The Bible is full of advice and tips for living and this morning I ran across a rather humorous piece of advice in 2 Kings 9. The chapter describes the story of Elisha sending one of the sons of the prophets to Ramoth-Gilead to anoint Jehu king of Israel. It is a great and very powerful story; however, today, I could not get past the first verse. Reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible, I got to “tuck your mantle under your belt” and stopped cold. I am not a Bible scholar and did not know the meaning of the word mantle. I had to look it up. Wikipedia defined it as “a type of loose garment usually worn over indoor clothing to serve the same purpose as an overcoat.”
Now, did this mean that Elisha instructed the young man to tuck his coat under his belt? How cool is that? I spent a few minutes looking at various translations of this verse.
2 Kings 9:1
(New International Version)
1 The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.
(King James Version)
1And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
(Holman Christian Standard Bible)
1 The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and said, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
The word, loin, was used in many translations. I have eaten pork loin, but needed to know what loin is in reference to a man and not a piece of pork? The wordnetweb at Princeton (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/) says that loins are the lower part of the abdomen just above the external genital organs or the region of the hips and groin and lower abdomen.
If you are a parent, you might understand how excited I got at this point! I now have proof for my son that “back in the day” of Elisha, which is thought to be 9th Century BC, boys were told to tuck their shirt into their pants, especially when getting ready for a special event outside of their home. Elisha gave me a truly golden piece of parenting advice and wisdom.
This lesson reminded of a friend’s facebook post from earlier this week and I’ll share it here. (Thanks Harriet!)
Remember to always search and seek for truth in the Word of God. It always amazes me. Now, instead of nagging my son to “tuck in your shirt”, I will be saying “gird up your loins, boy.”
Hello,
This is a wonderful blog! I will visit here often.
Btw, thanks for your comment.
Lol at the video. Anyway, to gird up one\’s loins is to be ready for service. A sense of anticipation and readiness, vigilant.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 1 Pet. 1:13
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; Eph. 6:14
In Christ,
Earl
Adored the video – as a mom of 2 teen sons, I’m grateful that they don’t sag their pants, but I’m certainly tired of seeing that look everywhere.
Earl is right, but I think what you’re talking about is the literal meaning (tuck in your shirt) from which came the allegorical meaning of being ready for service.
Tracy´s last blog ..Do you like Big or Little government?
Hi folks… Earl is right about the allegorical meaning; however, Tracy, you are right in that I was going for the literal meaning. Actually, when you get ready for service of any type, whether it is going into battle, visiting a dignitary, friend, or foe… you suit up, right? In most cases, that means getting your clothes on correctly. So, Elisha was right in telling him to tuck in his mantel. Who knows what he was wearing before he got those instructions?
Thanks for reading and commenting. I love connecting.
Thank you for the great post – I had fun reading it! I always enjoy this blog.
I also like watching the bible stories.