Bible Strands
2 Kings 6:13
So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king of Aram addresses his servants after learning that the prophet Elisha relays the king’s private military plans to the king of Israel. He orders his troops to locate the prophet’s position and dispatch forces to seize him.
The words — אֵיכֹ֣ה ('ei.Khoh) translates literally as “where?” and וַ/יֻּגַּד־ (va/i.yu.gad-) means “and it was told.” These terms structure the king’s command for an investigation and the immediate intelligence report confirming Elisha’s location in Dothan.
The thread — Royal pursuit and location-tracking recur in Genesis 37:17, where Joseph is directed to Dothan, and 1 Samuel 23:22, where David’s movements are actively monitored. John 11:47 shows religious leaders convening to investigate Jesus after similar reports of his influence spread.
Why it lands — The text records a ruler relying on human intelligence to neutralize a prophetic threat, then receiving a precise location report. It requires the reader to observe how earthly powers attempt to control information while the narrative framework tracks divine movement.
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 said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
- John 11:47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
- 1 Samuel 23:22 Please go and prepare further. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning.
- Psalms 10:8 He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
- Psalms 37:12 The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- Psalms 37:32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Jeremiah 36:26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.
- Matthew 2:4 And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
- Acts 23:12 When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.