2 Kings 2 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter relates the end of the ministry of Elijah and the beginning of the ministry of Elisha. 1. Yahweh takes Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind (1–18) 2. Elisha provides safe water for Jericho (19–22) 3. Boys mock Elisha, and bears maul them (23–25)The author formally concludes his account of the reign of King Ahaziah of Israel at the end of chapter 1. But he does not formally begin his account of his successor, King Jehoram, until the beginning of chapter 3. So within the overall outline of the book, the story of the transition of prophetic leadership from Elijah to Elisha seems to take place within a special kind of time, a sacred time outside of the reigns of kings.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why did Elisha not want the sons of prophets from Bethel and Jericho to say anything more about Elijah being taken up?

In 2:3 and 2:5, prophets from Bethel and Jericho ask Elisha whether he knows that Yahweh is going to take Elijah away that day. In each case, Elisha replies, “I also know. Be quiet.” Elisha probably knew through prophetic revelation about Yahweh’s plan to take Elijah up in a whirlwind. His repeated instruction to be quiet suggests that this was a difficult and emotional time for him. The departure of Elijah marked not only the end of a great prophet’s ministry but also the loss of a beloved spiritual mentor. Elisha’s silence expressed reverence and grief. He probably wanted the other prophets to express the same things through their own silence. Elisha already knew what was going to happen to Elijah, and he anticipated this as a sacred, private, and emotional event that called for quiet, reverent faith.

Why did the young men who came out from Bethel mock Elisha for being bald?

In 2:23, as Elisha is returning from seeing Elijah being taken up into heaven, he passes by the city of Bethel, where there was a community of prophets. Some of them came out and started chanting, “Go up, bald one!” The phrase “Go up” meant “Keep on walking up that road,” in other words, “Get out of here.” So the young men were rejecting Elisha as a successor to Elijah as a leader and teacher of their community. But why did they cite his baldness as a reason for that rejection? In 1:8, when King Ahaziah asks his messengers what the prophet was like who spoke to them, they say that he was a “master of hair.” One possible meaning of that expression is that he had long hair and a long beard. By contrast, Elisha evidently had gone bald at a younger age. Insulting Elisha as “bald” may therefore have implied that he lacked divine power compared with Elijah. The mockers were essentially saying, “You are no Elijah, so we do not want you as our leader!” But since Yahweh had told Elijah to appoint Elisha as his successor, these young men were rejecting Yahweh’s choice and denying Elisha’s spiritual authority rather than submitting to it. That seems to be the reason why they suffered a divine judgment, being mauled by bears, that might otherwise seem to be a very harsh punishment for speaking an insult.

Why did Elisha travel to Jericho, Bethel, and Mount Carmel before returning to Samaria?

It is clear from 2:3 and 2:5 that there were communities of prophets in Jericho and Bethel. Elijah seems to have wanted to visit with them one more time before he was taken up to heaven. After he was taken up and Elisha succeeded him, Elisha returned to the community in Jericho, and he tried to return to the one in Bethel, apparently to confirm what had happened to Elijah, to encourage the communities and to begin his work among them as Elijah’s successor. It appears from 4:25 that there was also a community of prophets at Mount Carmel with whom Elisha stayed from time to time. So he apparently also made a visit to that community before returning to the city of Samaria, where his permanent residence was, as passages such as 6:32–33 suggest.