2 Kings 2:11

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And while they went on their way, going on talking together, suddenly there were carriages and horses of fire separating them from one another and Elijah went up to heaven in a great wind.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיְהִ֗י הֵ֣מָּה הֹלְכִ֤ים הָלוֹךְ֙ וְדַבֵּ֔ר וְהִנֵּ֤ה רֶֽכֶב־אֵשׁ֙ וְס֣וּסֵי אֵ֔שׁ וַיַּפְרִ֖דוּ בֵּ֣ין שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּ֙עַל֙ אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃

Transliteration

And wayəhî they hōlkîm hālôk and-dabbēr, and-hinnēh rekeb-'ēš and-sûsê 'ēš, and wayyapridû between šənêhem; and wayya'al 'ēlîyāhû in-the-sə'ārâ the-šāmayim.

Grammar Details

• *wayəhî*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular of *hāyâ* - and it came to pass
• *hōlkîm*: qal participle masculine plural of *hālak* - going/walking
• *hālôk*: qal infinitive absolute of *hālak* - going (intensifier)
• *dabbēr*: piel infinitive absolute of *dābar* - speaking
• *hinnēh*: demonstrative particle - behold/look
• *rekeb*: masculine singular construct of *rekeb* - chariot of
• *'ēš*: feminine singular noun - fire
• *sûsê*: masculine plural construct of *sûs* - horses of
• *wayyapridû*: waw-consecutive + hiphil imperfect 3rd masculine plural of *pārad* - and they separated
• *šənêhem*: numeral + 3rd masculine plural suffix - both of them/the two of them
• *wayya'al*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular of *'ālâ* - and he went up
• *sə'ārâ*: feminine singular noun - storm/whirlwind/tempest
• *šāmayim*: masculine plural noun - heavens/sky

Word Meanings

• *hōlkîm* *hālôk* and-*dabbēr*: going along and talking/walking continuously and speaking
• *hinnēh*: behold/look/see
• *rekeb*-*'ēš*: chariot of fire/fiery chariot
• *sûsê* *'ēš*: horses of fire/fiery horses
• *wayyapridû*: they separated/divided/made separation
• *sə'ārâ*: whirlwind/storm/tempest
• *šāmayim*: heavens/sky

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 6:17 : 17 Then Elisha made a prayer to the Lord, saying, Lord, let his eyes be open so that he may see. And the Lord made the young man's eyes open; and he saw that all the mountain was full of horses and carriages of fire round Elisha.
• Ps 104:3-4 : 3 The arch of your house is based on the waters; you make the clouds your carriage; you go on the wings of the wind: 4 He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants.
• Ps 68:17 : 17 The war-carriage of God is among Israel's thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai to the holy place.
• Heb 1:14 : 14 Are they not all helping spirits, who are sent out as servants to those whose heritage will be salvation?
• Gen 5:24 : 24 And Enoch went on in God's ways: and he was not seen again, for God took him.
• 2 Kgs 2:1 : 1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a great wind, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
• Ezek 1:4-9 : 4 And, looking, I saw a storm-wind coming out of the north, a great cloud with flames of fire coming after one another, and a bright light shining round about it and in the heart of it was something coloured like electrum. 5 And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. 7 And their feet were straight feet; and the under sides of their feet were like the feet of oxen; and they were shining like polished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings; the four of them had faces on their four sides. 9 They went without turning, every one went straight forward. 10 As for the form of their faces, they had the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle. 11 And their wings were separate at the top; two of the wings of every one were joined one to another, and two were covering their bodies. 12 Every one of them went straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go they went; they went on without turning. 13 And between the living beings it was like burning coals of fire, as if flames were going one after the other between the living beings; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went thunder-flames. 14 And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame. 15 Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them. 16 The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel. 17 The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side. 18 And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about. 19 And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 22 And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high. 23 Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side. 24 And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings. 26 And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high. 27 And I saw it coloured like electrum, with the look of fire in it and round it, going up from what seemed to be the middle of his body; and going down from what seemed to be the middle of his body I saw what was like fire, and there was a bright light shining round him. 28 Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.
• Ezek 10:9-9 : 9 And looking, I saw four wheels by the side of the winged ones, one wheel by the side of a winged one and another wheel by the side of another: and the wheels were like the colour of a beryl stone to the eye. 10 In form the four of them were all the same, they seemed like a wheel inside a wheel. 11 When they were moving, they went on their four sides without turning; they went after the head in the direction in which it was looking; they went without turning. 12 And the edges of the four wheels were full of eyes round about. 13 As for the wheels, they were named in my hearing, the circling wheels. 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a winged one, and the second was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the winged ones went up on high: this is the living being which I saw by the river Chebar. 16 And when the winged ones went, the wheels went by their side: and when their wings were lifted to take them up from the earth, the wheels were not turned from their side. 17 When they were at rest in their place, these were at rest; when they were lifted up, these went up with them: for the spirit of life was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord went out from the doorstep of the house, and came to rest over the winged ones. 19 And the winged ones, lifting up their wings, went up from the earth before my eyes, with the wheels by their side: and they came to rest at the east doorway of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them on high. 20 This is the living being which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and it was clear to me that they were the winged ones. 21 Every one had four faces and every one had four wings; and hands like a man's hands were under their wings. 22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose form I saw by the river Chebar; when they went, every one of them went straight forward.
• Hab 3:8 : 8 Was your wrath burning against the rivers? were you angry with the sea, that you went on your horses, on your war-carriages of salvation?
• Zech 3:8 : 8 Give ear now, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who are seated before you; for these are men who are a sign: for see, I will let my servant the Branch be seen.
• Zech 6:1-8 : 1 And again lifting up my eyes I saw four war-carriages coming out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2 In the first war-carriage were red horses; and in the second, black horses; 3 And in the third, white horses; and in the fourth, horses of mixed colour. 4 And I made answer and said to the angel who was talking to me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel, answering, said to me, These go out to the four winds of heaven from their place before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The carriage in which are the black horses goes in the direction of the north country; the white go to the west; and those of mixed colour go in the direction of the south country. 7 And the red ones go to the east; and they made request that they might go up and down through the earth: and he said, Go up and down through the earth. So they went up and down through the earth. 8 Then crying out to me, he said, See, those who are going to the north country have given rest to the spirit of the Lord in the north country.
• Mark 16:19 : 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had said these words to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.