II Kings 2

מלכים ב׳ פרק ב׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: II Kings | Chapter: 2 of 25 | Day: 124 of 742

Date: June 15, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 2 of Melachim Bet is one of the great hinge-points of the prophetic narrative: the departure of Eliyahu and the formal succession of Elisha. The chapter opens by telling us its ending in advance — be-ha’alot Hashem et Eliyahu ba-se’arah ha-shamayim, “when God was about to take Eliyahu up to heaven in a whirlwind” — so that everything that follows unfolds under the shadow of a known and imminent ascent. What might have been a story of suspense becomes instead a story of farewell, and the tension shifts from whether Eliyahu will be taken to whether Elisha will be found worthy to inherit him. The two prophets walk a final journey together, from Gilgal to Beit El to Jericho to the Jordan, and at each station Eliyahu tries to send his disciple back. Three times Elisha refuses with the same oath — chai Hashem ve-chei nafshecha im e’ezvecha, “as God lives and as you live, I will not leave you” — and the threefold refusal becomes the measure of his devotion. The classical commentators read these repeated tests as Eliyahu probing whether Elisha truly desires the burden of prophecy or merely its honor.

At each stop the benei ha-nevi’im, the disciples of the prophets, approach Elisha to ask whether he knows that his master will be taken from him “today.” His answer is striking in its restraint: gam ani yadati, hecheshu — “I too know it; be silent.” Elisha will not turn the moment into spectacle or lament; he carries the knowledge in disciplined silence. When they reach the Jordan, fifty of the disciples stand watching from a distance, and Eliyahu performs his final wonder: he rolls up his mantle, the aderet, strikes the water, and it parts to either side so the two cross on dry land. The echo of the Yam Suf and of Yehoshua’s crossing is deliberate; the commentators note that the prophet’s power over the waters marks him as standing in the line of Moshe and Yehoshua, and that the same mantle will soon authenticate his successor.

The heart of the chapter is the exchange on the far bank. Eliyahu invites Elisha to name a request before he is taken, and Elisha asks for pi shnayim be-ruchacha — “a double portion of your spirit.” The phrase borrows the language of the firstborn’s inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17), and the commentators debate its meaning: Elisha asks not to be twice as great as his master but to inherit as the firstborn of Eliyahu’s prophetic house, a double share relative to the other disciples. Eliyahu calls the request hikshita lish’ol, “you have asked a hard thing,” and makes its fulfillment conditional on a vision: if Elisha sees him as he is taken, the request is granted; if not, it is withheld. Prophecy cannot simply be bequeathed like property; it must be witnessed, earned by the clarity of spiritual sight. Then, as they walk and talk, the fiery chariot and fiery horses descend, separate the two, and Eliyahu ascends in the whirlwind. Elisha sees it — and so the double portion is his.

His cry at that instant becomes his eulogy for his master: avi avi, rekhev Yisrael u-farashav — “my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen.” The commentators explain the metaphor: Eliyahu was Israel’s true defense, worth more than all its cavalry, for his prayers and his prophecy protected the nation as no army could. Elisha tears his garments in two and takes up the fallen mantle, and the succession is sealed by repetition: he returns to the Jordan, strikes the water with the aderet, and cries ayeh Hashem Elohei Eliyahu — “Where is the God of Eliyahu?” The waters part again, and the watching disciples declare nachah ru’ach Eliyahu al Elisha, “the spirit of Eliyahu rests on Elisha,” and bow before him. The same miracle that closed Eliyahu’s ministry opens Elisha’s; the mantle has passed from hand to hand and the prophetic word continues unbroken.

The chapter’s final scenes establish the character of Elisha’s own ministry, which the rest of the book will develop. When the disciples insist on searching for Eliyahu — perhaps the wind has set him down on a mountain — Elisha relents reluctantly, and after three fruitless days gently reminds them that he had told them not to go. Then come his first two acts as prophet, a study in contrasts. At Jericho he heals a deadly spring: he casts salt from a new vessel into the water and declares in the name of God that no more death or bereavement will come from it, and the text testifies that the water was healed “to this day.” But on the road to Beit El, a crowd of youths jeers at him — “go up, baldhead” — and he curses them in the name of God, whereupon two bears emerge and maul forty-two of them. The Sages struggled with this episode and read the mockery as far more than childish taunting: a contempt for the prophet and for the God he represented, and perhaps a derision of Eliyahu’s very ascent (“go up” as Eliyahu went up). Together the healing spring and the mauling bears frame the double face of prophecy that the book has already shown in Eliyahu — life-giving mercy and uncompromising defense of God’s honor — now resting on the shoulders of his heir as he sets out for Carmel and returns to Shomron.

פרק ב׳ · Chapter 2

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י בְּהַעֲל֤וֹת יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וַיֵּ֧לֶךְ אֵלִיָּ֛הוּ וֶאֱלִישָׁ֖ע מִן־הַגִּלְגָּֽל׃

English:

When GOD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha had set out from Gilgal.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ אֶל־אֱלִישָׁ֜ע שֵֽׁב־נָ֣א פֹ֗ה כִּ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ שְׁלָחַ֣נִי עַד־בֵּֽית־אֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלִישָׁ֔ע חַי־יְהֹוָ֥ה וְחֵֽי־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ אִם־אֶעֶזְבֶ֑ךָּ וַיֵּרְד֖וּ בֵּֽית־אֵֽל׃

English:

Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for GOD has sent me on to Bethel.” “As GOD lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיֵּצְא֨וּ בְנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִ֥ים אֲשֶׁר־בֵּֽית־אֵל֮ אֶל־אֱלִישָׁע֒ וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֔יו הֲיָדַ֕עְתָּ כִּ֣י הַיּ֗וֹם יְהֹוָ֛ה לֹקֵ֥חַ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶ֖יךָ מֵעַ֣ל רֹאשֶׁ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֛אמֶר גַּם־אֲנִ֥י יָדַ֖עְתִּי הֶחֱשֽׁוּ׃

English:

Disciples of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that GOD will take your master away from youaaway from you Lit. “from upon your head.” today?” He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.”

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ ל֨וֹ אֵלִיָּ֜הוּ אֱלִישָׁ֣ע ׀ שֵֽׁב־נָ֣א פֹ֗ה כִּ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ שְׁלָחַ֣נִי יְרִיח֔וֹ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר חַי־יְהֹוָ֥ה וְחֵֽי־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ אִם־אֶעֶזְבֶ֑ךָּ וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ יְרִיחֽוֹ׃

English:

Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for GOD has sent me on to Jericho.” “As GOD lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went on to Jericho.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ בְנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִ֥ים אֲשֶׁר־בִּֽירִיחוֹ֮ אֶל־אֱלִישָׁע֒ וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֔יו הֲיָדַ֕עְתָּ כִּ֣י הַיּ֗וֹם יְהֹוָ֛ה לֹקֵ֥חַ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶ֖יךָ מֵעַ֣ל רֹאשֶׁ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֛אמֶר גַּם־אֲנִ֥י יָדַ֖עְתִּי הֶחֱשֽׁוּ׃

English:

The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho came over to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that GOD will take your master away from youbaway from you See note at v. 3. today?” He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.”

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ ל֨וֹ אֵלִיָּ֜הוּ שֵֽׁב־נָ֣א פֹ֗ה כִּ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ שְׁלָחַ֣נִי הַיַּרְדֵּ֔נָה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר חַי־יְהֹוָ֥ה וְחֵֽי־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ אִם־אֶעֶזְבֶ֑ךָּ וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for GOD has sent me on to the Jordan.” “As GOD lives and as you live, I will not leave you,” he said, and the two of them went on.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַחֲמִשִּׁ֨ים אִ֜ישׁ מִבְּנֵ֤י הַנְּבִיאִים֙ הָֽלְכ֔וּ וַיַּעַמְד֥וּ מִנֶּ֖גֶד מֵרָח֑וֹק וּשְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם עָמְד֥וּ עַל־הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃

English:

Fifty of the disciples of the prophets followed and stood by at a distance as the two of them stopped at the Jordan.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיִּקַּח֩ אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ אֶת־אַדַּרְתּ֤וֹ וַיִּגְלֹם֙ וַיַּכֶּ֣ה אֶת־הַמַּ֔יִם וַיֵּחָצ֖וּ הֵ֣נָּה וָהֵ֑נָּה וַיַּעַבְר֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם בֶּחָרָבָֽה׃

English:

Thereupon Elijah took his mantle and, rolling it up, he struck the water; it divided to the right and left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry land.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י כְעׇבְרָ֗ם וְאֵ֨לִיָּ֜הוּ אָמַ֤ר אֶל־אֱלִישָׁע֙ שְׁאַל֙ מָ֣ה אֶעֱשֶׂה־לָּ֔ךְ בְּטֶ֖רֶם אֶלָּקַ֣ח מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלִישָׁ֔ע וִ֥יהִי נָ֛א פִּֽי־שְׁנַ֥יִם בְּרוּחֲךָ֖ אֵלָֽי׃

English:

As they were crossing, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” Elisha answered, “Let a double portioncdouble portion Lit. “two-thirds”; cf. Zech. 13.8. of your spirit pass on to me.”

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִקְשִׁ֣יתָ לִשְׁא֑וֹל אִם־תִּרְאֶ֨ה אֹתִ֜י לֻקָּ֤ח מֵֽאִתָּךְ֙ יְהִי־לְךָ֣ כֵ֔ן וְאִם־אַ֖יִן לֹ֥א יִהְיֶֽה׃

English:

“You have asked a difficult thing,” he said. “If you see me as I am being taken from you, this will be granted to you; if not, it will not.”

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י הֵ֣מָּה הֹלְכִ֤ים הָלוֹךְ֙ וְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהִנֵּ֤ה רֶֽכֶב־אֵשׁ֙ וְס֣וּסֵי אֵ֔שׁ וַיַּפְרִ֖דוּ בֵּ֣ין שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּ֙עַל֙ אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃

English:

As they kept on walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses suddenly appeared and separated one from the other; and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וֶאֱלִישָׁ֣ע רֹאֶ֗ה וְה֤וּא מְצַעֵק֙ אָבִ֣י ׀ אָבִ֗י רֶ֤כֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וּפָ֣רָשָׁ֔יו וְלֹ֥א רָאָ֖הוּ ע֑וֹד וַֽיַּחֲזֵק֙ בִּבְגָדָ֔יו וַיִּקְרָעֵ֖ם לִשְׁנַ֥יִם קְרָעִֽים׃

English:

Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “Oh, father, father! Israel’s chariots and riders!” When he could no longer see him, he grasped his garments and rent them in two.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֙רֶם֙ אֶת־אַדֶּ֣רֶת אֵלִיָּ֔הוּ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָפְלָ֖ה מֵעָלָ֑יו וַיָּ֥שׇׁב וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃

English:

He picked up Elijah’s mantle, which had dropped from him; and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיִּקַּח֩ אֶת־אַדֶּ֨רֶת אֵלִיָּ֜הוּ אֲשֶׁר־נָפְלָ֤ה מֵֽעָלָיו֙ וַיַּכֶּ֣ה אֶת־הַמַּ֔יִם וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אַיֵּ֕ה יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ אַף־ה֣וּא ׀ וַיַּכֶּ֣ה אֶת־הַמַּ֗יִם וַיֵּֽחָצוּ֙ הֵ֣נָּה וָהֵ֔נָּה וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֖ר אֱלִישָֽׁע׃

English:

Taking the mantle that had dropped from Elijah, he struck the water and said, “Where is the ETERNAL, the God of Elijah?” As he too struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיִּרְאֻ֨הוּ בְנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִ֤ים אֲשֶׁר־בִּֽירִיחוֹ֙ מִנֶּ֔גֶד וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ נָ֛חָה ר֥וּחַ אֵלִיָּ֖הוּ עַל־אֱלִישָׁ֑ע וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ לִקְרָאת֔וֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ־ל֖וֹ אָֽרְצָה׃

English:

When the disciples of the prophets at Jericho saw him from a distance, they exclaimed, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed low before him to the ground.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֡יו הִנֵּה־נָ֣א יֵֽשׁ־אֶת־עֲבָדֶ֩יךָ֩ חֲמִשִּׁ֨ים אֲנָשִׁ֜ים בְּנֵי־חַ֗יִל יֵ֣לְכוּ נָא֮ וִיבַקְשׁ֣וּ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶ֒יךָ֒ פֶּן־נְשָׂאוֹ֙ ר֣וּחַ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁלִכֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד הֶהָרִ֔ים א֖וֹ בְּאַחַ֣ת (הגיאות) [הַגֵּיאָי֑וֹת] וַיֹּ֖אמֶר לֹ֥א תִשְׁלָֽחוּ׃

English:

They said to him, “Your servants have fifty able men with them. Let them go and look for your master; perhaps the spirit of GOD has carried him off and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” “Do not send them,” he replied.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַיִּפְצְרוּ־ב֥וֹ עַד־בֹּ֖שׁ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁלָ֑חוּ וַֽיִּשְׁלְחוּ֙ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים אִ֔ישׁ וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ שְׁלֹשָֽׁה־יָמִ֖ים וְלֹ֥א מְצָאֻֽהוּ׃

English:

But they kept pressing him for a long time, until he said, “Send them.” So they sent out fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וַיָּשֻׁ֣בוּ אֵלָ֔יו וְה֖וּא יֹשֵׁ֣ב בִּירִיח֑וֹ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם הֲלֹֽא־אָמַ֥רְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם אַל־תֵּלֵֽכוּ׃ {ס}        

English:

They came back to him while he was still in Jericho; and he said to them, “I told you not to go.”

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ אַנְשֵׁ֤י הָעִיר֙ אֶל־אֱלִישָׁ֔ע הִנֵּה־נָ֞א מוֹשַׁ֤ב הָעִיר֙ ט֔וֹב כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲדֹנִ֖י רֹאֶ֑ה וְהַמַּ֥יִם רָעִ֖ים וְהָאָ֥רֶץ מְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃

English:

The leadersdleaders Or “inhabitants.” of the town said to Elisha, “Look, the town is a pleasant place to live in, as my lord can see; but the water is bad and the land causes bereavement.”

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קְחוּ־לִי֙ צְלֹחִ֣ית חֲדָשָׁ֔ה וְשִׂ֥ימוּ שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיִּקְח֖וּ אֵלָֽיו׃

English:

He responded, “Bring me a new dish and put salt in it.” They brought it to him;

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַיֵּצֵא֙ אֶל־מוֹצָ֣א הַמַּ֔יִם וַיַּשְׁלֶךְ־שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיֹּ֜אמֶר כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה רִפִּ֙אתִי֙ לַמַּ֣יִם הָאֵ֔לֶּה לֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה מִשָּׁ֛ם ע֖וֹד מָ֥וֶת וּמְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃

English:

he went to the spring and threw salt into it. And he said, “Thus said GOD: I heal this water; no longer shall death and bereavement come from it!”

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַיֵּרָפ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּדְבַ֥ר אֱלִישָׁ֖ע אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֵּֽר׃ {פ}

English:

The water has remained wholesome to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֥עַל מִשָּׁ֖ם בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל וְה֣וּא ׀ עֹלֶ֣ה בַדֶּ֗רֶךְ וּנְעָרִ֤ים קְטַנִּים֙ יָצְא֣וּ מִן־הָעִ֔יר וַיִּתְקַלְּסוּ־בוֹ֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ ל֔וֹ עֲלֵ֥ה קֵרֵ֖חַ עֲלֵ֥ה קֵרֵֽחַ׃

English:

From there he went up to Bethel. As he was going up the road, some little boys came out of the town and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!”

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֤פֶן אַֽחֲרָיו֙ וַיִּרְאֵ֔ם וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖ם בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה וַתֵּצֶ֜אנָה שְׁתַּ֤יִם דֻּבִּים֙ מִן־הַיַּ֔עַר וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה מֵהֶ֔ם אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנֵ֖י יְלָדִֽים׃

English:

He turned around and looked at them and cursed them in the name of GOD. Thereupon, two she-bears came out of the woods and mangled forty-two of the children.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ מִשָּׁ֖ם אֶל־הַ֣ר הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל וּמִשָּׁ֖ם שָׁ֥ב שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ {פ}

English:

He went on from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

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