2 Kings 2:16

16 And they said, Your servants have with us here fifty strong men; be pleased to let them go in search of Elijah; for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley. But he said, Do not send them.

2 Kings 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 2:16

And they said unto him, behold, now, there be with thy
servants fifty strong men
Perhaps meaning themselves, ( 2 Kings 2:7 ) who were young, stout, and strong, and able to travel for days together:

let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master;
for though they knew he was to be taken away, yet knew not for what time, and imagined he might be found again:

lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up;
as it seems he was wont to do, see ( 1 Kings 18:12 )

and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley;
where he sometimes had his abode; or they might fancy, if he was taken up to heaven, yet in his soul only, and that, when that was separated, his dead body would be left on a mountain, or in a valley; and therefore they were desirous of seeking and finding it, that it might not be exposed to birds and beasts of prey, but that they might bury it in a decent and honourable manner:

and he said, ye shall not send;
he knew it was to no purpose, since he was translated to heaven, body and soul, and which he was an eyewitness of.

2 Kings 2:16 In-Context

14 And he took Elijah's robe, which had been dropped from him, and giving the water a blow with it, said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? and at his blow the waters were parted this way and that; and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets who were facing him at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. And they came out to him, and went down on the earth before him.

16 And they said, Your servants have with us here fifty strong men; be pleased to let them go in search of Elijah; for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley. But he said, Do not send them.

17 But when they kept on requesting him, he was shamed and said, Send, then. So they sent fifty men; but after searching for three days, they came back without having seen him.

18 And they came back to him, while he was still at Jericho; and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?