2 Kings 1:8

Hebrew Bible

6 They replied, “A man came up to meet us. He told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”’” 7 The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 8 They replied, “He was a hairy man and had a leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 The king sent a captain and his 50 soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him, “Prophet, the king says, ‘Come down!’”

Matthew 3:4

New Testament

1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken: “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. 5 Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

 Notes and References

"... Historical scholars ask why John would have dressed and eaten in such a manner, and the explanation is usually that by so doing he could live an austere life dependent on no one but God. He dressed himself in what could be found in the desert (loose camel hair woven together and fastened with a strip of animal skin) and he ate what he could find there (either literal locusts or, possibly, a type of bean pod that was popularly called a “locust”). Redaction critics ask why Matthew and Mark wanted to tell their readers these details; the answer is usually that they wanted to liken John to Elijah, who is described in a similar manner in 2 Kings 1:8 (compare Matt. 17:9–13; Mark 9:9–13) ..."

Powell, Mark Allan Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey (p. Supplement 7.20) Baker Academic, 2018

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