Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:21

And he went forth unto the spring of the waters ,.... The fountain from whence they flowed, the head of them: and cast the salt in there ; which was an unlikely means of making bad water good, since that makes it brackish, and not so drinkable, and what makes ground barren; but this method, contrary to nature, was taken, that the miracle might appear the greater; or, as the Jews express it, be a miracle within a miracle: and said, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters ; he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:22

So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. In the name of the Lord; and not only they remained so unto the time of the writer of this history, but to the times of Josephus, as he testifies F19 De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 3. , and even to ours; for there is a spring now called Elisha's spring or fountain, of which Mr. Maundrell says F20 Journey from Aleppo, &c.; p. 80. ,"its waters are at present received in a basin about... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:23

And he went up from thence unto Bethel ,.... From Jericho, which lay in a plain, to Bethel, situated on an hill, and therefore is said to go up to it; hither he went, to acquaint the sons of the prophets with the assumption of Elijah, to condole their loss of him, and to comfort and encourage them, and confirm his own authority among them as a prophet in his stead: and as he was going up by the way ; the ascent to the city: there came forth little children out of the city ; the word... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:13

He took - the mantle - The same with which he had been called by Elijah to the prophetic office, and the same by which Elijah divided Jordan. His having the mantle was a proof that he was invested with the authority and influence of his master. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:14

Where is the Lord God of Elijah ? - The Vulgate gives a strange turn to this verse: Et percussit aquas, et non sunt divisae; et dixu, Ubi est Deus Eliae etiam nunc? Percussitque aquas, et divisae sunt huc et illuc . "And he smote the waters, but they did not divide; and he said, Where is the God of Elijah even now? And he struck the waters and they were divided hither and thither." The act of striking the waters seems to be twice repeated in the verse, though we get rid... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:15

The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha - This was a natural conclusion, from seeing him with the mantle, and working the same miracle. This disposed them to yield the same obedience to him they had done to his master: and in token of this, they went out to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:16

Fifty strong men - Probably the same fifty who are mentioned 2 Kings 2:7 , and who saw Elijah taken up in the whirlwind. Cast him upon some mountain - Though they saw him taken up towards heaven, yet they thought it possible that the Spirit of the Lord might have descended with him, and left him on some remote mountain or valley. Ye shall not send - He knew that he was translated to heaven, and that therefore it would be useless. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:17

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. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:19

The water is naught , and the ground barren - The barrenness of the ground was the effect of the badness of the water. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:21

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... read more

Group of Brands