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 up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 7The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” They replied, “He was a hairy man and had a leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9The king sent a captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him, “Prophet, the king says, ‘Come down!’” 10Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty 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 announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.
• Zechariah 13:4“Therefore, on that day each prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies and will no longer wear the hairy garment of a prophet to deceive the people.
• Matthew 3:4Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
• Matthew 11:8What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings!
• Luke 1:17And he will go as forerunner before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
• Revelation 11:3And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.

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