Then translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Many English translations omit it here (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Revised English Bible makes the transition by beginning the verse with the adverb “There,” referring back to the bank of the Jordan River.

A number of interpreters have suggested that the first seven words of this verse in the Hebrew text (rendered Then he took … fallen from him) or the fifth, sixth, and seventh words (rendered that had fallen from him) are not original and should be omitted as an unnecessary repetition of words in the previous verse. A number of modern translations indeed omit some or all of these words, but it is not clear whether they do so for textual reasons or for stylistic reasons (for example, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, notes that there is no basis in the ancient manuscripts for omitting these words. On the contrary, according to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, the repetition was deliberate since the writer emphasized by repetition that the spirit of Elijah now rested on Elisha. The authors of this Handbook recommend that the words “Then he took the mantle of Elijah” be repeated as in the original text in order to retain the emphasis.

The mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him: Since the pronoun him in this construction is not clear, some readers could understand it as meaning that Elijah’s cloak had now fallen from Elisha. But this is not the meaning. The idea of the cloak falling refers to the previous verse where it falls from Elijah.

Some manuscripts of the Septuagint and Vulgate add “and it [the water] was not divided” after the words and struck the water. It is possible that these words were original and were accidentally omitted. Osty-Trinquet and La Bible Pléiade (in square brackets) restore them to the text, but most translations follow the Masoretic Text.

Saying is literally “and he said.” In this context, a verb such as “exclaimed” (Nueva Versión Internacional) is an acceptable translation.

There are several problems of interpretation in the second half of this verse:

• (1) In the Hebrew text the words “also/even he” follow the words the God of Elijah. Some interpreters suggest that these two Hebrew words should be read, with a slight change in spelling, as one Hebrew word meaning “then.” This change is also suggested in the textual notes of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Other interpreters suggest that these two words have been misplaced and that they originally followed struck the water in the first half of the verse. This is the basis for the New American Bible rendering “he struck the water in his turn and said.” Some other translations simply do not translate the two Hebrew words (so Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation), but see the additional comments on the Good News Translation rendering below. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Hebrew text, saying that the words “also/even he” are original. The question becomes, therefore, what do these words mean? There are at least two interpretations:

• (a) According to the punctuation of the Masoretic Text, these two words go with the following words. The sense is that just as Elijah struck the water (verse 8), so also did Elisha. Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible: “As he too struck the water…” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond). In some cases it may be legitimate to translate “When he hit the water as Elijah had done….”

• (b) The words “also/even he” originally went with Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah, but scribes were troubled by Elisha’s impious question concerning God, so they changed the punctuation to make these two words go with what follows. The syntax of the Hebrew favors attaching these words to what precedes, and there are two ways to understand this: (i) Elijah has left me; has God, he too, left me? And similarly (ii) Elisha struck the water a first time; nothing happened, so he asked whether God, even he, had abandoned Elisha; and then he struck the water a second time. This last interpretation seems to be the basis of the Good News Translation rendering “he struck the water again.”

• (2) How many times did Elisha strike the water? The form of the Hebrew verb translated struck would normally suggest that Elisha struck the water a second time, that is, there is a succession of events. Compare Good News Translation (similarly Parole de Vie). But, on the other hand, it is also possible that the second occurrence of this Hebrew verb sums up what has been said; the sense is then “When he had struck the water…” (New Revised Standard Version; similarly New International Version, Nueva Versión Internacional). That is, Elisha struck the water once only. This is probably the intended meaning.

Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?: This question seems to be one of doubt and despair, but it is clearly not a matter of asking for the physical location of the God worshiped by Elijah. It is rather a way of asking whether the God worshiped by Elijah and who gave him power to perform miracles was still present with the people of Israel after Elijah had been taken away. Contemporary English Version captures the meaning with “Will the LORD perform miracles for me as he did for Elijah?” Or another way of saying this might be “The LORD, the God who gave power to Elijah, is he still here with me?”

When he had struck the water: This seems to imply that Elisha was hitting the water with the cloak while at the same time asking his question and that as soon as he actually hit the water, his question was answered by the opening up of the river.

The water was parted to the one side and to the other: The wording seems to be intentionally similar to verse 8 in order to show that Elijah’s power had indeed been passed on to Elisha.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .