79 ISRAEL’S RETREAT FAILURE PROPHECY 2 KINGS 3 AND THE OF IN One final point needs discussion. For my proposal to work, Mesha’s god (probably Chemosh) must be the source of the angry outburst against Israel. Usage of πxq suggests this. In twenty-five of the noun’s twenty- seven occurrences apart from 2 Kings 3,27, it refers to divine anger. Though elsewhere Israel’s God is in view, the immediate context here suggests Mesha’s god was the source of the anger. The sequence of wayy- iqtol forms indicates that the outburst of anger was a response to the sac- rifice described in the preceding clause. Mesha undoubtedly sacrificed to his own deity 34, so it would seem that Mesha’s god responded by driving the besieging Israelites from the city 35. In addition to the fact that Chemosh has not been a factor in the narrative 36, many feel that such an action by a pagan deity would be un- heard of in the Yahwistic history, where pagan deities are viewed as weaklings in comparison to YAHWEH (see, for example, Judges 6–9 and 1 Samuel 5) 37. However, other portions of the Old Testament suggest that such a notion may not be so preposterous after all (cf. 2 Chr 28,23) 38. More importantly, the suppression of Mesha’s god’s name contributes to the tragic irony of the story. Mesha’s god, like all pagan gods, was a virtual non-entity, a weakling, yet Jehoram let such a god drive him away, even though he was armed with YAHWEH’s oracle of victory. There are extra-biblical examples of kings appealing to their god during 34 a siege. When besieged by an enemy coalition, Zakkur, king of Hamath and Lu‘ash, prayed to Baal, who answered through a prophetic oracle and assured Zakkur of deliverance (COS II, 155). In a Ugaritic prayer for a city under siege, the petitioner is assured that Baal will respond favorably to the proper sacri- ficial ritual and “drive the strong (foe) from your gate, [the warrior] from your walls ” (COS I, 285). S. PARKER, Stories in Scripture and Inscriptions (New York 1997) 125. 35 See as well J. BURNS, “Why Did the Besieging Army Withdraw? (II Reg 3,27) ”, ZAW 102 (1990) 187-194; J. GRAY, I & II Kings. A Commentary (OTL; Philadelphia, PA 1963) 439; and G. JONES, 1 and 2 Kings (NCB ; Grand Rapids, MI 1984) II, 400. See W. BERGEN, Elisha and the End of Prophetism (JSOTSS 286; Shef- 36 field 1999) 82, who observes, “Chemosh is nowhere mentioned in the text, is not considered an actor in the story, and is therefore not available as a possible cause ”. P. STERN, “Of Kings and Moabites: History and Theology in 2 Kings 3 37 and the Mesha Inscription”, HUCA 64 (1993) 12, writes: “A text which begins glorifying the prophet Elisha, complete with miracles of YAHWEH, would seri- ously embarrass both Elisha and YAHWEH if it ended up exalting the power of Kemosh. The tenor of the chapter and the section of which it is a part made it unlikely that a Biblical writer would seek to venerate the national god of hated Moab, especially at YAHWEH’s expense”. Parker, Stories in Scripture and Inscriptions, 169, n. 50. 38