From there; that is, from the place where the incident with the disrespectful youths had occurred.

The prophet went to Mount Carmel and after the passage of an undetermined amount of time, he went to Samaria. It is difficult to understand the use of the verb returned in this verse since, according to the first verse of this chapter, Elisha started out from Gilgal. The only thing that can be said is that the prophet must have been in Samaria at some time previously and for this reason the writer chose the word returned. There seems to be no legitimate reason to translate otherwise in the receptor language.

For Mount Carmel, see the comments on 1 Kgs 18.19; for Samaria see the introductory comments on 1 Kgs 16.21-28.

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 .