Why Did Two BEARS Attack Elisha's Mockers? The Hebrew Word Behind 2 Kings 2

Why did two bears attack Elisha's mockers? Most of us were taught that Elisha lost his temper at a few little children on the road. But in 2 Kings 2:23, the Hebrew word behind "little children" is wider than the English, and the verse itself gives the setting: "there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head". In this Bible study we read the passage through the Hebrew text and the King James Version. We look at the day Elijah went up and the question Elisha asked at the Jordan (2 Kings 2:11-15), then follow him up the road to Bethel with the verb alah. We meet the words naar and yeled, katon (1 Kings 3:7, 1 Samuel 15:17), kalas (Habakkuk 1:10), kerakh (Leviticus 13:40), kalal and kabad (Exodus 21:17, Exodus 20:12) and baka (Numbers 16:31). We meet the Syrian brown bear, dov, in 1 Samuel 17:34 and Isaiah 11:7. Then we follow the road and the bear through Scripture: Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28:12, Genesis 35:1), Jeroboam's golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-29), Hosea and Amos on Beth-aven (Hosea 4:15, Amos 5:5), and the word shakol in Leviticus 26:22 and Hosea 13:8. We hear what comes next in 2 Kings 3:17 and 2 Kings 5:8, weigh the tension with 2 Kings 6:22 and 2 Samuel 16:10, and listen to the Septuagint, the Vulgate and Ben Sira. Finally we come to 2 Kings 4:34, where the same prophet goes up again. All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. If you have ever asked out loud where the God of the one who carried your faith has gone, what answer came to you on the road ahead? Share your thoughts in the comments, and subscribe for more studies from The Overlooked Verse. 00:00 Why bears? 00:34 The popular answer 00:59 Naar: the Hebrew word for a young man 02:05 The day before: Elijah is gone 03:46 Alah: going up to Bethel 04:43 Katon: what little really means 05:24 Kalas and kerakh: the mockery 06:30 Kalal: treating God's word as light 07:56 Baka and yeled: the tearing and the age 09:45 The bear itself: dov 11:28 Jacob's ladder and go up to Bethel 12:25 Jeroboam's calf and Beth-aven 13:39 Shakol: the bereaved bear 15:02 Carmel and the chapters that follow 16:13 The tension and the ancient readers 18:03 Pulling it together 19:24 What this means for you #elisha #biblestudy #2kings2