The Narrow Way

Master Herbalist
Supporter
Apr 25, 2011
928
1,086
63
Ohio
Visit site
✟150,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
Oh! For more Elisha's today! The youth of today have gotten so out of hand and show little respect for those in authority, be they those in spiritual authority or really any other authority. That ONE instance, when Elijah cursed them for disrespecting him, and God sent bears in to teach them a lesson, served to cause them to respect him the rest of his life. You read of no more stories where Elijah was made fun of.

2Ki 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

2Ki 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
elisha_bears.jpg
 

The Narrow Way

Master Herbalist
Supporter
Apr 25, 2011
928
1,086
63
Ohio
Visit site
✟150,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
So, your hoping for a holy man that will curse children, who in turn will be torn to pieces by bears? Doesn't that strike you as extreme? Or, is it okay since it's in the bible? smh
Not extreme at all. Obviously their parents never taught them what they should have learned when they were younger....so it's better they learn respect and change their ways rather than go on as they have been and be lost.
 
Upvote 0

public hermit

social troglodyte
Supporter
Aug 20, 2019
10,966
12,052
East Coast
✟830,414.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Single
Politics
US-Others
I believe in TOUGH LOVE

I have to disagree. There is nothing tough or loving about it. Children being mauled by bears is not commensurate with calling someone "baldy." Compare that to how Jesus spoke about children.

"Suffer the children to come to me, unless they call me names, then let the wild animals loose on them." Lol. No.
 
Upvote 0

The Narrow Way

Master Herbalist
Supporter
Apr 25, 2011
928
1,086
63
Ohio
Visit site
✟150,270.00
Country
United States
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
I have to disagree. There is nothing tough or loving about it. Children being mauled by bears is not commensurate with calling someone "baldy." Compare that to how Jesus spoke about children.

"Suffer the children to come to me, unless they call me names, then let the wild animals loose on them." Lol. No.
I'm a firm believer in SPARE the ROD, SPOIL the CHILD. The world is in the condition it is today because too many parents and those in authority have failed to use the rod, and have lost the respect of the young ones in their care.

Please don't think I don't believe in LOVE. I have 12 grandchildren and I love them very much....part of loving them is MAKING them to be respectful.
 
Upvote 0

rhomphaeam

Robert Chisholm
Jul 13, 2021
117
59
England
Visit site
✟8,921.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Calvinist
Marital Status
Married
I'm a firm believer in SPARE the ROD, SPOIL the CHILD. The world is in the condition it is today because too many parents and those in authority have failed to use the rod, and have lost the respect of the young ones in their care.

Please don't think I don't believe in LOVE. I have 12 grandchildren and I love them very much....part of loving them is MAKING them to be respectful.

The Hebrew word which is generally used throughout the Old Testament and which corresponds in meaning to the symbolic, figurative and literal usage of the English words translated as staff, rod, branch and tribe is matteh. In all of these instances the word is intended to be either literal and figurative or literal or figurative. Literal as in "a staff" or figurative as in "tribe" or "branch". So the branch which is cut off, being Israel, is the same branch that will be brought back in. Benjamin was the first tribe [matteh] to be cut off, and the first tribe [matteh] to be brought back in after they were severely punished. This is the semantic as well as the morphological usage. The literal or linguistic usage is either a literal staff, or else a literal rod made of wood formed into a symbolic representation of authority. It is also reflective of literal authority with physical consequences, given by God to Israel or else exercised by God Himself indirectly in judging Israel with a variety of physical means.

Matteh (4294 ,מַטֶּה), staff; rod; shaft; branch; tribe. This noun is a distinctively Hebrew word. It occurs 251 times; the first usage is in Gen. 38:18: And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. The word appears most frequently in Numbers and Joshua, generally with the meaning tribe in these books.

The basic meaning of matteh is staff. The use of the staff was in shepherding. Judah was a shepherd and gave his staff to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, as a pledge of sending her a kid of the flock (Gen. 38:17-18). Moses was a shepherd when he saw the vision of the burning bush and when the Lord turned his staff into a snake as a sign of His presence and power with Moses mission (Exod. 4:2ff.). His staff figured prominently throughout the wilderness journeys and was known as the staff of God because of the miraculous power connected with it: And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top V 1, p 269 of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand (Exod. 17:9). The staff was also a token of authority. The Egyptian magicians had staffs as symbols of their authority over the magical realm by which they duplicated several miracles (Exod. 7:12). Aaron had a rod, which alone sprouted and put forth buds, whereas eleven rods from all their leaders according to their fathers household (Num. 17:2, nasb) did not put forth buds.

The staff further signifies authority or power over another nation: For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian (Isa. 9:4). God gave to Assyria His staff; they received His authority, divine permission, to wield the sword, to plunder, and to destroy: O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets (Isa. 10:5-6). The psalmist, in his expectation that the messianic rule included Gods authority and judgment over the Gentiles, views the messianic rule as a strong staff: The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies (Ps. 110:2). Similarly, the prophet Ezekiel said, Fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule (Ezek. 19:14). The figurative usage of matteh occurs in the idiom matteh-lehem, staff of bread. This poetic idiom refers to the food supply, and it is found mainly in Ezekiel: Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat [rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair] (Ezek. 4:16; cf. 14:13).

A derived sense of matteh is tribe, which is used as many as 183 times. The tribes of Israel are each designated as matteh: And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them (Josh. 14:1). It is possible that the matteh (staff), as a symbol of authority, first applied to the tribal leader and thereafter by extension to the whole tribe.

The several meanings of matteh are reflected in the Septuagint: phule (tribe; nation; people) and rabdos (rod; staff; sceptre).

Specific usage regarding Proverbs in completion:

There are nine old testament references to the use of the rod in clear context of an individual being the object of discipline and they are all in Proverbs they are 10:13, 13:24, 14:3, 22:8, 22:15, .29:15 & 26:3 ,23:14 ,23:13

Of those verses eight are the word shebet and just one is the word choter / kho·ter/] . There are two occurrences; translates as rod twice, but literally meaning a branch of a tree and a twig of a branch.

Of the other eight usages they are all shebet.

Shebet is the Hebrew word which is also translated tribe or rod but it is carried semantically in the sense of "an action of authority". This sometimes speaks of a literal object such as a shepherd rod as in the case of Jacob Leviticus 27:32.

shebet (7626 ,ֵבֶטשׁ), tribe; rod. In modern Hebrew this word mainly denotes tribe as a technical term. In Akkadian the related verb shabatu signifies to smite, and the noun shabbitu means rod or sceptre. A synonym of the Hebrew shebet is matteh, also rod or tribe, and what is applicable to matteh is also relevant to shebet.

The rod as a tool is used by the shepherd (Lev. 27:32) and the teacher (2 Sam. 7:14). It is a symbol of authority in the hands of a ruler, whether it is the scepter (Amos 1:5, 8) or an instrument of warfare and oppression: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessel (Ps. 2:9; cf. Zech. 10:11). The symbolic element comes to expression in a description of the messianic rule: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth (Isa. 11:4). The word shebet is most frequently used (143 times) to denote a tribe, a division in a nation. It is the preferred term for the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:16; Exod. 28:21). Jeremiah referred to all of Israel as the tribe: The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name (51:19).

The Septuagint translations are: phule (tribe; nation; people); rabdos (rod; staff); and skeptron (scepter; tribe).

The problem with looking at the Hebrew usage in this way ought to be clearly visible. Just once in the whole of the Old Testament is it possible to say with absolute certainty that the word rod actually means something used to hit a man "fool" on his back. Understanding what is really intended in the fullest sense by such scriptures as Proverbs 23:13-14 is that it is difficult to resist the conclusion that a literal rod is intended. Unfortunately there is no way to resolve this. What is simple to resolve is the notion that sparing the rod does not of itself produce rebellious children. Shalom
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Confused-by-christianity

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2020
1,254
384
48
No location
✟116,331.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
probably valuable to get an academic qualification in the reading of the bible.

The story quoted - I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense to me. Why is it there, what does the author want to tell you?

I wonder if there is a degree in ancient literature that explains the meaning of stories like that?
 
Upvote 0

Confused-by-christianity

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2020
1,254
384
48
No location
✟116,331.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
I've always understood it to mean that children that are incorrigible will meet an early death. You do children no favors by spoiling them.
Yeah that could be fair.

It said to me that Elisha was a baddie?? What kind of man calls a bear out to kill children mouthy bad children??!!

Also, I thought of a metaphor for all of us ... mockers get mauled by life, so be careful not to mock????
 
  • Like
Reactions: bèlla
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

Confused-by-christianity

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2020
1,254
384
48
No location
✟116,331.00
Country
United Kingdom
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Elisha was Elijah's apprentice. Once Elijah was called up by God, Elisha replaced him as prophet.

Young mockers - remember, their life isn't very long.
I shave my head with a razor.

I've heard all four "baldy" jokes from everyone that wanted to make a baldy joke.

If I had the power to summon a bear out of the woods to maul those people...I would
 
Upvote 0