Did Elisha Summon Bears to Maul Boys? | Jonathan Akin on 2 Kings 2:23–24

Jonathan Akin joins Kirk E. Miller on What in the Word? to discuss one of the Bible’s most infamous passages: Elisha’s curse that led to two she-bears mauling forty-two “youths” in 2 Kings 2:23–24.

Was Elisha simply an irritable old man who couldn’t take a joke? How old were these “youths”? And what exactly does their jeer, “Go up, baldhead!” mean? This episode examines these matters and more, exploring the passage’s meaning and significance even for today.

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Episode guest: Jonathan Akin

Dr. Jonathan Akin serves as the vice president for Church Relations and Campus Ministries and is a professor of Old Testament at Carson-Newman University, a Christian institution in East Tennessee. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Old Testament and Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Dr. Akin is the author of books like Preaching Christ from Proverbs, Exalting Jesus in Proverbs, Exalting Jesus in Ecclesiastes, Exalting Jesus in Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and the forthcoming Exalting Jesus in Numbers. He is also a contributor to Louie Giglio’s The Jesus Bible and R. Albert Mohler’s The Grace and Truth Study Bible.

He has served as a pastor of churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina. He and his wife Ashley have been married for twenty years and have three children: Maddy, Emma Grace, and Judson.

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Episode synopsis

Why this passage disturbs many

Elisha is traveling toward Bethel when a group described in many English translations as “young boys” comes out and mocks him, calling him “bald head.” Elisha calls down a curse upon them, and two she-bears maul forty-two of them.

Walter Kaiser summarizes the common reaction:

The way many read this text, a mild personal offense by some innocent little children was turned into a federal case by a crotchety old prophet as short on hair as he was on humor. Put in its sharpest form, the complaint goes: How can I believe in a God who would send bears to devour little children for innocently teasing an old man whose appearance probably was unusual even for that day?¹

The punishment, according to this surface-level reading, is grotesquely disproportionate to the crime.

Beyond the ethical questions posed by the passage, others may express skepticism toward the supernatural idea of a prophet’s curse conjuring bears.

Passing the baton from Elijah to Elisha

Second Kings 2:23–24 comes at the end of the narrative recounting the transfer of prophetic authority from Elijah to Elisha (2 Kgs 2:1–22). Elijah has been caught up into heaven, leaving a double portion of spirit upon Elisha (2 Kgs 2:9–12, 15), who is to carry on his work. The baton is now in Elisha’s hands. What follows, including the bears episode, must be read in light of this transition.

Dr. Jonathan Akin draws a parallel: a man of God whose mission on earth is finished ascends into heaven and leaves his spirit with his follower to continue that mission. The similarities to Christ’s ascension and pouring out his Spirit on his disciples at Pentecost are hard to miss.

Who are these “young boys”?

Elisha goes up to Bethel and there encounters a large group of youths. Most editions translate their designation as something like “small boys” or even “little children” (KJV). In English, this type of language suggests prepubescent children, the kind of little boys you’d expect to find in an elementary classroom. If so, Elisha’s response and the ensuing judgment seem especially over-the-top.

But the Hebrew words used, נַ֫עַר and יֶ֫לֶד, can have a broader range of meaning than the impression left by these translations. They can refer to small children, yes, but they are also used elsewhere to describe young men and older adolescents. For instance, 1 Kings 12:14 uses יֶ֫לֶד to refer to Rehoboam’s peers who gave him the disastrous advice that split the kingdom. These were not children but adult men.

Jonathan suggests that these youths were most likely teenagers or young adults, not toddlers or little boys. The context, as we are about to see, indicates the likelihood of this reading.

Bethel as center of idolatrous worship

Geographical markers in biblical narrative are not incidental details. The mention of Bethel, therefore, is not unimportant. Bethel is where King Jeroboam set up a golden calf as an alternative worship center when the kingdom split. From its very founding, the Northern Kingdom was built on idolatry, with Bethel its geographical center.

Thus, when Elisha arrives at Bethel, he is walking into a stronghold of the very idolatry that God had sent him and Elijah to confront. The youths who come out to mock him grew up in that environment. Some interpreters even suggest they might be connected to the apostate priesthood in Bethel, essentially students of that idolatrous system. But whether or not they have a formal connection to the cult, they at least represent the fruit of a community that has systematically rejected the God of Israel and, by extension, his prophet.

This ought to inform how we read both their mockery of Elisha, God’s prophet, and their judgment that quickly follows. These youths are the product—representatives—of a community that has sustained systematic idolatry for generations.

The significance of their insult

The words “Go up, you baldhead!” at first glance may seem to indicate that these youths are simply making fun of Elisha’s physical appearance. On the one hand, maybe Elisha was physically bald, and these youths were simply mocking that fact.

Alternatively, though, Akin points out that earlier in the chapter, as Elijah and Elisha travel together, the sons of the prophets repeatedly say to Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” (2 Kgs 2:3, 5)—or more literally, “from over your head [רֹאשׁ].” In other words, by taking Elijah, the Lord was taking Elisha’s head, i.e., his leader, authority, and mentor. When God takes Elijah up in the whirlwind, God takes Elisha’s “head,” leaving him, in this sense, “bald.” Thus, when these youths shout “Go up, baldhead,” they may be taunting Elisha with the fact that his mentor has been taken away, leaving him by himself.

Likewise, the verb translated “go up” is the same used moments earlier to describe when Elijah “went up” into heaven (2 Kgs 2:11). Thus, the youths may effectively mean, As Elijah went up and away, now you get out of here, as well. We don’t want you, either!

Accordingly, the insult is not a joke about Elisha’s hairline (in fact, he may not even have been physically bald). Rather, it’s a rejection of Elisha, and inasmuch as Elisha is God’s prophet, it’s a rejection of God. Even if Elisha was physically bald, and that physical baldness was the object of scorn, the taunt should nonetheless be understood within this context of idolatry and the rejection of Elisha as a prophet. The mockery was not a mere poking fun at an old man’s appearance.

The ensuing judgment, bears from the woods, among other things serves to demonstrate that Elijah’s mantle has indeed passed on to Elisha. He’s not without God’s power and backing.

Covenant curses foreshadowed

God had warned Israel centuries earlier that covenant rebellion would bring covenant curses. Among those curses, in Leviticus 26:22 God says, “I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children.” This, as we see, is quite literally what transpires in 2 Kings 2:23–24, as two wild beasts (bears) maul these youths. These bears are an installment of the covenant curses that God had promised would come if Israel rejected him.

They are also a warning. If the lesson is not learned, the curses will escalate. The final curse, as both Leviticus and Deuteronomy make clear, is national exile. Interestingly, the nations that eventually devour and scatter Israel are described in places like Psalm 80:13 and Daniel 7 as beasts. In this way, the inflicted curse in the form of these literal beasts foreshadows the beastly nations that are to come if Israel fails to repent. In 722 BC, God uses Assyria to drag the Northern Kingdom into exile.

Elisha as a new Joshua—and Jesus as a new Elisha

The route Elijah and Elisha take in 2 Kings 2 seems to be an intentional parallel to the exodus and conquest narratives, a replay of those events. Namely, Elijah and Elisha’s journey from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River, where God parts the waters and Elijah ascends east of the promised land (2 Kgs 2:1–12). This geographical sequence is the exodus and conquest in reverse.

Following the exodus, Edom denies Israel entrance to pass through (Num 20:14–21), so they are forced to go around and enter from the east of the Jordan (Num 21:4; Deut 2:1–8). Moses dies east of the Jordan and never enters the land (Deut 34:1–8). Before he dies, he commissions Joshua, who receives the spirit (Deut 31:7–8; 34:9). Joshua then leads Israel across the Jordan (Josh 3), after which they go first to Jericho (Josh 6), then toward Ai near Bethel (Josh 7–8). The purpose of this conquest is to rid the land of idolatry and establish the true worship of God (Deut 7:1–5; 12:1–4).

Second Kings 2, thus, presents Elisha as a new Joshua figure, pointing to the need for a new conquest to rid the land of idolatry, because the Northern Kingdom has become what Canaan once was. Elisha’s name even parallels Joshua’s: Joshua means “the Lord saves”; Elisha means “my God is savior.”

And just as 2 Kings 2 points backward to Joshua, it also points forward. John the Baptist, identified in the New Testament as the new Elijah (Mark 9:11–13; cf. Mal 4:5), baptizes east of the Jordan (Mark 1:4–5; John 1:28). Jesus (which means Joshua) crosses over, receives the Spirit (Mark 1:9–12), and begins a ministry of judgment and salvation (Mark 1:14–15). Like Elisha, Jesus will multiply bread (Mark 6:30–44; cf. 2 Kgs 4:42–44), heal lepers (Mark 1:40–45; cf. 2 Kgs 5:1–14), and raise dead children (Mark 5:35–43; cf. 2 Kgs 4:32–37). But he will also cleanse the temple (Mark 11:15–19), cast out unclean spirits (Mark 1:21–28), and confront the corrupt (Mark 12:38–40).

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Logos values thoughtful and engaging discussions on important biblical topics. However, the views and interpretations presented in this episode are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Logos. We recognize that Christians may hold different perspectives on this passage, and we welcome diverse engagement and respectful dialogue.

Jonathan Akin’s suggested 1–2 Kings commentaries

Additional commentaries on 1–2 Kings

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1. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. et al., Hard Sayings of the Bible (InterVarsity, 1996), 232.