Articles
Bald-Headed Mocking and Bear Boy-Mauling
“Then he [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, ‘Go up you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!’ When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.” (2 Kings 2:23-24)
This short little story is a shocking and disturbing incident in the Old Testament. Elisha was passing through Bethel when some of the young boys came out to mock him for his baldness. Elisha subsequently cursed them in the name of Yahweh, and bears came out of the woods to kill 42 of these boys. This is not the first time in the Bible that the reader has encountered death by prophetically summoned beast (1 Kings 13:20-28; 20:35-36). However, many have read this passage and come away with more questions than answers. Why are the young men mocking the prophet? Why are they killed merely for mocking? Is this overkill? Did God approve of this? Does this square with the idea of a God who commands us to love our enemies?
There is some discussion about the translation of the phrase “young lads.” The same Hebrew phrase appears in 1 Kings 3:7 and 11:17, where it clearly refers to children. However, the phraseology permits boys are around 10-12 years of age as well. These boys were old enough to know better and old enough to know what they were doing.
Their mocking is a derisive way of speaking about Elisha. He did not go into Bethel directly but was rather passing “by the way.” The lads came out of the city in order to mock him in this way, suggesting some kind of deliberate action on their part. They likely knew Elisha to be a prophet based on his dress. (He had recently taken up the mantle of Elijah (2:13)). Some think they are calling for him to “go up” like his master Elijah, but it is doubtful whether they would have seen the prophet’s ascension. More likely, their insult is intended to discourage him from coming to Bethel: “Keep moving baldy! Move along! Nothing for you to do here!”
Some have argued that Yahweh did not approve of Elisha’s behavior here. However, if this is the case, it is curious that Elisha is able to summon bears at all. If Yahweh did not agree with his curse, why would the prophet have any power? The view that Elisha acts in conflict with God’s will might ease the stomachs of modern interpreters, but it defies a coherent reading of the text. Similar to Elijah summoning fire in chapter 1, this text makes us uneasy before the judgment and justice of the Almighty.
But where does such uneasiness come from? The problem with this story is not with what the text says, nor with what God does. Rather, the cognitive dissonance is created by how our hearts are primed to respond. The book of Kings, probably more than any other history book, confronts us with the importance of respect for God’s words. How do we view God’s word? Is this merely a fictive legend or a fairy tale that didn’t happen? Is this a primitive relic of archaic Iron Age morality? Is this a morally offensive tale about how God is unjust? Or is this a look into the face of the true God that we must serve? Many a man has viewed the glory of God and been intimidated. How much more when we see his justice!
These boys who mock his messenger despise the true word of Yahweh. Their judgment is swift for their contempt. But the story also leaves a strong practical warning for us—God doesn’t have to make excuses for people. The young are just as subject to judgment as the old who supposedly “know better.” Before God, one cannot make the defense that, “I was just being a kid! I didn’t know any better!” Before God, one cannot hide behind the paltry claim that “Boys will be boys!” Before God, no one is justified in sowing their wild oats or using their immaturity as an excuse to sin.
Yahweh shows no partiality to young or old, to small or great, and that ought to give us all the more reason to fear. And if these boys met their end because they despised God’s prophet, how much severer will it be for us if we think little of his prophetic word?
May God help us to fear his justice and respect his word.
