In Second Kings, chapter two, verse twenty-three, some believe that the youths who mocked Elisha were a gang organized to oppose his ministry. Older kids would undoubtedly have been out in the fields. But even today, this outsider coming to the village attracted a small group of boys. These children may have heard their parents mock the news that Elijah had gone to heaven, possibly saying, “If Elisha says that, then let him show how it happens. Let him go on up, the old baldhead.” The mockery against the prophet demonstrates disdain for the Lord Himself.
As the prophet drew near the city, these youths recognized him by his garb for one of the prophets of the Lord. It may be that he was wearing mantle of Elijah. Such a man would thought to fit sport for the children of the Baal-worshippers of Bethel, and they were most probably set on and encouraged in their mockery by their parents. Their home education and all the associations of the place would have given them a contempt for the honest servants of God. It would seem that Elisha was prematurely bald, for he lived a long time after Elijah’s assumption, and this physical defect the insolent youths seized upon at once as a ground for ridicule. Elijah, the hairy man, may have the long locks, so the contrast between the two would identify.
“Young lads,” which are boys, that is, from twelve to fifteen. Such mischievous youths are among the chief nuisances of Eastern towns. They waylay the traveler, deride him, jeer him, are keen to remark any personal defect Elisha may have, and with sarcasm. The boys dog his steps, shout out their rude remarks, and sometimes proceed from abusive words to violent acts as the throwing of sticks, or stones, or mud. On this occasion they only got as far as rude words.