2 Kings 2:8
in 2 Kings 2And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
KJV
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
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This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWe must note in addition that when Elijah was about to be taken up in a whirlwind as into heaven, he took his sheepskin and rolled it up and struck the water, and it was divided on this side and that, and both crossed, that is to say, himself and Elisha. He was better prepared to be taken up after he was baptized in the Jordan, since Paul, as we explained previously, called the more incredible passage through water a baptism.
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 Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When God will take up his faithful ones to heaven death is the Jordan which, immediately before their translation, they must pass through, and they find a way through it, as safe and comfortable way; the death of Christ has divided those waters, that the ransomed of the Lord may pass over. O death! where is thy sting, thy hurt, thy terror?
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together,....
Lord, am not I promised Elijah's spirit? Make good that promise." The words which next follow in the original, Aph-his--even he, which we join to the following clause, when he also had smitten the waters, some make an answer to this question, Where is Elijah's God? Etiam ille adhuc superest--"He is in being still, and nigh at hand.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Took his mantle - Την μηλωτην αυτου, his sheep-skin, says the Septuagint. The skins of beasts, dressed with the hair on, were formerly worn by prophets and priests as the simple insignia of their office. As the civil authority was often lodged in the hands of such persons, particularly among the Jews, mantles of this kind were used by kings and high civil officers when they bore no sacred character.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They were divided ... - The attestation to the divine mission of Elijah furnished by this miracle would tend to place him upon a par in the thoughts of men with the two great leaders of the nation named in the marginal references.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּח֩ | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַדַּרְתּ֤וֹ | ʾadarto | cloak his | H155 → | 12 times |
| וַיִּגְלֹם֙ | vaiyiglom | and he folded it up | H1563 → | |
| וַיַּכֶּ֣ה | vaiyakeh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמַּ֔יִם | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיֵּחָצ֖וּ | vaiyechatzu | and they were divided | H2673 → | |
| הֵ֣נָּה | henah | hither | H2008 → | 49 times |
| וָהֵ֑נָּה | vahenah | and hither | H2008 → | 49 times |
| וַיַּעַבְר֥וּ | vaiyaavru | and they passed over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם | sheneihem | [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בֶּחָרָבָֽה׃ | becharavah | on the dry ground | H2724 → |
וַיִּקַּח֩and he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֵלִיָּ֨הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַדַּרְתּ֤וֹcloak his
ʾadartoH155 →12 times
וַיִּגְלֹם֙and he folded it up
vaiyiglomH1563 →
וַיַּכֶּ֣הand he struck
vaiyakehH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמַּ֔יִםthe waters
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיֵּחָצ֖וּand they were divided
vaiyechatzuH2673 →
הֵ֣נָּהhither
henahH2008 →49 times
וָהֵ֑נָּהand hither
vahenahH2008 →49 times
וַיַּעַבְר֥וּand they passed over
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם[the] two of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
בֶּחָרָבָֽה׃on the dry ground
becharavahH2724 →
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
Isaiah 11:15The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men…
it leads to
- Revelation 16:12
And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
- Zechariah 10:11
They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the…
- Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold,…
- Isaiah 19:16
In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble with fear beneath the uplifted hand of the LORD of Hosts, when He brandishes it against them.
- Isaiah 7:20
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.
- Revelation 16:12
Through
2 Kings 2:14Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters,…
it leads to
- John 14:12
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
- Psalms 42:10
Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 115:2
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
- John 14:12
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.238-39.