2:15 When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, 3 who were standing at a distance, 4 saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah 5 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 6 may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha 7 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. 8 2:18 When they came back, Elisha 9 was staying in Jericho. He said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”
2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our 10 master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.” 11 2:20 Elisha 12 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 13 this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” 14 2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. 15
2:23 He went up from there to Bethel. 16 As he was traveling up the road, some young boys 17 came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!” 2:24 When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. 18 Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces. 2:25 From there he traveled to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria. 19
1 sn 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). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.
2 tn Heb “Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen off him.” The wording is changed slightly in the translation for the sake of variety of expression (see v. 13).
3 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
4 tn Heb “and the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, [who were standing] opposite, saw him and said.”
5 tn Heb “the spirit of Elijah.”
6 tn Or “the spirit of the
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “my.”
11 tn Heb “miscarries” or “is barren.”
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Or “healed.”
14 tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”
15 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”
16 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
17 tn The word נַעַר (na’ar), here translated “boy,” can refer to a broad age range, including infants as well as young men. But the qualifying term “young” (or “small”) suggests these youths were relatively young. The phrase in question (“young boy”) occurs elsewhere in 1 Sam 20:35; 1 Kgs 3:7 (used by Solomon in an hyperbolic manner); 11:17; 2 Kgs 5:14; and Isa 11:6.
18 tn Heb “he cursed them in the name of the
19 sn The two brief episodes recorded in vv. 19-25 demonstrate Elisha’s authority and prove that he is the legitimate prophetic heir of Elijah. He has the capacity to bring life and blessing to those who recognize his authority, or death and judgment to those who reject him.