November 3, 2023 – Does the Bible Say…?

 Does The Bible Say Elisha Did Not Like Being Made Fun Of For Being Bald?

“Now the people of the city said to Elisha, “The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and then returned to Samaria”. 2 Kings 2:19-25

We are all familiar with the story of Elijah going up to heaven in “…a chariot of fire and horses of fire”. It was a spectacular scene. Elijah, along with Enoch (and possibly Moses) are people in the bible who did not experience physical death – G-d just took them. But here Elisha is in the city of Jericho. The people are complaining that the water is bad and the land does not produce. Elisha then purifies the water before he leaves the people of Jericho to travel to Bethel.

While on his way, there are some children who begin to taunt him, saying: “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” Now, being “follicle-challenged” myself, I can see how Elisha might be offended by their taunt. But, as usual, there is more going on here than just a fanciful taunt. There are two translation “errors” that need to be clarified. First, these are not children – the Hebrew word used indicates they are “young men”, not children. Second, the taunt is actually “Go on up, baldhead”, not “go away”. Thus, not only are these not children just playing a teasing game. These are men who are purposefully insulting a prophet of G-d. And, they are ridiculing him saying he should “be taken up like Elijah”.

In summary, this account in 2 Kings 2 is not an account of G-d sending bears to maul young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against G-d’s prophet by a large group of young men. When we encounter a story that seems to be “shocking”, it requires some homework and exegesis to determine if there are translational “issues” that might clarify the story. This is why we read the bible and take our time doing it. Sometimes we need to dig a little deeper to see how rich and challenging the stories are.

Pastor Dave