Elijah and Elisha
Elijah was the one who clashed with King Ahaz about worshipping Baal, who was eventually proved to be impotent. Elisha was Elijah's successor. He is the one who healed Naaman (captain of the king of Syria's army) of leprosy.
The Bible story of Elijah and Elisha is found in both books of Kings from the Old Testament. They are two of the most notable prophets from scripture, helping restore Israel in a time of wicked rulers. Elijah is initially presented in 1 Kings 17 as the seer (prophet) who foretold of a three-year drought in the land of Israel. At that time, Israel was ruled by corrupted Kings whose evil ways caused the drought from God upon the land. Residing in the desert, Elijah is saved by God when ravens bring him food amidst the drought that he predicted. Elijah then travels to the home of a widow and her son where God had promised to provide food until the drought has ceased.
The tale proceeds as Elijah confronts the evil king, Ahab, about being the cause of problems for the people of Israel. Ahab's prophets pray for hours to Baal, but nothing happens. Elijah dares Ahab to challenge his deity, Baal, versus the God of Elijah at Mount Carmel. The challenge is to offer sacrifices to their deities and see which starts a fire to show their divinity. When it is Elijah's turn, he boldly soaks the sacrifice with water to display his utmost trust in God to start a fire despite being wet.
After Elijah's victory over the prophets of Baal, when he called down fire from heaven, the drought ended. Rain fell, and Elijah retreated from the evil Queen Jezebel, who had sworn to kill him (1 Kings 19). Reaching Mount Horeb, Elijah heard the voice of God tell him to anoint two kings as well as Elisha as a prophet. He did this, and Elisha promptly joined him (1 Kings 19:19-21).
In 2 Kings 1, Elijah again called down fire from heaven to slay two groups of 50 men sent from King Ahaziah. The third group of men was led by a commander who pleaded for mercy and was spared retribution. Elijah went to Ahaziah and declared the king would die from his sickness, a prophecy that was soon filled.
In 2 Kings 2, Elijah and Elisha traversed the Jordan River on dry land. Understanding that Elijah would soon pass away, Elisha asked to be blessed with a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Elijah was then carried straight into heaven by a chariot of fire. Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle and crossed the Jordan again on dry land. He received the double portion he had asked for and performed many miracles in Israel. Some of Elisha's miracles were the turning of bad water into clean water (2 Kings 2:19-22), making a widow's oil fill many jars (2 Kings 4:1-7), and even raising a boy from the dead (2 Kings 4:32-37).
Elijah and Elisha were both highly regarded by those in the "school of prophets" (2 Kings 4:38-41) and by the rulers of their country. Their influence led to an awakening among some of the Israelites during a dismal stage of Israel's history. Through the corrupt reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah, God trusted in Elijah and Elisha to lead the charge for righteousness.
Elijah and Elisha's joined legacy proceeded to help Israel even after their lives. Even the New Testament talks of the anticipated return of Elijah, a role answered by John the Baptist, the precursor or the one to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Elisha was a prophet and a wonderworker. His name is commonly translated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Alyssa via Arabic, and Elyasa or Elyssa via Turkish.
Also mentioned in the New Testament and the Quran, Elisha is venerated as a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and writings of the Bahá'í Faith refer to him by name.
In the biblical narrative he is a disciple and protégé of Elijah, and after Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, he gave Elisha a double portion of his power and he was accepted as the leader of the sons of the prophets. Elisha then went on to perform twice as many miracles as Elijah.
Before he settled in Samaria, Elisha passed some time on Mount Carmel. He became noted in Israel, and for six decades (892–832 BC) held the office of "prophet in Israel". He is called a patriot because of his help to soldiers and kings.
Russian icon of Elisha (18th century, Kizhi Monastery, Russia).
Elisha's story is related in the Books of Kings (Second Scroll, chapters 2-14) in the Hebrew Bible (part of the Nevi'im). According to this story, he was a prophet and a wonderworker of the Kingdom of Israel who was active during the reign of Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash (Joash). Elisha was the son of Shaphat, a wealthy land-owner of Abel-meholah; he became the attendant and disciple of Elijah.
His name first occurs in chapter 19 of the Books of Kings in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his successor. After learning in the cave on Mount Horeb, that Elisha, the son of Shaphat, had been selected by Yahweh as his successor in the prophetic office, Elijah set out to find him. On his way from Mount Horeb to Damascus, Elijah found Elisha "one of them that was plowing with twelve yokes of oxen". Elijah went over to him, threw his mantle over Elisha's shoulders, investing him with the prophetic office. Elisha delayed only long enough to kill the yoke of oxen, whose flesh he boiled with the wood of his plough. After he had shared this farewell repast with his father, mother, and friends, the newly chosen prophet "went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.” Elisha became Elijah's close attendant until Elijah was taken up into heaven. During all these years we hear nothing of Elisha except in connection with the closing scenes of Elijah's life.
Elijah taken in the whirlwind.
Ain es-Sultan in Jericho (also known as "Elisha's Spring"), supposedly the fountain purified by Elisha in 2 Kings 2:19–22.
Elisha accompanied Elijah to Jericho, where according to 2 Kings 2:3–9, "the sons of the prophets" tell Elisha that the LORD "will take away thy master from thy head to-day".
Elijah and Elisha went to the Jordan River. Elijah rolls up his mantle and strikes the water, the waters of which divided so as to permit both to pass over on dry ground. Elisha asks to "inherit a double-portion" of Elijah's spirit. Suddenly, a chariot of fire and horses of fire become visible and Elijah is lifted up in a whirlwind. As Elijah is lifted up, his mantle falls to the ground and Elisha picks it up.
Some scholars see this as indicative of the property inheritance customs of the time, where the oldest son received twice as much of the father's inheritance as each of the younger sons. In this interpretation Elisha is asking that he may be seen as the "rightful heir" and successor to Elijah. Critics of this view point out that Elisha was already appointed as Elijah's successor earlier in the narrative and that Elisha is described as performing twice as many miracles as Elijah. In this interpretation, the "double-portion" is not just an allusion to primacy in succession, but rather a request for greater prophetic power than Elijah.
Miracles
By means of the mantle let fall from Elijah, Elisha miraculously recrossed the Jordan, and Elisha returned to Jericho, where he won the gratitude of the people by purifying the unwholesome waters of their spring and making them drinkable.
The bears savaging the youths at Elisha's command, while Elijah is borne in the flying chariot.
When the armies of Judah, Israel and Edom, allied against Mesha, the Moabite king, were being tortured by drought in the Idumean desert, Elisha consented to intervene. His double prediction regarding relief from drought and victory over the Moabites was fulfilled on the following morning. When a group of boys (or youths) from Bethel taunted the prophet for his baldness, Elisha cursed them in the name of Yahweh and two female bears came out of the forest and tore forty-two of the boys.
To relieve a prophet's widow importuned by a harsh creditor, Elisha so multiplied a little oil as to enable her, not only to pay her debt but to provide for her family needs. There is a Jewish tradition, or legend, that the woman's husband was Obadiah, the servant of King Ahab, who hid 100 prophets in two caves. To reward the rich lady of Shunem for her hospitality, he obtained for her from Yahweh, at first the birth of a son, and subsequently the resurrection of her child who had died. To nourish the sons of the prophets pressed by famine, Elisha changed a pottage made from poisonous gourds into wholesome food. He fed a hundred men with twenty loaves of new barley, leaving some leftover, in a story which is comparable with the miracles of Jesus in the New Testament.
Elisha Refusing the Gifts of Naaman.
Elisha cured the Syrian military commander Naaman of leprosy but punished his own servant Gehazi, who took money from Naaman. Naaman, at first reluctant, obeyed Elisha, and washed seven times in the River Jordan. Finding his flesh "restored like the flesh of a little child,” the general was so impressed by this evidence of God's power, and by the disinterestedness of his prophet, as to express his deep conviction that "there is no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel." Elisha allowed Naaman to continue in the service of the Syrian king and therefore be present in the worship of Rimmon in the Syrian temple. According to Luke's gospel, Jesus referred to Naaman's healing when he said, "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian."
A Famine in Samaria.
Elisha's actions included repeatedly saving King Jehoram of Israel from the ambushes planned by Benhadad, ordering the elders to shut the door against the messenger of Israel's ungrateful king, bewildering with a strange blindness the soldiers of the Syrian king, making iron float to relieve from embarrassment a son of a prophet, and confidently predicting the sudden flight of the enemy at the siege of Samaria and the consequent cessation of the famine in the city.
Elisha then journeyed to Damascus and prophesied that Hazael would be king over Syria, while weeping because of the evil he would do. Elisha directs one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, as king of Israel, and commissions him to cut off the house of Ahab. The death of Jehoram, pierced by an arrow from Jehu's bow, the end of Jezebel, and the slaughter of Ahab's seventy sons, proved how he executed that demand.
Elisha's final days
While Elisha lay on his death-bed in his own house, Jehoash of Israel, the grandson of Jehu, came to mourn over his approaching departure, and uttered the same words as those of Elisha when Elijah was taken away, indicating his value to him: "My father, my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” Jehoash assists Elisha to fire an arrow eastwards from the window of his room, predicting as it lands:The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.
Elisha predicts three successful battles over the Arameans, but no absolute victory. 2 Kings 13:25 records three victories of Joash whereby cities lost to the Arameans, probably on the west bank of the Jordan, were regained.
According to the Books of Kings the year after Elisha's death and burial (or, in the following spring) a body was placed in his grave. As soon as the body touched Elisha's remains the man "revived and stood up on his feet.”
Veneration
Elisha raises the Shunamite woman's son.
He is venerated (honored) as a saint in a number of Christian Churches. His feast day is on June 14, on the Eastern Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic liturgical calendars (for those churches which use the traditional Julian calendar, June 14 falls on June 27 of the modern Gregorian calendar). The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates his feast day on the Thursday following the fifth Sunday after Pentecost (July 1 in 2021). John of Damascus composed a canon in honor of Elisha, and a church was built at Constantinople in his honor.
In Western Christianity he is commemorated in the calendar of saints of the Carmelites, a Catholic religious order, following a decree of the Carmelite General Chapter of 1399. He is also commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Both calendars also celebrate him on June 14. Both the Orthodox and Roman Catholics believe that he was unmarried and celibate.
Julian the Apostate (361–363) gave orders to burn the relics of the prophets Elisha, Obadiah and John the Baptist, who were buried next to each other in Sebastia, but they were rescued by the Christians, and part of them were transferred to Alexandria. Today, the relics of Elisha are claimed to be among the possessions of the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt.
In Islam
Elisha (Arabic) is venerated as a prophet in all of Islam, and is prophetic successor to Elijah. Elisha is mentioned twice in the Quran as a prophet, alongside fellow prophets. According to the Quran, Elisha is exalted "above the worlds (or to their people)." Some Muslims believe the tomb of Elisha is in Al-Awjam in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The shrine was removed by the Saudi Government because such veneration is not in accordance with the Wahhabi or Salafi reform movement dominant in Saudi Arabia. It had been an important landmark for many centuries during the time of Ottoman Arabia, and had been a very popular pilgrimage destination for Muslims of all sects throughout the pre-modern period. Another claimed that the grave of Elisha is present in the Egil district of Diyarbakir Province, Turkey. The original shrine was near a riverbed that was to be flooded in 1994. Before the area was flooded, the grave was dug at night and the preserved body of the prophet was exhumed and witnessed by the nine scholars and official workers. The body was buried on a hill overlooking the flooded plain. However, many of the townsfolk saw the prophet in their dream that night, and turned out before sunrise to observe his reburial in the new spot.
ELIJAH AND ELISHA IN SUCCESSION
The question of succession of leadership is important if the impact of any given institution is to outlive the limited years of administration of a particular leader. Succession looks different in different contexts. In the political world, the United States handles presidential succession in a different way than Great Britain handles the succession of the monarch, or of the prime minister. Churches with episcopal structures place the authority for decisions about succession in higher levels of the episcopacy. A congregational or independent church looks to local decision-making: the church membership, or perhaps the choice of the retiring minister. In between these approaches is the representative model, seen notably in Presbyterian communions, that looks to assemblies of delegates to fill vacant pulpits and thus to maintain the presence and witness of the people of God.
[1]In any and all of these contexts, the actual event of succession can be triumphant, or disastrous, or anything in between, and if we have spent any time at all in a church the examples come easily to mind. The question of succession itself has therefore received fresh attention in the literature of leadership. For instance, a recent collection of essays on the "leadership traditions" of various Judaeo-Christian communities includes the question of how succession should be handled, including recruitment, cultivation, education, and support. [2]It has led also to an engagement with relevant biblical literature. This essay looks at the relationship of Elijah and Elisha as it is portrayed in 1 and 2 Kings to see what insights may be found regarding the problem of succession.
The focal text for the succession of Elisha in Elijah's ministry is I Kings 19. At the start of the chapter Elijah is at a high point of his success as a prophet, having demonstrated the sovereignty of Israel's God over against Baal, and having slaughtered the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:38-40). His career takes a fast tumble, however, as Queen Jezebel hears of it, and threatens to slaughter him for his acts; he "runs for his life" (19:3) into the wilderness, then continues his flight for forty days into Sinai. At Horeb, the mountain where Moses received the Commandments, Elijah's ministry is set back on track as the Lord commands him to head back into the fight. There are three components of this command, three designations or anointings that Elijah must perform: he must christen Hazael of Syria as the appointed scourge of Israel, and Jehu of Israel as the appointed champion of Israel, and Elisha as the appointed "prophet in your place" (19:15-18). Elijah immediately leaves to find Elisha plowing in the field, and "throws his mantle over him." Elisha joins Elijah's company from that time, "ministering to him" (19:19-21).
This passage points to a number of elements in succession. The first is the value or advantage of settled succession, not least to the prophet. While we cannot say that we hear of the burnt-out Elijah being "comforted" at Horeb, the prospect of help at least gets him to leave his cave and return to his prophetic work. Secondly the locus of succession is clearly in the Lord's will. Succession is not something Elijah conceives or requests; God both initiates the idea and announces the candidate. Third, the immediate results are somewhat ambiguous. Elisha responds promptly and faithfully (as we must understand 19:20-21, resisting the temptation to read into it the Gospel encounter of Luke 9:61-62). But we have no details about what his "ministry" to Elijah entailed, or what it had to do with succession. The comment that "he poured water on the hands of Elijah" (2 Kings 3:11) does not add much. There is a community of the "sons of the prophets" that seems to have gathered around Elijah (1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 3:5), but Elisha remains distinct from them. Was the relationship a mentoring one? Was Elisha learning attitudes, methods, techniques, life style? There is nothing in our literature to encourage such hypotheses. In fact the second important text touching on the question of succession only adds to the ambiguity of the relationship of these men and the purpose of their overlapping association.
2 Kings 2 describes the ascension of Elijah and the commencement of Elisha's ministry. Here is established the clear succession of Elisha to Elijah. But the second clear theme in the narrative is the element of distance between the two men. Elijah understands the time has come for the Lord to take him, and Elisha accompanies him toward the wilderness. Elijah however desires to make the final journey alone, but Elisha refuses this. Elijah's motives in asking are not clear, though Elisha's persistence seems to express his readiness to step into the new work. Asked by Elijah what he would wish as a final favor, Elisha asks for "a double portion of your spirit to be upon me" (2:9). Scholars debate the precise meaning of this request: does Elisha want to be twice the prophet that Elijah was? Is he asking for the "twin" or equal of Elijah's anointing? Is he asking for the traditional bequest given the eldest son of an estate divided among many? [3]A decision on this point needs to take into account that Elijah sees this request as (1) difficult, presumably because it asks for much, but also as (2) impossible, since only the Lord can grant such a request. And so Elijah leaves it to the Lord, who will disclose Godself to Elisha or not: "If you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not" (2:10). Elisha does see the ascension, does attain the prophet's mantle, and does embark on a prophetic career (2:12, 13-14, 15-25). There are ambiguities here about the extent to which Elijah understood what was happening, ambiguities finally resolved by the decisive actions of the Lord. The "double portion" was granted; in our text, it means that Elisha succeeded Elijah as prophet in Israel.
Is it right to say that Elisha is the successor to Elijah's ministry? The answer is probably both yes and no. Elijah himself "appears abruptly"[4] in no obvious prophetic succession, and thus personal succession is not strictly necessary. But Elisha is explicitly a "prophet in [Elijah's] place." Other connections between the two prophets are important to the text; the Horeb story together with the ascension story give huge profile to the idea of succession; the mantle which appears in both stories only represents the connectivity of the call of these two. Further, certain (but not all) of the elements in Elijah's service reappear or are completed in Elisha's service. The way of the nation of Israel as a whole, as well as the care of individuals within the nation, are the focus both of Elijah (e.g., 17:1-2 and 17:3-7) and of Elisha (e.g., 2 Kings 3:13-20; and 2 Kings 4:8-37) and characterize both ministries. As to particular details, the anointing of Jehu expected of Elijah was in fact accomplished by Elisha; and the fate of Jezebel prophesied by Elijah is brought about under Elisha. In these ways we see Elisha "carrying on" what Elijah began.
But in other ways the ministries are very different. Elijah is much more the loner; Elisha lives in towns and has regular connections with ordinary folk (such as the Shunnamite woman, 2 Kings 4:8-37). A result is that there are more stories of Elisha's miracles among the people, and in that respect more parallels with the ministry of Jesus. [5]Elijah's fundamental attitude toward God seems more problematic that Elisha's; where Elijah "runs for his life," Elisha follows eagerly, asking for all the opportunity he can get. Even the texts reflect a difference; the stories about Elijah tend to take up whole chapters, while those about Elisha are much briefer and varied. If all of this points to anything, perhaps it is that the nature, direction, and success of these ministries have more to do with personality and circumstance than with the mere matter of succession. It's finally possible to argue the theological point that Elisha's ministry is not strictly speaking in succession to Elijah; rather it is a succession of prophetic ministry to the Lord, linked to Elijah's and subsequent to it, but which represents the Lord much more vitally than it represent Elijah.
The traditional approaches to which we alluded in the first paragraphs are all conscientious attempts to negotiate the human and the divine aspects of ministerial call and succession. Too often what we experience is the human side, with its particular dynamics, successes, and failures. But each of these traditions must also leave themselves open to the strong theological challenge that comes from these texts in 1 and 2 Kings, that succession with its clarities and its ambiguities remains a vertical responsibility to the proclamation of the word of God, one that may transcend institution and personality.
As T. R. Hobbs puts it, the commonality of our two prophets lies, despite their differences, in the strength and integrity of their respective witness: "In Elijah and Elisha, Israel knew that 'there was a prophet in Israel,' and that 'there was a God in Israel.' … They had in common the heart and soul of prophecy: the uncompromising championship of the word of God in human affairs."[6]?
—Theopulos
The Drought, and a Miracle
The prophet bursts onto the scene announcing to Ahab a drought. YHWH instructs Elijah to hide in the wadi Kerit on the east side of the Jordan near Jericho. There he is fed by ravens. Elijah is then dispatched to the north to Zarfet in Phoenicia, where a widow looks after him. On hearing his request for water and bread, the woman protests that she has only enough meal and oil to make a final meal for herself and her son before they die. Elijah's assurance that the meal and oil will last until the end of the drought proves to be the case.
However, with the death of her son, the woman lays the blame squarely on the "man of God" Elijah. Laying the boy on his own bed Elijah calls on YHWH to reverse the evil He has brought upon the widow. After stretching himself three times over the child's body YHWH heeds his call and the child is restored. Faced with such a miracle the woman declares,
"Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth" (1 K. 17:24).
The Climactic Demonstration: Who is God?
In the third year of the drought, Elijah commands Ahab to gather the people on Mt. Carmel along with the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the ashera "who eat at Jezebel's table" (In fact the prophets of the ashera take no further part in the story, suggestion that they are a later addition here). Elijah sets up the contest before the people to answer the question "Who is God? "
Both sides are provided with a bullock. They are to prepare their sacrifice, lay it on wood on an altar but are not to set the fire. Both are to call on their respective deities–the sending of fire to consume the sacrifice will serve to indicate the real God. The prophets of Baal, having set up their sacrifice, call fruitlessly on their God. As Elijah taunts, they bound around their altar gashing their bodies, but all to no avail. As the time of the evening sacrifice nears, their sacrifice remains untouched by fire.
Symbolically Elijah builds his altar from 12 stones representing the twelve tribes. He surrounds the altar with a ditch, lays the sacrifice on the wood and pours water over it until even the ditch is full. He calls on YHWH to let the people know that He is the God of Israel and Elijah is his prophet. Fire not only consumes the waterlogged sacrifice but the wood, the stone, the dust and the water that was in the ditch. Faced with such a demonstration, the people declare YHWH to be God and Elijah slaughters the losing prophets.
A Still Small Voice, and the Mantle will Pass On
The rainstorm arrives, but Elijah's triumph places him in danger from Jezebel. He flees to the wilderness where he wishes for death. Again he is sustained by miraculously provided food and drink. He travels 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of Horeb (Sinai) where, in a cave, he pours out his despair to YHWH.
It is here that Elijah encounters YHWH in a kol demamah dakah (usually translated as "a still small voice"). The significance of this is debated, but one possibility is that this encounter is meant to emphasize to Elijah that the noise and drama of zealotry is perhaps not the best way to do God's will.
Elijah reiterates his despair (perhaps suggesting that he has not understood God's message) and is sent on his way with three commissions, all of which allude to a future in which he himself will not participate; he is to anoint Hazael to be future king over Aram, Jehu to be king over Israel and Elisha to be prophet in his place.
Parallels: Elijah and Elisha
The relationship between the stories of Elijah and Elisha is quite complex. There are obvious duplications in some of the miracle stories, although more "small wonders" are performed by Elisha. The theme of confrontation with the monarchy is present in both, but is much more dominant in the case of Elijah. The Elijah stories are also dominated by his battle against the Baalim, which is not the case in the Elisha cycle.
Elijah's 8 miracles
Miracle Reference
1. Shut up the heavens causing a drought 1 Kings 17:1
2. Multiplied flour and oil for a widow 1 Kings 17:14-16
3. Raised the widow's son from the dead 1 Kings 17:22-23
4. Defeated the prophets of Baal with fire from heaven 1 Kings 18:25-38
5. Brought rain to end the drought 1 Kings 18:41-45
6. Destroyed 51 soldiers with fire and lightening 2 Kings 1:9-10
7. Destroyed another 51 soldiers with fire and lightening 2 Kings 1:11-12
8. Parted the waters of the Jordan River 2 Kings 2:8
Elisha's 16 miracles
Miracle Reference
1. Parted the waters of the Jordan River 2 Kings 2:14
2. Purified water 2 Kings 2:19-22
3. Sent bears to ravage his attackers 2 Kings 2:23-24
4. Caused a flood to save Israel and to foil the Moabites 2 Kings 3:14-25
5. Made a miraculous flow of oil for a widow 2 Kings 4:2-7
6. Gave fertility to the woman of Shunem 2 Kings 4:8-17
7. Raised a child from the dead 2 Kings 4:32-37
8. Purified poisoned soup 2 Kings 4:38-41
9. Multiplied loaves to feed a large crowd 2 Kings 4:42-44
10. Healed Naaman of leprosy 2 Kings 5:1-19
11. Gehazi cursed with leprosy 2 Kings 5:20-27
12. Made an iron axe head float 2 Kings 6:1-7
13. Struck the Aramaeans blind 2 Kings 6:18
14. Prophesied the end of the Aramaean siege 2 Kings 7:1-20
15. Prophesied the death of Ben-Hadad and the rise of Hazael 2 Kings 8:7-15
16. Prophesied Israel would defeat Aram 2 Kings 13:14-19
