he became worthy that the spirit of Hashem come upon him.
וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה עָשֹׂה הַנַּחַל הַזֶּה גֵּבִים גֵּבִים׃ כִּי־כֹה אָמַר יְהֹוָה לֹא־תִרְאוּ רוּחַ וְלֹא־תִרְאוּ גֶשֶׁם וְהַנַּחַל הַהוּא יִמָּלֵא מָיִם וּשְׁתִיתֶם אַתֶּם וּמִקְנֵיכֶם וּבְהֶמְתְּכֶם׃ - And he said: so said Hashem, make this valley full of pits. For so said Hashem: you shall not see wind and you shall not see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you shall drink, you and your cattle and your beasts.
'Gevim' means pits upon pits, cavities, and the water will fill those cavities. The Holy One, blessed be He, promises that there will be neither wind nor rain, and with all this the valley will be filled with water and you will drink, you and your cattle and your beasts.
וְנָקַל זֹאת בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה וְנָתַן אֶת־מוֹאָב בְּיֶדְכֶם׃ - And this is a light thing in the eyes of Hashem, and He will give Moav into your hand.
The plain sense of the verse: this is a small thing in the eyes of Hashem, and moreover Hashem will give Moav into your hand, which is the great thing. But the Malbim, as is his way, reveals a depth here. Seemingly, if we were asked which is the greater miracle - that the valley fill without rain and without wind, or that it fill with rain and wind - we would say that the great miracle is that the valley fill without rain. However, one must know that this place was a parched wilderness where rain does not fall at all, and consequently, had rain fallen there it would have been a thing entirely outside the way of nature, and had Hashem brought down rain there and also filled the valley, it would have been a greater miracle.
And behold, here they saw: the rain did not fall in the wilderness, but in the land of Edom, where rain is regular and constant, and it is not a place lacking rain. The rain fell there, and the water flowed all the way to here, while they saw no wind and no clouds. It turns out that this is a small miracle, a miracle close to nature. And why did Hashem choose to perform a small miracle when He could have performed a great one? The Malbim gives two reasons. The first is simple: they were not worthy of two miracles, for Yehoram, a wicked king, was with them, and they needed the miracle of salvation from Moav, and therefore Hashem lessened this miracle in order to magnify the miracle of salvation. And the second reason is deeper: when the miracle is not needed for its own sake but is only an instrument and a means, there is no purpose in magnifying it. And here, what was really needed? The water was not the goal for which they set out, but the victory over Moav. And since the water is only an instrument for the central goal, there is no purpose for Hashem to perform a great miracle in bringing down the rain.
This is the meaning of "and this is a light thing in the eyes of Hashem." But what does "difficult" or "easy" mean in relation to the Holy One, blessed be He? For Him there is no difficult and no easy. Rather, when we say that it is difficult for Him to overturn the systems of nature, the meaning is that the matter runs contrary to the pattern He established in the world. The pattern is that the world operates in a fixed manner according to the laws of nature, and when this needs to be changed, it is, so to speak, difficult for Him, not in the sense of hardship but in the sense of inconvenience, like a person who says "it is hard for me to give it to him," meaning not that the thing is heavy but that he does not wish to do it. Therefore the prophet says: the miracle done for you with the water is a light miracle, close to nature, because "and He will give Moav into your hand" - the great miracle will be reserved for the ultimate purpose itself, the conquest of Moav.
וְהִכִּיתֶם כָּל־עִיר מִבְצָר וְכָל־עִיר מִבְחוֹר וְכָל־עֵץ טוֹב תַּפִּילוּ וְכָל־מַעְיְנֵי־מַיִם תִּסְתֹּמוּ וְכֹל הַחֶלְקָה הַטּוֹבָה תַּכְאִבוּ בָּאֲבָנִים׃ - And you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and every good tree you shall fell, and all springs of water you shall stop up, and every good field you shall ruin with stones.
"Every fortified city" refers to the walled cities; "and every choice city" means the finest and most select cities; "and every good field you shall ruin with stones" means a place fit for growing crops, into which they should throw stones so that it will no longer be fit for growing. One might ask: is this permitted according to halacha? For it is said, "When you besiege a city for many days... you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them, for is the tree of the field a man, that it should come before you in the siege?" Incidentally, this is one of the pesukim whose plain meaning few people know: it is said as a question, is the tree of the field a man, that you should wage war against it in a siege? Wage war against people and not against trees.
Some wish to say that the prohibition was stated specifically in a siege, and here it does not say that they besieged the city, so there is no prohibition. Others distinguish between fruit trees and non fruit trees, but that is not the meaning here, for "every good tree" refers to actual fruit trees. Rather the Midrash says: when the prophet told them "and every good tree you shall fell," they said to him: but He says "you shall not destroy its trees," and you say this? He said to them: this was said regarding the other nations, but this nation is contemptible and despised in the eyes of Hashem, as it says "and this is a light thing in the eyes of Hashem" - an expression that they are contemptible and despised in the eyes of Hashem. And it was said of them "you shall not seek their peace or their welfare," and what is "their welfare"? These are their good trees. It emerges that this was a temporary ruling, just as there was a temporary ruling for Eliyahu HaNavi on Mount Carmel to offer a sacrifice outside the Beit HaMikdash.
וַיְהִי בַבֹּקֶר כַּעֲלוֹת הַמִּנְחָה וְהִנֵּה־מַיִם בָּאִים מִדֶּרֶךְ אֱדוֹם וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֶת־הַמָּיִם׃ - And it came to pass in the morning, at the time of offering the mincha, that behold, water was coming from the direction of Edom, and the land was filled with water.
"And it came to pass in the morning, at the time of offering the mincha" seems to be a contradiction: either in the morning or at the time of the mincha. There are several explanations for this. Some say "in the morning" means toward the end of the morning, when the morning turned toward the time of the mincha. A second explanation, the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma: a downpour of rain fell in Edom in the morning, and the water came to them at the time of offering the mincha. And a third explanation: "and it came to pass in the morning" - Elisha's words were in the morning, and at the time of offering the mincha, behold, water was coming from the direction of Edom.
וְכָל־מוֹאָב שָׁמְעוּ כִּי־עָלוּ הַמְּלָכִים לְהִלָּחֶם בָּם וַיִּצָּעֲקוּ מִכֹּל חֹגֵר חֲגֹרָה וָמַעְלָה וַיַּעַמְדוּ עַל־הַגְּבוּל׃ - And all Moav heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, and they mustered everyone who could gird on a belt and upward, and they stood at the border.
Moav heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, and they carried out a general mobilization, what would be called an emergency call up: everyone who has a belt was summoned to the army. "And they stood at the border" - already prepared for battle and war.
וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ בַבֹּקֶר וְהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ זָרְחָה עַל־הַמָּיִם וַיִּרְאוּ מוֹאָב מִנֶּגֶד אֶת־הַמַּיִם אֲדֻמִּים כַּדָּם׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ דָּם זֶה הָחֳרֵב נֶחֶרְבוּ הַמְּלָכִים וַיַּכּוּ אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ וְעַתָּה לַשָּׁלָל מוֹאָב׃ - And they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and Moav saw the water from the distance as red as blood. And they said: This is blood; the kings have surely destroyed one another and struck each man his fellow; and now, to the spoil, Moav!
Moav sees from afar the camps of Edom, Israel and Yehuda, and they see water there, though they know that this is a desert place with no water. And when the sun cast its rays of light upon the water, the water appeared to them red as blood, like a mirage. They said: apparently the kings have destroyed one another, they fought amongst themselves, and all we see is blood that has been spilled. In short: our work has been done by others, apparently Edom, Israel and Yehuda quarreled among themselves, and Hashem is with us. Therefore all that remains is to fall upon the slain and gather the spoil.
וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּקֻמוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־מוֹאָב וַיָּנֻסוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיַּכּוּ־בָהּ וְהַכּוֹת אֶת־מוֹאָב׃ - And they came to the camp of Israel, and Israel rose up and smote Moav, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, smiting Moav.
They came full of confidence, not as men braced for battle but as men coming to gather spoil, and Israel rose up and took them by surprise. Why is it repeated, first "and they smote Moav" and then "they smote it, smiting Moav"? The Malbim explains: at first they smote the Moavites who had come to them, and afterward "they smote it" - they continued and pursued them until they reached the land of Moav, and then "smiting Moav" - they struck within the land itself.
וְהֶעָרִים יַהֲרֹסוּ וְכָל־חֶלְקָה טוֹבָה יַשְׁלִיכוּ אִישׁ־אַבְנוֹ וּמִלְאוּהָ וְכָל־מַעְיַן־מַיִם יִסְתֹּמוּ וְכָל־עֵץ־טוֹב יַפִּילוּ עַד־הִשְׁאִיר אֲבָנֶיהָ בַּקִּיר חֲרָשֶׂת וַיָּסֹבּוּ הַקַּלָּעִים וַיַּכּוּהָ׃ - And they broke down the cities, and on every good piece of land each man cast his stone and filled it, and they stopped up every spring of water and felled every good tree, until only its stones in Kir Charaset were left; and the slingers went around it and smote it.
Everything they did was exactly as the prophet had commanded: they broke down the cities, filled the good plots with stones, stopped up the springs of water and felled every good tree. "Until only its stones in Kir Charaset were left" - there remained one wall of the city of Charaset, a great fortress whose wall was built of large stones, and because of the strength of the place and the strength of the building they could not tear it down. Therefore "the slingers went around it and smote it" - not with swords, but they slung large stones at it, until they had destroyed all the cities except that one city which they could not overcome.
וַיַּרְא מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב כִּי־חָזַק מִמֶּנּוּ הַמִּלְחָמָה וַיִּקַּח אוֹתוֹ שְׁבַע־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ שֹׁלֵף חֶרֶב לְהַבְקִיעַ אֶל־מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ׃ - And when the king of Moav saw that the battle was too strong for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.
The king of Moav sees that the battle is too strong for him, and so he takes with him seven hundred men who draw the sword, a kind of elite unit, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. According to the Malbim's explanation, he calculated that he needed a tactical victory: if he could penetrate to the position of the king of Edom, who was apparently the weak link in the camp, and succeed in seizing his son, he would hold a hostage and thereby decide the war. For this purpose only a small unit was needed. The main goal was to kill the king of Edom, but they could not, and so in the end they took his son.
וַיִּקַּח אֶת־בְּנוֹ הַבְּכוֹר אֲשֶׁר־יִמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו וַיַּעֲלֵהוּ עֹלָה עַל־הַחֹמָה וַיְהִי קֶצֶף־גָּדוֹל עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּסְעוּ מֵעָלָיו וַיָּשֻׁבוּ לָאָרֶץ׃ - Then he took his firstborn son who was to reign in his place, and offered him up as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their land.
According to the plain meaning, it was the son of the king of Edom who was taken and offered up upon the wall, and this caused great wrath against Israel, for the king of Edom was very angry with them: why did you not help me to save my son from the hand of the king of Moav?
But Chazal expound here a different interpretation, well known to many. The king of Moav asked: how does this nation always win? They told him: because they had a righteous father whom they called Avraham, who was ready to bind his son and slaughter him, and therefore Hashem performs miracles for them. He said: if so, I too will do the same. First he tried to break through to the king of Edom and could not, and then he said: I will do something that will cause Hashem to help me. He took his own son, his firstborn who was to reign in his place, and slaughtered him upon the wall, offering him, as it were, to Hashem. There are two opinions on this: some say he offered him to idolatry, and some say he offered him to Hashem. No one had commanded him to do this; rather he said: if Avraham did so, I too will do so. And concerning this it is said "which I did not command, nor speak, nor did it come into My heart," and Chazal say that one of them is the king of Moav - "nor did it come into My heart," I said no such thing to him. And so too with Yiftach and so too with Avraham: concerning all of them Chazal say "I did not command, nor speak" to slaughter.
And according to this explanation, the wrath that came upon Israel is from Hashem: for they said in Heaven, look, a gentile is ready to go and slaughter and offer up his son, and you are not ready to give yourselves over to the service of Hashem? This is "and there was great wrath against Israel." "And they departed from him and returned to their land" - with this the battle and the war came to an end.
In the chapter before us, the series of Elisha's miracles begins, through which his request "a double portion of your spirit upon me" is fulfilled. Yehoram, who although he did evil was not like his father and his mother, goes out to war against Meisha king of Moav, who had thrown off the heavy burden of tribute, and he joins with him the righteous Yehoshafat and the king of Edom. The detour needed to include Edom leads them into a desert without water, and the king of Israel understands that the providence of Hashem had thwarted their plan. Yehoshafat seeks a prophet, and Elisha, "who poured water on the hands of Eliyahu," fitting for the miracle of water, rebukes the king of Israel that the prophet's prayer does not avail one who does not believe, and only for the sake of Yehoshafat's presence is he answered, and with the help of the musician who was needed because of the opposition and the anger. The miracle with the water was performed in a lowly manner close to nature, since it was not the purpose but a means for the primary miracle: the delivering of Moav into their hands. And so it was: Moav erred over the water that was red as blood, came confidently and fell, and Israel destroyed their land as a temporary directive, until the king of Moav offered up his son as a burnt offering upon the wall, an act that Hashem had not commanded and had not entered His mind, and from it a great wrath came upon Israel.