ELIJAH AND ELISHA CYCLES: COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS

TEXT [Commentary]

2. Elisha’s first miracles (2:19-25)

19 One day the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem, my lord,” they told him. “This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive.”

20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the LORD says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.[*]” 22 And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.

23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. “Go away, baldy!” 24 Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.

NOTES

2:19 Jericho. See the note on 2:4 concerning the previous fulfillment of Joshua’s curse on this city.

the water is bad, and the land is unproductive. Whether this represents residual aspects of Joshua’s curse on the city is unclear, but the “healing” of Jericho’s water source will be the first (or second, if the crossing of the Jordan is included) example of numerous instances where Elisha’s ministry is connected with bodies of water (see the chart “Elijah and Elisha Cycles: Comparisons and Contrasts”). “Unproductive” (meshakkaleth [TH7921, ZH8897]) literally means “causing barrenness or abortion” (BDB 1013), leading some to see an actual curse on humans and animals described here (see 2:21). Wiseman (1993:197) cites two possible naturalistic explanations for the miracle: a geologic shift removing the effects of radioactivity in the region, or else the removal of some sort of parasitic infection from the water itself.

2:20 a new bowl with salt. The term for “bowl” is the rare word tselokhith [TH6746, ZH7504] (used only here in the MT); Cogan and Tadmor (1988:36) insist that it should be translated as “jar, flask,” not “dish” or the like. The “salt” (readily available from the nearby Dead Sea) probably was symbolic of preservation, and the “newness” of the bowl symbolic of purity (Wiseman 1993:197; cf. the helpful discussion of Dale Brueggemann [2008:332] concerning the permanent nature of the “salt covenant” as found in Num 18:19 and 2 Chr 13:5, cf. NLT mg).

2:21 death or infertility. As pointed out in the second note on 2:19, the term meshakkaleth [TH7921, ZH8897] signifies the bringing about of barrenness or abortion (hence, e.g., the NLT mg note for the present verse). Whether the trouble comes from the land (2:19) or the water (as here), both humans and animals are presumably affected—possibly also plants, as can be inferred from the use of the verbal form of the same root in Mal 3:11: “Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe” (lo’-teshakkel [TH7921, ZH8897]).

2:22 ever since. Lit., “until this day.” As Childs (1963:279-292) has pointed out, the phrase here is an example of a secondary etiological formula added to the account to give a personal testimony by the narrator or editor (in this case confirming the effectiveness of the word of Yahweh as mediated through the prophet Elisha). For other examples of such confirmatory testimonies, see 8:22; 10:27 (cf. LXX); 14:7; 16:6; 17:23, 34, 41; also 1 Kgs 8:8; 9:13, 21; 12:19.

2:23 a group of boys. Heb., ne‘arim qetannim, lit., “small youths”; the same expression is found in the singular in 5:14. The noun na‘ar [TH5288, ZH5853] can refer to a boy, or a young man, such as the 17-year-old Joseph (Gen 37:2) or the warrior Absalom (2 Sam 18:5, 12). It is also used commonly to designate a household servant or attendant. But here with the adjective “small” or “young” (qatan [TH6996, ZH7783]), the phrase probably emphasizes their immaturity. Cogan and Tadmor (1988:39) characterize them as “jeering urchins,” and they note that such a scene can often discomfort the unwary urban traveler in the Middle East even today.

began mocking and making fun of him. The phrase wayyithqallesu-bo [TH7046, ZH7840] also conveys the idea of mockery and derision in Ezek 22:5; Hab 1:10.

Go away, baldy! Lit., “go on up, baldy” (‘aleh qereakh [TH7142, ZH7944]). The root ‘alah [TH5927, ZH6590] regularly conveys the idea of “going up” or “ascending,” and that is the idea here (the same root is already used twice in the verse, indicating Elisha’s “going up” to Bethel and “walking along” the road [uphill?]). A number of commentators, however, prefer the basic idea of “going away” or “departing” for the present text (cf. NRSV; also Cogan and Tadmor 1988:38), so the NLT translation here is quite defensible. Still, those who read here a sardonic challenge for the bald Elisha to “go on up” as the very hairy Elijah (cf. 1:8) recently did, have a point. (This might help explain the ferocious fate that a significant number of the boys soon face.) Some see here a reference to a characteristic close haircut said to be typical of some prophets (cf. the four references cited in Cogan and Tadmor 1988:38; but they themselves prefer the possibility that Elisha’s “extreme natural baldness” caught the boys’ attention). In any case, a clear contrast with the well-known hairiness of Elisha’s master Elijah is probably in view here.

2:24 cursed them in the name of the LORD. A somewhat symmetrical reference to the effective “word” of Yahweh is to be found in the preceding passage (see 2:21). That time it was God’s message through Elisha to the people, but here it is Elisha’s word (in God’s name), again directed to the people. (In Deuteronomy, we are reminded several times that the people, Levites, prophets, and priests are to speak only in the “name” of Yahweh; cf. Deut 6:13; 10:8; 18:18-20; 21:5.)

two bears. Heb., dubbim [TH1677, ZH1800], here clearly feminine in gender (KJV, “she bears”), as indicated by the feminine form of the accompanying verb. Bears roamed the hill country of Palestine even up to the early twentieth century (ABD 6.1143), and mother bears robbed of their cubs are known to be especially fierce (cf. Hos 13:8).

forty-two. This is possibly a typical number representing a quite sizable group (cf. the number of Jehu’s victims cited in 10:14). But whether a precise tally or not, surely the unforgettable image here is of the sudden, gruesome deaths of a shockingly large number of youths.

2:25 Mount Carmel . . . Samaria. These are the sites of Elijah’s great miracle against the prophets of Baal, and the capital city of the queen mother, Jezebel, supporter of those Baal prophets, respectively.

COMMENTARY [Text]

With the return of Elisha to Jericho (see 2:18), we read about a recurring problem there: the dangerous water supply. But Elisha, whose ministry will be repeatedly connected with waters and rivers, effects a miraculous healing of Jericho’s water source by means of a “new bowl” and some Dead Sea salt, and, more fundamentally, by means of an effective, timely word from Yahweh. This “healing” is confirmed by the story’s narrator (or editor) as remaining in effect “to this day” (see the note on 2:22). Yet, when Elisha returns to Bethel (2:23) we read about what could become another recurring problem: the insolence of a mob of shameless street urchins (see the notes on 2:23). A miracle of destruction, however, soon takes place, and once again a sharply negative situation is effectively eliminated by a timely word in the name of Yahweh. A miracle of healing and restoration, followed by a miracle of judgment and destruction—such are the introductory miracles connected with the newly installed prophet Elisha.

We like miracles of restoration and chafe at miracles of judgment, but we need to hear about both of them, and probably best in tandem, as they occur here. Immediately, one thinks of a similar phenomenon in the book of Acts: The judgment of sudden death for the deceivers Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) is sandwiched between the account of the incredible growth of the early church (Acts 2–4) and that of the instant healings done by the apostles (Acts 5:12-16). “Great fear” came upon the entire church as a result of those sudden deaths (Acts 5:11), and great reserve and reverence came upon the crowds (Acts 5:13) as a result of those healings. Gladsome delight, surely, as a result of all those healings, but stern respect, too. Such literary juxtapositions represent shrewd knowledge of human nature—without the fear of God and of God’s human leadership, miracles of healing and restoration may soon become trite in perspective and shallow in result. It seems to take some sharp signs of judgment to restore balance and perspective to the people of God.

Many commentators and critics have taken extreme umbrage over the destructive “miracle” of the she-bears, and it is not my task to explain away the offensive nature of that story. But we know in our heart of hearts that “it is the fear of the LORD which is the beginning of [true] knowledge and those who spurn wisdom and discipline are [nothing more than] fools” (my expanded paraphrase of Prov 1:7, the motto of that great book of godly wisdom). God will honor his servant-leaders, and sometimes it might tragically take some she-bears to reinforce the point. Thankfully, from this point on we will read mostly positive messages about the ministry of the prophet Elisha and how he effected, time and again, only healing and blessing on young and old, male and female, Jew and Gentile alike. Only a greedy Gehazi (see 5:20-27) or some hostile Arameans (see 6:8-20) need fear harsh, judgmental miracles; and even those seemingly last only for a season (cf. 8:5 and 6:20-23, respectively).