The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 29

rendered U, And when' he also had smitten (Acts viii. 39), and would be found some- the watel'II; but the position of the vau con- where alive, o.e Philip "was found 11t junctive, after N\,""9~ and before /"i.?_', makes Azotus." Behold now, there be with thy thie dideion of the clauses impossible. servants fifty strong men; literally, sons of It has therefore been proposed by some to sti-ength: i.e. stout, o.ctive persons, cape.hie read Niil& "now," for N\,""9~, "even he" of climbing the rough nnd precipitous rooks among which they thought thnt Elijah (Honbigant, Thenius, Schultz, Bottcher, might be cast. Let them go, we pray thee, Dathe) and to translate, "Where ?1010 is the e.nd seek thy master: lest peradventure the Lord God of Elijah?" le he still here, with Spirit of the Lord he.th taken him up, me, or has he withdrawn himself from earth e.nd cast him upon some mountain, or into with his prophet, and left me alone to my own some valley, On either side of the ciccar, unaided strength? This gives a good mean- or Jordan plain, nre rugged districts, con- ing, but is perhaps too bold e. change. The sisting of alternate rocky mountain slopes LXX. had evidently our present Hebrew and narrow gulleys, or water-courses, dry text before them, and, as they could make during the gr_ee.ter pa.rt of the year. The nothing of it, transcribed it into Greek cha- sons of the prophets think that Elijah he.s racters, nov o e,os 'HA100 i,q,q,o,; they piuted been carried by the Spirit of God into one hither and thither: and Elisha. went over. or other of these mountain tracts, e.nd wish God showed i.e. that he was still with to search them. And he said, Ye shall not Elisha by e~e.bli~g him to repeat Elijah's send; or, do not send; meaning, "it will be last miracle, and thus gav~ him an assuran?8 useless-you will find nothing-it is not e.s that he would be with him thenceforth m you suppose." his prophetic ministry. Ver. 17.-And when they urged him, till Ver. 15.-And when the sons of the he was ashamed, he said, Send; literally, prophets, which were to vie~ e.t Jeri~h:o when they urged him until shame; which some (see ver. 7), saw him, they se.ui, The spmt expound to mean, "until they were ashamed of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. It is not to press him any more'' (Geeenins, Winer, quite clear upon what grounds U~e sons of Keil)· but others, with more reason, "until the prophets came to this conclus10n. Pro- he we.; ashamed to persist in his refuse.I" bably they had seen the P"ssage of the (ecl,s o~ -/Juxovero, LXX.). It is always a Jordan by the two prophets, the disapp_ear- hard thing for one man to refuse the re- ance of Elijah, e.nd the rellJ!Il of Ehshe. peated and earnest request of a multitud~, a.cross the stream in a way which they may When Elisha. said, " Send," he bed not m bnve suspected to be ~cu_lons. But the the least changed his mind; he only meant Jordan is four or five miles distant fro_m the to se.y, "Send, then, if you insist up~n it, eity of Jericho, e.nd their apprehen~ion of to ee.tisfy yowrsel'l/es, not me. There lS no the various circumstances would be mcom- harm in your sending." They sent therefore plete and more or lees vague. Perhaps fifty men ; e.nd they sought three de.ye, but ther; was something in Elisha's e.pp~ra~ce found him not. The result bore out the and expression of countenance which im- advice and anticipations of the prophet. pressed them, e.nd appe&;l'ed to. t~em to It was simply nil. No tre.ce was found of mark his exaltation to a higher digruty and the aged seer who he.d been translated from spiritu.<Ll position. And they came to meet earth to heaven. him, e.nd bowed themselves t~ the ~onnd Ver. 18.-And when they oe.me age.in to before him; thus acknowledgmg him for him (for he tarried e.t Jericho,) he said nnto tl.teir master, as they had been wont to thei:i, Did I not se.y nnto yon, Go not 1 The acknowledge Elijs.h. prophet was not above vindicating t~e pro- Ver. 16.-And they said nnto him. The- priety of hie past conduct. He waited at nius suggests that Elisha fi.rst related to Jericho until the fifty men returned from them what had befallen his ~ae~er; but their vain search, and then reminded them the impression left by the ne.rratt~e lS re.t~er that his advice to them he.d been not to that they began the conversation, . bei~g start on a useless errand. The ministers of aware of Elijah's disappearance, which _in God ha'Oe to vindica.te themselves, beoa.use that clear atmosphere they may h1_1-ve dlS- God's honour is concerned in their being tinctly perceived, though the asceu~1on ~a.y without reproa.ch. ~ot have been visible to t~em. Keil thrnks foat they saw the ascension, but suppos~ that the body, after being taken up_ a c~rtaw Vere. 19-25.-The historian passes to height into the air, would necessarily _tall to the record of some of Elisha's minor mi- earth, and that they wished to find 1~ e.n!1 racles belonging to the time whereof he is bury il But the natural interpretat10n lS writi;g, and helping to explain the position ,hat they thought the prophet had been 'caught away" by. e. Divi11:e infiuen~, e.s of dignity e.nd respect whioh he is found to Philip the eve.ngelit.t we.s J.D later times occupy in the next chapter (vers. 11-H).  OH, II, 1-25.J THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 23