Elisha and the Bears (II Kings 2:23-24)
Copyright 2008 by Philip Thompson
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This ethical problem is one that is debated only in its
details, rather than in its substance. In
other words, although the passage appears to show a violent divine act against a
group of little children, most commentators and scholars agree that the act is
not as terrible as it may seem and that there is no discrepancy between a
passage such as this one and the passages that portray Jesus loving little
children (e.g. Mark 10:13-16). The
answer to this problem passage must be found by dealing with three key issues
in the text.
- Who are the “little children” (v. 23 – KJV, RV,
JPS) and the “children” (v. 24 – KJV, RV, BBE, JPS, Message)? One easy way of finding an answer to
this question is to look at the other occurrences of the noun and
adjective in the Old Testament. A
simple survey of these texts reveals that several people were called by
the first name (nearim qetannim
וְּנְעָרִים קְטַנִּים). Jonathan’s servant is referenced by this
term (I Sam.
- What did they do that was so bad? The insult to Elisha was two-fold. Initially, the youths told Elisha to “go
up” (v. 23). This statement was
indicative of the message that Elisha brought back to the other prophets
about his master Elijah. In
essence, these rabble rousers were mocking the claim of Elisha that Elijah
had ascended to heaven and suggesting that he should do the same (BKC, 541;
Henry). This kind of statement was
actually a blasphemy in the sight of God (ExBC, 177). The attack on Elisha’s baldness has been
variously interpreted. The first
category believes that Elisha was actually bald. Some hold that because baldness was a
sign of leprosy, the youths made fun of Elisha’s shaved head (Krummacher,
18; Stigers, 342; cf. BKC, 542).
Others believe that he was naturally bald due to a defect of some
other sort (Keil; Wesley). The
second category views Elisha as not being bald. Motyer believes that the boys called
Elisha the name due to the fact that Elisha was exactly the opposite; in
fact, Elisha was a Nazarite, and the boys were belittling Elisha’s vow
(85). Others seem to prefer the
notion that the phrase was simply a cruel slang word used to belittle the
prophet (JFB; cf. BKC, 542). No
matter which view is taken, these youths were mocking both God and His
prophet and deserved whatever happened to them.
- What happened to them? First, it is important to note that only
forty-two of these cruel youths were “mauled.” This very fact is a note of God’s grace
in the incident (Motyer, 85), because a number of those involved probably
escaped. Secondly, there is another
interpretational decision that must be made in respect to this
phrase. Although some have
suggested that the bears killed all of the forty-two youths (Haley, 270;
Krummacher, 22), others have understood the attack as only injuring the
bullies in order that they should “[carry] for life the scars which proved
their god’s powerlessness before the God of Israel and his servants the
prophets” (Motyer, 85).
After surveying the information at hand, there appears to be no ethical problem in the text. God’s judgment was simply meted out on the unjust people of Bethel, which had ceased from being a house of God and had become a house of vanity and iniquity (Hos. 10:5; cf. I Kin. 12:32). The people who had already turned from God manifested their contempt for His prophet by sending out their grown children to torment the prophet while on his divine mission (see Baker, 230). The terminology used by these youths was enough to stir the divine wrath of God against them. Even the sins of God’s own people will not go unpunished (Acts 5) and God acted in order to keep His name from being profaned. All of these events simply emphasize the theme of the books of Kings, namely that God’s promises of cursing and blessing will certainly be fulfilled.
Works Consulted
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