2 Kings 1:8

2 Kings 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
• New International Version (NIV)They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They answered him, "He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Context of 2 Kings 1:8

6They replied, ‘A man came to meet us. He told us to go back to the king who had sent us. He says to you, “This is what the Lord says: Why have you sent men to speak to Ekron's god, Baal-Zebub? You seem to think that there is no God in Israel. Because of that, you will not leave the bed that you are lying on. You will certainly die.” ’ 7The king asked them, ‘Describe the man who came to meet you. What did he look like?’ They replied, ‘He was wearing rough clothes. He had tied a leather belt around him.’ Then the king said, ‘That was Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe.’ 9Then the king sent 50 soldiers with their captain to fetch Elijah. Elijah was sitting on the top of a hill. The captain went up and he said to Elijah, ‘Man of God, the king says, “Come down with us.” ’ 10Elijah replied to the captain, ‘If I am really a man of God, fire will come down from the sky. It will destroy you and your 50 soldiers.’ Then fire did come down from the sky. It destroyed the captain and his 50 soldiers.

2 Kings 1:8 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו אִ֚ישׁ בַּ֣עַל שֵׂעָ֔ר וְאֵז֥וֹר ע֖וֹר אָז֣וּר בְּמָתְנָ֑יו וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אֵלִיָּ֥ה הַתִּשְׁבִּ֖י הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they answeredאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• an hairyשֵׂעָרώê‛âr ώa‛ar · hairH8181
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• manבַּעַלba‛al · master: owningH1167
• and girtאָזַר'âzar · to girdH247
• with a girdleאֵזוֹר'êzôr · girdleH232
• of leatherעוֹר‛ôr · skinH5785
• about his loinsמׇתְנַ֫יִםmôthen · loinH4975
• Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
• the Tishbiteתִּשְׁבִּיtishbîy · TishbiteH8664

Cross-references for 2 Kings 1:8

• Isaiah 20:2At that time, the Lord gave this message to Isaiah, the son of Amoz. He said, ‘Go and remove the rough clothes that you are wearing. Take your shoes off your feet.’ Isaiah did what the Lord told him to do. He walked about without clothes and without shoes.
• Zechariah 13:4On that day, every prophet will be ashamed that he was ever a prophet. He will not put on the clothes of a prophet that they make from hair. Then people will not know that he is a prophet.
• Matthew 3:4John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.
• Matthew 11:8Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They live in kings' great houses.
• Luke 1:17John will prepare the people for the Lord to come to them. The Holy Spirit will lead John as he led Elijah. John will do powerful things as Elijah did. He will help fathers to love their children. He will teach people who do not obey God. Then they will know what things are right. And they will do them. Then they will be ready when the Lord comes.’
• Revelation 11:3I will give authority to my two servants who speak my message clearly. They will tell people my messages for 1,260 days. They will wear rough clothes made from goats' hair.’

Commentaries on 2 Kings 1:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8He was a hairy man - That is, he wore a rough garment, either made of camels' hair, as his successor John Baptist's was, or he wore a skin dressed with the hair on. Some think that the meaning is, he had very long hair and a long beard. The ancient prophets all wore rough garments, or upper coats made of the skins of beasts: They wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, says the apostle, Hebrews 11:37.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8An hairy man - Either in allusion to his shaggy cloak of untanned skin; or, more probably, an expression descriptive of the prophet‘s person, of his long flowing locks, abundant beard, and general profusion of hair. His costume was that of a thorough ascetic. Generally the Jews wore girdles of linen or cotton stuff, soft and comfortable. Under the girdle they wore one or two long linen gowns or shirts, and over these they had sometimes a large shawl…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-82-8. Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber--This lattice was either a part of the wooden parapet, or fence, which surrounds the flat roofs of houses, and over which the king was carelessly leaning when it gave way; or it might be an opening like a skylight in the roof itself, done over with lattice-work, which, being slender or rotten, the king stepped on and slipped through. This latter supposition is most probably the true one, as…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 1:8

• Elijah
• Girdle
• Leather
• Prophecy

In the dictionaries

• Elijah
• Camel
• Dress
• Girdle
• Hair
• Kings, The Books of
• Leather
• Recover
• Bible, the
• Camel's Hair

Commentaries on 2 Kings 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings