And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
Cut down a stick, and cast it in there. Although this means was used, it had no natural adaptation to make the iron swim. Besides, the Jordan is at Jericho so deep and rapid that there were a thousand chances to one against the stick falling into the hole of the axehead. All attempts to account for the recovery of the lost implement on such a theory must be rejected. "The iron did swim" - only by the miraculous exertion of Elisha's power.