2 Kings 2:17
in 2 Kings 2But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
KJV
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
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This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd when they urged him until he was ashamed,.... To deny them any longer, being so very pressing and importunate: he said, send; lest they should think he had not the respect for his master he should have had; or was so fond of his office, that he did not choose he should be found alive if he could, and return and reassume it: they sent therefore fifty men; some one way, and some another: and they sought three days, but found him not; and then returned.
This site's exposition
cast him upon some mountain
on 2 Kings 2:16-18
Fifty strong men press Elisha to let them search for Elijah, afraid the Spirit of the Lord has only carried him off and set him down on some mountain or in some valley, the same kind of removal Obadiah once feared for Elijah himself at 1 Kings 18:12. Elisha refuses at first, knowing the search is useless, but yields under their pressing until he was ashamed, and the fifty spend three days combing the country and find nothing. When they return he asks only, did I not say unto you, go not, closing the matter without a lecture.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They urged him till he was ashamed to oppose it any further lest he should be thought wanting in his respect to his old master or loth to resign the mantle again. Wise men may yield to that, for the sake of peace and the good opinion of others, which yet their judgment is against as needless and fruitless.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
smote the waters--The waving of the mantle on the river, and the miraculous division of the waters consequent upon it, was an evidence that the Lord God of Elijah was with him, and as this miracle was witnessed by the scholars of the prophets from Jericho, they forthwith recognized the pre-eminence of Elisha, as now the prophet of Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Till he was ashamed - i. e. to refuse them any longer.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְצְרוּ־ | vaiyiftzeru- | and they urged | H6484 → | |
| ב֥וֹ | vo | <in> him | ||
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בֹּ֖שׁ | bosh | was ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁלָ֑חוּ | shelachu | send [them] | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁלְחוּ֙ | vaiyishlechu | and they sent out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ | vayvakshu | and they searched | H1245 → | 225 times |
| שְׁלֹשָֽׁה־ | sheloshah- | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| יָמִ֖ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְצָאֻֽהוּ׃ | metzauhu | they found him | H4672 → | 455 times |
וַיִּפְצְרוּ־and they urged
vaiyiftzeru-H6484 →
ב֥וֹ<in> him
vo
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בֹּ֖שׁwas ashamed
boshH954 →127 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שְׁלָ֑חוּsend [them]
shelachuH7971 →845 times
וַֽיִּשְׁלְחוּ֙and they sent out
vaiyishlechuH7971 →845 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֣יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
אִ֔ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּand they searched
vayvakshuH1245 →225 times
שְׁלֹשָֽׁה־three
sheloshah-H7969 →432 times
יָמִ֖יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
מְצָאֻֽהוּ׃they found him
metzauhuH4672 →455 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
Hebrews 11:5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one…
it leads to
- Genesis 5:21–24
When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.
- Jude 1:14
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- 2 Kings 2:11
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
- Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
- Genesis 5:21–24
Through
Romans 10:2For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
it leads to
- Acts 21:20
When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
- Romans 9:31–32
but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
- Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.
- Acts 21:20
Through
Luke 11:8I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as…
it leads to
- Genesis 32:26
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
- Genesis 32:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.