Besought. — Literally, stroked the face of; a metaphor which occurs in Exodus 32:11; 1 Kings 13:6).
And the Lord hearkened unto him. — Not, however, immediately. (See 2 Kings 13:7.) The Syrian invasions, which began under Jehu, were renewed again and again throughout the reign of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:22), until the tide of conquest began to turn in the time of Joash (2 Kings 13:15), whose incomplete victories (2 Kings 13:17; 2 Kings 13:19; 2 Kings 13:25) were followed up by the permanent successes of his son Jeroboam II. (2 Kings 14:25-28).
The parenthesis marked in 2 Kings 13:5 really begins, therefore, with the words, “And the Lord hearkened.” The historian added it by way of pointing out that although the prayer of Jehoahaz did not meet with immediate response, it was not ultimately ineffectual.
For he saw the oppression. — Comp. Exodus 3:7; Deuteronomy 26:7.
The king of Syria. — Intentionally general, so as to include both Hazael and Ben-hadad III., his son (2 Kings 13:24).