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2 Kings 2

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Elijah's Final Journey and Succession 1–12

1
And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ​
2
And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. ​
3
And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. ​
4
And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
5
And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6
And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
7
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
8
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. ​
9
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. ​
10
And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. ​
11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ​
12
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. ​

Elisha Assumes the Prophetic Mantle 13–18

13
He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; ​
14
And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. ​
15
And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ​
16
And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. ​
17
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. ​
18
And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

Elisha Heals the Waters of Jericho 19–22

19
And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. ​
20
And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. ​
22
So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

Judgment on Mockers at Bethel 23–25

23
And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. ​
24
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. ​
25
And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Kings 2

Verse 1

by a whirlwind — Sa'ar, a storm-wind, the word for the whirlwind out of which the LORD answered Job (Job 38:1). The taking is the LORD's own purpose: he 'would take up Elijah'. The walk from Gilgal through Bethel and Jericho to the Jordan (vv.2, 4, 6) leads to the place where it happens.

Verse 2

I will not leave thee — Elijah says 'Tarry here' at Bethel, Jericho and the Jordan (vv.2, 4, 6), each time because 'the LORD hath sent me'. Elisha answers each time, 'As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee', the words the Shunammite later uses to him (2 Kgs 4:30). He had 'ministered unto' Elijah since his call (1 Kgs 19:21).

Verse 3

sons of the prophets — The company at Bethel, first named in 1 Kgs 20:35, tell Elisha that the LORD will take his master 'from thy head', from above him as his teacher. He answers 'hold ye your peace' (chashah, keep silent). The company at Jericho say the same and receive the same answer (v.5).

Verse 8

took his mantle — The mantle (addereth) is the one Elijah wrapped round his face at Horeb (1 Kgs 19:13) and cast upon Elisha at his call (19:19). 'Wrapped it together' is galam, to fold, found only here. The Jordan divides, as it did for Israel under Joshua (Josh 3:17).

Verse 9

a double portion — The phrase is the one for the firstborn's share, 'a double portion of all that he hath' (Deut 21:17). Elisha asks for the heir's share of Elijah's spirit, and in v.12 he calls Elijah 'my father'. Joshua took up Moses' charge in the same way, 'full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him' (Deut 34:9).

Verse 10

a hard thing — Qashah, hard or difficult. The condition is sight: 'if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee'. In v.12 'Elisha saw it', and in v.15 the sons of the prophets say, 'The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.'

Verse 11

a chariot of fire — The chariot and horses of fire part the two men, and Elijah goes up 'by a whirlwind into heaven' without dying, as Enoch was taken (Gen 5:24). Elisha's servant would later see the mountain 'full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha' (2 Kgs 6:17), and Elijah appears with Moses on the mount (Matt 17:3).

Verse 12

the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof — Elisha calls Elijah 'my father' and the defence of Israel. King Joash uses the same words over the dying Elisha (2 Kgs 13:14). Elisha 'saw him no more' and rent his own clothes in two pieces before he took up the mantle.

Verse 13

the mantle of Elijah — The mantle (addereth) was cast over Elisha when Elijah called him (1 Kgs 19:19) and is the garment that parted the Jordan in v.8. It 'fell' as Elijah went up, and Elisha lifted it and went back to the bank of the river.

Verse 14

Where is the LORD God of Elijah? — Elisha repeats Elijah's act with the mantle (v.8) and asks for the LORD by name. The waters 'parted hither and thither' at the same river that had stood back before Joshua, when 'the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel' (Josh 4:14).

Verse 15

doth rest on Elisha — The company at Jericho had watched from afar (v.7). Their word nuach, to rest, is the verb of Num 11:25–26, where the spirit 'rested upon' the seventy elders and then upon Eldad and Medad. They 'bowed themselves to the ground' before Elisha.

Verse 16

the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up — The fear that the Spirit has cast Elijah 'upon some mountain, or into some valley' echoes Obadiah's words to Elijah, 'the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not' (1 Kgs 18:12). The same Spirit 'caught away Philip' (Acts 8:39). Elisha first answers, 'Ye shall not send.'

Verse 17

found him not — Elisha gives way when they press him 'till he was ashamed'. Fifty men searched three days and 'found him not', which fits what he had seen in v.12. He tells them, 'Did I not say unto you, Go not?' (v.18).

Verse 19

the water is naught, and the ground barren — The men of Jericho (v.18) say the situation of the city is 'pleasant' but the water bad. Shakol, 'barren', is to miscarry or be bereaved of young, the word of Ex 23:26. Jericho had been rebuilt in Ahab's day by Hiel, under Joshua's curse (1 Kgs 16:34; Josh 6:26).

Verse 21

I have healed these waters — The cure is spoken as the LORD's own act: 'Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters.' At Marah the LORD called himself 'the LORD that healeth thee' (Ex 15:26), when a tree cast into the waters made them sweet (Ex 15:25). The healed waters stand 'unto this day' (v.22).

Verse 23

little children — The Hebrew is na'ar, a lad or youth, with qatan, small or young. Their cry 'Go up, thou bald head' uses the verb alah, the one for Elijah's going 'up… into heaven' in v.11. The city is Bethel, where Jeroboam had set one of his two calves (1 Kgs 12:29).

Verse 24

cursed them in the name of the LORD — The curse is spoken in the LORD's name, and the bears answer the warning given to a disobedient Israel: 'I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children' (Lev 26:22). The forty and two are called yeled, a word for any child or boy.

Verse 25

mount Carmel — Carmel was where fire answered Elijah before the prophets gathered by Ahab (1 Kgs 18:20, 38). Elisha goes there from Bethel and returns to Samaria. The Shunammite later seeks 'the man of God' on the same mount (2 Kgs 4:25).