2-Kings - 2:20



20 He said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." They brought it to him.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 2-Kings 2:20.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it,
And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt in it. And they brought it to him.
And he saith, 'Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring it unto him,
So he said, Get me a new vessel, and put salt in it; and they took it to him.
And so he said, "Bring a new vessel to me, and place salt in it." And when they had brought it,

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

The "new cruse" and the "salt" are evidently chosen from a regard to symbolizm. The foul stream represents sin, and to cleanse it emblems of purity must he taken. Hence, the clean "new" dish previously unused, and thus untainted; and the salt, a common Scriptural symbol of incorruption (see Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24; Matthew 5:13, etc.).

And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein,.... One that had never been used, that it might not be thought that the virtue was owing to anything that had been, or was, put into it:
and they brought it to him; the pot with the salt in it.

ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2-Kings 2:19-25)
Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein--The noxious qualities of the water could not be corrected by the infusion of salt--for, supposing the salt was possessed of such a property, a whole spring could not be purified by a dishful for a day, much less in all future time. The pouring in of the salt was a symbolic act with which Elisha accompanied the word of the Lord, by which the spring was healed [KEIL].

A new cruse - That there might be no legal pollution in it which might offend God, and hinder his miraculous operation. Put salt - A most improper remedy; for salt naturally makes waters brackish, and lands barren. Hereby therefore he would shew, that this was effected solely by the Divine power, which could work either without means, or against them.

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