2 Kings 2:24
in 2 Kings 2Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.
KJV
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verseNow according to the letter, dearly beloved, we are to believe, as we mentioned above, that blessed Elisha was aroused with God's zeal to correct the people, rather than moved by unwholesome anger, when he permitted the Jewish children to be torn to pieces. His …
This site's exposition
Go up, you baldhead
on 2 Kings 2:23-24
On the road up to Bethel, boys from the city jeer at Elisha. They chant “Go up, you baldhead”, the verb the chapter used of Elijah going up at verse 11. John Wesley notes that the Hebrew word rendered boys is used of grown men in Genesis and Ruth.
This site's exposition
called down a curse on them
Albert Barnes observed that only here does Elisha act as a minister of vengeance, in a ministry otherwise marked by mildness. Caesarius of Arles read the curse as zeal from God for the people's correction, free of private anger. Matthew Henry added that God hates sin even in the young.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!" After Elisha had settled the matters concerning his disciples in …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Children - This Hebrew word signifies not only young children, but also those who are grown up to maturity, as Gen. xxxii, 22, xxxiv, 4, xxxvii, 30, Ruth i, 5.
He knew what a generation of vipers those were, and what mischievous enemies they would be to God's prophets if they should live to be men, who began so early to be abusive to them. He intended hereby to punish the parents and to make them afraid of God's judgments. (2.) God must be glorified as a righteous God, that hates sin, and will reckon for it, even in little children.
And he turned back, and looked on them,....
This revolution in prophecy makes a greater figure than the revolution of a kingdom. 1 And it came to pass, when the L ORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
On this occasion only do we find Elisha a minister of vengeance. Perhaps it was necessary to show, at the outset of his career as a prophet, that he too, so mild and peaceful could, like Elijah, wield the terrors of God’s judgments (1Ki 19:19 note). The persons really punished were, not so much the children, as the wicked parents 2Ki 2:23, whose mouth-pieces the children were, and who justly lost the gift of offspring of which they had shown themselves unworthy.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֤פֶן | vaiyifen | and he turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אַֽחֲרָיו֙ | ʾacharav | behind him | H310 → | 715 times |
| וַיִּרְאֵ֔ם | vaiyirem | and he saw them | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖ם | vaykalem | and he cursed them | H7043 → | 82 times |
| בְּשֵׁ֣ם | beshem | in [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָה | vatetzenah | and they came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| שְׁתַּ֤יִם | shetayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| דֻּבִּים֙ | dubim | [female] bears | H1677 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַיַּ֔עַר | haiyaar | the forest | H3293 → | |
| וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה | vatevaka'nah | and they tore in pieces | H1234 → | 51 times |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | of them | ||
| אַרְבָּעִ֥ים | ʾarbaim | forty | H705 → | 136 times |
| וּשְׁנֵ֖י | ushenei | and two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| יְלָדִֽים׃ | yeladim | boys | H3206 → | 89 times |
וַיִּ֤פֶןand he turned
vaiyifenH6437 →135 times
אַֽחֲרָיו֙behind him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
וַיִּרְאֵ֔םand he saw them
vaiyiremH7200 →1300 times
וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖םand he cursed them
vaykalemH7043 →82 times
בְּשֵׁ֣םin [the] name of
beshemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָהand they came out
vatetzenahH3318 →1067 times
שְׁתַּ֤יִםtwo
shetayimH8147 →768 times
דֻּבִּים֙[female] bears
dubimH1677 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַיַּ֔עַרthe forest
haiyaarH3293 →
וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָהand they tore in pieces
vatevaka'nahH1234 →51 times
מֵהֶ֔םof them
mehem
אַרְבָּעִ֥יםforty
ʾarbaimH705 →136 times
וּשְׁנֵ֖יand two
usheneiH8147 →768 times
יְלָדִֽים׃boys
yeladimH3206 →89 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 7:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:3
They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
- Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
- Hosea 9:3
Through
Hosea 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 17:8
He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will…
- 2 Samuel 17:8
Through
Acts 5:9“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- Psalms 95:8–11
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Acts 5:3–4
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
Through
Acts 5:5On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
it leads to
- Acts 5:10–11
At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
- Acts 5:10–11
Where this verse is studied
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About 2 Kings
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 127.2; Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 127.2; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 2:20; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.