Bible Strands
2 Kings 2:24
Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha stands at Bethel after his ascent, facing a group of youths who mock his prophetic succession by chanting, “Go up, you baldhead!” He turns, sees them, and pronounces a curse in Yahweh’s name as the narrative records the immediate arrival of two bears that maul forty-two youths.
The words — וַ/יְקַלְלֵ֖ם (va/y.ka.Le/m) means “and he cursed them,” executed בְּ/שֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה (be./Shem Yah.weh), literally “in the name of Yahweh.” The text records the immediate arrival of two bears (שְׁתַּ֤יִם, she.Ta.yim) that maul forty-two youths without elaboration.
The thread — The motif of divine judgment through wild animals echoes Hosea 13:8, where Yahweh declares a bear-like attack on those who rebel. Later biblical narratives, like Acts 13:9, show spiritual authority confronting opposition, though without the same physical judgment.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that prophetic authority carries divine weight and that mockery of God’s appointed messenger triggers immediate judgment. It requires readers to take seriously the consequences of opposing divinely commissioned leadership.
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 turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
Cross-references
- Acts 13:9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
- Hosea 13:8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.
- Amos 7:17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
- Acts 5:5 On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
- Acts 5:9 “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
- Genesis 9:25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Deuteronomy 28:15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Judges 9:57 And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
- 2 Samuel 17:8 He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.