Elisha (1 Kings 19:15–21; 2 Kings 2:1–18; 2 Kings 2:19–25; 2 Kings 3:11–20; 2 Kings 4:1–7; 2 Kings 4:8–37; 2 Kings 4:38–44; 2 Kings 5:1–27; 2 Kings 6:1–7; 2 Kings 6:8–23; 2 Kings 6:24–7:20; 2 Kings 8:1–6; 2 Kings 8:7–15; 2 Kings 9:1–10; 2 Kings 13:14–21; Luke 4:27)

Successor of Elijah, Prophet of Israel

Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, found plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, who followed Elijah, took up his mantle at the Jordan, and for the rest of his life spoke the word of the LORD to the poor, to the sick, to kings, and to Syria's captains until he died and was buried.

The LORD told Elijah to anoint “Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah … to be prophet in thy room” (1 Kings 19:16). Elijah found him “plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him” (1 Kings 19:19). Elisha slew the oxen and gave the flesh to the people: “Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him” (1 Kings 19:21). When the LORD took Elijah up by a whirlwind, Elisha would not leave him, asked for “a double portion of thy spirit” (2 Kings 2:9), saw him go, took up his mantle, and divided the Jordan: “Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14).

The chapters that follow show him among many kinds of people. He heals the waters of Jericho, curses the lads of Beth-el who mock him, speaks the word of the LORD to three kings without water, fills a widow's vessels with oil, and promises a son to the great woman of Shunem and later raises him. He sends Naaman the Syrian to wash in the Jordan, and pronounces Naaman's leprosy on his own servant Gehazi. When the king of Syria sends horses and chariots to Dothan, Elisha says, “Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them” (2 Kings 6:16), and then orders bread and water set before the blinded Syrians. In the siege of Samaria he foretells plenty by the next day, and it comes to pass. At Damascus he weeps before Hazael, and he sends one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu king over Israel.

At the end “Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died” (2 Kings 13:14); Joash of Israel wept over him, received the arrow of victory, and struck the ground thrice. “And Elisha died, and they buried him” (2 Kings 13:20), and a dead man cast into his sepulcher “revived, and stood up on his feet” (2 Kings 13:21). The New Testament names him once, when Jesus speaks in the synagogue at Nazareth: “there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:27).

Strengths

• Would not leave his master
• Asked for a double portion of the spirit
• Healing word
• Asked the widow what she had
• Prayer before wonders
• Refused a reward
• Mercy to the captured Syrians

Themes

• Succession from Elijah
• The word of the LORD fulfilled
• Healing and provision
• The nations: Naaman and the Syrians
• Kings and prophet
• Life from death

Called from the plow (1 Kings 19:15–21)

The LORD tells Elijah to anoint Elisha to be prophet in his room; Elijah casts his mantle on Elisha at the plow, and Elisha slays the oxen and goes after him.

Elijah taken up; the double portion (2 Kings 2:1–18)

Elisha refuses three times to leave Elijah, asks for a double portion of his spirit, sees him go up by a whirlwind, and divides the Jordan with Elijah's mantle.

Elijah taken up; the double portion

Three times Elijah said, “Tarry here, I pray thee” (2 Kings 2:2), at Gilgal, at Beth-el, and at Jericho, and three times Elisha answered, “As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee” (2 Kings 2:2). Of the sons of the prophets who told him that the LORD would take his master that day, he said, “Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace” (2 Kings 2:3).

Across the Jordan Elijah said, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee.” (2 Kings 2:9) Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” (2 Kings 2:9) Elijah answered, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so” (2 Kings 2:10).

“There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more” (2 Kings 2:11-12). He rent his own clothes, took up the mantle that fell from Elijah, smote the waters, and said, “Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14). The waters divided, and the sons of the prophets at Jericho said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha” (2 Kings 2:15).

They urged him until he was ashamed to send fifty men to seek Elijah; “they sought three days, but found him not” (2 Kings 2:17).

The waters of Jericho; the lads of Beth-el (2 Kings 2:19–25)

The men of Jericho tell Elisha the water is bad; he casts salt into the spring and the waters are healed. Going up to Beth-el, he is mocked by young lads crying, Go up, thou baldhead; he curses them in the name of the LORD, and two she-bears come out of the wood and tear forty and two of them.

Water for three kings (2 Kings 3:1–20)

Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom have no water in the wilderness; Elisha, sought out at Jehoshaphat's word, tells them to make the valley full of trenches, and water comes in the morning.

The widow's oil (2 Kings 4:1–7)

A woman of the sons of the prophets cries out that her creditor will take her two sons; Elisha asks what she has in the house, and her pot of oil fills every vessel she borrows.

The Shunammite's son (2 Kings 4:8–37; 2 Kings 8:1–6)

The great woman of Shunem constrains Elisha to eat bread, is promised a son, and when the child dies Elisha prays and stretches himself on him until he lives; later Elisha warns her of a famine and the king restores her house and land.

The Shunammite's son

At Shunem “was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread” (2 Kings 4:8). She asked her husband to make a little chamber on the wall with a bed, a table, a seat, and a candlestick. When she answered Elisha, “I dwell among mine own people” (2 Kings 4:13), he asked what then was to be done for her, and Gehazi his servant answered, “Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old” (2 Kings 4:14). Elisha said, “At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son.” (2 Kings 4:16) She said, “Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid” (2 Kings 4:16), and she bore a son “as Elisha had said unto her” (2 Kings 4:17).

When the child was grown he went out to the reapers, cried “My head, my head” (2 Kings 4:19), and sat on his mother's knees till noon, and died. She laid him on the bed of the man of God and rode to Mount Carmel. She caught hold of his feet, and Elisha said, “Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Jehovah hath hid it from me, and hath not told me” (2 Kings 4:27). He sent Gehazi ahead with his staff, but “there was neither voice, nor hearing” (2 Kings 4:31).

“When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. And he went up, and lay upon the child … and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm” (2 Kings 4:32-34). He stretched himself upon him again, “and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes” (2 Kings 4:35). Elisha said, “Take up thy son” (2 Kings 4:36).

Afterward Elisha told the woman, “Jehovah hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years” (2 Kings 8:1). She sojourned in the land of the Philistines, and on her return the king, hearing Gehazi tell of her son, said, “Restore all that was hers” (2 Kings 8:6).

Death in the pot; bread for a hundred (2 Kings 4:38–44)

In a dearth at Gilgal the sons of the prophets cry that there is death in the pot, and Elisha casts in meal; then twenty barley loaves are set before a hundred men, and they eat and leave thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

Naaman cleansed, Gehazi struck (2 Kings 5:1–27)

A captive maid tells of the prophet in Samaria; Naaman, the leprous captain of Syria, is sent to wash seven times in the Jordan and is cleansed, but Elisha refuses his gifts, and his servant Gehazi, who runs after Naaman and takes them, is struck with Naaman's leprosy.

Naaman cleansed, Gehazi struck

Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, “was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper” (2 Kings 5:1). A little maiden taken captive out of Israel said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3). When the king of Israel rent his clothes at the king of Syria's letter, Elisha sent to him, “let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel” (2 Kings 5:8).

Elisha sent a messenger: “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean” (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman “turned and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:12), but his servants persuaded him. “Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:14). He returned and said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15). Elisha answered his offer of a present, “As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none” (2 Kings 5:16).

Gehazi ran after Naaman, took two talents of silver and two changes of raiment, and told his master, “Thy servant went no whither.” (2 Kings 5:25) Elisha said, “Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments … ?” (2 Kings 5:26). “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow” (2 Kings 5:27).

The army at Dothan (2 Kings 6:8–23)

The king of Syria sends a host to Dothan to take Elisha; his servant's eyes are opened to the chariots of fire, the Syrians are smitten with blindness and led to Samaria, and Elisha has them fed and sent home.

The army at Dothan

Elisha, “the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber” (2 Kings 6:12), said a servant of the king of Syria. The king sent “horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about” (2 Kings 6:14).

When the servant of the man of God rose early he said, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15) Elisha answered, “Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) Then “Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

When the Syrians came down, Elisha prayed, “Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness” (2 Kings 6:18). He told them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek” (2 Kings 6:19), and led them to Samaria, where the LORD opened their eyes. The king of Israel asked, “My father, shall I smite them?” (2 Kings 6:21) Elisha answered, “Thou shalt not smite them … set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” (2 Kings 6:22) The king prepared great provision, “and the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel” (2 Kings 6:23).

Samaria's famine turned to plenty (2 Kings 6:24–7:20)

Ben-hadad besieges Samaria and the king sends to take Elisha's head; Elisha foretells fine flour and barley for a shekel by the next day, the Syrians flee, and the word is fulfilled, while the captain who doubted is trodden down in the gate.

Hazael told he will be king (2 Kings 8:7–15)

At Damascus Ben-hadad sends Hazael to ask whether he will recover; Elisha bids him say, Thou shalt surely recover, yet says the LORD has showed him that he shall surely die, weeps for the evil Hazael will do to the children of Israel, and tells him he shall be king over Syria.

Sends a prophet to anoint Jehu (2 Kings 9:1–10)

Elisha sends one of the sons of the prophets with a vial of oil to Ramoth-gilead, where the young man anoints Jehu king over Israel, charges him to smite the house of Ahab, and flees.

Death, and the bones (2 Kings 13:14–21)

Sick unto death, Elisha has Joash of Israel shoot the arrow of victory over Syria and strike the ground, and is wroth when he strikes only thrice; Elisha dies and is buried, and a dead man cast into his sepulcher revives on touching his bones.

Death, and the bones

“Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died: and Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over him, and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!” (2 Kings 13:14).

Elisha said, “Take bow and arrows” (2 Kings 13:15), laid his hands upon the king's hands, bade him open the window eastward and shoot, and said, “Jehovah's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them” (2 Kings 13:17). Then he said, “Smite upon the ground; and he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times: then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice” (2 Kings 13:18-19).

“And Elisha died, and they buried him.” (2 Kings 13:20) Later, as they were burying a man and spied a band, “they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet” (2 Kings 13:21). Scripture does not say where the tomb was or how old Elisha was.

Elijah (1 Kings 19:19–21; 2 Kings 2:1–15)

Cast his mantle on Elisha, who ministered to him, would not leave him, and took up the mantle when he was taken up.

Shaphat (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Kings 19:19–20)

Named only as the father of Elisha, who asked to kiss his father and mother before following Elijah.

Gehazi (2 Kings 4:12–31; 2 Kings 5:20–27; 2 Kings 8:4–5)

The servant of Elisha the man of God, who called the Shunammite, carried the staff, and ran after Naaman for gifts, and was struck with leprosy.

The sons of the prophets (2 Kings 2:3–18; 2 Kings 4:38; 2 Kings 6:1–7)

The company that sat before Elisha, sought Elijah at his word, and asked him to come to the Jordan with them.

The Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8–37; 2 Kings 8:1–6)

The great woman who constrained him to eat bread, received a son at his word, and whose house and land the king restored.

Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1–19; Luke 4:27)

The leprous captain of the king of Syria, who was cleansed in the Jordan at Elisha's word and said there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.

Jehoram, king of Israel (2 Kings 3:1; 2 Kings 3:11–19)

The son of Ahab to whom Elisha said, What have I to do with thee? yet for Jehoshaphat's sake he gave the word of water and victory over Moab.

Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 3:11–14)

The king of Judah who asked for a prophet of the LORD and for whose presence Elisha spoke to the king of Israel.

Ben-hadad (2 Kings 6:24; 2 Kings 8:7–10)

King of Syria who besieged Samaria and sent Hazael to ask Elisha whether he would recover.

Hazael (2 Kings 8:8–15)

Sent to inquire for Ben-hadad, he was told by Elisha, who wept, that he would be king over Syria.

Jehu (1 Kings 19:16–17; 2 Kings 9:1–10)

Named to Elijah with Elisha in the LORD's charge, and anointed king over Israel by one of the sons of the prophets whom Elisha sent.

Joash, king of Israel (2 Kings 13:14–19)

Wept over the sick Elisha, shot the arrow of victory, and smote the ground thrice.

The LORD (2 Kings 2:21; 2 Kings 3:16–18; 2 Kings 7:1)

The source of the word Elisha spoke: Thus saith the LORD.

Major sections

• 1 Kings 19:15–21
• 2 Kings 2–8
• 2 Kings 9:1–10
• 2 Kings 13:14–21

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