Elisha Purifies Jericho’s Water
2 Kings 2:19-22
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2 K.2.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- אנשי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנה: PART
- נא: PART
- מושב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- והמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- רעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- והארץ: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- משכלת: ADJ,f,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 15:23-25 (verbal): The Israelite account at Marah: bitter waters made fit to drink by the prophet/Mediator (Moses), a close verbal and thematic parallel to a prophet addressing bad water in a community.
- 2 Kings 2:21-22 (structural): Immediate literary continuation where Elisha miraculously purifies the water of the city—direct resolution of the problem named in 2 Kgs 2:19.
- Psalm 107:33-35 (thematic): Describes God’s power over waters and land—turning rivers into desert or restoring fruitfulness—echoing the link between water quality and the land’s productivity in 2 Kgs 2:19.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (allusion): Uses the imagery of forsaken living waters and broken cisterns to diagnose national spiritual and material failure; parallels the motif that bad or absent water signals communal ruin.
- John 4:13-14 (thematic): Jesus’ discourse on 'living water' as the solution to spiritual thirst and barrenness parallels the prophetic role in providing life-giving water to heal a community’s desolation.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, the site of this city is pleasant in your sight, my lord, but the water is bad and the land is barren."
- The men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, the site of the town is good, as my lord has seen, but the water is bad and the land is barren."
2 K.2.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קחו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- צלחית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חדשה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ושימו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- שם: ADV
- מלח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויקחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 5:10-14 (thematic): Elisha (in the Naaman episode) mediates a ritual use of water for cleansing/healing (wash seven times in the Jordan); both scenes depict a prophet effecting restoration through a simple water-rite.
- Leviticus 2:13 (verbal): Commands that all grain offerings be seasoned with salt (‘salt of the covenant’); parallels the explicit use of salt in 2 Kgs 2:20 as a cultic/purificatory substance.
- Ezekiel 47:1-12 (thematic): Vision of waters issuing from the temple that heal and bring life wherever they flow; parallels the motif of transforming harmful/sterile water into life-giving water in Elisha’s cleansing of the spring.
- Isaiah 35:6-7 (thematic): Prophetic imagery of deserts becoming pools and parched ground springs of water—a theme of miraculous restoration of life-giving water akin to Elisha’s healing of the Jericho spring.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
- He said, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
2 K.2.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- מוצא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וישלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- מלח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- רפאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- למים: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- האלה: DEM,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- משם: PREP
- עוד: ADV
- מות: VERB,qal,infabs
- ומשכלת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exod.15.23-25 (thematic): Moses addresses bitter, undrinkable water and transforms it so people can drink (Marah); parallels Elisha’s act of making polluted water potable through divine intervention.
- Num.5.11-31 (verbal): The ‘water of jealousy’ ritual involves waters that bring barrenness/miscarriage as a divine consequence; 2 Kgs 2:21 explicitly reverses such deadly/reproductive harm by declaring no more death or miscarriage.
- Ezek.47.8-12 (thematic): The visionary waters flowing from the temple bring life, healing, and fruitfulness wherever they go; thematically parallels Elisha’s proclamation that the waters are healed and will no longer cause death.
- Zech.13.1 (allusion): Speaks of a fountain opened to cleanse from sin and impurity; resonates with Elisha’s act of purifying contaminated waters so they cause no more harm.
- Ps.107.20 (verbal): ‘He sent his word and healed them’—the motif of divine/heard speech effecting healing parallels Elisha’s prophetic declaration (‘Thus says the LORD…I have healed these waters’) as the mechanism of restoration.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then he went out to the spring of the waters and cast the salt into it, and said, "Thus says the LORD: I have healed these waters; there shall be no more death or barrenness from there."
- He went out to the spring of the waters, threw the salt into it, and said, "Thus says the LORD: I have healed these waters; there shall be no more death or barrenness from them."
2 K.2.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירפו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- עד: PREP
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- כדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 2:21 (verbal): Immediate antecedent: Elisha pronounces, 'Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water,' and v.22 reports the lasting effect 'to this day,' echoing the prophetic formula and fulfillment.
- 2 Kings 5:14 (thematic): Another episode of Elisha effecting physical restoration (Naaman's cleansing of leprosy) demonstrating the prophet's authority to bring healing through divine word and actions.
- Exodus 15:26 (thematic): Yahweh as healer: God declares 'I am the LORD who heals you,' providing the theological backdrop for prophetic acts of healing (here mediated through Elisha).
- Joshua 3:16 (structural): A communal water miracle (the Jordan's waters standing up) that, like Elisha's healing of Jericho's spring, is a providential alteration of waters remembered by the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the waters have been wholesome to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
- And the waters have been healed to this day, in accordance with the word that Elisha spoke.
The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, my lord — the site of this town is pleasant, as you see, but the waters are bad and the ground is barren."
He said, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
He went out to the spring of the waters and threw the salt into it, and said, "Thus says the LORD: I have healed these waters; there shall be no more death nor barrenness from them."
The waters have remained wholesome to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.