Why did the god of the bible send 2 bears to kill 42 children. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up fortytwo lads. Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. The judean and israelite monarchies from the rise of king solomon to the destruction of the first temple in jerusalem. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. The record of queen vashti is in the book of esther. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up fortytwo lads of their number. Then two she bears came out of the woods and tore fortytwo of the boys to pieces. The first book of kings begins with the elderly king david naming solomon, his son by bathsheba, as king. Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old testament that, together with deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 samuel, belong to the group of historical books deuteronomic history written during the babylonian exile c. We should, however, examine scripture in context and compare. Agnostic bible is a site dedicated to reading and exploring the bible from a reasoned perspective. King james bible and he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the lord.
Elisha turned around, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the lord. All of a sudden there was a tangential discussion on peoples hair and baldheadedness. Why would god allow two bears to kill 42 young lads simply for saying elisha was bald. But elisha replied, as the lord lives and as your soul lives, i will not leave you. The lords punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. Becoming a woman of god 9781418505530 by diana hagee. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of jehovah. For many, it is a source of spiritual understanding and ethical guidance. But later on, after the advent of christianity, they were split in half. And two shebears came out of the woods and tore fortytwo of the boys.
By pronouncing a curse, he left judgment where it should bein the hands of god. The book of 1 kings was likely written between 560 and 540 b. Jul 22, 2015 here we take a look at the weird passage in 2 kings 2 where the prophet elisha curses a group of boys and bears come out of the woods to attack them. Its been awhile since the last installment of this series lots more to come, but this one should be fairly straightforward. Through scripture, thoughtprovoking questions and answers, prayers, and practical advice, women will learn how valuable they are to god and how they can have an intimate relationship with him. The book of jonah animated bible story best kjv movies videos on this channel never promote or encourage hate. There is a more reasonable explanation for the violent event than simply removing things from their context and imagining that elisha simple used a couple bears to kill some children who were mocking him. In particular, the deuteronomist history from joshua to 2 kings is otherwise known as the former prophets.
The jerusalem bible divides the two books of kings into eight sections. For others a historical collection of religious stories. Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly. The bible s greatest massacres the 9 most badass bible verses top 50 bible stories for kids gods 101st killing. Really, though, the book is called kings because uh, its about kings. This is being aired by permission of the holder litchfield associates, all rights. Interesting facts about 2 kings barnes bible charts author. The tradition is that it was written by the prophet jeremiah.
Elisha was traveling from jericho to bethel when a group of young men verbally accosted him. This is where we learn of the exploits of the famous prophets, kings and judges who played such a prominent role in. There are a lot of kings in this bookand theyre usually pretty bad. And turning back, he saw them, and put a curse on them in the name of the lord. The majority of 2 kings was written prior to 586 b. The book of esther says that vashti was the wife of king xerxes when he first became king of persia, followed three years later by queen esther. Thinking she was a prostitute, he requested her services.
The books of kings are followed by first chronicles and second chronicles, and then the books of the restoration following the babylonian exile. Why would god allow two bears to maul little children for insulting elisha. John whiteford talks about the incident near bethel, when st. Elsewhere scripture makes reference to the anger of a she bear robbed of her cubs hosea.
Possibly jeremiah or a group of prophets time written. Why would god allow two bears to kill 42 young lads simply for saying that elisha was bald. Why would god send two bears to maul little children. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and. Tamars plan was to become pregnant by this ruse so that she might bear a child in judahs line, since judah had not given her to his son shelah. Atheists have appealed to this incident in an attempt to involve the bible in moral difficulty. The book of kings was originally one book that was later divided into i kings and ii kings. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the.
The book was divided into the two books of first kings and second kings in the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, and continues as such in the latin vulgate and our christian old testament of the bible. Two she bears bears perhaps robbed of their whelps came out of an adjacent wood, and presently killed fortytwo children, v. The first book of kings begins with the elderly king david naming solomon, his son by bathsheba, as king of israel and judah to succeed him. Berean study bible then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on. The prophet must be justified, for he did it by divine impulse. This summary of the book of 1 kings provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 kings. Originally, 2 kings and 1 kings were part of the same book in hebrew. King solomon reigned over the united kingdom of israel circa 960 to 922 bc, and built the temple of solomon in jerusalem in the midtenth century bc. Wasnt elisha being cruel when he sent those bears against those children who were teasing him about being bald in 2 kings 2. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of israel and judah by a deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century bce, with a supplement added in the sixth century bce. Elisha pronounced a curse on them, but in and of itself, that is not an act of violence. A guest post from brucker what if we could edit the bible. A popular handbook on bible difficulties wheaton, ill victor books, 1992. She was the king s first wife, or queen consort, or most prominentleading wife, but was deposed for disobedience to her husband, the king.
Christian standard bible he turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the lord. The first half of 1 kings concerns the history of israel from completion of the story of the great king david in the events of the succession of david\s son, solomon, and david\s death. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the lord. The gospel, which is contained in the word of god, is the power of god. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them 2 kings 2. Elisha, little children, and the bears answers in genesis.
Why did god send shebears to tare kids in 2 kings 2 23. It concludes the deuteronomistic history, a history of israel also comprising the books of joshua and judges and the book of samuel, which biblical commentators believe was written to provide a theological explanation for the destruction of the kingdom of judah by babylon in. The vital question of concern to most here is the age of these little children. As a literary work, the books of kings are admirable. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. Many years ago, i had an atheist question me on the passage in 2 kings 2. Some of the brilliance is accessible only in hebrew. In this thirteen week interactive study author diana hagee teaches women what it means to be a daughter of the king.
Attacked by evil politics like creatures wicked rulers. Then there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them verse 24. In chapter 14 of the book of the prophet jeremiah is found the lords word to the. God sent two bears to rip apart 42 boys for making fun of a prophets bald head 2 kings 2. Introduction 23 then he went up from there to bethel. King james bible and he went up from thence unto bethel. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled fortytwo of. So she played the part of a prostitute and struck a bargain with judah for a.
The bible mentions the bears specifically as female and to lay into a large crowd of men, killing 42, they must have been hopping mad about something. How many children did queen esther and king xerxes have. The only historic source we have about judah and israel during the first temple period is the bible, particularly the books of joshua, judges, samuel and kings. We are intended to conclude that the two she bears attacked the young men simply because elisha pronounced a curse on them. I was sitting in a church on a recent wednesday night listening to the pastor teach an indepth bible lesson. Shortly after elijah had been taken away by god, elisha traveled to bethel to be confronted by little children who call him bald head. The prophet elisha and bears attacking boys youtube.
The paean to king josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient israelite empires beg the thought that he and his scribes lie behind the deuteronomistic history. Elisha, two bears, and fortytwo kids study resources. The book of 1 kings does not specifically name its author. And two shebears came out of the wood and put fortytwo of the children to death. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. Why did the prophet elisha curse the youths for making. May 01, 2010 tweets that mention a bald man, two bears, and fortytwo children. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of david. Ive sought answers to that one for a long time, and never could find a satisfactory response. He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the lord. We recoil in horror at the idea of bears mauling a. The book of kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. Had the curse come from any bad principle god would not have said amen to it.
Too often, skeptics and critics of the bible love to mischaracterize what the bible says. Why did god kill 42 lads merely for saying elisha was bald. Paul baxter apologetics, children, culture, elisha, gangs. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled fortytwo of the boys. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the children.
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