2 Kings 1:8

8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah, the Tishbite.

2 Kings 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 1:8

And they answered him, he was an hairy man
Either the hair of his head and beard were grown very long, having been much neglected for a great while; or he had an hairy garment on, either of goats' hair, such as the Chinese wear ^F6, whose women spin it, see ( Exodus 35:26 ) and of which garments are made; or of camels' hair, such as John the Baptist wore, who came in his spirit and power, and imitated him in his dress, being also, as Elijah here, girt with a girdle of leather about his loins:
for more expeditious travelling, not for warmth, the climate being hot: and he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite;
for he had seen him formerly in his father's court in this dress.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Semedo's History of China, part 1. ch. 3.

2 Kings 1:8 In-Context

6 And they said unto him, We met a man who said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you and say unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Is there no God in Israel, that thou dost send to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

7 Then he said unto them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?

8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah, the Tishbite.

9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and, behold, he sat on the top of a mountain. And he spoke unto him, Man of God, the king has commanded thee to come down.

10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, that consumed him and his fifty.