2nd Kings Chapter 2 verse 19 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 19-25. - The historian passes to the record of some of Elisha's minor miracles, belonging to the time whereof he is writing, and helping to explain the position of dignity and respect which he is found to occupy in the next chapter (vers. 11-14). The miracles showed his twofold power, both to confer benefits and to punish. Verse 19. - And the men of the city - i.e. the inhabitants of Jericho; probably the civic authorities, having heard of the recent miracle - said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth. According to the unanimous voice of travelers, the situation of Jericho (now Eriha) is charming. Lying on a broad plain which is traversed by an abundant river, at the point where one of the main wadys debouched from the Judaean upland upon the low country, shaded by groves of palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3) and fig-mulberries (Luke 19:4), the air scented with aromatic shrubs, opobalsam, myroba-lanum, and the like, facing the Orient sun, and commanding a wide prospect both across and also up and down the Ghor, with the mountains of Moab in the distance, Jericho was, no doubt, even before the miracle of Elisha, a "pleasant" place. But - there was one drawback - the water is naught, and the ground barren. Bitter and brackish springs, of which there are many in the Jordan valley, gushed forth from the foot of the mountains, and formed rivulets, which ran across the plain towards the Jordan, not diffusing health and fertility, but rather disease and barrenness. Untimely births, abortions, and the like prevailed among the cattle which were fed in the neighborhood, perhaps even among the inhabitants of the locality, and were attributed to the bitter springs, which made the land "miscarrying" (ἀτεκνουμένη, LXX.). It was the prayer of the men of Jericho that Elisha would remove this inconvenience.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(19-25) Elisha, as prophet, heals the waters of Jericho, and curses the scorners of Beth-el.(19) The men of the city.--Not "the sons of the prophets," but the citizens make this trial of the prophet's miraculous powers.The situation of this (Heb., the) city is pleasant (Heb., good).--Jericho, "the city of palms" (Deuteronomy 34:3), had a fine position, "rising like an oasis from a broad plain of sand."The water is naught.--Heb., bad. "Naught" i.e., "naughty."And the ground barren.--2Kings 2:21 ("from thence") shows that the waters, not the soil, were the cause of the evil complained of. "The ground," or rather, the land is here put for its inhabitants, including the lower animals; and what is said is either "the country bears dead births," or, "the country has many miscarriages" (pi'el may be either factitive or intensive). (Comp. Exodus 23:26; Malachi 3:11.) The use of different waters is said to have good and bad effects upon the functions of conception and parturition (not "a popular superstition," as Reuss suggests). "The ground is barren," or unfruitful, is therefore an incorrect translation. . . .