2 Kings 2:21
in 2 Kings 2and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or miscarrying.
KJV
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
⋯
This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The spring of the waters - The spring intended is probably that now called Ain-es-Sultan, which is not much more than a mile from the site of the ancient town. It is described as a large and beautiful fountain of sweet and pleasant water. The springs issuing from the eastern base of the highlands of Judah and Benjamin are to this day generally brackish.
This site's exposition
I have healed these waters
on 2 Kings 2:21-22
Elisha carries the salt to the spring itself rather than treating the stream downstream, and speaks a formula in the Lord's name, I have healed these waters, there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. Salt elsewhere in Scripture marks judgment, the ground sown with salt after Abimelech's slaughter at Judges 9:45, but here it becomes the vehicle of healing instead, a reversal the commentators note without needing to force one meaning onto every use of the word. The narrator adds his own confirmation, unto this day, dating a healing that was still holding when Kings was written, later travelers identifying the spring as Ain es-Sultan near Jericho's ruins.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us see what these facts mean, dearly beloved. Elisha, as I have frequently suggested, is the type of our Lord and Savior. That bitter spring seems to signify Adam, from whom the human race has sprung. Before the coming of the true Elisha, that …
What should we say about the merits of Elisha? His first praiseworthy deed was his wish to surpass his father in grace, expressed when he asked that more grace be given to him than he knew was found in him who possessed such grace. To …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he went forth unto the spring of the waters,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵא֙ | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מוֹצָ֣א | motza' | [the] outlet of | H4161 → | |
| הַמַּ֔יִם | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיַּשְׁלֶךְ־ | vaiyashlekh- | and he threw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מֶ֑לַח | melach | salt | H4417 → | 27 times |
| וַיֹּ֜אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רִפִּ֙אתִי֙ | ripiti | I have healed | H7495 → | 67 times |
| לַמַּ֣יִם | lamayim | <to> the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִשָּׁ֛ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מָ֥וֶת | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| וּמְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃ | umeshakalet | and abortion | H7921 → |
וַיֵּצֵא֙and he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מוֹצָ֣א[the] outlet of
motza'H4161 →
הַמַּ֔יִםthe waters
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיַּשְׁלֶךְ־and he threw
vaiyashlekh-H7993 →125 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
מֶ֑לַחsalt
melachH4417 →27 times
וַיֹּ֜אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רִפִּ֙אתִי֙I have healed
ripitiH7495 →67 times
לַמַּ֣יִם<to> the waters
lamayimH4325 →581 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מִשָּׁ֛םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
מָ֥וֶתdeath
mavetH4194 →156 times
וּמְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃and abortion
umeshakaletH7921 →
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
Revelation 21:4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- 1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
- Isaiah 35:10
So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
- Isaiah 60:20
Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
- Isaiah 25:8
Through
Leviticus 2:13And you shall season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering; you are to add salt to…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 43:24
You must present them before the LORD; the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.
- Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and…
- Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Ezekiel 43:24
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 126.2-5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Maximus of Turin, SERMON 84.3-4.