2 Kings 6:2
in 2 Kings 6Please let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a log so we can build ourselves a place to live there.” “Go,” said Elisha.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
KJV
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
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This verse in 2 Kings 6
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take every man a beam - Trees were rare in most parts of Palestine, but plentiful in the Jordan Valley. Jericho was known in early times as “the city of palms” Deu 34:3; Jdg 1:16.
This site's exposition
is too strait for us
on 2 Kings 6:1-2
The sons of the prophets are Elisha's school, grown large enough that their meeting house no longer holds them. Their request to build at Jordan still asks his leave rather than acting alone, and his answer is two words, Go ye. The same open door runs through the whole chapter: whoever comes to Elisha, whether over lost timber or a besieged capital, finds him attending to it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
These words were fulfilled by the apostles: the house of the sacrifices of the Law was too small for them, and when they realized that the meeting place of the Jews was not sufficient for the greatness of the gospel, they set out to build …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan,....
It is good for us all to be suspicious of our own judgment, even when we think we have most reason for it, and to be desirous of the advice of those who are wiser and more experienced; and it is especially commendable in the sons of the prophets to take their fathers along with them, and to act in all things of moment under their direction, permissu superiorum--by permission of their superiors.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Every man a beam - They made a sort of log-houses with their own hands.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The disciples of the prophets said. The miracles that were performed through him, he continues to list.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֵֽלְכָה־ | nelekhah- | let us go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נָּ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֗ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| וְנִקְחָ֤ה | venikchah | and let us take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִשָּׁם֙ | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| קוֹרָ֣ה | korah | a beam | H6982 → | |
| אֶחָ֔ת | ʾechat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְנַעֲשֶׂה־ | venaaseh- | and let us make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָּ֥נוּ | lanu | for ourselves | ||
| שָׁ֛ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מָק֖וֹם | makom | a place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| לָשֶׁ֣בֶת | lashevet | to dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֵֽכוּ׃ | lekhu | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
נֵֽלְכָה־let us go
nelekhah-H1980 →1546 times
נָּ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֗ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
וְנִקְחָ֤הand let us take
venikchahH3947 →966 times
מִשָּׁם֙from there
mishamH8033 →834 times
אִ֚ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
קוֹרָ֣הa beam
korahH6982 →
אֶחָ֔תone
ʾechatH259 →971 times
וְנַעֲשֶׂה־and let us make
venaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לָּ֥נוּfor ourselves
lanu
שָׁ֛םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
מָק֖וֹםa place
makomH4725 →401 times
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתto dwell
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֵֽכוּ׃go
lekhuH1980 →1546 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 Timothy 6:6Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- 1 Timothy 6:8
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
- Proverbs 16:8
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- Philippians 4:11–13
I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
- Luke 12:31–32
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.
- Hebrews 13:5
Through
1 Thessalonians 2:9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:9
And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 11:9
Through
2 Thessalonians 3:8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 6:1; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.