in fairness

[joel]

In the days of kings, a lonely prophet walked
to Bethel (which is called the House of God)
and as he passed, the locals hardly balked
away— in fact, the path the prophet trod
was paved with rascal hoodlums; and they stalked
the prophet jeeringly with boyish ease
and teased the prophet childishly and talked
about the prophet’s lack of style and wheezed
from laughing at the prophet’s balding head:
“Hey baldy— scram!”…the prophet turned instead—
and smirked— and cursed the jerks with she-bear dread
and forty-two were mauled before they fled,
though all they were was children— all the same,
the rules don’t change for rookies to the game.

2 Kings 2:23-24:
He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

[.Lucy.]

I wonder if perhaps these children had referred to him as Alopecia man, would he have gotten so upset?

Hmm

[justwalt]

i like this passage, joel, but i needed to know more about it to feel
happy with it... i found the following, which did the trick...



Question:
Why did the Prophet Elisha curse the "youths" for making fun of his baldness (2 Kings 2:23-24)?

Answer:
There are a few key issues we must understand in regards to this account of the youths cursing Elisha.

The text reads;
"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."

It seems unbelievable that God would cause two bears to maul a group of children for making fun of a man for being bald.

First, the King James Version has done us a disservice by translated the term as "children". The Hebrew word can refer to children, but rather more specifically means "young men." The NIV, quoted here, uses the word youths.

Second, the fact that the bears mauled 42 of the youths indicates that there were more than 42 youths involved. This was not a small group of children making fun of a bald man. Rather, it was a large demonstration of young men who assembled for the purpose of mocking a prophet of God.

Third, the mocking of "go on up you baldhead", is more than making fun of baldness. The baldness of Elisha referred to here may be: (1) natural loss of hair; (2) a shaved head denoting his separation to the prophetic office, or more likely, (3) an epithet of scorn and contempt, Elijah not being literally bald.

The phrase "go up", likely was a reference to Elijah, Elisha’s mentor, being taken up to Heaven earlier in 2 Kings chapter 2:11-12. These youths were sarcastically taunting and insulting the Lord’s prophet by telling him to repeat Elijah’s translation.

In summary, 2 Kings 2:23-24 is not an account of God mauling young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against God’s prophet by a large group of young men.

Because these young people of about 20 years of age or older, (the same term is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7), so despised the prophet of the Lord, Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with the rebels as He saw fit.

The Lord’s punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. The penalty was clearly justified, for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself. The seriousness of the crime was indicated by the seriousness of the punishment. The appalling judgment was God’s warning to all who would scorn the prophets of the Lord.

(from; got questions.org)


love the ancient knowledge-

walt

[joel]

Absolutely! Great background!

Here, though, was less an excericise in study of the canon (on my part...but I'm huge on reader response)--and I took God out on purpose. The accepted prophets and the masses of children (1 Corinthians 13 type of children...those who, of any age, have not put aside childish ways): they go back and forth and attack and curse and maul. Like the situation in Florida and burning the Quran...anyone can claim prophetic voice and anyone can claim to tell a nutcase where to go.

For story as scripture, the background counts; for idiocy as practiced by so many (and too often myself), no context ever seems to help it make more sense.

-----

Plus...as a bald-headed pastor...I don't mind my confirmation students knowing this snippet of Elisha's life. ...but that's just a bonus....

[theirishsea]

Interesting explication of the test by Walt. However, a cursing man of God is not to be admired. Too much violence in the primitive days. Establishes too much precedent for these supposedly enlightened times.


I think this is the point of the poem:

and forty-two were mauled before they fled,
though all they were was children— all the same,
the rules don’t change for rookies to the game.

That vernacular at the end is ironic to me. "rookies to the game". Isn't all that violence juvenile or adolescent. I think that is the idea behind the poem---at least that is the way I read it.

[hester_prynne]

"for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself"....

I don't get this. I don't think a prophet of God would pay much attention to young insulting men. I don't think a prophet would get riled up about being ridiculed, and I especially don't think a prophet would sic she-bears on youth.
My mom told me that as a little girl, I used to tease my dad about his baldness.
I don't know why I did, maybe i liked the perplexed look on his face....pushing that edge...you know.
H
And by the way, I really dig that line, rules don't change for rookies in the game...and might I add, rookies don't change the rules......

[justwalt]

for hp...

memories of younger daze
cast away like Saturn's rings
stir the ashes, clear the haze
spread wide your tattered wings

time is lost within this maze
and hides away the truest things
the past was once a future phase
that unknown chord on silver strings

the first spark set the world ablaze
with all the trouble that it brings
now we wander in our static craze
as silhouettes of kings and queens

venture through the timeless waves
of rippled lives and drowning dreams
see the writing on the walls of caves
of ancient knowledge, beyond our means

walt