Bible Strands
2 Kings 2:23
From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha travels from the Jordan healing site toward Bethel while ascending the road, where a group of boys leaves the city to jeer at him. The boys address Elisha directly with mocking chants as he passes through their territory.
The words — The Hebrew term נְעָרִים (ne.'a.Rim) translates literally to “lads” or “boys,” denoting the specific demographic delivering the taunt. The verb עֹלֶה ('o.Leh) means “[was] going up,” emphasizing Elisha’s physical ascent toward the prophetic center.
The thread — This confrontation echoes the pattern of youthful scorn against God’s messengers found in Job 19:18 and Job 30:1, where younger figures deride the speaker. The motif of mocking divine representatives culminates in 2 Chronicles 36:16, which records the nation’s rejection of God’s prophets.
Why it lands — The narrative demands recognition that prophetic authority carries divine weight, and mockery of that authority triggers immediate judgment. Readers must confront the seriousness of how they treat those commissioned by God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he went up from thence unto Beth–el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
- Job 19:18 Even little boys scorn me; when I appear, they deride me.
- Job 30:1 “But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.
- Genesis 21:9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,
- Psalms 31:18 May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
- Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Amos 5:5 Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- 1 Kings 12:28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- Job 30:8 A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
- Psalms 35:15 But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.