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Text -- 2 Kings 2:1-23 (NET)
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Context
Elijah Makes a Swift Departure
2:1 Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm , Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal .
2:2 Elijah told Elisha , “Stay here , for the Lord has sent me to Bethel .” But Elisha said , “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live , I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel .
2:3 Some members of the prophetic guild in Bethel came out to Elisha and said , “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” He answered , “Yes , I know . Be quiet .”
2:4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha , stay here , for the Lord has sent me to Jericho .” But he replied , “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live , I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho .
2:5 Some members of the prophetic guild in Jericho approached Elisha and said , “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” He answered , “Yes , I know . Be quiet .”
2:6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here , for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan .” But he replied , “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live , I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together .
2:7 The fifty members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance , while Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan .
2:8 Elijah took his cloak , folded it up, and hit the water with it. The water divided , and the two of them crossed over on dry ground .
2:9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha , “What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered , “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.”
2:10 Elijah replied , “That’s a difficult request ! If you see me taken from you, may it be so , but if you don’t , it will not happen .”
2:11 As they were walking along and talking , suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm .
2:12 While Elisha was watching , he was crying out , “My father , my father ! The chariot and horsemen of Israel !” Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two .
2:13 He picked up Elijah’s cloak , which had fallen off him, and went back and stood on the shore of the Jordan .
2:14 He took the cloak that had fallen off Elijah , hit the water with it, and said , “Where is the Lord , the God of Elijah ?” When he hit the water , it divided and Elisha crossed over .
2:15 When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho , who were standing at a distance , saw him do this, they said , “The spirit that energized Elijah rests upon Elisha .” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
2:16 They said to him, “Look , there are fifty capable men with your servants . Let them go and look for your master , for the wind sent from the Lord may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys .” But Elisha replied , “Don’t send them out .”
2:17 But they were so insistent , he became embarrassed . So he said , “Send them out .” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days , but could not find Elijah.
2:18 When they came back , Elisha was staying in Jericho . He said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go ’?”
Elisha Demonstrates His Authority
2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha , “Look , the city has a good location , as our master can see . But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops .”
2:20 Elisha said , “Get me a new jar and put some salt in it.” So they got it.
2:21 He went out to the spring and threw the salt in . Then he said , “This is what the Lord says , ‘I have purified this water . It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops .”
2:22 The water has been pure to this very day , just as Elisha prophesied .
2:23 He went up from there to Bethel . As he was traveling up the road , some young boys came out of the city and made fun of him, saying , “Go on up , baldy ! Go on up , baldy !”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> 2Ki 2:1; 2Ki 2:2; 2Ki 2:3; 2Ki 2:3; 2Ki 2:4; 2Ki 2:7; 2Ki 2:9; 2Ki 2:9; 2Ki 2:10; 2Ki 2:10; 2Ki 2:11; 2Ki 2:11; 2Ki 2:11; 2Ki 2:12; 2Ki 2:14; 2Ki 2:15; 2Ki 2:15; 2Ki 2:15; 2Ki 2:16; 2Ki 2:16; 2Ki 2:17; 2Ki 2:18; 2Ki 2:19; 2Ki 2:19; 2Ki 2:20; 2Ki 2:21; 2Ki 2:21; 2Ki 2:22; 2Ki 2:23; 2Ki 2:23
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:7 Heb “the two of them.” The referents (Elijah and Elisha) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:12 Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6)...
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:14 Heb “Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen off him.” The wording is changed slightly in the translation for the sake of variety of expres...
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:16 Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:17 Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:18 Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:20 Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: 2Ki 2:21 Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”
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