Melachim Bais 2:19

19 And the anshei HaIr said unto Elishah, Hinei, now, the situation of this city is tov, as adoni seeth; but the mayim is ra’im, and ha’aretz (the land) meshakkalet (barren, unfruitful).

Melachim Bais 2:19 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 2:19

And the men of the city said unto Elisha
The inhabitants of Jericho, perceiving him to be a prophet, and endowed with a power of working miracles:

behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord
seeth;
in a plain, surrounded with gardens and orchards, with vineyards, oliveyards, and groves of palm trees, and other odoriferous ones:

but the water is naught, and the ground barren;
that is, that part of it where this water was, or ran, for from thence it became barren; or "caused to miscarry", as the word signifies ^F17; not only trees cast their fruit, which it watered, but women became abortive that drank of it, as Josephus says ^F18, and so cattle. Abarbinel thinks it was so from the times of Joshua, being cursed by him; but, if so, it would not have been inhabited again; rather this was owing to a new curse, upon its being rebuilt; though this might affect only a small part of the ground, not the whole, as before observed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (tlkvm) "orbans", Montanus, Vatablus; "facit abortum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F18 De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 3.

Melachim Bais 2:19 In-Context

17 And when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore chamishim ish; and they searched shloshah yamim, but found him not.

18 And when they returned to him (for he tarried at Yericho), he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

19 And the anshei HaIr said unto Elishah, Hinei, now, the situation of this city is tov, as adoni seeth; but the mayim is ra’im, and ha’aretz (the land) meshakkalet (barren, unfruitful).

20 And he said, Bring me a tzelokhit chadasha (new bowl), and put melach therein. And they brought it to him.

21 And he went forth unto the motza hamayim (spring of water), and cast the melach in there, and said, Thus saith Hashem, I have healed these mayim; there shall not be from there any more mavet or meshakkalet (unfruitfulness, barrenness).