Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 2:14

And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where [is] the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

14. and smote the waters ] He acts upon the faith that he would receive from God the power which he had desired. He is in a degree to represent Elijah and therefore he acts as Elijah had done. After these words the Complutensian text of the LXX. gives , ‘and they were not divided’. This is represented also in the Vulgate ‘percussit aquas et non sunt divis’. To explain this it has been said that at first Elisha took the mantle, and wrapping it together smote the waters, without any words, expecting the virtue to make itself apparent at once. When no effect was thus produced he then called upon Jehovah and the waters parted asunder. As there is no warrant in any Hebrew text for the words added in the Greek and Latin it is needless to point out that the above explanation is of no authority.

Where is the Lord God [R.V. the God ] of Elijah? ] The question does not imply any doubt of God’s presence, of which Elisha had so lately seen a manifestation; but should rather be explained as an entreaty for His power to shew itself and give a foretaste of the spirit of Elijah which had been promised. ‘As if he had said: Lord God, it was thy promise to me by my departed master, that if I should see him in his last passage, a double portion of his spirit should be upon me. I followed him with my eyes in that fire and whirlwind; now therefore, O God, make good thy gracious word unto thy servant: make this the first proof of the miraculous power wherewith thou shalt endow me. Let Jordan give the same way to me as it gave to my master’ (Bp Hall).

But at this point there is a difficulty in the Hebrew text. Immediately following the question just noticed come two words which the Massoretic pointing connects with what follows, and which the A.V. (and many later authorities) renders by ‘he also’. The next word in the Hebrew=‘and he smote’. It is apparent at once that the collocation ‘he also and he smote’ can only by an act of some violence be rendered ‘and when he also had smitten’. But if the Massoretic text be adhered to, this is the only solution, and it has been retained in the text of the R.V. by the rule which fixed the accepted text as that which was to be translated. On the margin however the Revisers give ‘the God of Elijah, even He?’ thus combining the two Hebrew words which cause the difficulty with the first portion of the sentence, and continuing ‘And when he had smitten &c.’ This, though not without some awkwardness, for nowhere else is found in the sense of ‘even he’, yet seems better than the solution of the A.V. The LXX. merely transliterated the difficult words by , and some interpreters of the Greek have treated this as a mysterious name of Jehovah, placed in apposition with ‘the God of Elijah’. There is another Hebrew word = now, which in 2Ki 10:10 the LXX. represents in the same way by . Hence some have proposed that that word should be read here, and so the Massoretic pointing preserved. This would be rendered ‘Where is now the Lord God of Elijah?’ The margin of R.V. though not free from difficulty seems the rendering to be preferred.

they parted [R.V. were divided ] hither and thither ] The word is the same as in verse 8. By this the Lord confirmed the promise made to Elisha by Elijah, and shewed that the spirit of the master had been bestowed on the disciple.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Where … – Some prefer, Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even he? And when he had smitten, etc. Or, according to others, now when he, etc. Elishas smiting of the waters seems to have been tentative. He was not sure of its result. Hence, the form of his invocation – Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Is He here – i. e. – with me, or is He not? Answered by the event, he appears never subsequently to have doubted.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

2Ki 2:14

Where is the Lord God of Elijah?

The prophet as incarnating the Divine

I. The God of Elijah calls His servants to tasks impossible to unaided human strength. Gods servants in all ages are called to dare and do the impossible. In the common duties of our life we move constantly in that region. To conquer eight hundred and fifty priests of Baal was great; to conquer eight hundred and fifty thousand sinful influences assailing us week by week is as great. Elijahs energy exhibited the normal state of mans faculties inspired by God. We may share the same strength and achieve heroic things for Christ. The God of Elijah is with us, and will qualify us if we are but entirely consecrated to Him.

II. The God of Elijah is He Who makes the opposites of life conspire for the good of His servants. To the view of a shallow philosophy the universe is made up of opposite and contradictory forces that cannot be reconciled. The faith that declares, As the Lord liveth before whom I stand, sees in that light the contradictions of life harmonised in the one purpose of infinite goodness. So it was in the life of Elijah. There is the law of heredity, and the law of freedom and spontaneity. Faith unites and utilises both in the production of a new and original character. There is alternation in Providence. The years of plenty are followed by years of famine. Faith draws from each special benefit. Prosperity nurtured his inner life. Famine gave him his opportunity to drive home his lessons. John Bright and the Irish Famine in Free Trade Agitation. The faithless and faithful in society. The storm and the still small voice. His historic career,–his posthumous influence. Faith united all these facts, and made them tributary to his work.

III. The God of Elijah requires us to limit and suppress all that may hinder our one life-purpose. He was not aesthetic, but he won on Carmel.

IV. In the God of Elijah we see revealed the limitless portion of the good. He satisfied Elijah. Surely He will suffice for us!

V. The God of Elijah is the strength of the humbler prophet.

VI. The God of Elijah loves to have His goodness, wisdom, power, mirrored in His servants lives. Our knowledge is to reflect His thought, our benevolence His love, our strength His might. At the beginning of all enterprises, in contact with corrupt states of society, when we lament fallen heroes, when we face the difficult, we should catch the spirit of Elisha, and go on from conquering to conquer. (J. Matthews.)

Where is the Lord God of Elijah?

It was a great thing when we could get people to ask questions about God. Philosophers talked a great deal about the God-consciousness. Here was a man who had the God-consciousness wondrously developed. This man Elisha, when he asked this question, was not simply solicitous about God in general–he wanted a particular type of God. He wanted not any god nor every god, not any aspect of the tree God, but the Lord God of Elijah. But was the Lord God of Elijah different from the god of other people? The implicit doctrine of this question seemed to be that He was. Did God reveal Himself in a hundred different ways through a hundred different personalities? He did, and that was the great fact that appeared in the text. It must be so, for God was infinite. Most people would dismiss this statement as a foolish platitude. But if we realised what it meant it would be obvious that God transcended intellectual conception. Let us not be distressed because we cannot understand God. Nobody could understand Him. As one of the greatest modem theologians had said, It takes a God to understand God. In the ultimate sense no man could by searching find out God. Therefore, if we had an infinite God, He must be capable of expressing Himself in a hundred, in a thousand, ay, in ten thousand different ways. Every man painted his own picture of God, and every man must be warranted in doing so if God was infinite. One individual saw God from a certain angle, another individual saw Him from a different one; different churches saw Him from different standpoints; but all were right, for God was infinite. Elisha wanted the type of God he had seen manifested in Elijah. It was a glorious doctrine, this doctrine that God revealed Himself through personality. Jesus Christ was in the supreme sense what every man is in a lesser sense–Gods Word. A word was the manifestation of a man. What a grand opinion we should have of some people if they never opened their mouth! When we spoke a word we were known; a word was the expression of a personality. And Jesus Christ came down to this earth to articulate God to man. And what Christ did supremely every believer did in a lesser degree. Elisha had got all his theology from Elijah. Elijah never wrote a word; he left no volume of theology behind him, but there was no prophet who had made such a permanent impression on Israel and on the world. He lived his theology, and he gave such a revelation of God to his people that when he was gone they said, Where is the God of Elijah?–the God of Elijah for me. Some of us had gathered most of our conception of God from some noble personality. That was our aim in life as believers to give a theology to men, to live a theology before men. Infidelity could answer argument, but argument wag no answer to life. What sort of a God was the God of Elijah–God as represented in the teachings, and work, and life of Elijah? He was a God of wondrous power. We wanted a God of that sort to-day. The God of Elijah was a big God. What a little God some people had. Some people had a very shrivelled theology nowadays. People were doing to-day what the Israelites of olden times were charged with doing–they were limiting the High One of Israel, limiting the Illimitable. What a ghastly irony! There were people who were turning nature into a dungeon, imprisoning God in His own creation, chaining Him with what they called Natural Law. There were people nowadays who instead of having the God of Elijah had a God, to whom it was practically no use to pray. But what were natural laws but God s methods of working? Elijah s God was a God of marvellous power in Nature. It would be wonderfully refreshing to have a little more of the God of Elijah to-day Elijahs God was a supernatural God. He was a miracle-working God. The God of Elijah was a God who would have right done at all costs. Did some one say Elijah represented a very stern righteousness–that we should not like a stern Master to-day? He was sure we should not. Elijah would not be at all popular nowadays. Did some one say that if Elijah had lived in these Christian days his sternness would have been modified? Surely it was not too great a stretch of the imagination to say that in the last glimpse we had of him, on that snow-clad mount of Christs transfiguration, he spoke no longer of justice but of redemption. But people said, We believe nowadays in Gods Fatherhood. But Fatherhood must be defined. It did not mean indifference to right and wrong. The manifestation of God that Elijah gave meant righteousness. Fatherhood was the great attribute of Elijah in the eyes of his disciple. He revealed God not only as a God of wondrous might, but as a tender Father. How tender that strong man could bet The Lord God of Elijah was also a God of intense zeal. We did not get that God very much in these days. It was an unpleasant fact that the great majority of people were outside the churches to-day; but what was worse was the fact that the majority of Christians were content with this state of things. It was an unpleasant fact that there was such a dearth of conversions, but it was worse that Christians were not concerned about it. Elijahs conception of God allowed him to pray. There are people to-day whose theology scarcely permits them to pray. Elijah was a most remarkable man for solitary communion with God. We must be men of prayer if we would be living manifestations of God. (Dinsdale T. Young.)

The Lord God of Elijah

The meaning of the word Elijah is that Jehovah is God; and to impress this truth, carried in His own Name, on the hearts of a people that wished to forget Him, and that were always prone to worship other gods–this was the object of his wonderful career.

1. Now, the first point I wish to dwell upon is this, that the name, the Lord God of Elijah, carries in it a revelation of a God that we need believe in in these days. Once we get a name revealed in this Book, or by God Himself, it cannot be asked what there is in a name. There is a great deal in a name if it is revealed from on high.

2. Again, the Lord God of Elijah is a God who can wield all the powers of nature and providence to bring down a rebellious people to acknowledge Him.

3. Again, the Lord God of Elijah is a God who honours all who honour Him in every age. Now, Elijah was a man of great faith. He asked for things that were never asked for before, but he was never disappointed.

4. There are special occasions when we cannot help exclaiming, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and one of them is when our leaders are taken from us. This was one such occasion.

5. Then, again, we are surprised that leaders are taken away in a time of great indifference with regard to religious truth.

6. Then, lastly, where is the Lord God of Elijah? Let me tell you. He is now ready as ever to clothe any man with power from on high who believes in that power and believes that he cannot do without it. The self-sufficient man will never get it. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? He is there, alive to the service of the most obscure of His servants; He reckons them all, and rewards them. (E. H. Evans.)

Good men, witness of God

The Rev. T. R. Stevenson says, in a sermon quoted in the Chinese Recorder: During a recent visit to Japan I met with a gentleman who mentioned an incident which I can never forget. One rarely hears anything more impressive. He knew a missionary in China who one day encountered a Chinaman. The latter had been in the habit of watching the conduct of the former, and that very narrowly. He said, I want your God to be my God. The missionary answered, What do you mean? I wish to be of the same religion as you. Why do you? Because if your God is like you, He must be good.

Gods attractiveness as seen in the devout life

There was a boy dying in one of the English counties. He had heard Whitefield, with his marvellous voice, and glowing heart, preach about the Lord Jesus Christ, and the impression never left him. While yet a child, he had to die; and as the fever flush mounted to his brow, and as the fire burned in his eye, he said, I should like to go to Mr. Whitefields God. What a testimony! what a recommendation! I say to Paul to-day, as he tells me of how Gods grace was sufficient for him, I should like to go to Pauls God. (J. Robertson.)

Calling upon the God of another

God of Queen Clotilda, cried out the infidel Clovis I. of France, when in trouble on the field of battle, God of Queen Clotilda! grant me the victory! Why did he not call upon his own god? Saunderson, who was a great admirer of Sir Isaac Newtons talents, and who made light of his religion in health, was, nevertheless, heard to say in dismal accents on a dying-bed, God of Sir Isaac Newton, have mercy on me! (Daniel Baker.)

Elijahs God

Elisha caught the mantle of Elijah, whose marvellous translation to heaven he witnessed. Smiting the waters of Jordan, as his master and predecessor had done, with the same mantle, Elisha cried, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Elijah had gone. Had God also gone? The parted river proved that Elijahs God was with Elisha.

I. Elijahs God. To see what kind of a God Elijah served, glance at some of the leading events in the prophets life. Dense darkness hangs over Israel (1Ki 16:1-34.), idolatry being rampant. Elijahs challenge to Ahab (1Ki 18:1-46.). The prophets threat of famine fulfilled. Gods care over him by the brook Cherith. The unfailing oil and meal at Zarephath. The widows son restored to life. The contest on Carmel. The God that answereth by fire. It seems as if God puts Himself into Elijahs hands, and the prophet receives whatever he asks for–a famine, or fire, or life for the dead, or the restoration of a nation to God. Why did God so honour Elijah? Because Elijah honoured God.

II. Gods Elijah. Do we want Elijahs God? If so, we must be like Elijah. Notice the prophets–

1. Boldness. He was not afraid to stand alone.

2. Intense earnestness. His supreme desire was the salvation of Israel.

3. Earnest prayer. He prayed earnestly.

4. Strong faith. He relied absolutely upon God–before Ahab, by the brook, on Carmel, etc.

5. Purity. His character would bear the test of Gods searching eye. As the Lord God liveth, before whom I stand.

6. Obedience. He obeyed God implicitly.

7. Constant communion with God. The Lord was his chief companion.

8. Power, with God and with men. Do we want character. The Almighty is always on the side of His Elijahs. (Charles Cross.)

Elijahs God

Elisha had now taken the place of Elijah, his master, and was going forth to prosecute Elijahs duties and to continue his work. We notice here:–

I. There are different workmen, but one Master.

1. God does not need any one particular man Elijah was great, powerful, and good, but his departure did not hinder the Masters work.

2. It is the master-power that carries on the Masters plans. Elijah was nothing without God. Neither was Elisha. How deeply Elisha felt his powerlessness! He did not cry out where is Elijah? but where is Elijahs God?

II. That the experience of others is an encouragement for ourselves. Elisha had seen the works of his predecessor, and knew that those works had been performed in the strength of the Lord. In that same strength he could also be helped.

1. The advantage of studying Gods work in the past.

2. The faith which appropriates that work.

3. The urgency of prayer. Elishas cry was a prayer, an appeal.

III. The cumulative power of the ministerial office.

1. Each minister inherits not only what his predecessor obtained, but what his predecessor did. And during the past thousand years all the knowledge, power, and experience of the whole army of preachers has been amassed and bequeathed to us. Elisha used Elijahs old mantle. He was content to follow the old paths. The new is not always best. At the same time neither the old nor the new can profit. It is the God we want, and He is always the same; and His revelation is made more complete through every succession of His servants.

IV. The necessity of putting God to the proof. How many are content with crying out, Where is God? They cry, but dont put Him to the test. It is so.

1. In our religious experience.

2. In our daily work.

3. In our numerous trims.

It is no use to cry unless you act. Elisha cried and smote the water. Then God proved His presence. The evil condition of the world now is because we cry so much and trust so little. (Homilist.)

Mans cry and Gods response

I. The religious cry of humanity. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? This question comes out in all hearts, in all religions. Where is God? Where is He who made me and for whom I am made, and who alone can satisfy my nature? Where is He? Oh that I knew where I might find Him? etc. It is a cry rising from the deepest depths of human nature, old as the ages and wide as the race.

II. The merciful response of God. When he had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. Elisha wanted the manifestation of the God of Elijah, and for this purpose he smote the waters. The response of God here to the cry was–

1. Symbolical. It came not in words, but in things. The response was–

2. Prompt. No sooner did Elisha touch the waters than they divided. He was not left in suspense. The answer was at hand. The answer of this question is always at hand. The response was–

3. Satisfactory. And Elisha went over. Every man who earnestly asks this question may find a satisfactory answer, and cross the stream of all difficulties. (Homilist.)

Power, or ones might for duty

I was riding one night in the late winter on the elevated road through the Battery Park in New York City. As I looked out of the window I saw that the electric lights were blazing with almost the brilliancy of the sun. Their sharp scintillating beams fell on the branches of the trees that filled the park. But as those beams fell upon them I noticed that not a single leaf-bud stirred. I saw, too, that all the leaf-buds and all the twigs were eased in ice, and the imprisoning ice flashed back haughty gleam even to the powerful electric light. I began to think, if those trees were never to be touched by any other light there could never hang upon them any beautiful wealth of summer foliage. There is no force in that shining to push into movement the latent energy folded in those leaf-buds. There is only one force which can stir the trees to energy, and that is the marvellous power of the spring sun. Do you not think that Christians are often very like the folded dormant buds and the icy branches? Much light and various falls on them–light of knowledge, of worship, of Sabbaths, of preaching, of harmonious song, of culture; all the wonderful light of our Christian civilisation. But often they do not seem to stir much; they do not greatly grow; some churches, if they have a prosperous time financially, are not much discontented if there are no conversions. After all, is a tree with its leaf-buds folded snugly in and its branches ice-covered so bad a symbol of many a Christian, many a church? Is there any power that can stir them, as in the spring-time the wonderful sunlight stirs a tree, sending the life-currents thrilling through all its substance, swelling the leaf-buds till they must push out their folded banners, piling on to each least twig the succulent growth of another season One cannot believe the Scripture and say anything but yes to such a question.

1. There is the old gospel. Paul calls it the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). What a power it was in the city of the Caesars! What a power it is!

2. There is the living Christ. The powerful hand of Him who is deaths victor is on the helm of things.

3. There is the abiding Holy Spirit. The reason why Christianity is not a history merely, like the reigns of the Caesars, is because the abiding and vitalising Holy Spirit is in the world, charging the historic truth of Christianity with present energy. There is the power of the Spirit.

4. There is for Christians the promise of power. To such as have already become the sons of God, there is a promise given of still greater attainment, the power of the indwelling Spirit. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me. Plainly, such power will make duty easy and triumphant.

The conditions of the gaining of such power are well illustrated in our Scripture and its surroundings,

1. Determination to have it. Elisha would not leave Elijah (verses 2, 4, 6).

2. Determination to have it notwithstanding dissuasives. The sons of the prophets could not put sufficient obstacle in Elishas way (verse 5).

3. Such determination to have it as to dare to ask for it. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me (verse 9).

4. Such purpose to have it as keeps us in communion with Christ at all hazards. When Elijah went beyond the Jordan Elisha would go over with him (verse 8).

5. Such determination to have it as makes us resolutely obedient to the conditions of its reception. Elisha would see the rapture of Elijah (verse 12). Brave use of what power we have, sure that in the using more power will be imparted. And Elisha took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smote the waters. Christians or churches need not be like trees in winter with folded buds and branches ice-incased. There is melting, energising power for them. (W. Hoyt, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 14. Where is the Lord God of Elijah?] The Vulgate gives a strange turn to this verse:

Et percussit aquas, et non sunt divisae; et dixu, Ubi est Deus Eliae etiam nunc? Percussitque aquas, et divisae sunt huc et illuc.

“And he smote the waters, but they did not divide; and he said, Where is the God of Elijah even now? And he struck the waters and they were divided hither and thither.”

The act of striking the waters seems to be twice repeated in the verse, though we get rid of the second striking by rendering the second clause, when he also had smitten the waters: which has the same Hebrew words as the first, and which we translate, he smote the waters. The Vulgate supposes he smote once in vain, perhaps confiding too much in his own strength; and then, having invoked the God of Elijah, he succeeded. This distinction is not followed by any of the other versions; nor is the clause, et non sunt divisae, “and they divided not,” expressed by the Hebrew text.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Where is the Lord God of Elijah? who at Elijahs request divided these waters, and is as able to do it again; and hath given me his spirit and office; and therefore I humbly beg, and confidently expect, his assistance in this matter.

They parted; but these words after

Where is the God of Elijah? are by many rendered otherwise, and that agreeably to the Hebrew, even himself? or, even the same? (which words they join with the former, as an emphatical addition, or repetition, which is usual in fervent prayers. But they may be rendered without an interrogation, thus, Surely he, is, to wit, here present, and ready to help me. Or, Surely he is the same, to wit, to me, that he was to Elijah, as able and willing to work for me as for Elijah. Then the following words they render, as they are in the Hebrew,) and he smote the water, and it was divided. By which repetition it may seem that he smote it twice, and that at the first smiting the success did not answer his desire and expectation; which God so ordered, partly to keep him in a modest and humble sense of his own insufficiency, that he might not be puffed up with the great gifts which he had now received; compare 2Co 12:7; and partly to stir him up to a more lively exercise of faith and prayer, which followed Gods denial or suspension of his help, as it is here expressed; which also was attended with desired success.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14-18. smote the watersThewaving of the mantle on the river, and the miraculous division of thewaters consequent upon it, was an evidence that the Lord God ofElijah was with him, and as this miracle was witnessed by thescholars of the prophets from Jericho, they forthwith recognized thepre-eminence of Elisha, as now the prophet of Israel.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters,…. He wrapped it together, as Elijah had done, and smote the waters in like manner, to make trial whether he had the same spirit and power conferred on him:

and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? let him appear now, and show his power as he did by him; he knew the mantle would not do without the Lord, and the exertion of his might:

and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither; as when Elijah smote them. The words “aph-hu”, rendered “he also”, is left untranslated by the Septuagint, and is interpreted by Theodoret n “hidden”. They stand immediately after “the God of Elijah”, and may be rendered, “yea he”, even he himself; meaning not Elijah, as if he was inquired after, or was present and smote the waters; but rather, as we and others, Elisha, even he also smote the waters; though some take it to be the name of God, as “Hu” was, and is with the Arabs to this day, [See comments on Isa 43:13]. Athanasius o interprets it of God, “Appho”; and so Elisha calls him by his title and attribute, “Aph-hu”: but the words may be an answer to the prophet’s question, “where is the Lord God of Elijah?” here he is, even he himself, in the faith of which the water, being smitten, parted; and with this agrees Abarbinel’s note on the text; the meaning is, though we are deprived of Elijah, yet not of the providence of God; and though the servant is wanting, the Lord or master is not; for even he, the blessed God, is in his room, and his excellency is as it was before; which sense is approved of by Frischmuth p

and Elisha went over; the river Jordan, as on dry land.

n Apud Flamin. Nobil. in loc. So Suidas in voce . o De Commun. Essent. Patris, &c. vol. 1. p. 374. See Weemse of the Moral Law, l. 1. c. 7. p. 162. p Dissert. de Eliae Nomine, &c. sect. 11, 12.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Return of Elisha to Jericho and Bethel, and his First Miracles. – 2Ki 2:14, 2Ki 2:15. Having returned to the banks of the Jordan, Elisha smote the water with Elijah’s mantle, saying, “Where is Jehovah the God of Elijah, yea He?” and the water divided hither and thither, so that he was able to go through. , which the lxx did not understand, and have simply reproduced in Greek characters, , is an emphatic apposition, “yea He,” such as we find after suffixes, e.g., Pro 22:19; and is only a strengthened , which is more usual when emphatic prominence is given to the suffix (vid., Ges. 121, 3). The Masoretic accentuation, which separates it from the preceding words, rests upon a false interpretation. There is no need either for the alteration proposed by Ewald, 362, a., of into , “he had scarcely smitten the water,” especially as not a single analogous example can be adduced of the use of followed by a Vav consec.; or for the conjecture that the original reading in the text was (Houb., Bttch., Then.), “where is now the God of Elijah?” which derives no critical support from the of the lxx, and is quite at variance with Hebrew usage, since generally stands immediately after , when it serves to strengthen the interrogation (vid., Jdg 9:38; Job 17:15; Isa 19:12; Hos 13:10). This miracle was intended partly to confirm Elisha’s conviction that his petition had been fulfilled, and partly to accredit him in the eyes of the disciples of the prophets and the people generally as the divinely appointed successor of Elijah. All the disciples of the prophets from Jericho saw also from this that the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha, and came to meet him to do homage to him as being now their spiritual father and lord.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(14) Where is the Lord God of Elijah?Has He left the earth with His prophet? If not, let Him now show His power, and verify the granting of my request (2Ki. 2:9). The words are a sort of irony of faith. Elisha seeks Jehovah as the only source of power. (Comp. Jer. 2:6; Jer. 2:8, where the priests and prophets are blamed for having recourse to idols, instead of asking, Where is Jehovah?)

And when he also had smitten.The Hebrew is, also (or, even) heand he smote. There is clearly something wrong. The LXX. does not render the Hebrew aph h also he, but copies the words in Greek (). Keil connects them with the foregoing question, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah, even He? Thenius objects that this use of aph is doubtful, and supports Houbigants correction, ph, an enclitic thenWhere, then, is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and he smote, &c. Perhaps phh (where) was the original reading: Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? Where?an emphatic repetition of the question. Or it may be that the words aph h wayyakkeh should be transposed: and he smotehe also (like Elijah), &c. The Vulgate has the curious renderings, And with the cloak of Elias which had fallen from him, he smote the waters, and they were not divided; and he said, Where is the God of Elias now also? And he smote the waters, and they were divided, &c. Such also is the reading of the Complutensian LXX.; but the variation is simply an old attempt to account for the twofold and he smote the waters.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

14. Smote the waters Elisha’s first miracle is identical in nature with the last of Elijah, and so the spirit and power of the father rests upon his spiritual son, and by him continues active in the world. The sons of the prophets beheld, from their mountain height, (2Ki 2:7,) this miracle, as they probably had the last one of Elijah, and hence it served to confirm them as well as Elisha himself in the belief that Elijah’s spirit rested on him. 2Ki 2:15.

Where is the Lord God of Elijah According to the Vulgate he smote the waters once, and they were not divided; then he spoke these words and again smote them, and they divided hither and thither. This thought, however, has no support in the Hebrew text. The words were spoken with the conviction that the last miracle of the ascended prophet would now be repeated as a confirming sign to Elisha that Elijah’s God would be with him.

And when he also had smitten This is a faulty rendering of the Hebrew. We should read: Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even he? and he smote the waters and they were divided, etc.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments