This short but insightful article was written by Wayne Jackson. It appeared in the Christian Courier of March, 1980. The paper was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ and was edited by Jackson.
In a popular Christian magazine recently, there appeared an article entitled, "Child Abuse" which overall was well done. It was researched in a studious fashion and presented compassionately. There was one point however, that was seriously in error. The author stated, "Historical incidents of child abuse are found related in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible." Herod's slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem, an obvious case of child abuse, was cited from the New Testament. But then Second Kings 2:23-24 was also cited from the Old Testament. That passage, speaking of the prophet Elisha reads as follows from the KJV:
"And he went up from thence unto Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the cit, and mocked him, and said unto him, 'Go up thou bald head; go up thou bald head.' 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 tore forty and two children of them."
This incident has long been appealed to by atheists in an attempt to involve the Bible in moral difficulty. But the truth is, it is not a case of child abuse at all. A careful consideration of all the facts will clear up the matter.
First, the translation, "there came forth little children out of the city" is an unfortunate rendition. The Hebrew term rendered, "little children" is naar, used 235 times in the Old Testament. It is a very broad word and thus can have reference to anyone from a newborn child to one of manhood. For example, naar is used of Isaac at the time Abraham offered him upon the alter (Genesis 22:5, "lad"). Josephus says Isaac was 25 years old at the time (Antiquities, I, XIII, 2). The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzzie asserts that he was 36 years old when offered. Though we may not know the precise age, he was clearly a young man. Naar is used of Joseph (Genesis 41:12) when he was 30 years old and stood as ruler second only to Pharaoh (41:40, 46). The term is used of Shechem as a young man of marriage-able age (Genesis 34:19) and elsewhere of men old enough to serve in the military (First Samuel 30:17; First Kings 20:14). Joshua is called a naar when he is at least 45 to 50 years of age (Exodus 33:11; cf. Joshua 24:29). Obviously therefore, the immediate context in which naar is used will determine the maturity of the subject so designated.
Secondly, the young men of Bethel are said to have mocked Elisha. The Hebrew word qalac means to ridicule, scorn, to scoff at. It is not used of innocent conduct. Note the Lord's comment elsewhere, "...the mocked the messengers of God and despised His people till there was no remedy" (Second Chronicles 36:16). The expression, "Go up...go up" is held by many scholars to reflect the wish of these young men that the prophet go ahead and ascend (as did Elijah in Second Kings 2:11), i.e., leave the earth, that they might be rid of him! Moreover, of the taunt "thou bald head," noted scholar John Whitcomb comments that this was one, "of extreme contempt. They were pronouncing a divine curse upon him for which baldness was often the outward sign (cf. Isaiah 3:17a, 24)" (Solomon to the Exile, p. 68).
Third, when it is said that Elisha, "cursed them" there is no implication of profanity (as our modern word suggests) nor was this an expression of passion for personal revenge. Holy men of God were sometimes empowered with the divine authority to pronounce an impending judgment upon rebellious persons (cf. Genesis 9:25; 49:7; Deuteronomy 27:15ff; Joshua 6:26). Christ uttered a curse upon the barren fig tree (Mark 11:21) as an object lesson of the doom that was to be visited upon Jerusalem. Also, it is clearly stated that Elisha's curse upon them was, "in the name of the Lord" meaning by, "Divine appointment, inspiration, authority" (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, IV, p. 2112).
Finally, the tragedy that befell these young men was obviously of divine design as evidenced by the fact that Elisha, as a mere man would have no power to call forth wild animals out of the wood merely at his bidding. But the sovereignty of Jehovah over the animal kingdom is frequently attested to in the Scriptures. God sent fiery serpents to bite the Israelites (Numbers 21:6). The Lord slew the disobedient young prophet by means of a lion (First Kings 13:24ff) yet he shut the lions' mouths to protect Daniel (Daniel 6:22). He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah (Jonah 1:17) and guided one to Peter's hook (Matthew 17:24ff). Clearly therefore, the Lord brought the bears out of the woods. Additionally, if when the record says that the bears "tore" the lads, that means they were killed (and not all scholars are sure that death is indicated), then it was a divine punishment. As Edersheim notes: "...it should be noticed that it was not Elisha who slew those forty two youths, but the Lord in His Providence just as it had been Jehovah, not the prophet, who had healed the waters of Jericho" (Alfred Edersheim, Bible History, VI, p. 107).
In summation, it is the general view of conservative Bible scholars that the young men of Bethel were likely idolaters and that as such, their reproaches upon Elisha were expressions of contempt at his prophetic office and thus, ultimately at the God whom he served. And so, their punishment was a divine judgment to serve as a dramatic example in horribly wicked times.
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