2 Kings 13:21

And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
burying	קֹבְרִ֣ים koe.Rim	H6912	to inter · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
man	אִ֗ישׁ 'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct
spied	רָא֣וּ ra.'U	H7200	to see · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
band	הַגְּד֔וּד ha.ge.Dud	H1416	a crowd (especially of soldiers) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
cast	וַיַּשְׁלִ֥יכוּ vai.yash.Li.khu	H7993	to throw out · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
man	הָאִ֖ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sepulchre	בְּקֶ֣בֶר be.Ke.ver	H6913	a sepulchre · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Elisha	אֱלִישָׁ֑ע 'e.li.Sha'	H477	Elisha · proper noun, a man's name
man	הָאִישׁ֙ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
down	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
touched	וַיִּגַּ֤ע vai.yi.Ga'	H5060	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
bones	בְּעַצְמ֣וֹת be.'atz.Mot	H6106	a bone (as strong) · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
Elisha	אֱלִישָׁ֔ע 'e.li.Sha'	H477	Elisha · proper noun, a man's name
revived	וַיְחִ֖י vay.Chi	H2421	to live · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
up	וַיָּ֥קָם vai.Ya.kom	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
feet	רַגְלָֽיו rag.Lav	H7272	a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Acts 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out…
2 Kings 4:35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and th…
Ezekiel 37:1-10 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of…
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear sha…
Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing…
Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of he…
Matthew 27:52-53 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:20–end

We must here attend, I. The sepulchre of Elisha: he died in a good old age, and they buried him; and what follows shows, 1. What power there was in his life to keep off judgments; for, as soon as he was dead, the bands of the Moabites invaded the land - not great armies to face them in the field, but roving skulking bands, that murdered and plundered by surprise. God has many ways to chastise a provoking people. The king was apprehensive of danger only from the Syrians, but, behold, the Moabites invade him. Trouble comes sometimes from that point whence we least feared it. The mentioning of this immediately upon the death of Elisha intimates that the removal of God's faithful prophets is a p…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:20

Elisha died--He had enjoyed a happier life than Elijah, as he possessed a milder character, and bore a less hard commission. His rough garment was honored even at the court. coming in of the year--that is, the spring, the usual season of beginning campaigns in ancient times. Predatory bands from Moab generally made incursions at that time on the lands of Israel. The bearers of a corpse, alarmed by the appearance of one of these bands, hastily deposited, as they passed that way, their load in Elisha's sepulchre, which might be easily done by removing the stone at the mouth of the cave. According to the Jewish and Eastern custom, his body, as well as that of the man who was miraculously rest…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:21

They spied a band - They saw one of these marauding parties; and through fear could not wait to bury their dead, but threw the body into the grave of Elisha, which chanced then to be open; and as soon as it touched the bones of the prophet, the man was restored to life. This shows that the prophet did not perform his miracles by any powers of his own, but by the power of God; and he chose to honor his servant, by making even his bones the instrument of another miracle after his death. This is the first, and I believe the last, account of a true miracle performed by the bones of a dead man; and yet on it and such like the whole system of miraculous working relics has been founded by the popis…

The Church Fathers

Wherefore, of those that live with God, even their very relics are not without honor. For even Elisha the prophet, after he was fallen asleep, raised up a dead man who was slain by the pirates of Syria. For his body touched the bones of Elisha, and he arose and revived. Now this would not have happened unless the body of Elisha were holy.
— Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 6.30

And because temporal death is a mercy for the righteous, death they therefore despise, since it is subjugated to them like a slave. In what manner did death harm [Elisha] who descended into Hades? For whilst he was in the pit of death, he snatched a dead man from its mouth. Because they entrust both body and spirit unto God, they do not become downcast in the face of bodily afflictions.
— Ephrem the Syrian, HOMILY ON THE SOLITARIES 253-64

Now also Elijah raised somebody from the dead, and Elisha, too, performed that miracle during his lifetime. But none of the prophets, after dying, ever resurrected anyone. Therefore see how the spirit of Elijah doubly rests on Elisha. In fact, the power that the Lord gives to the bones of Elisha is the symbol and seed of resurrection. And the honor devoted to them shows the glory with which the bodies of the saints will be clothed on the day of the resurrection of all the dead.
— Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 13:21

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Elisha — God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his…
Pekah — Open-eyed, the son of Remaliah a captain in the army of Pekahiah, king of Israel, whom he slew, with the aid of a band of Gileadites, and succeeded (B.C. 758) on the throne (2 Kings 15:25). Seventeen…
Dead (People) · .The young man laid in Elisha’s grave — .The young man laid in Elisha’s grave
Dead, The · Instances of, restored to life before Christ — Instances of, restored to life before Christ
Elisha · Bones of, restore a — Bones of, restore a
Jehoash · .Succes — .Succes
Kings · Who reigned over Israel: Jehoash or Joash — Who reigned over Israel: Jehoash or Joash
Miracles Wrought Through Servants Of God · Elisha: A man restored to life — Elisha: A man restored to life

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Kings 13:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:20–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:20

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 13:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 13:20–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 13:20

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 13:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Kings 13:21

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 13:14-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 13:20-21

Rashi on 2 Kings 13:20