Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 2:4
And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, [As] the LORD liveth, and [as] thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
4. hath sent me to Jericho ] The famous city which played a part in the history of Israel from their first entry into Canaan. It had been rebuilt in Ahab’s reign (1Ki 16:34) in spite of the divine curse pronounced in Joshua’s time on any who should restore it (Jos 6:26). And now it had been chosen as the seat of one of the prophetic colleges.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1-7. when the Lord would take upElijahA revelation of this event had been made to the prophet;but, unknown to him, it had also been revealed to his disciples, andto Elisha in particular, who kept constantly beside him.
GilgalThis Gilgal(Jiljil) was near Ebal and Gerizim; a school of the prophets wasestablished there. At Beth-el there was also a school of theprophets, which Elijah had founded, notwithstanding that place wasthe headquarters of the calf-worship; and at Jericho there wasanother [2Ki 2:4]. In travellingto these places, which he had done through the impulse of the Spirit(2Ki 2:2; 2Ki 2:4-6),Elijah wished to pay a farewell visit to these several institutions,which lay on his way to the place of ascension and, at the same time,from a feeling of humility and modesty, to be in solitude, wherethere would be no eye-witnesses of his glorification. All hisefforts, however, to prevail on his attendant to remain behind, werefruitless. Elisha knew that the time was at hand, and at every placethe sons of the prophets spoke to him of the approaching removal ofhis master. Their last stage was at the Jordan. They were followed ata distance by fifty scholars of the prophets, from Jericho, who weredesirous, in honor of the great occasion, to witness the miraculoustranslation of the prophet. The revelation of this striking event toso many was a necessary part of the dispensation; for it was designedto be under the law, like that of Enoch in the patriarchal age, avisible proof of another state, and a type of the resurrection ofChrist.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee,…. At Bethel:
for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho; to the school of the prophets there, to strengthen, encourage, and advise them:
and he said, as the lord liveth, c using the same form of oath as before:
so they came to Jericho; together, which, as the above writer says i, was four miles from Bethel.
i Travels, &c. p. 205.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Bethel, and again in Jericho, to which they both proceeded from Bethel, Elijah repeated the appeal to Elisha to stay there, but always in vain. The taking away of Elijah had also been revealed to the disciples of the prophets at Jericho. Thus they both came to the Jordan, whilst fifty disciples of the prophets from Jericho followed them at a distance, to be eye-witnesses of the miraculous translation of their master. The course which Elijah took before his departure from this earth, viz., from Gilgal past Bethel and Jericho, was not merely occasioned by the fact that he was obliged to touch at these places on the way to the Jordan, but had evidently also the same higher purpose, for which his ascension to heaven had been revealed both to Elisha and to the disciples of the prophets at Bethel and Jericho. Elijah himself said that the Lord had sent him to Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan (2Ki 2:2, 2Ki 2:4, 2Ki 2:6). He therefore took this way from an impulse received from the Spirit of God, that he might visit the schools of the prophets, which he had founded, once more before his departure, and strengthen and fortify the disciples of the prophets in the consecration of their lives to the service of the Lord, though without in the least surmising that they had been informed by the Spirit of the Lord of his approaching departure from this life. But as his ascension to heaven took place not so much for his own sake, as because of those associates in his office who were left behind, God had revealed it to so many, that they might be even more firmly established in their calling by the miraculous glorification of their master than by his words, his teaching, and his admonitions, so that they might carry it on without fear or trembling, even if their great master should no longer stand by their side with the might of his spiritual power to instruct, advise, or defend. Btu above all, Elisha, whom the Lord had appointed as his successor (1Ki 19:16), was to be prepared for carrying on his work by the last journey of his master. He did not leave his side therefore, and resolved, certainly also from an inward impulse of the Spirit of God, to be an eye-witness of his glorification, that he might receive the spiritual inheritance of the first-born from his departing spiritual father.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(4) And Elijah said.The exact repetition of the language of 2Ki. 2:2-3 in this and the next two verses, appears to indicate that the narrative had originally been handed on by oral tradition, probably in the prophetic guilds at the local sanctuaries.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Jericho A city in the Jordan valley. See on Jos 2:1. In Ahab’s reign Hiel, the Beth-elite, had rebuilt this city. 1Ki 16:34.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 2:4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, [As] the LORD liveth, and [as] thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
Ver. 4. For the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. ] Where was another college of prophets, whom he would likewise visit ere he left the earth, that he might pray with them, and advise them – see the like, 2Pe 1:14 – and haply leave with them that letter to Jehoram, king of Judah, which, some years after, was to be delivered, 2Ch 21:12 prophesying and foretelling his sins and punishments.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 2:4-6
2Ki 2:4-6
ELISHA REFUSED TO BE SEPARATED FROM ELIJAH
“And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, Behold, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to him, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.”
From this paragraph, it is clear that God had made separate revelations both to Elisha and to the sons of the prophets concerning the marvelous event of the translation of Elijah; and they all knew that it was expected to occur that very day. Elisha was determined to be present with Elijah when it happened, and that accounts for the repeated conversations of these verses.
“Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho” (2Ki 2:4). “Jericho had recently been rebuilt by Hiel (1Ki 16:34) in defiance of Joshua’s curse … This is the first mention of a prophetic community there.”
E.M. Zerr:
2Ki 2:4. Elijah named another distant point, and suggested that Elisha not go any farther. He received the same kind of answer he did before, so they traveled on.
2Ki 2:5. The sons of the prophets at Jericho had received the same information about Elijah that had been given to the ones at Bethel. In answer to their reminder for Elisha, they received the same order that the others had.
2Ki 2:6. For the third time, Elijah suggested that Elisha halt in his journey, and received the same kind of an answer. One difference in the last instance was, the place to which Elijah was to go (Jordan) was more indefinite as to exact location.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jericho: Jos 6:26, 1Ki 16:34, Luk 19:1
As the Lord: 2Ki 2:2, 2Ki 4:30, Act 2:42, Act 11:23
Reciprocal: 1Sa 1:26 – as thy soul 1Sa 20:3 – but truly 2Sa 15:21 – As the Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 2:4. Tarry here, I pray thee Elijah seems to have said this only with a view to try Elisha, whether he would accompany him to the last, and be the witness of his translation. And Elisha certainly, by not leaving him, testified, both great fidelity to his master, and great faith in what God had revealed respecting the taking him up to heaven.