2 Kings 2:18-22 ASV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 2:13-18

We have here an account of what followed immediately after the translation of Elijah. I. The tokens of God's presence with Elisha, and the marks of his elevation into Elijah's room, to be, as he had been, a father to the sons of the prophets, and the chariots and horsemen of Israel. 1. He was possessed of Elijah's mantle, the badge of his office, which, we may suppose, he put on and wore for his master's sake, 2 Kgs. 2:13. When Elijah went to heaven, though he did not let fall his body as... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 2:19-25

Elisha had, in this respect, a double portion of Elijah's spirit, that he wrought more miracles than Elijah. Some reckon them in number just double. Two are recorded in these verses?a miracle of mercy to Jericho and a miracle of judgment to Bethel, Ps. 101:1. I. Here is a blessing upon the waters of Jericho, which was effectual to heal them. Jericho was built in disobedience to a command, in defiance to a threatening, and at the expense of the lives of all the builder's children; yet, when it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:18

And when they came again to him, for he tarried at Jericho ,.... Waiting their return to hear the report they made: which when they had: he said unto them, did I not say unto you, go not ? assuring them it would be fruitless, and to no purpose; though this search of theirs served both to confirm the assumption of Elijah, and the truth of Elisha being a prophet of the Lord. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:19

And the men of the city said unto Elisha ,.... The inhabitants of Jericho, perceiving him to be a prophet, and endowed with a power of working miracles: behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth ; in a plain, surrounded with gardens and orchards, with vineyards, oliveyards, and groves of palm trees, and other odoriferous ones: but the water is naught, and the ground barren ; that is, that part of it where this water was, or ran, for from thence it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:20

And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein ,.... One that had never been used, that it might not be thought that the virtue was owing to anything that had been, or was, put into it: and they brought it to him ; the pot with the salt in it. read more

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

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 2:1-25

THE REMOVAL OF ELIJAH FROM EARTH , AND SOME EARLY MIRACLES OF ELISHA . The great prophet of Israel was to have a departure from earth as marvelous as his life had been. Ewald's words, though not intended in an historical, but only in a literary sense, embody very forcibly what the humble believer may accept as the actual rationale of the occurrence related in 2 Kings 2:1-12 : "An earthly career which had no equal in the purity of its devotion to the service of... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 2:13-18

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 2:19-25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:19

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 2:20

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

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

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

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

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 2:1-25

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