Elisha seemed touchy about his hair loss when he confronted a group of boys jeering at him—Get out of here baldy! Get out of here baldy!

When Elisha called down a curse, two bears rollicked out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. Which is a lot of mauling, and as far as I know, the only bear-curse in history.

What to make of this odd story?

Mocking a prophet of God amounted to mocking God himself. Elisha understood this as he faced the crowd of boys. Also, having just watched his mentor ride to heaven on a chariot of fire, Elisha established his new role as the legitimate successor to Elijah by defending himself.

Finally, perhaps he felt endangered by a crowd of forty-plus adolescents taunting him along a country road? Feels intimidating. I just re-read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, so idea of a group of young males going rogue doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

Plus, the bald-headed comments stung. Mock a prophet for any number of things, but leave his hair (or lack of it) alone.

2 Kings 2 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Niklas Fredengren