Days of Elisha 3:1-8:29: Because Ahaziah did not have a son, his brother Jehoram (Joram) succeeds him, with mixed results (3:1–3): he betters his parents by eliminating some vestiges of Baal worship but persists in the ways of Jeroboam—the negative standard by whom the rest of the northern monarchs are measured. The rebellion of the king of Moab was mentioned at the outset of chapter 1 but is now explained (3:4–12) as a failure to deliver the requisite sheep quota, prompting military action from Jehoram (aided by the kings of Judah and Edom). There are some immediate similarities with Ahab’s campaign in 1 Kings 22, including the summoning of Judah’s king Jehoshaphat, who once more volunteers his forces and—in response to Jehoram’s complaint about no water in the desert of Edom—requests the…