"Kill Brats - "From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on his way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him. "Go up baldhead," they shouted, "go up baldhead!" The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two shebears came out of the woods and tore forty two of the children to pieces." (2 Kings 2:23-24 NAB)
Let
us examine the story of Elisha's journey to Bethel. You can read the full chapter here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+2&version=NIV
Before examining this particular
story, it would be helpful to get an overview of the events that preceded
it. Elisha was a prophet who lived
during the time of the split monarchies of Judah and Israel. He was the successor to Elijah, one of the
great prophets of God (1 Kings 19:19-21).
After the death of King Ahaziah of Israel, Elijah was taken up to heaven
in a whirlwind, and Elisha witnessed it (2 Kings 2:1-12). After that event, Elisha became God's prophet
for 60 years (circa 892-832 BCE), and did many miracles.
In this passage, Elisha was
confronted by a large group of young men while he was on his way to
Bethel. It is important to understand
that there have been many mistranslations in this passage: the Hebrew root word
used is na'ar, which is most often
used to describe a young man between the age of 12 and 30 [1][2] (see also
Genesis 34:19, 41:12; 1 Kings 20:14-15).
The youths involved were not small boys; they were young men in their teens
or twenties.
The taunting that the young men gave
Elisha was not just teasing. It was a
threatening act, designed to intimidate him.
The fact that 42 of them were killed by bears demonstrates how many of
them there were; most likely a crowd of more than 50 ganging up on Elisha. When they said, "Go up, you
baldhead!", they were mocking him in two ways. First, they were mocking the miracle of
Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind not long before. They were challenging Elisha to "go
up" as Elijah had done, suggesting that they did not believe in the
miracle of Elijah's disappearance, and daring Elisha to go up in the same way
that Elijah had. Second, their taunt
"baldhead" was a slur against Elisha - there are several suggested meanings,
that a prophet of that time signified his/her separation to God by shaving
their head, that a leper in that time period had a shaved head and was
considered a despised outcast [2], or used as a general term of contempt. In any case, their verbal attack was designed
to mock Elisha and his status as God's prophet.
Essentially, the youths were
challenging Elisha's authority as a prophet, and in insulting Elisha, were
insulting the God who anointed him. Had
there not been immediate and swift action against the youths, the people would
have had justifiable reason to question Elisha's call to prophecy and his
status as God's messenger. God saw the
youths' rebellion, disrespect and utter contempt for him, and he responded by
taking their lives. In doing so, he was
issuing a clear warning to anyone who would dare mock their Creator and King,
and the prophets that he sent.
References
[1]
Gesenius's Lexicon, Heinrich Friedrich
Wilhelm Gesenius (translated by Samuel P. Tregelles), 1847
[2]
The Case For Faith, Lee Strobel, 2000.
Pgs. 122-124.
