Texts in Conversation
In 2 Kings, Elisha recovers a sunken axe head with a piece of wood in an example of sympathetic magic. In his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin interprets this image of wood and water as a picture of Jesus saving people through the cross and baptism.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Kings 6:6
Hebrew Bible
1 Some of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too cramped for us. 2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there, and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 5 As one of them was felling a tree, the ax head dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, my master! It was borrowed!” 6 The prophet asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.
Date: 6th century BCE (final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 86.6
Early Christian
6 Elisha, by throwing a stick into the river Jordan, brought up the iron head of the axe with which the sons of the prophets had gone to cut wood to build the house in which they wanted to read and study the law and commandments of God; just as our Christ, by being crucified on the tree and by purifying [us] with water, has redeemed us, though we were sunk in the gravest sins we had committed, and has made [us] a house of prayer and worship. Moreover, it was a rod that, by a great mystery, revealed Judah to be the father of Tamar’s sons.”
Date: 155–160 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... 6. “Elisha, by throwing a piece of wood into the River Jordan,
brought up to the surface the iron head of the axe with which
the sons of the prophets had begun to cut wood for the
construction of a building in which they proposed to read the
precepts of God and study them;22 just as our Christ, by being
crucified on the wood of the cross and by sanctifying us by
water, raised up us who had been immersed in the mire of
our mortal sins and made us a house of prayer and worship?23 ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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