2 Kings 2:23-25

The Text: And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead. And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

The Meaning Given To It: "There are some gnawing common-sense misgivings about Scripture:... Readers have been scandalized by a horrible incident in 2 Kings that tells how the prophet Elisha was taunted for his baldness by a group of youngsters. The prophet cursed the boys 'in the name of the Lord,' whereupon two bears came out of the woods and tore them apart."-----Time Magazine, Dec. 30, 1974

The Context: When we put this incident in its context and look a bit closer at the text and do a little word study it is not the "horrible incident" that the author of this article thinks it is. This story takes place in the area of Bethel which at one time had been called "the house of God", Gen. 28:16-19, but later had it's name changed to "house of vanity", Hos. 10:5. Read 1 Kings 12:25-33 for the background of the apostasy of this city.

Several terms need some definition and clarification if we are going to deal honestly with this text.

"Little children" is variously translated "babe, boy, child, lad, servant, young man, youth." It also describes soldiers, 1 Kings 20:14; and Absalom, 2 Samuel 14:21; 18:5. The context must determine which meaning should be assigned to the word. The context favors assigning an age reflecting some level of "maturity", not mere irresponsible little children, because of their use of words of contempt ("baldhead").

"Mocked" is more than just "taunting": "The root denotes the scornful belittling issuing from an attitude which counts as valueless that which is of real value." Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament, vol. 2, p. 801

"Baldhead" is no reference to the mere loss of hair. "In general, to make bald the head was a sign of dishonor and disgrace (Isa. 3:17; 15:27), and baldness was also a mark of leprosy (Lev. 13:43). 'Bald head' is, therefore, a disgraceful epithet which refers... to the calling of Elisha as a man of God and prophet; he is thereby designated as one who is the opposite of that which he pretends to be and appears to be, as an expelled and impure person." Lange's Commentary, vol. 3.

"Cursed". To "curse" is to express one's light esteem for another, to vilify or revile, and is the opposite of "bless" (see Prov. 30:17). It does not necessarily mean "to cuss" or use profanity; again, context must determine what is meant.

The Meaning: To put it simply, here's what likely happened given the context: A group of unholy and irreverent young men came out of Bethel to meet Elisha and expressed their contempt for him and all that he prophesied and stood for---including the God of Heaven. The consequence of such was swift and sure punishment by God.

David Smitherman