And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
And they said to him, 'Look, we have fifty strong men with us as your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, in case the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and placed him on some mountain or in some valley.' But he said, 'You shall not send them.'
The prophets want to send a search party to look for Elijah after he was taken up to heaven, but Elisha tells them not to bother because he knows Elijah is truly gone.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs immediately after Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, witnessed by his successor Elisha. The company of prophets at Jericho had seen this miraculous event from a distance but weren't entirely certain what had happened. In that culture, it was common for the Spirit of God to transport prophets to different locations, so they thought Elijah might have been moved somewhere earthly rather than taken to heaven.
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