Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - 2 Kings 2:16

2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, {l} Ye shall not send.(l) Because the fact was extraordinary, they doubted where he had gone, but Elisha was assured that he was taken up to God. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:1-25

Though in 1 Kings 19:21 we read of Elisha following Elijah and becoming his servant, yet Elisha is not mentioned as identified with Elijah when Elijah later gave messages to Ahab (1 Kings 21:17-19) and to Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:3-17). But when God is about to take Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, both Elijah and Elisha are seen together (v.1). They are seen first at Gilgal, the place where the men of Israel were circumcised, speaking of the judgment of sin in the flesh. Elijah asked Elisha to... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:1-25

ELIJAH ’S TRANSLATION HIS LAST COMMISSION (2 Kings 1:0 ) The story of Ahaziah’s reign in the last chapter of 1 Kings and the first verse of this lesson is a close link between the two books. It indicates that the death of Ahab and the accession of his son gave occasion to the Moabites for this uprising, the first since their conquest by David (1 Samuel 8:2 ). “Baalzebub” (2 Kings 1:2 ), “the lord of the fly,” was the name under which the sun-god Baal was worshipped at Ekron, the city of the... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - 2 Kings 2:12-25

2Ki 2:12-25 12. ¶ And Elisha saw it, and he cried [literally, Elisha was seeing, and he (emphatic) was shouting (comp. 2 Kings 2:10 , "If thou see me taken away")], My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces [from top to bottom, in token of extreme sorrow]. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah [the badge of the prophet's office was naturally transferred to his successor],... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - 2 Kings 2:16-18

There is somewhat mysterious in those verses. That the sons of the prophets should be so destitute of faith, and Elisha suffer himself to be led away to the permission of what is here said appears so truly unaccountable, that I confess I know not in what sense to consider the passage. If the whole arose from the slenderness of their faith, it only serves to afford a renewed instance of human infirmity. Might not the prophet do in this instance as in after ages, John the Baptist did concerning... read more

George Haydock

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:16

Valley. It seems such translations were not uncommon, 3 Kings xviii. 12. (Calmet) read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 2:13-18

13-18 Elijah left his mantle to Elisha; as a token of the descent of the Spirit upon him; it was more than if he had left him thousands of gold and silver. Elisha took it up, not as a sacred relic to be worshipped, but as a significant garment to be worn. Now that Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha inquired, 1. After God; when our creature-comforts are removed, we have a God to go to, who lives for ever. 2. After the God that Elijah served, and honoured, and pleaded for. The Lord God of the... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - 2 Kings 2:15-25

Elisha's Miraculous Powers v. 15. And when the Sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho, those who had stood at a distance to witness the older men crossing the Jordan on dry ground, saw him, returning in the same manner as both he and Elijah had gone over, they said, drawing their conclusion from this miracle, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him, with the same veneration which they had formerly shown... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - 2 Kings 2:1-25

B.—Elijah’s departure and Elisha’s first appearance as Prophet2 Kings 2:1-251And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3And the sons [pupils] of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to... read more

Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture - 2 Kings 2:13-22

2 Kings GENTLENESS SUCCEEDING STRENGTH 2Ki_2:13 - 2Ki_2:22 . The independent activity of Elisha begins with 2Ki_2:13 . How short the gap between the two prophets, and how easily filled it is! Not the greatest are indispensable. God lays aside one tool, but only to take up another. He has inexhaustible stores. The work goes on, though the workers change, and there is little time for mere mourning, and none for idle sorrow. Elisha’s first miracle is almost an experiment. The mantle which lay... read more

Group of Brands