20: Elijah and Elisha — 2 Kings 2:1-22

2Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. ⁷ Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. ⁸ Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” ¹⁰ He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” ¹¹ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. ¹² Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹³ He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

¹⁵ When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.” He responded, “No, do not send them.” ¹⁷ But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, “Did I not say to you, Do not go?”

¹⁹ Now the people of the city said to Elisha, “The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” ²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” ²² So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is involved in this incident? What is happening to them? Who is the leader here? What does he suggest the other person do? How does that person respond?

2. Where are these two going? Who else is involved? What do these people contribute to the situation? How do the two respond?

3. What “test” is involved between the two men? Why do you suppose the one is testing the other? How does the younger man respond?

4. How do the two men get across the river? What is significant about this method? Who else used a similar approach [see Notes]?

5. What does the younger man ask of the older? How does he respond to this request? What happens next? How did the younger man react to these events? How might you have reacted?

6. What does the younger man do next? How does he get back across the river? How do the other men respond? What do they want to do? How does that turn out?

7. What do the people of Jericho ask the prophet to do for them? How does he solve their problem?

Get Personal

Do you have someone you consider a spiritual mentor or teacher? How has God used this person to enrich your faith?

2:1. Gilgal — there were several towns with this name, probably one seven miles from Bethel.
I will not leave you — Elijah has been Elisha’s spiritual father and mentor; he tests Elisha’s loyalty 3 times [check vv. 4 and 6].
2:2. Bethel — a longstanding spiritual site since the time of Jacob [Gen 28:10-22].
2:3. Company of prophets — there actually was a training guild for those who wanted to become a prophet.
Do you know — evidently the prophets-in-training had been informed about Elijah’s departure; Elisha responds, “don’t remind me,” [the same exchange as v. 5].
2:4. Jericho — about 12 miles from Bethel.
2:6. Jordan — the river was 5 miles east.
2:8. Mantle — an outer collar or cloak, the symbol of the prophet’s ability to speak for God.
Water parted — God also parted the Jordan so Joshua and the Israelites could

cross into the Promised Land (Elisha will cross back the same way in v. 14).
2:9. Double portion — the amount for the first-born heir – Elisha is asking for the leadership status as Elijah’s spiritual heir [check Deut 21:17].
2:11. Chariot of fire — an unusual image for the Old Testament, though fairly common in other religions of the region.
Whirlwind — usually associated with God’s activity.
2:17. Send them — Elisha relents and allows the prophets to look for Elijah (but he does say “I told you so” when they return).
2:19. Water is bad — Jericho is in a very fertile area, but something happened to a major water source – so one of Elisha’s first miracles is to restore the water’s purity (Jesus’ first miracle also dealt with water – into wine). Salt is a preservative but normally makes water bad, but here it miraculously purifies the water.