Why did they say to take Bnei Chayil? Did they need to make war?
Radak: Bnei Chayil means people with strength to go here and there in a short time.
Yesterday they told Elisha that Eliyahu will be taken. Why did they now say that perhaps he is on a mountain?
Rashi (from Tosefta Sotah 12:5): This teaches that from the day that Eliyahu was taken, Ru'ach ha'Kodesh left the Nevi'im, and there was not much Ru'ach ha'Kodesh in Yisrael.
Radak: They thought that he did not go up to Shamayim. Rather, Ru'ach Hashem lifted him and separated him from people and they did not find him 1 . Ovadyah said "Ru'ach Hashem will carry you to where I will not know" (Melachim I, 18:12).
Malbim: They thought that his body fell, just like his scarf fell. The Ru'ach carried him to some place, and they wanted to bury him. They did not fathom that his body would go to Shamayim.
If so, why should they try to oppose Hashem's will?! Perhaps they thought that Hashem wants they should need to toil in order to find him and receive influence from him. (PF)
