2 Kings 6:1-8

Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float

6:1 Some of the prophets ¹  said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you ²  is too cramped ³  for us. 6:2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 6:5 As one of them was felling a log, the ax head ⁴  dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, ⁵  my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet ⁶  asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha ⁷  cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 6:7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade ⁸  at such and such ⁹  a place.”

[6:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “sit before you.”

[6:1]  ³ tn Heb “narrow, tight.”

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “iron.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Or “ah.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:8]  ⁸ tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.

[6:8]  ⁹ sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.