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Selected Verse: 2 Kings 2:16 - Strong Concordance
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
2Ki 2:16 |
Strong Concordance |
And they said [0559] unto him, Behold now, there be [03426] with thy servants [05650] fifty [02572] strong [02428] men [01121] [0582]; let them go [03212], we pray thee, and seek [01245] thy master [0113]: lest peradventure the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] hath taken him up [05375], and cast [07993] him upon some [0259] mountain [02022], or into some [0259] valley [01516]. And he said [0559], Ye shall not send [07971]. |
|
King James |
And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
fifty strong men, let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master--Though the young prophets from Jericho had seen Elijah's miraculous passage of the Jordan, they had not witnessed the ascension. They imagined that he might have been cast by the whirlwind on some mountain or valley; or, if he had actually been admitted into heaven, they expected that his body would still be remaining somewhere on earth. In compliance with their importunity, he gave them permission, but told them what the result would be. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Compare the marginal references. The words "cast him upon some mountain," rather imply that they expected to find the prophet alive. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
But the disciples of the prophets at Jericho were so unable to realize the fact of Elijah's translation, although it had been previously revealed to them, that they begged permission of Elisha to send out fifty brave men to seek for Elijah. פּן־נשׂאו: whether the Spirit of the Lord has not taken him and cast him upon one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys. פּן with the perfect is used "where there is fear of a fact, which as is conjectured almost with certainty has already happened," like μὴ in the sense of "whether not" (vid., Ewald, 337, b.). יהוה רוּח is not a wind sent by Jehovah (Ges.), but the Spirit of Jehovah, as in Kg1 18:12. The Chethb גּיאות is the regular formation from גּיא or גּיא (Zac 14:4); the Keri with the transposition of א and ,י the later form: גּאיות, Eze 7:16; Eze 31:12, etc. The belief expressed by the disciples of the prophets, that Elijah might have been miraculously carried away, was a popular belief, according to Kg1 18:12, which the disciples of the prophets were probably led to share, more especially in the present case, by the fact that they could not imagine a translation to heaven as a possible thing, and with the indefiniteness of the expression ראשׁך מעל לקח could only understand the divine revelation which they had received as referring to removal by death. So that even if Elisha told them how miraculously Elijah had been taken from him, which he no doubt did, they might still believe that by the appearance in the storm the Lord had taken away His servant from this life, that is to say, had received his soul into heaven, and had left his earthly tabernacle somewhere on the earth, for which they would like to go in search, that they might pay the last honours to their departed master. Elisha yielded to their continued urgency and granted their request; whereupon fifty men sought for three days for Elijah's body, and after three days' vain search returned to Jericho. עד־בּשׁ, to being ashamed, i.e., till he was ashamed to refuse their request any longer (see at Jdg 3:25).
The two following miracles of Elisha (Kg2 2:19-25) were also intended to accredit him in the eyes of the people as a man endowed with the Spirit and power of God, as Elijah had been. Kg2 2:19-22. Elisha makes the water at Jericho wholesome. - During his stay at Jericho (Kg2 2:18) the people of the city complained, that whilst the situation of the place was good in other respects, the water was bad and the land produced miscarriages. הארץ, the land, i.e., the soil, on account of the badness of the water; not "the inhabitants, both man and beast" (Thenius). Elisha then told them to bring a new dish with salt, and poured the salt into the spring with these words: "Thus saith the Lord, I have made this water sound; there will not more be death and miscarriage thence" (משּׁם). משׁלּכת is a substantive here (vid., Ewald, 160, e.). המּים מוצא is no doubt the present spring Ain es Sultn, the only spring near to Jericho, the waters of which spread over the plain of Jericho, thirty-five minutes' distance from the present village and castle, taking its rise in a group of elevations not far from the foot of the mount Quarantana (Kuruntul); a large and beautiful spring, the water of which is neither cold nor warm, and has an agreeable and sweet (according to Steph. Schultz, "somewhat salt") taste. It was formerly enclosed by a kind of reservoir or semicircular wall of hewn stones, from which the water was conducted in different directions to the plain (vid., Rob. Pal. ii. p. 283ff.). With regard to the miracle, a spring which supplied the whole of the city and district with water could not be so greatly improved by pouring in a dish of salt, that the water lost its injurious qualities for ever, even if salt does possess the power of depriving bad water of its unpleasant taste and injurious effects. The use of these natural means does not remove the miracle. Salt, according to its power of preserving from corruption and decomposition, is a symbol of incorruptibility and of the power of life which destroys death (see Bhr, Symbolik, ii. pp. 325,326). As such it formed the earthly substratum for the spiritual power of the divine word, through which the spring was made for ever sound. A new dish was taken for the purpose, not ob munditiem (Seb. Schm.), but as a symbol of the renewing power of the word of God. - But if this miracle was adapted to show to the people the beneficent character of the prophet's ministry, the following occurrence was intended to prove to the despisers of God that the Lord does not allow His servants to be ridiculed with impunity. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
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. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Fifty strong men - Probably the same fifty who are mentioned Kg2 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. |
18 And when they came again [07725] to him, (for he tarried [03427] at Jericho [03405],) he said [0559] unto them, Did I not say [0559] unto you, Go [03212] not?
19 And the men [0582] of the city [05892] said [0559] unto Elisha [0477], Behold, I pray thee, the situation [04186] of this city [05892] is pleasant [02896], as my lord [0113] seeth [07200]: but the water [04325] is naught [07451], and the ground [0776] barren [07921].
20 And he said [0559], Bring [03947] me a new [02319] cruse [06746], and put [07760] salt [04417] therein. And they brought [03947] it to him.
21 And he went forth [03318] unto the spring [04161] of the waters [04325], and cast [07993] the salt [04417] in there, and said [0559], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], I have healed [07495] these waters [04325]; there shall not be from thence any more death [04194] or barren [07921] land.
22 So the waters [04325] were healed [07495] unto this day [03117], according to the saying [01697] of Elisha [0477] which he spake [01696].
19 And the men [0582] of the city [05892] said [0559] unto Elisha [0477], Behold, I pray thee, the situation [04186] of this city [05892] is pleasant [02896], as my lord [0113] seeth [07200]: but the water [04325] is naught [07451], and the ground [0776] barren [07921].
20 And he said [0559], Bring [03947] me a new [02319] cruse [06746], and put [07760] salt [04417] therein. And they brought [03947] it to him.
21 And he went forth [03318] unto the spring [04161] of the waters [04325], and cast [07993] the salt [04417] in there, and said [0559], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], I have healed [07495] these waters [04325]; there shall not be from thence any more death [04194] or barren [07921] land.
22 So the waters [04325] were healed [07495] unto this day [03117], according to the saying [01697] of Elisha [0477] which he spake [01696].
23 And he went up [05927] from thence unto Bethel [01008]: and as he was going up [05927] by the way [01870], there came forth [03318] little [06996] children [05288] out of the city [05892], and mocked [07046] him, and said [0559] unto him, Go up [05927], thou bald head [07142]; go up [05927], thou bald head [07142].
24 And he turned [06437] back [0310], and looked [07200] on them, and cursed [07043] them in the name [08034] of the LORD [03068]. And there came forth [03318] two [08147] she bears [01677] out of the wood [03293], and tare [01234] forty [0705] and two [08147] children [03206] of them.
25 And he went [03212] from thence to mount [02022] Carmel [03760], and from thence he returned [07725] to Samaria [08111].
25 And they tarried [02342] till they were ashamed [0954]: and, behold, he opened [06605] not the doors [01817] of the parlour [05944]; therefore they took [03947] a key [04668], and opened [06605] them: and, behold, their lord [0113] was fallen down [05307] dead [04191] on the earth [0776].
12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone [03212] from thee, that the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] shall carry [05375] thee whither I know [03045] not; and so when I come [0935] and tell [05046] Ahab [0256], and he cannot find [04672] thee, he shall slay [02026] me: but I thy servant [05650] fear [03372] the LORD [03068] from my youth [05271].
12 And strangers [02114], the terrible [06184] of the nations [01471], have cut him off [03772], and have left [05203] him: upon the mountains [02022] and in all the valleys [01516] his branches [01808] are fallen [05307], and his boughs [06288] are broken [07665] by all the rivers [0650] of the land [0776]; and all the people [05971] of the earth [0776] are gone down [03381] from his shadow [06738], and have left [05203] him.
16 But they that escape [06403] of them shall escape [06412], and shall be on the mountains [02022] like doves [03123] of the valleys [01516], all of them mourning [01993], every one [0376] for his iniquity [05771].
4 And his feet [07272] shall stand [05975] in that day [03117] upon the mount [02022] of Olives [02132], which is before [06440] Jerusalem [03389] on the east [06924], and the mount [02022] of Olives [02132] shall cleave [01234] in the midst [02677] thereof toward the east [04217] and toward the west [03220], and there shall be a very [03966] great [01419] valley [01516]; and half [02677] of the mountain [02022] shall remove [04185] toward the north [06828], and half [02677] of it toward the south [05045].
12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone [03212] from thee, that the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] shall carry [05375] thee whither I know [03045] not; and so when I come [0935] and tell [05046] Ahab [0256], and he cannot find [04672] thee, he shall slay [02026] me: but I thy servant [05650] fear [03372] the LORD [03068] from my youth [05271].
7 And fifty [02572] men [0376] of the sons [01121] of the prophets [05030] went [01980], and stood [05975] to view [05048] afar off [07350]: and they two [08147] stood [05975] by Jordan [03383].