Old Testament scholar John Whitcomb has suggested that this was an expression “of extreme contempt. Too, the expression, “Go up…Go up,” is held by many scholars to reflect the wish of these young men that the prophet go ahead and ascend (as did Elijah-2 Kings 2:11), i.e., leave the Earth, that they might be rid of him! Also, the taunt, “thou bald head,” was likely a reproach. Note the Lord’s comment elsewhere: “They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16). The term does not suggest innocent conduct. The Hebrew word qalas means to scoff at, ridicule, or scorn. Second, the young men of Bethel mocked Elisha. Obviously, therefore, the immediate context in which na’ar is used will determine the maturity of the subject so designated. qalas, qarah) by young lads (perhaps teen-age ruffians) (II Kgs 2:23) who as members of covenant families ought to have been taught God’s law whereby cursing his servant was tantamount to cursing him and rightly punishable by death ( qalal) (Harris, et al., 1980, 2:795). In commenting on this term in 2 Kings 2:23, the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament remarked:Įlisha being taunted (cf. Further, the Hebrew word rendered “little” comes from qatan, and generally means young or small. Na’ar is a very broad root word, and can have reference to anyone from a newborn child to an adult. The Hebrew word rendered “children” derives from na’ar-used 235 times in the Old Testament. “young lads”-ASV, or “youths”-NIV, NKJV). A careful consideration of the facts, however, will dissolve the problem.įirst, the translation, “there came forth little children out of the city” (KJV) is an unfortunate rendition (cf. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them (2 Kings 2:23-24).Ītheists have appealed to this incident in an attempt to involve the Bible in moral difficulty. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Concerning the prophet Elisha, the text reads as follows.Īnd he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head go up, thou bald head.
In the book of 2 Kings, there is an intriguing narrative that has generated considerable controversy. Isn’t this morally evil-for God’s representative to take vengeance on these boys for such an insignificant thing? The prophet then called bears out of the woods to attack the boys as punishment for their disrespect.
In 2 Kings 2, forty-two boys made fun of Elisha for being bald.
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