2 Kings · Chapter 2

V. 1. About to take, &c.-It is supposed, (tho’ not expressly revealed) that Elijah flourished about twenty years, before he was translated, body and soul, to heaven, only undergoing such a change, as was necessary to qualify him for being an inhabitant in that world of Spirits. By translating him, God gave in that dark and degenerate age, a very sensible proof of another life, together with a type of the ascension of Christ, and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

Verse 1. When the Lord would take up Elijah] It appears that God had revealed this intended translation, not only to Elijah himself, but also to Elisha, and to the schools of the prophets, both at Beth-el and Jericho, so that they were all expecting this solemn event.

Verse 1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — It is supposed, though not expressly revealed, that Elijah flourished about twenty years, before he was translated, body and soul, to heaven, only undergoing such a change as was necessary to qualify him for being an inhabitant in that world of spirits. By translating him, God gave, in that dark and degenerate age, as, in a similar age he had given by the translation of Enoch, a very sensible proof of another life, together with a type of the ascension of Christ, and the opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

Verse 1. When the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven. The LXX read, wv eiv ton ouranon, as into heaven. They mean to say, that he did not ascend higher than paradise, as in John 3:13.

ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 1-18.

We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deuteronomy 34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deuteronomy 32:50, 51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.

1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on verse

11. By a whirlwind — hr[s, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up. From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. Verse 2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Joshua 4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.

V. 2. Tarry here-This he desires, either,

1. That being left alone, he might better prepare himself for his great change. Or,

2. Out of indulgence to Elisha, that he might not be overwhelmed with grief at so sad a sight. Or,

Verse 2. Tarry here, I pray thee] He either made these requests through humility, not wishing any person to be witness of the honour conferred on him by God, or with the desire to prove the fidelity of Elisha, whether he would continue to follow and serve him.

Verse 2. Tarry here — This he desires, either, 1st, That being left alone, he might better prepare himself for his great change. Or, 2d, Out of indulgence to Elisha, that he might not be overwhelmed with grief at so sad a sight. Or, 3d, That he might try his love, and whet his desire to accompany him; it being highly convenient for God’s honour, that there should be witnesses of so glorious a translation. The Lord hath sent me to Beth-el — Which was truth, though not the whole truth: for he was to go a far longer journey. But he was first to go to Bethel, and also to Jericho, to the schools of the prophets there, that he might comfort and strengthen their hearts in God’s work, and give them his dying counsels.

2. Tarry here — Why should Elijah thus exhort Elisha? Some think, to prove his fidelity and love; but others, with greater probability, think that Elijah wanted no human eye to witness his departure from the world, and that feelings of deep humility prompted this request. I will not leave thee — Elisha seems to have had a revelation, or at least a premonition, that his master was about to be taken away from him that day, and “no dread of that final parting could deter him from the mournful joy of seeing with his own eyes the last moments, and of hearing with his own ears the last words, of the prophet of God.” — Stanley.

3. That he might try his love, and whet his desire to accompany him; it being highly convenient for God’s honour, that there should be witnesses of so glorious a translation.

To Beth-el-Which was truth, tho’ not the whole truth: for he was to go a far longer journey. But he was first to go to Beth-el, as also to Jericho, to the schools of the prophets there, that he might comfort, and strengthen their hearts in God’s work, and give them his dying counsels. V. 3. And said-This was revealed to some of the sons of the prophets, and by them to the whole college. In the kingdom of Judah they had priest and Levites, and the temple service. The want of these in the kingdom of Israel, God graciously made up by these colleges, where men were trained up and employed, in the exercises of religion, and whither good people resorted, to solemnize the appointed feasts, with prayer and hearing, tho’ they had not conveniencies for sacrifice. From thy head-Heb. from above thy head: which phrase may respect, either, the manner of sitting in schools, where the scholar sat at his master’s feet. Or, the manner of Elijah’s translation, which was to be by a power sent from heaven, to take him up thither. Hold you your peace-Do not aggravate my grief, nor divert me with any unseasonable discourses. He speaks as one that was himself, and would have them calm and sedate, and with awful silence waiting the event.

Verse 3. Knowest thou that the Lord] Thus we see that it was a matter well known to all the sons of the prophets. This day the Lord will take thy master and instructer from thee.

Verse 3. The sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el — In these very corrupt times God did not wholly forsake the Israelites, but continued the schools of the prophets among them, in which men were trained up and employed in the exercises of religion, and to which good people resorted to solemnize the feasts of the Lord with prayer and hearing portions of the law read, although they had not conveniences for sacrifices, as they had in Judah, where they had priests and Levites, and the temple service. Even in Beth-el, the chief place of idolatry and impiety, where one of the golden calves was worshipped, these schools were not wanting. This was a great testimony of God’s love to that apostate people: among whom he thus left prophets to recover them from their idols. And, what is still more remarkable, prophets of greater eminence for their miracles were continued in Israel than in Judah, because they needed them more, both to turn the idolaters among them from their false worship, and their other vices, and to encourage the truly pious that still remained, and preserve them from being led away by the error of the wicked. Knowest thou not, &c.? — God had revealed to some of them, that Elijah was to be taken away that day, of which they advised Elisha, that he might more diligently attend him. From thy head — Hebrew, from above thy head; which phrase may respect the manner of sitting in their schools, for the scholars used to sit below at their masters’ feet, and the masters above, over their heads, when they taught them. Houbigant renders it, The Lord will elevate thy master above thy head to-day, alluding to his being carried up into heaven. And he said, Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace — Do not aggravate my grief, nor divert me by any unseasonable discourses. He speaks as one who was himself, and would have them to be calm and sedate, and with awful silence waiting the event. Some think he gave them this charge, lest, the extraordinary matter being divulged, there should be a great concourse of people collected about Elijah; for as the Israelites had not renounced their idolatries, notwithstanding that so many and so great miracles had been done among them, they were altogether unworthy of being witnesses of the prophet’s miraculous assumption, even as the Jews in our Lord’s time were of being permitted to be present when he ascended.

Ver. 3. The sons of the prophets at Bethel. This favourite city had been recovered by the house of David, and was now a little seat of sacred letters. See on 1 Samuel 19:20.

3. The sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el — Here, at the very place where the calf-worship of Jeroboam was chiefly observed, there existed a school of the prophets. Their zeal and devotion to the true God of Israel perhaps served largely to counteract the prevalent idolatry, and preserve among the hosts of the people a faithful seven thousand. See notes on 1 Samuel 10:5, and 1 Kings 19:18. Knowest thou — The schools of the prophets, both at Beth-el and Jericho, (verse 5,) have also a premonition that Elijah is to be taken away. Perhaps, as Kitto suggests, his unusually solemn manner that day, his countenance and conversation more heavenward, and all his demeanour, seemed to say, “Ye shall see my face no more.” Take away thy master from thy head — That is, from being thy head; thy spiritual father, teacher, leader, and director. The expression, which literally is, taken from over thy head, might also intimate the manner of Elijah’s removal. Yea, I know — He replies with emphasis, but solemnity. Literally, the Hebrew is, Of course I know; hush!

Verse 4. Tarry here, I pray thee — Elijah seems to have said this only with a view to try Elisha, whether he would accompany him to the last, and be the witness of his translation. And Elisha certainly, by not leaving him, testified, both great fidelity to his master, and great faith in what God had revealed respecting the taking him up to heaven.

4. Jericho — A city in the Jordan valley. See on Joshua 2:1. In Ahab’s reign Hiel, the Beth-elite, had rebuilt this city. 1 Kings 16:34.

Verse 5. The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho — Here also was a school, where the same revelation had been made to the sons of the prophets, concerning Elijah’s removal, which had been communicated to those at Beth-el. And their thoughts, like the thoughts of the others, were wholly occupied about the extraordinary matter, and big with expectation.

Ver. 5. The sons of the prophets at Jericho. This was once a royal city; and since Hiel had fortified it, it was rising apace to be next in rank to Jerusalem. These schools, though poor, had royal patronage. It is true, the nature of the first christian missions did not admit of academies, but God gave the divine endowments which colleges cannot confer. The most shining characters in the second age of the church, were those philosophers who came into the church loaded with Egyptian gold; for the Greeks allow that they received letters from Egypt. Clement, Justin, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Basil, Jerome, and Chrysostom shone as morning stars by their learning and eloquence. In the present age many of the infidels are learned, and the servants of the sanctuary must always be able to look their enemies in the face.

ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 1-18.

We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deuteronomy 34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deuteronomy 32:50, 51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.

1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on verse

11. By a whirlwind — hr[s, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up. From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. Verse 2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Joshua 4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.

ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 1-18.

We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deuteronomy 34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deuteronomy 32:50, 51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.

1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on verse

11. By a whirlwind — hr[s, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up. From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. Verse 2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Joshua 4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.

V. 7. To view-To observe this great event, Elijah’s translation to heaven, which they expected every moment: and whereof they desired to be spectators, not to satisfy their own curiosity, but that they might be witnesses of it to others.

Verse 7. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets] They fully expected this extraordinary event, and they could have known it only from Elijah himself, or by a direct revelation from God.

Verse 7. Fifty men stood to view — To observe this great event, Elijah’s translation to heaven, which they expected every moment: and whereof they desired to be spectators, not to satisfy their own curiosity, but that they might be witnesses of it to others. Afar off — As they were not permitted to accompany him to the place where he was to be taken up, as Elisha was, they looked after him as far as they could see, probably from some eminence that overlooked Jordan. They two stood by Jordan — The rest, it is likely, being forbidden to go thither with them.

7. Fifty men… stood to view afar off — What all they saw we are not told. They probably saw the waters of Jordan divided, and the two prophets pass beyond the stream; and possibly they beheld Elijah at the moment he was parted from Elisha; but they probably did not behold his ascension, for of that Elisha had only a momentary glimpse, and that by special grace of God.

V. 8. Smote the waters-These waters of old yielded to the ark, now to the prophet’s mantle; which to those that wanted the ark, was an equivalent token of God’s presence. When God will take his children to himself, death is the Jordan, which they must pass through. And they find a way thro’ it, a safe and comfortable way. The death of Christ has divided those waters, that the ransomed of the Lord may pass over.

Verse 8. Took his mantle] thn mhlwthn autou, his sheep-skin, says the Septuagint. The skins of beasts, dressed with the hair on, were formerly worn by prophets and priests as the simple insignia of their office. As the civil authority was often lodged in the hands of such persons, particularly among the Jews, mantles of this kind were used by kings and high civil officers when they bore no sacred character. The custom continues to the present day; a lamb’s skin hood or cloak is the badge which certain graduates in our universities wear; and the royal robes of kings and great officers of state are adorned with the skins of the animal called the ermine. They were divided hither and thither] This was a most astonishing miracle, and could be performed only by the almighty power of God.

Verse 8. And smote the waters — These waters of old yielded to the ark, now to the prophet’s mantle; which to those that wanted the ark, was an equivalent token of God’s presence. When God will take his children to himself, death is the Jordan which they must pass through. And they find a way through it, a safe and comfortable way. The death of Christ has divided those waters, that the ransomed of the Lord may pass over.

8. His mantle — The shaggy garment that had been so long his prophetical badge. Wrapped it together — Rolled it up in the form of a twisted cord, or a wonder-working rod. Smote the waters — As if they were an enemy in his way. Elijah’s mantle was to him at Jordan what the rod of God was to Moses at the Red Sea; (Exodus 14:16, 21;) and many things in the lives of these two great prophets were strikingly parallel. Bishop Hall beautifully says: “There must be a fit parallel between these two great prophets who should meet Christ on Tabor. Both fasted forty days; both had visions of God in Horeb; both were sent to rebuke kings; both prepared miraculous tables; both opened heaven; both revenged idolatry; both quenched the thirst of Israel; both divided the waters; both of them are forewarned of their departure; the body of Moses is hid; the body of Elijah is translated.”

V. 9. A double portion-Or, rather double to what the rest of the sons of the prophets receive at thy request. He alludes to the double portion of the first-born, Deuteronomy 21:17. But though Elisha desired no more, yet God gave him more than he desired or expected; and he seems to have had a greater portion of the gifts of God’s Spirit, than even Elijah had.

Verse 9. A double portion of thy spirit be upon me.] This in reference to the law, Deuteronomy 21:17: He shall acknowledge the first-born, by giving him a DOUBLE PORTION of all that he hath-the right of the first-born is his. Elisha considered himself the only child or first-born of Elijah, as the disciples of eminent teachers were called their children; so here he claims a double portion of his spiritual influence, any other disciples coming in for a single share only. Sons of the prophets means no more than the disciples or scholars of the prophets. The original words שנים yp pi shenayim, mean rather two parts, than double the quantity.

Verse 9. Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee — Elijah, undoubtedly, had an inward assurance that God would grant him his last request that he should make; but we may observe here, that he expressly confines it to its being made before he was taken away, and gives no manner of hope to his disciple, that his asking any thing of him after he was removed would be of any avail, or that he could then render him any service. I pray, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me — Double to what the rest of the sons of the prophets receive at thy request. He alludes to the double portion of the firstborn, Deuteronomy 21:17. But though Elisha desired no more, yet God gave him more than he desired or expected; and he seems to have had a greater portion of the gifts of God’s Spirit than even Elijah had.

Ver. 9. A double portion of thy spirit be upon me. Elisha asked here the full right of the firstborn. The miracles which Elisha performed indicate that it was so.

9. Ask what I shall do for thee — One last request Elisha is permitted to make, and at a moment when his emotions might have made it a difficult thing for him to present an appropriate request. Before I be taken away — The departing Elijah consciously carries with him into heaven the sympathies and memories of earth. After his departure he will be no less Elijah than before, and he will remember and think of Elisha no less than Elisha will of him; but there will be no more personal communion between them; and so what Elisha has to ask must be asked before Elijah departs, for there may be no requests made of the saints after they are gone from earth. A double portion of thy spirit — This is the sense of the Hebrew, which literally reads, A mouth of two in thy spirit; that is, a mouthful for two persons, a twofold portion. It has an allusion to the law of Deuteronomy 21:17, which provides that a double portion of an inheritance shall be given to the firstborn son; that is, a portion double that given to any other heir. Elisha, as the first and chief spiritual son of Elijah, wisely asks, not that he may become greater than his spiritual father, but that an unusually large endowment of the same spirit that dwelt in Elijah may also rest on him, and thus qualify him to be at least a somewhat worthy successor of Elijah. He wished that he might have more of Elijah’s spirit than any other of the sons of the prophets, and thus be honoured as the first one among them.

V. 10. A hard thing-A rare and singular blessing, which I cannot promise thee, which only God can give; and he gives it only when, and to whom he pleaseth. If thou seest-This sign he proposed, not without the direction of God’s Spirit, that hereby he might engage him more earnestly to wait, and more fervently to pray for this mercy.

Verse 10. A hard thing] This is what is not in my power, God alone can give this; yet if thou see me taken away from thee, it shall be so. Perhaps this means no more than, “If thou continue with me till I am translated, God will grant this to thee;” for on the mere seeing or not seeing him in the moment in which he was taken away, this Divine gift could not depend.

Verse 10. He said, Thou hast asked a hard thing — A rare and singular blessing, which I cannot promise thee; which God only can give, and which he gives only when and to whom he pleases. Nevertheless, if thou see me, &c. — Mark, this is a sign whether thou shalt obtain what thou desirest or not. This sign he proposed, not without the direction of God’s Spirit, that hereby he might engage him more earnestly to wait, and more fervently to pray for this mercy.

10. A hard thing — It was a request which Elijah had no power to grant; but his own prayer to God might be largely instrumental in procuring it as a Divine gift to Elisha. The fervent prayer (James 5:16, 17) that brought abundant showers from heaven (1 Kings 18:42-45) might also bring gifts of the Spirit. The passage clearly shows that Elijah was to be somehow instrumental in procuring for Elisha his desire, and he may have prayed for Elisha after he had been translated, or even while he was being carried up into heaven. We may make requests of our departing friends before they leave us, and they may remember us, and pray for us in heaven; but after their departure we may not pray to them. If thou see me… taken from thee — That is, at the moment when I am taken, not after I am gone. Here was no pledge to appear unto Elisha after his departure. The meaning is explained by what follows; Elisha saw the chariot and horses of fire, and Elijah carried up in a whirlwind, and this sight was to be to him a sign that what he had asked should be granted. Elijah was enabled by Divine inspiration to inform Elisha of this sign beforehand.

V. 11. A chariot of fire-In this form the angels appeared. The souls of all the faithful, are carried by an invisible guard of angels, into the bosom of Abraham. But Elijah being to carry his body with him, this heavenly guard appeared visibly: Not in an human shape, tho’ so they might have borne him in their arms, but in the form of a chariot and horses, that he may ride in state, may ride in triumph, like a prince, like a conqueror. See the readiness of the angels to do the will of God, even in the meanest services for the heirs of salvation! Thus he who had burned with holy zeal for God and his honour, was now conveyed in fire into his immediate presence.

Verse 11. A chariot of fire, and horses of fire] That is a chariot and horses of the most resplendent glory, which, manifesting itself in coruscations or shooting rays, seemed to be like blazing fire, or like the sun in his strength. Some think that this circumstance, know in the heathen world, gave rise to the fable of Apollo, or the sun, being seated in a blazing chariot, drawn by horses which breathed and snorted fire. These horses were four, and called Pyrœis, Eous, Æthon, and Phlegon; all which words signify fire or resplendent light. So OVID:—

Nec tibi quadrupedes animosos ignibus illis

Quos in pectore habent, quos ore et naribus efflant,

In promptu regere est: vix me patiunur, ut acres

Incaluere animi; cervixque repugnat habenis.

OVID, Met. Lib. ii., 84.

Interea volucres Pyrœis, Eous, et Æthon,

Solis equi, quartusque Phlegon, hinnitibus auras

Flammiferis implent, pedibusque repagula pulsant

Ib. 153.

Meanwhile the restless horses neighed aloud,

Breathing out fire and pawing where they stood,

Nor would you find it easy to compose

The mettled steeds, when from their nostrils flows

The scorching fire, that in their entrils glows.

Even I their headstrong fury scarce restrain,

When they grow worm, and restiff to the rein.

DRYDEN.

Perhaps the whole of this fable, which represents Phæthon son of Apollo requesting to drive the chariot of his father (the horses and chariot of fire) for one day, was borrowed from the request of Elisha to his spiritual father Elijah, whom he afterwards saw borne away by a whirlwind, in a chariot of fire drawn by fiery steeds.

Elijah went up-into heaven] He was truly translated; and the words here leave us no room to indulge the conjecture of Dr. Priestley, who supposes that as “Enoch, (probably Moses,) Elijah, and Christ, had no relation to any other world or planet, they are no doubt in this;” for we are told that Elijah went up into heaven; and we know, from the sure testimony of the Scripture, that our blessed Lord is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ever living to make intercession for us.

Verse 11. As they still went on and talked — Of the happy state, probably, to which Elijah was going; behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire — A bright resplendent cloud, perhaps thrown into the form of a chariot and horses, by the angels who came in it; or rather, as some think, the angels themselves appearing in this form. The souls of all the faithful are carried by an invisible guard of angels into the bosom of Abraham. But Elijah being to carry his body with him, this heavenly guard appeared visibly: not in a human shape, though so they might have borne him in their arms; but in the form of a chariot and horses, that he might ride in state, might ride in triumph, like a prince, like a conqueror. See the readiness of the angels to do the will of God, even in the meanest services, for the heirs of salvation! Thus he who had burned with holy zeal for God and his honour, was now conveyed in fire into his immediate presence.

Ver. 11. A chariot of fire. Kings in triumphs rode in splendid chariots. The Lord also rode on a cherub, and flew on the wings of the wind. Psalm 18:9.

11. They still went on, and talked — What moments were those, what conversation never to be forgotten! It was a walking and talking on the verge of heaven! A chariot of fire, and horses of fire — These were creations of the spiritual world; a part of that Divine machinery by which God consummates the purposes of his wisdom and providence. There are not only angels in heaven, but horses and chariots ready to do the bidding of the Most High. This heavenly scene which Elisha witnessed was no hallucination, nor were the chariot and horses of fire a mere ideal symbol seen only in vision, like the living creatures which Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar, (Ezekiel 1:5-14;) but they had actual existence in the spiritual world, and were only a part of that vast host, the sound of whose movements David once heard over the mulberry trees, (2 Samuel 5:24,) and who at a later time filled the mountains round about Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17. Why should we doubt this as a fact of the unseen world when we are told (Psalm 68:17) that the chariots of God are ˆanv ypla µytbr, two myriads, repeated thousands, and they that minister unto him are thousand thousands, and they that stand before him are myriad myriads. Daniel 7:10. Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven — That is, the moment the fiery chariot separated the two prophets a sudden tempest broke upon Elijah and carried him aloft into heaven. It is not said that Elijah went up in the fire-chariot, but in a tempest, the chariot serving to separate Elijah from Elisha, as if defining a boundary between the earthly and the heavenly states. It has been usually and very naturally assumed, however, that the translated prophet ascended in the chariot, and the chariot was borne aloft on the wings of the wind. Compare Psalm 104:3. The heaven to which Elijah went was the abode of God’s saints, who rest from their earthly labours, but employ themselves in higher and holier works than it enters our minds to conceive. There he met with Moses, who had died and was buried not far from the place whence he ascended; and with that elder prophet he afterwards descended from his heavenly home to appear to the three disciples, and to talk with Jesus of his exit from the world. Luke 9:30, 31. This translation of Elijah to heaven, and the appearance of the chariot and horses of fire, like other similar events of Old Testament Scripture, teach the existence of another world beyond us, unseen by the natural eye; a realm whose inhabitants and hierarchies and orders of ministries are numerous beyond all computation. But Elijah entered this heaven without tasting death, or at least by a marvellous transformation. The human body, with its earthly modes of life, must be unsuited to the heavenly state, and hence we suppose, in harmony with other Scripture, that at the moment of his separation from Elisha, Elijah was changed, as in the twinkling of an eye, and ascended with a renewed spiritualized body, made compatible with the nature of heavenly existence. Thus has he become a representative of those saints who shall not die, but be changed at the coming of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52; 1 Thessalonians 4:17. It is contrary to the evident import of this account of Elijah’s departure, and contrary to the teachings of other Scriptures, to assume that his body must have become suddenly decomposed and dissolved into dust, or that it was thrown down again, as some of the sons of the prophets thought, (verse 16,) on some mountain, or in some valley, a lifeless corpse. Elijah truly ascended bodily to heaven, but his body underwent such a spiritualizing change as fitted it for the heavenly life; hence our doctrine that man is all immortal — body as well as spirit.

V. 12. My father-So he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which he had over him, in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons. He saw his own condition like that of a fatherless child, and laments it accordingly. The chariot, &c.-Who by thy example, and counsels, and prayers, and power with God, didst more for the defence and preservation of Israel than all their chariots and horses. The expression alludes to the form of chariots and horses which he had seen.

Verse 12. The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.] The Chaldee translates these words thus: ‘My master, my master! who, by thy intercession, wast of more use to Israel than horses and chariots.” This is probably the sense.

In the Book of Ecclesiasticus 48:1, &c., the fiery horses and chariot are considered as an emblem of that burning zeal which Elijah manifested in the whole of his ministry: “Then stood up Elijah the prophet as fire, and his word burned as a lamp,” &c.

And rent them in two pieces.] As a sign of sorrow for having lost so good and glorious a master.

Verse 12. Elisha saw it, and cried, My father, &c. — So he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which he had over him; in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons. He saw his own condition like that of a fatherless child, and laments it accordingly. The chariot, &c. — Who, by thy example, and counsels, and prayers, and power with God, didst more for the defence and preservation of Israel than all their chariots and horses. The expression alludes to the form of chariots and horses which he had seen.

12. Elisha saw — Saw the whole scene; the chariot, and horses, and the transfigured Elijah moving away from the earth. Elisha saw this, however, not with his natural eyes, for it was a scene belonging to the spiritual world, and to behold it he must, like the young man mentioned, 2 Kings 6:17, have his inner senses unvailed. This sight was a special Divine favour, and was made by Elijah the conditional sign of Elisha’s obtaining a double portion of his spirit. Verse 10. My father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof — These words should be understood as an exclamation of wonder and amazement. Elisha sees his spiritual father depart, and he sees the chariot and the celestial steeds, and he calls after them all. We can hardly suppose that by this exclamation he meant at that moment to express the thought which the Targum attaches to the words: “My master, my master, who wast better to Israel by thy prayers than horses and chariots.” Doubtless Elisha afterwards often related this marvellous scene, and uttered these words in the hearing of men; and as he was ever associated in the minds of the people with his ascended master, and they spoke of him as the one “who poured water on the hands of Elijah,” (2 Kings 3:11,) so it was very natural for the king of Israel when he visited him in his last sickness to weep over his face and repeat these very words. See 2 Kings 13:14. He saw him no more — His inner vision was closed again, and all that wondrous scene vanished from his view. Rent them in two pieces — In token of sorrow and bereavement. He would fain have gone with Elijah into heaven. He had closely followed his master all that day, persistently refusing to leave him; and now, when the chariot and horses of fire separate them, and he suddenly finds himself alone, a bitter sense of loneliness comes over him, and he acts like a heartbroken mourner.

V. 13. Which fell-God so ordering it for Elisha’s comfort, and the strengthening of his faith, as a pledge, that together with Elijah’s mantle, his Spirit should rest upon him. And Elijah himself was gone to a place, where he needed not the mantle, either to adorn him, or to shelter him from weather, or to wrap his face in.

Verse 13. He took-the mantle] The same with which he had been called by Elijah to the prophetic office, and the same by which Elijah divided Jordan. His having the mantle was a proof that he was invested with the authority and influence of his master.

Verse 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah which fell from him — God appointing it to fall, for Elisha’s comfort, and the strengthening of his faith and as a pledge that, together with this mantle Elijah’s spirit should rest upon him, according to his promise. And Elijah himself was now gone to a place where he needed not the mantle, either to adorn him, or shelter him from the weather, or to wrap his face in.

13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah — The same mantle which the ascended prophet had cast upon him at Abel-meholah as a symbolic call to be prophet in his stead. 1 Kings 19:16, 19. It was thenceforth to be to Elisha what it had been to Elijah, and served to designate him as Elijah’s successor.

V. 14. The Lord-Who at Elijah’s request divided these waters, and is as able to do it again.

Verse 14. Where is the Lord God of Elijah?] The Vulgate gives a strange turn to this verse: Et percussit aquas, et non sunt divisæ; et dixu, Ubi est Deus Eliæ etiam nunc? Percussitque aquas, et divisæ sunt huc et illuc. “And he smote the waters, but they did not divide; and he said, Where is the God of Elijah even now? And he struck the waters and they were divided hither and thither.” The act of striking the waters seems to be twice repeated in the verse, though we get rid of the second striking by rendering the second clause, when he also had smitten the waters: which has the same Hebrew words as the first, and which we translate, he smote the waters. The Vulgate supposes he smote once in vain, perhaps confiding too much in his own strength; and then, having invoked the God of Elijah, he succeeded. This distinction is not followed by any of the other versions; nor is the clause, et non sunt divisæ, “and they divided not,” expressed by the Hebrew text.

Verse 14. And said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? — Who at Elijah’s request divided these waters, and is able to do it again. But according to this translation, two words are left out, namely, awh ãa, aph-hu. The clause literally rendered is, Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even He? which a learned foreigner interprets thus; that Elisha having asked this question, Where is? &c., answers himself in the two last words, aph-hu, yea, he is yet in being. Abarbinel expounds them, Though Elijah be not here, yet his God is. The servant is wanting, but not the Lord. The blessed God is still present, and will supply his place. And when he also had smitten the water’s, they parted hither and thither — As when Elijah smote them with the same mantle, which they both used, as Moses did his rod, not imagining that there was any inherent virtue in it, or at all trusting therein; but using it as a mere sign of the presence and power of God, in which alone they confided to work this wonder. Thus Elijah’s last miracle was Elisha’s first, and the disciple began where his master left off, taking up and carrying on the same blessed work of witnessing for God against idols and idolaters.

14. Smote the waters — Elisha’s first miracle is identical in nature with the last of Elijah, and so the spirit and power of the father rests upon his spiritual son, and by him continues active in the world. The sons of the prophets beheld, from their mountain height, (verse 7,) this miracle, as they probably had the last one of Elijah, and hence it served to confirm them as well as Elisha himself in the belief that Elijah’s spirit rested on him. Verse

V. 15. Bowed themselves-They had been trained up in the schools: Elisha was taken from the plough. Yet, when they perceive, that God is with him, and that this is the man whom he delights to honour, they readily submit to him as their head and father, as the people to Joshua when Moses was dead. “Those that appear to have God’s Spirit and presence with them, ought to have our esteem and best affections, notwithstanding the meanness of their extraction and education.”

Verse 15. The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.] This was a natural conclusion, from seeing him with the mantle, and working the same miracle. This disposed them to yield the same obedience to him they had done to his master: and in token of this, they went out to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

Verse 15. And bowed themselves to the ground before him — In token of their reverence for and subjection to him, as Elijah’s successor, the father of the prophets, and their master and teacher. They had been trained up in the schools; Elisha was taken from the plough: yet, when they perceive that God is with him, and that this is the man whom he delights to honour, they readily submit to him as their head and father, as the people did to Joshua when Moses was dead. “Those that appear to have God’s Spirit and presence with them, ought to have our esteem and best affections, notwithstanding the meanness of their extraction and education.”

15. Where is the Lord God of Elijah — According to the Vulgate he smote the waters once, and they were not divided; then he spoke these words and again smote them, and they divided hither and thither. This thought, however, has no support in the Hebrew text. The words were spoken with the conviction that the last miracle of the ascended prophet would now be repeated as a confirming sign to Elisha that Elijah’s God would be with him. And when he also had smitten — This is a faulty rendering of the Hebrew. We should read: Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even he? and he smote the waters and they were divided, etc.

15. Saw him — The prophets saw all that was done at Jordan, and were thereby confirmed in the belief that Elisha was the divinely ordained successor of Elijah.

V. 16. Strong men-Able to take such a journey. Lest, &c.-They thought, either that God had not finally taken him away from them, but only for a time; or that God had only taken away his soul, and that his body was cast down into some place, which they desired to seek, that they might give it an honourable burial.

Verse 16. Fifty strong men] Probably the same fifty who are mentioned 2 Kings 2:7, and who saw Elijah taken up in the whirlwind. Cast him upon some mountain] Though they saw him taken up towards heaven, yet they thought it possible that the Spirit of the Lord might have descended with him, and left him on some remote mountain or valley. Ye shall not send.] He knew that he was translated to heaven, and that therefore it would be useless.

Verses 16, 17. Behold, there be with thy servants fifty strong men — Able to take such a journey. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master — They had received but an imperfect revelation of God’s design, with respect to Elijah, when they asked Elisha if he knew that the Lord would take away his master: for they seem to have supposed that the Spirit of God might have taken him up and cast him, either dead or alive, upon some mountain, or in some valley at a distance; see on 1 Kings 18:12; and if alive, they wished to find him, that they might minister to his necessities; and if dead, that they might give his body an honourable burial. And he said, Ye shall not send — For he knew it would be to no purpose. They urged him till he was ashamed — That is, to deny them any longer, lest they should think his denial proceeded from a neglect of his master, or a contempt of them. Or, as the Hebrew, vb d[, gnad bosh, may with equal propriety be rendered, till they were ashamed, namely, because he so often and so obstinately denied their request. And they sought him three days — Searching every place where they thought it likely he might be cast. But found him not — Thus still further evidence was given of his translation, and they, having lost their labour, and tired themselves with their fruitless search, would be more ready to submit to Elisha’s authority, and acquiesce in his judgment another time.

16. Cast him upon some mountain — The fifty men that stood afar off to view, (verse 7,) had perhaps seen that Elijah was suddenly snatched away from view, or else Elisha at once told them how his master had departed; but they could not fully believe that he had gone bodily to heaven. Their search to find him, however, was as fruitless and idle as the attempt of some moderns to explain away the idea of a bodily ascension into heaven.

V. 17. Was ashamed-That is, to deny them any longer, lest they should think his denial proceeded from a neglect of his master, or a contempt of them.

Verse 17. Till he was ashamed] He saw they would not be satisfied unless they made the proposed search; he felt therefore that he could not, with any good grace, resist their importunity any longer.

Verses 16, 17. Behold, there be with thy servants fifty strong men — Able to take such a journey. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master — They had received but an imperfect revelation of God’s design, with respect to Elijah, when they asked Elisha if he knew that the Lord would take away his master: for they seem to have supposed that the Spirit of God might have taken him up and cast him, either dead or alive, upon some mountain, or in some valley at a distance; see on 1 Kings 18:12; and if alive, they wished to find him, that they might minister to his necessities; and if dead, that they might give his body an honourable burial. And he said, Ye shall not send — For he knew it would be to no purpose. They urged him till he was ashamed — That is, to deny them any longer, lest they should think his denial proceeded from a neglect of his master, or a contempt of them. Or, as the Hebrew, vb d[, gnad bosh, may with equal propriety be rendered, till they were ashamed, namely, because he so often and so obstinately denied their request. And they sought him three days — Searching every place where they thought it likely he might be cast. But found him not — Thus still further evidence was given of his translation, and they, having lost their labour, and tired themselves with their fruitless search, would be more ready to submit to Elisha’s authority, and acquiesce in his judgment another time.

ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 1-18.

We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deuteronomy 34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deuteronomy 32:50, 51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.

1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on verse

11. By a whirlwind — hr[s, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up. From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. Verse 2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Joshua 4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.

ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 1-18.

We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deuteronomy 34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deuteronomy 32:50, 51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Malachi 4:5, 6; Matthew 11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.

1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on verse

11. By a whirlwind — hr[s, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up. From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. Verse 2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Joshua 4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.

V. 19. Barren-Either it was so originally, at least, as to that part of the city where the college of the prophets was: or, it became so from the curse of God inflicted upon it, when Hiel rebuilt it. However, upon the prophet’s care, it grew exceeding fruitful, and therefore is commended for its fertility in later writers.

Verse 19. The water is naught, and the ground barren.] The barrenness of the ground was the effect of the badness of the water.

Verse 19. The water is naught, and the ground barren — Either it was so originally, at least as to that part of the city where the college of the prophets was; or it became so from the curse of God inflicted upon it, either when Joshua first took the city, or when Hiel rebuilt it: however, upon the prophet’s care it became exceeding fruitful, and therefore is commended for its fertility by later writers. Thus the ministers of the gospel should endeavour to make every place they come to some way or other the better for them; labouring to sweeten bitter spirits, and to make barren souls fruitful by a due application of God’s word.

ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS OF JERICHO, 19-22.

As we see in the translation of Elijah a type of Christ’s ascension into heaven, so may we also see in the subsequent career of Elisha a type of the holy Apostolic Church, clothed with the spirit of the Master, and working even greater miracles than he.

19. The men of the city — Prominent citizens of the place. Perhaps, as Bahr says, they were the elders of the city who thus applied to Elisha, and their action shows that he had their confidence. As he had now attained the highest eminence in the prophetic office, they, possibly, expected that he might be able to rid their city of its plague. Situation of this city is pleasant — Travellers all agree in representing the site of Jericho as exceedingly beautiful. The water is naught — Bad, harmful. The ground barren — Better, The land suffers from abortions, or causes untimely births. xrah, the land, refers here to the inhabitants, rather than the soil, and verse 21 shows that the bad waters caused the land to suffer from abortions.

V. 20. A new cruse-That there might be no legal pollution in it which might offend God, and hinder his miraculous operation. Put salt-A most improper remedy; for salt naturally makes waters brackish, and lands barren. Hereby therefore he would shew, that this was effected solely by the Divine power, which could work either without means, or against them.

Verse 20. And he said, Bring me a new cruise — He says new, partly that there might be no ground of suspicion that the cure was wrought by the natural virtue of any thing which was or had been in the cruise before, but only by God’s power; and partly that there might be no legal pollution in it which might offend God, and hinder his miraculous operation by it. And put salt therein — A most improper remedy; for salt naturally makes waters brackish, and lands barren, Hereby therefore he intended to show, that the change desired was to be effected, not by any natural means, but solely by the divine power, which could work either without means or against them. Thus Christ anointed the eyes of a blind man with clay, when he was going to restore him to sight, that he might show that no natural cause was concerned in his cure; clay, according to its natural effect, being more likely to injure his eyes than benefit them.

20. A new cruse — Never used in any common or unholy service. Put salt therein — Elisha, in working this miracle, would seem to make use of means just as did Jesus when he put spittle on the blind man’s eyes. John 9:6; Mark 8:23. “The injurious property and effect was not taken from the water by the salt, poured in; for even if the salt actually possessed this power, a whole spring could not be corrected by a single dish of salt, even for one day, much less for a longer time, or forever. The pouring in of the salt was a symbolic act with which Elisha accompanied the word of the Lord, by which alone the spring was healed. Salt, on account of its power of preserving from putrescence and decay, is the symbol of incorruptibility, and of life removing death. The new dish was also a symbol of purity and inviolateness.” — Keil.

V. 21. Death-Hurt, or danger, to man or beast, by drinking of it.

Verse 21. And cast the salt in there] He cast in the salt at the place where the waters sprang out of the earth. Jarchi well observes here, “Salt is a thing which corrupts water; therefore, it is evident that this was a true miracle.” What Elisha did on this occasion, getting the new cruse and throwing in the salt, was only to make the miracle more conspicuous. If the salt could have had any natural tendency to render the water salubrious, it could have acted only for a short time, and only on that portion of the stream which now arose from the spring; and in a few moments its effects must have disappeared. But the miracle here was permanent: the death of men and cattle, which had been occasioned by the insalubrity of the waters, ceased, the land was no longer barren; and the waters became permanently fit for all agricultural and domestic uses.

Verses 21, 22. He went forth unto the spring, and cast the salt in there — If the salt had been a proper remedy for the brackishness of these waters and the barrenness of the land, what could so small a quantity have done, and especially as cast into the fountain? For a fountain quickly works out any thing cast into it. But Elisha only used it as a sign of God’s power, which was to produce the effect, and to render the operation of that power more conspicuous. Therefore he says, Thus saith the Lord God, I have healed these waters — He himself; the new cruise and the salt were no more than mere instruments, or channels through which God was pleased to convey this healing virtue. There shall not be from thence any more death — Hurt or danger, to man or beast, by drinking the water. So the waters were healed unto this day — There is a fountain at this very day, toward the west of Jericho, which rises about three quarters of a league above the town in the way to Jerusalem, and, yielding a great deal of water, very excellent in its kind, runs along and fructifies the plain: and many authors speak of the extraordinary fruitfulness and pleasantness of the country hereabouts, after this time. See Josephus, Bell. Jud., book 5, cap. 4.

21. The spring of the waters — “The fountain bursts forth at the eastern foot of a high double mound, or group of mounds, situated a mile or more in front of the mountain Quarantania, and about thirty-five minutes from the modern village of Jericho. It is a large and beautiful fountain of sweet and pleasant water; not, indeed, cold, but also not warm. It is the only one near Jericho, and there is every reason to regard it as the scene of Elisha’s miracle.” — Robinson. I have healed these waters — Not Elisha, but Elisha’s God was the author of that miraculous change in the mineral sources of the fountain. This miracle, says Wordsworth, “was typical of the work done by the Lord after the ascension of Christ, by means of the apostles and their successors casting the salt of Christian doctrine from the new cruse of the Gospel into the unhealthful waters of the Jericho of this world, and healing them.” Compare with this miracle that of the healing of the poisonous pottage, 2 Kings 4:38-41, and the waters of Marah, Exodus 15:25.

Verses 21, 22. He went forth unto the spring, and cast the salt in there — If the salt had been a proper remedy for the brackishness of these waters and the barrenness of the land, what could so small a quantity have done, and especially as cast into the fountain? For a fountain quickly works out any thing cast into it. But Elisha only used it as a sign of God’s power, which was to produce the effect, and to render the operation of that power more conspicuous. Therefore he says, Thus saith the Lord God, I have healed these waters — He himself; the new cruise and the salt were no more than mere instruments, or channels through which God was pleased to convey this healing virtue. There shall not be from thence any more death — Hurt or danger, to man or beast, by drinking the water. So the waters were healed unto this day — There is a fountain at this very day, toward the west of Jericho, which rises about three quarters of a league above the town in the way to Jerusalem, and, yielding a great deal of water, very excellent in its kind, runs along and fructifies the plain: and many authors speak of the extraordinary fruitfulness and pleasantness of the country hereabouts, after this time. See Josephus, Bell. Jud., book 5, cap. 4.

Ver. 22. So the waters were healed. Josephus affirms this to be correct; so it is likely that by prayer he divested the channel of the noxious mineral spring.

ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS OF JERICHO, 19-22.

As we see in the translation of Elijah a type of Christ’s ascension into heaven, so may we also see in the subsequent career of Elisha a type of the holy Apostolic Church, clothed with the spirit of the Master, and working even greater miracles than he.

19. The men of the city — Prominent citizens of the place. Perhaps, as Bahr says, they were the elders of the city who thus applied to Elisha, and their action shows that he had their confidence. As he had now attained the highest eminence in the prophetic office, they, possibly, expected that he might be able to rid their city of its plague. Situation of this city is pleasant — Travellers all agree in representing the site of Jericho as exceedingly beautiful. The water is naught — Bad, harmful. The ground barren — Better, The land suffers from abortions, or causes untimely births. xrah, the land, refers here to the inhabitants, rather than the soil, and verse 21 shows that the bad waters caused the land to suffer from abortions.

V. 23. To Beth-el-To the other school of prophets, to inform them of Elijah’s translation, and his succession to the same office; and to direct, and comfort, and stablish them. Children-Or, young men: as this Hebrew word often signifies. It is more than probable they were old enough to discern between good and evil. The city-Beth-el was the mother-city of idolatry, where the prophets planted themselves, that they might bear witness against it, and dissuade the people from it; though, it seems, they had but small success there. Mocked him-With great petulancy and vehemency, as the word signifies; deriding both his person and ministry, and that from a prophane contempt of the true religion, and a passionate love to that idolatry which they knew he opposed. Go up-Go up into heaven, whither thou pretendest Elijah is gone. Why didst not thou accompany thy friend and master to heaven? Bald-head-So they mock his natural infirmity, which is a great sin. The repetition shews their heartiness and earnestness, that it was no sudden slip of their tongue, but a scoff proceeding from a rooted impiety and hatred of God and his prophets. And very probably it was their usual practice, to jeer the prophets as they went along the streets, that they might expose them to contempt, and if possible drive them out of their town. Had the abuse done to Elisha been the first offence of the kind, they might not have been so severely punished. But mocking the messengers of the Lord, was one of the crying sins of Israel.

Verse 23. There came forth little children out of the city] These were probably the school of some celebrated teacher; but under his instruction they had learned neither piety nor good manners.

Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.] jrq hl[ jrq hl[ aleh kereach, aleh kereach. Does not this imply the grossest insult? Ascend, thou empty skull, to heaven, as it is pretended thy master did! This was blasphemy against God; and their punishment (for they were Beth-elite idolaters) was only proportioned to their guilt. Elisha cursed them, i.e., pronounced a curse upon them, in the name of the Lord, יהוה בשם beshem Yehovah, by the name or authority of Jehovah. The spirit of their offense lies in their ridiculing a miracle of the Lord: the offense was against Him, and He punished it. It was no petulant humour of the prophet that caused him to pronounce this curse; it was God alone: had it proceeded from a wrong disposition of the prophet, no miracle would have been wrought in order to gratify it.

“But was it not a cruel thing to destroy forty-two little children, who, in mere childishness, had simply called the prophet bare skull, or bald head?” I answer, Elisha did not destroy them; he had no power by which he could bring two she-bears out of the wood to destroy them. It was evidently either accidental, or a Divine judgment; and if a judgment, God must be the sole author of it. Elisha’s curse must be only declaratory of what God was about to do. See on 2 Kings 1:10. “But then, as they were little children, they could scarcely be accountable for their conduct; and consequently, it was cruelty to destroy them.” If it was a judgment of God, it could neither be cruel nor unjust; and I contend, that the prophet had no power by which he could bring these she-bears to fall upon them. But were they little children? for here the strength of the objection lies. Now I suppose the objection means children from four to seven or eight years old; for so we use the word: but the original, µyncq נערים nearim ketannim, may mean young men, for ˆcq katon signifies to be young, in opposition to old, and is so translated in various places in our Bible; and נער naar signifies, not only a child, but a young man, a servant, or even a soldier, or one fit to go out to battle; and is so translated in a multitude of places in our common English version. I shall mention but a few, because they are sufficiently decisive: Isaac was called נער naar when twenty-eight years old, Genesis 21:5-12; and Joseph was so called when he was thirty-nine, Genesis 41:12. Add to these 1 Kings 20:14: “And Ahab said, By whom [shall the Assyrians be delivered into my hand?] And he said, Thus saith the Lord, by the YOUNG MEN, בנערי benaarey, of the princes of the provinces.” That these were soldiers, probably militia, or a selection from the militia, which served as a bodyguard to Ahab, the event sufficiently declares; and the persons that mocked Elisha were perfectly accountable for their conduct.

But is it not possible that these forty-two were a set of unlucky young men, who had been employed in the wood, destroying the whelps of these same she-bears, who now pursued them, and tore them to pieces, for the injury they had done? We have already heard of the ferocity of a bear robbed of her whelps; see at the end of 2 Samuel 17:28. The mention of SHE-bears gives some colour to the above conjecture; and, probably, at the time when these young fellows insulted the prophet, the bears might be tracing the footsteps of the murderers of their young, and thus came upon them in the midst of their insults, God’s providence ordering these occurrences so as to make this natural effect appear as a Divine cause. If the conjecture be correct, the bears were prepared by their loss to execute the curse of the prophet, and God’s justice guided them to the spot to punish the iniquity that had been just committed.

II KINGS

Verse 23. He went up from thence unto Beth-el — To the other school of the prophets, to inform them of Elijah’s translation, and his succession to the same office; and to direct, and comfort, and establish them, as he saw occasion. And — there came forth little children — The word µyr[n, negnarim, here rendered children, often evidently signifies, and is translated, young men, or lads, as Genesis 22:5, 12, and 41:12, and 43:8; 2 Chronicles 13:7, and that even when the epithet µyncq, ketannim, little, is, as here, added to it: see 1 Kings 3:7, and Isaiah 11:6. Here Dr. Waterland renders the words, young lads. It is more than probable they were, at least, old enough to discern between good and evil. They came out of the city, that is, Beth-el, the mother city of idolatry, where the prophets had planted themselves that they might bear witness against it, and dissuade the people from it, though, it seems, they had but small success there. These youths, it appears, did not meet with Elisha by accident, but went out with a design to insult him, knowing him to be a prophet of the true God, an advocate for his worship, and an enemy to the idolatry of the place; and having imbibed the prejudices of their parents against the true religion. They likewise went in a body, which showed that their motive was malice, and their going out not casual: from whence some think it probable that they went out, not only to deride the prophet, but likewise to prevent his entering into the city. They feared he would be as zealous against their idolatries as Elijah had been, and by this insult they intended to free themselves from his remonstrances. And mocked him — With great petulancy and vehemency making game of him, as the word wslqty, jithkallesu, here used, signifies; deriding, probably, both his person and ministry, and that from a profane contempt of the true religion, and a passionate love of that idolatry which they knew he opposed. And said unto him, Go up, thou bald-head, go up, thou bald-head — Thus mocking his natural infirmity, which was a great sin, and repeating the words to show their earnestness, and that their scoff was no sudden slip of the tongue, but proceeded from a rooted impiety, and hatred of God and his prophets: and very probably it was their usual practice to jeer the prophets as they went along the streets, that they might expose them to contempt, and, if possible, drive them out of the town. Many commentators think, that by this expression, hl[, gnalee, Go up, ascend, which they repeat, they intended to make a jest of the ascension of Elijah, which no doubt they had heard of: as if they had said, “Go up, ascend into heaven, whither thou pretendest Elijah is gone. Why didst thou not accompany thy friend and master to heaven?” thus shutting their eyes against an astonishing miracle, which seems to have been wrought, partly at least, to reclaim them, as well as to the two other signal miracles recently wrought, and, no doubt, spread abroad through the country, namely, of both Elijah and Elisha’s dividing the waters of Jordan, and passing through on dry ground. Perhaps, however, as the story mentions his going up, or ascending, the rising ground, unto Beth-el, and going up by the way, they might only mean, Go along, by the expression, Go up, or ascend, and might not allude to Elijah’s ascension. Be this as it may, their abuse of a prophet whom God had so evidently accredited, and marked out as the successor of Elijah, whose miracles had been so many and so wonderful, was a most heinous sin, and a manifest insult offered to the true God, and was accordingly punished as such by him, all whose ways are just and holy, and who never exceeds the degree of sin in the measure of punishment, but always in the present world punishes the guilty infinitely less than they deserve.

Ver. 23. Go up, thou bald head. Children of idolatrous parents, who perhaps had often mocked the worshippers of the Lord, going up to the feasts in Jerusalem: here they did it once too often.

THE MOCKING CHILDREN CURSED, 23-25.

We pass from a miracle of blessing to a miracle of cursing. The one was wrought in the element of inanimate nature; the other, in that of human life. The one was wrought on unconscious water for the temporal benefit of the surrounding country; the other, on conscious and responsible persons to vindicate the honour of Jehovah, and teach a salutary moral lesson. “The offence of the mocking children, involving, as it did, a blasphemous insult upon one of the Lord’s most signal acts, made a near approach to what in the New Testament is called the sin against the Holy Ghost. It became the Lord to vindicate his own honour among a people governed by sensible dispensations of judgments and of mercy; and it became him to vindicate the character and authority of his anointed prophet at the outset of his high career.” — Kitto.

23. Unto Beth-el — Whence he had lately come down with Elijah, and where was a school of the prophets. Verse 3. Little children — Youths; persons who had attained to youthful manhood, as distinguished from the middle aged and the old. The word r[n is often used for a youth, without determining at all his exact age, and with ˆcq, little, means a young man who has not arrived at maturity, a lad. Compare 1 Samuel 20:35; 1 Kings 11:17. µydly, rendered children in verse 24, is often used in the same sense, and in 1 Kings 12:8 is applied to the young men who had grown up with Rehoboam, in contrast with the old men who had acted as the counsellors of Solomon. So that by little children, here, we are not to understand infantile or irresponsible children, but young persons from fifteen to twenty or twenty-five years old. Some have plausibly conjectured that they composed the school of some teacher in that city. If so, the school was probably established to offset and counteract the influence of the school of the prophets in that place, and to advance the interests of the calf-worship, which had its principal seat at Beth-el. The pupils of such a school would naturally soon learn to mock and scoff at every holy person and thing connected with the true worship of Jehovah. They were, as Kitto says, “a rabble of young blackguards.” Go up — That is, ascend into heaven. They had heard of Elijah’s ascension, and were taught to treat the story with ridicule; and now when Elisha, the most distinguished follower of Elijah, is approaching the town, they go out on purpose to meet him and treat him with derision. Bald head — If Elisha were really bald headed, it was not the result of age, for he was yet a comparatively young man. But the word might have been applied to Elisha out of pure contempt, and not because he was actually bald. The term “was one of great indignity with the Israelites — baldness being usually seen among them as the effect of the loathsome disease of leprosy. It was a term of contempt, equivalent to calling him a mean, unworthy fellow, a social outcast. In this sense it is still used as a term of abuse in the farther East, and is often applied as such to men who have ample heads of hair.” — Kitto.

V. 24. Cursed them-Nor was this punishment too great for the offence, if it be considered, that their mocking proceeded from a great malignity of mind against God; that they mocked not only a man, and an ancient man, whose very age commanded reverence; and a prophet; but even God himself, and that glorious work of God, the assumption of Elijah into heaven; that they might be guilty of many other heinous crimes, which God and the prophet knew; and were guilty of idolatry, which by God’s law deserved death; that the idolatrous parents were punished in their children; and that, if any of these children were more innocent, God might have mercy upon their souls, and then this death was not a misery, but a real blessing to them, that they were taken away from that education which was most likely to expose them not only to temporal, but eternal destruction. In the name-Not from any revengeful passion, but by the motion of God’s Spirit, and by God’s command and commission. God did this, partly, for the terror and caution of all other idolaters and prophane persons who abounded in that place; partly, to vindicate the honour, and maintain the authority of his prophets; and particularly, of Elisha, now especially, in the beginning of his sacred ministry. Children-This Hebrew word signifies not only young children, but also those who are grown up to maturity, as Genesis 32:22, 34:4, 37:30, Ruth 1:5.

Verse 24. He looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord — “The word curse has in Scripture three different acceptations. It signifies, to inflict a curse; and in this sense God is said to have cursed the ground after the fall. It signifies, to wish a curse; and in this sense Shimei is said to have cursed David. Lastly, it signifies, to pronounce, or foretel, a curse or punishment; and in this sense Elisha is said to have cursed the children. The historian expressly asserts, that he cursed them in the name of the Lord. To speak in the name of the Lord, is to deliver what he commands; to prophesy in the name of the Lord, is to foretel what he reveals; and to curse in the name of the Lord, is to declare a curse which he is determined to inflict, and has authorized the prophet to denounce: so that in cursing these supposed children, Elisha acted as a minister of the Supreme Ruler of the world, and by his order foretold the punishment that was going to be inflicted upon these idolaters. His pronouncing this curse was not the cause of their catastrophe; but the certainty of their catastrophe, and the command of God, were the causes of his pronouncing this curse.” See Dr. Dodd, and Morris, vol. 1. ser. 7.

There came forth two she-bears out of the wood — Which probably had been robbed of their whelps, and thereby made more fierce and outrageous; and tare forty and two children of them — Here the word translated children is different from that used above, namely, µydly, jeladim; but this also signifies, not only young children, but also those that are grown up to maturity, as Genesis 32:22, and 34:4, and 37:30; Ruth 1:5. In this extraordinary punishment, inflicted evidently by the hand of God on these young persons, we have demonstration, that the curse which the prophet denounced against them was not owing, as some have supposed, to the peevishness of his temper, or the ebullition of his anger: for though his rage had been ever so furious, it would not have supplied him with power to command these savage creatures to leave the woods at an instant, and to come to a place they did not frequent, as a public road must be supposed to be, in order to destroy these insolent youths. As his curse would have had no effect had it proceeded from a peevish temper, or from the violence of his passion, we have no just cause, from his cursing them, to suspect that he was actuated by any such principle. No: it was in the name of the Lord; not from any revengeful passion, but by the motion of God’s Spirit, and by God’s command and commission that he denounced the curse: and God caused the punishment to follow, partly to show his displeasure at such profaneness and malignity of mind against God, and his cause, and worship, as these youths were guilty of, for the terror and caution of all other ungodly persons, who abounded in that place; partly to vindicate the honour and maintain the authority of his prophets; and particularly of Elisha, now especially in the beginning of his sacred ministry; and partly to convince the people of the heinousness of idolatry, and to recover them to that purity of worship which the law was peculiarly intended to preserve.

Upon the whole, it appears that the persons who mocked Elijah were not infants, but arrived to years of maturity; that they did not insult him by chance, but by design; that they went out in great crowds on purpose; that they mocked him because he was the prophet of the true God, from whom they had apostatized; and that he did not wish their untimely end from a principle of revenge, but only predicted it as a prophet. The punishment will appear just, if we consider the time, place, persons, and all the circumstances of the case. These young persons might be guilty of many other heinous crimes, known to God and his prophet, besides that here recorded: they were at least guilty of idolatry, which by God’s law deserved death: add to this, that the idolatrous parents were punished in their children; and that if any of these children were more innocent, God might have mercy on their souls, and then the death they suffered was not a misery, but a real blessing to them, taking them away from that education which was very likely to expose them, not only to temporal, but eternal destruction.

24. Cursed them in the name of the Lord — It would not do to let such malice and blasphemy go unnoticed before the people of Beth-el, and so the insulted prophet called down on those young blasphemers the vengeance of the Lord who was mocked and scorned in the person of his holy prophet. It then remained to be seen whether the Lord would hear a prayer for vengeance. Tare forty and two children of them — The word for children here is different from that so rendered in verse 23, and though the two words are nearly synonymous, “the change, with the dropping of the word little, is probably intended to mark a distinction. Wherever there is a mob of idle young men, there is sure to be a number of mischievous urchins, who shout and bawl, as they do, without knowing much of the matter. Although, therefore, there were, no doubt, little children among this rabble of young Beth-elites, there is every reason to suppose that the forty-two of them who were destroyed were the oldest ones, the ringleaders of the set, and who very well knew what they were about.” — Kitto.

25. Thence to mount Carmel… thence… to Samaria — Thus he follows in the steps of his departed master, and frequents the scenes of that master’s ministry.