Not Wise to Mock Male Baldness
By James Donahue
As the years have passed I must report that my personal hairline has receded and receded yet some more. This has been going on until I can safely say that I am on the edge of baldness. Thus it is that I can relate to the Bible story concerning Elisha and what he did when mocked for his baldness by a gang of youth.
Second Kings 2:23-24 reads: “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.”
While the Bible makes it clear that Elisha was one of God’s boys in those days we have a hard time justifying the punishment handed out to those 42 boys for mocking the man’s baldness. Being bald is quite common among middle-aged and older men so it should not have been a big deal.
So are we looking at a senseless story or is there something more to be learned?
Indeed, the Hebrew word for “children” also means “young men.” That 42 of the young men gathered along the road to mock Elisha as he passed was not just the calling out of a personal insult. When a gang of that many young men do something like that collectively it can be interpreted as a frightening attack. The verse suggests that just 42 members of the gang were singled out by the bears, thus suggesting that the gang was even larger. Thus it is small wonder that Elisha cursed them.
Something else in the things those young men said that gives us a hint at even more to be learned in this story. As they mocked Elisha they told him to “go on up you baldhead . . .” So what did the boys mean by this? Bible scholars will know that Elisha was a follower of Elisha, the holy man who was allegedly taken up to Heaven by God. If they weren’t there to witness the event, a story like that might have been hard for the locals to believe. And so in their mocking they suggested that Elisha might demonstrate his personal faith by flying up into Heaven like his mentor did.
That gang was just asking for trouble. When Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with that gang of rebels, the mauling of 42 gang members by two female bears seems justified. The story was a warning against mocking and ridiculing the Lord.
The Old Testament translations often called for more intense study before the message is clarified. Baldness had nothing to do with it.
By James Donahue
As the years have passed I must report that my personal hairline has receded and receded yet some more. This has been going on until I can safely say that I am on the edge of baldness. Thus it is that I can relate to the Bible story concerning Elisha and what he did when mocked for his baldness by a gang of youth.
Second Kings 2:23-24 reads: “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.”
While the Bible makes it clear that Elisha was one of God’s boys in those days we have a hard time justifying the punishment handed out to those 42 boys for mocking the man’s baldness. Being bald is quite common among middle-aged and older men so it should not have been a big deal.
So are we looking at a senseless story or is there something more to be learned?
Indeed, the Hebrew word for “children” also means “young men.” That 42 of the young men gathered along the road to mock Elisha as he passed was not just the calling out of a personal insult. When a gang of that many young men do something like that collectively it can be interpreted as a frightening attack. The verse suggests that just 42 members of the gang were singled out by the bears, thus suggesting that the gang was even larger. Thus it is small wonder that Elisha cursed them.
Something else in the things those young men said that gives us a hint at even more to be learned in this story. As they mocked Elisha they told him to “go on up you baldhead . . .” So what did the boys mean by this? Bible scholars will know that Elisha was a follower of Elisha, the holy man who was allegedly taken up to Heaven by God. If they weren’t there to witness the event, a story like that might have been hard for the locals to believe. And so in their mocking they suggested that Elisha might demonstrate his personal faith by flying up into Heaven like his mentor did.
That gang was just asking for trouble. When Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with that gang of rebels, the mauling of 42 gang members by two female bears seems justified. The story was a warning against mocking and ridiculing the Lord.
The Old Testament translations often called for more intense study before the message is clarified. Baldness had nothing to do with it.