מלכים א, פרק י״ג, פסוק י״ב

Driven by a strong desire to locate the man of God, the old prophet carefully questions his sons about the exact route the traveler took. The father's inquiry is highly specific, stemming from the man of God's earlier declaration that he was obligated to return by a completely different road than the one he used to arrive [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

When the sons respond, their action is understood in two distinct ways. One perspective suggests that they physically pointed out the direction, showing their father the exact path the traveler was taking [מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Another approach maintains that the sons had simply seen his chosen route earlier in the day, and they were now verbally reporting this observation back to their father [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל].

The narrative emphasizes that the man of God came from Judah. Although his place of origin is already known, this detail holds the key to how the sons figured out his exact path. Between the region of Judah and Bethel, there were only two available roads. Since the sons knew which path he took to arrive from Judah, and they were aware he was required to leave on a different road, they could deduce with absolute certainty that he was making his way back along the second route [מלבי״ם].