Elisha

Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Israelite prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, and Elyasa or Elyesa 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. Before he settled in Samaria, Elisha passed some time on Mount Carmel. He served from 892 until 832 BCE as an advisor to the third through the eighth kings of Judah, holding the office of "prophet in Israel". He was frequently mentioned as “the man of God” throughout narrative, often correcting Kings and leaders who did evil in the sight of the Hebrew God. He was named “the chariots of Israel and its horsemen” according to King Jehoash in 2 Kings 13:14. In the biblical narrative, he is a disciple and protégé of Elijah, and after Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, Elisha received 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. Scholars hold different opinions regarding the historical background, composition and social context of the Elisha narratives.…

Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Israelite prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, and Elyasa or Elyesa 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. Before he settled in Samaria, Elisha passed some time on Mount Carmel. He served from 892 until 832 BCE as an advisor to the third through the eighth kings of Judah, holding the office of "prophet in Israel". He was frequently mentioned as “the man of God” throughout narrative, often correcting Kings and leaders who did evil in the sight of the Hebrew God. He was named “the chariots of Israel and its horsemen” according to King Jehoash in 2 Kings 13:14. In the biblical narrative, he is a disciple and protégé of Elijah, and after Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind, Elisha received 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. Scholars hold different opinions regarding the historical background, composition and social context of the Elisha narratives. The stories give unique insights into the folk religion of the Kingdom of Israel.

Biblical narratives

The story of Elisha is told in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2 through 2 Kings 9, ending in 2 Kings 13. He is mentioned again in the New Testament in Luke 4 ( ).

Anointing

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 wonder-worker of the Kingdom of Israel who was active during the reigns 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 ploughing 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 entered heaven alive, although no details of Elisha are given during those years.

Elijah taken in the whirlwind

in Jericho (also known as "Elisha's Spring"), believed to be the fountain purified by Elisha in 2 Kings 2:19–22, now inside a protective building Elisha accompanied Elijah to Jericho, where according to , "the sons of the prophets" tell Elisha that the "will take away thy master from thy head to-day". The story of the departure of Elijah and of Elisha inheriting his powers is told in . 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 appeared and Elijah was lifted up in a whirlwind. As Elijah was lifted up, his mantle fell to the ground and Elisha picked it up. This is the second time that Elisha comes in contact with his teacher's mantle, which as a cultic vestment is associated with prophetic might and authority. 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 merely an allusion to primacy in succession, but is instead a request for greater prophetic power even than Elijah.

Elisha's final days

, 1596) 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: Elisha predicted three successful battles over the Arameans, but no absolute victory. 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".

In Islam

Elisha ( ) is venerated as a prophet in all of Islam, and is prophetic successor to Elijah (Arabic: ). 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)" ( ) and is "among the excellent" ( ). Islamic sources that identify Elisha with Khidr cite the strong relationship between al-Khidr and Elijah in Islamic tradition. Around four thousand prophets were sent between Moses and Jesus, including figures such as Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and John the Baptist, who upheld the Torah and corrected deviations among the Israelites, with the finality of prophethood in Muhammad. 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.

See also

Tel Rehov

Notes

References

Further reading

Islamic view

Amina Adil, Gaben des Lichts. Die wundersamen Geschichten der Gesandten Gottes (Kandern im Schwarzwald 1999), 563–73 al-Farrāʾ, Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, ed. Aḥmad Yūsuf Najātī and Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Najjār (Cairo 1955–71), 2:407–8 Josef Horovitz, Koranische Untersuchungen (Berlin and Leipzig 1926), 99, 101 al-Khūshābī, ʿArāʾis al-Qurʾān wa-nafāʾis al-furqān wa-farādīs al-jinān, ed. Saʿīd ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ (Beirut 2007), 167–9 al-Kisāʾī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, ed. Isaac Eisenberg (Leiden 1922–3), 199–205, trans. Wheeler M. Thackston Jr., The tales of the prophets of al-Kisaʾi (Boston 1978), 269 al-Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār (Beirut 1983), 13:396–403 al-Maqdisī, al-Muṭahhar b. Ṭāhir, al-Badʾ wa-l-taʾrīkh, ed. Clément Huart (Paris 1903), 3:100 al-Rabghūzī, Stories of the prophets, ed. Hendrik E. Boeschoten, M. Vandamme, and Semih Tezcan (Leiden 1995), 2:460 Sibṭ b. al-Jawzī, Mirʾāt al-zamān fī taʾrīkh al-aʿyān, ed. Iḥsān ʿAbbās (Beirut 1985), 1:460, 466 al-Ṭabarī, Taʾrīkh al-rusul wa-l-mulūk, ed. M. J. de Goeje et al. (Leiden 1879–1901), 1:542–4, trans. William M. Brinner, The history of al-Ṭabarī, vol. 4, The Children of Israel (Albany 1991), 124–5 al-Thaʿlabī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ (Cairo 1954), 259–61, trans. William M. Brinner, ʿArāʾis al-Majālis fī Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ or Lives of the prophets, as recounted by Abū Isḥāq Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Thaʿlabī (Leiden 2002), 432–35.

External links

Prophet Elisha in Carmelite Tradition Prophet Elisha Orthodox icon and synaxarion

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