2 Kings 2:7
in 2 Kings 2Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.
KJV
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
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This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets - We see by this how large were the prophetical schools. It is implied that the “fifty” were only a portion of the school of Jericho. They ascended the abrupt heights behind the town, from where they would command a view of the whole course of the river and of the opposite bank for many miles.
This site's exposition
stood to view afar off
on 2 Kings 2:7-8
Fifty of the sons of the prophets climb the heights to watch from a distance while Elijah and Elisha stand at Jordan's edge, and Elijah takes his mantle, folds it, and strikes the water, which divides so that the two go over on dry ground. The same river bed had opened once before for a whole nation crossing behind Joshua (Josh 3 to 4), and now it opens again for two men leaving the land it once received; the mantle does what the ark once did. Nothing in the text calls it a chariot or a display, only a mantle and a struck river, and the fifty watchers are kept at a distance so that what happens next, on the far bank, has almost no witnesses at all.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Elijah, who now lived with Elisha, whom he had also consecrated as prophet according to a divine oracle, as has been said already, was with him every day, inseparably sharing with him the same way of life. When he was about to ascend into the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Fifty of them stood to view afar off, intending to satisfy their curiosity, but God so ordered it that they might be eye-witnesses of the honour heaven did to that prophet, who was despised and rejected of men. God's works are well worthy our notice; when a door is opened in heaven the call is, Come up hither, come and see.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off,.... To have a view, if they could, of the assumption of Elijah to heaven, and be witnesses of it: and they two stood by Jordan; on the banks of it, even Elijah and Elisha.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The revelation of this striking event to so many was a necessary part of the dispensation; for it was designed to be under the law, like that of Enoch in the patriarchal age, a visible proof of another state, and a type of the resurrection of Christ.
Fifty men of the sons of the prophets - They fully expected this extraordinary event, and they could have known it only from Elijah himself, or by a direct revelation from God.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַחֲמִשִּׁ֨ים | vachamishim | and fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֤י | mibenei | from [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִים֙ | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הָֽלְכ֔וּ | halekhu | they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַיַּעַמְד֥וּ | vaiyaamdu | and they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| מִנֶּ֖גֶד | mineged | from before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| מֵרָח֑וֹק | merachok | from a distance | H7350 → | 84 times |
| וּשְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם | usheneihem | and [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָמְד֥וּ | ʾamedu | they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
וַחֲמִשִּׁ֨יםand fifty
vachamishimH2572 →163 times
אִ֜ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִבְּנֵ֤יfrom [the] sons of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
הַנְּבִיאִים֙the prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
הָֽלְכ֔וּthey went
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
וַיַּעַמְד֥וּand they stood
vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times
מִנֶּ֖גֶדfrom before
minegedH5048 →151 times
מֵרָח֑וֹקfrom a distance
merachokH7350 →84 times
וּשְׁנֵיהֶ֖םand [the] two of them
usheneihemH8147 →768 times
עָמְד֥וּthey stood
ʾameduH5975 →521 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃the Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 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
1 Kings 18:13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them…
it leads to
- Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 18:4
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- Acts 20:34
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
- Matthew 25:35
Through
1 Kings 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:13
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them…
- Matthew 10:40–42
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- Revelation 17:4–6
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual…
- Matthew 21:35
But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
- 1 Kings 18:13
Through
2 Kings 2:17But 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.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:11
Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
- 2 Kings 8:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
- PersonDivided kingdomElishaElijah's successor with the firstborn's double portion; the prophet of the healed spring, the widow's oil, the Shunammite's son, N…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 2:2-5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.