Called, 1Ki 19:19-21; succeeds Elijah, 2Ki 2:1-15; heals the waters, 2Ki 2:19-22; curses the boys, 2Ki 2:23-25; multiply the widow’s oil, 2Ki 4:1-7; revive the Shunammite’s son, 2Ki 4:8-37; purify the pot, 2Ki 4:38-41; feed the prophets, 2Ki 4:42-44; heals Naaman’s leprosy, 2Ki 5:1-27; Elisha and the Syrians, 2Ki 6:8-23; promises food in times of siege, 2Ki 6:24-7:2; predicts victory over Syria, 2Ki 13:14-19; dies and is buried, 2Ki 13:20; Elisha’s bones, 2Ki 13:21.
Elisha (Heb. ‘Elîshâ’, perhaps “God is salvation”; appears on a Heb. seal and on a piece of Aram. pottery found at Nimrúd; Gr. Elisáios). The prophet who succeeded Elijah as God’s special envoy to the northern kingdom of Israel; he was the son of Shaphat, from Abel-meholah. His ministry as shepherd-prophet spanned the reigns of Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash (of the northern kingdom), from at least 852 BC to about 798 BC (a little over half a century). Nationally, he completed the eradication of the Baal cult begun by Elijah, advised the king of Israel on national policy, and took an intense personal interest in the problems and needs of the people with whom his ministry put him. in contact. He oversaw the so-called “schools of the prophets”, founded 2 centuries earlier by Samuel, and thereby made perhaps his greatest contribution to the spiritual life of the nation. In the face of his needs, he was solicitous and had a big heart; in the face of a limited understanding of the divine will he was tolerant and patient; in the face of danger he manifested a firm courage and without hesitation; in the face of evil he was stern and determined without being vindictive. While Elijah tended to be ascetic in his way of dressing and in his diet in the place where he lived and in his limited contacts with people (at least according to the record that we have), Elisha lived close to the people he loved. he served, and he liked the social life. Unlike the existence of Elijah, who appears on the stage of biblical history on a few dramatic occasions, that of Elisha is tied to constant ministry: he attended to the temporal needs of his fellow men as individuals, and also to those of the spiritual life. of the nation as a whole. Although for a time there seemed to be an encouraging response from the nation to his leadership as a prophet, the reforms he set in motion were short-lived and did not prevent the complete dissolution of the kingdom some 75 years after his death. 187. The “Fountain of Elisha” in Jericho. The account of the life of the prophet Elisha seems almost like an unbroken succession of miracles, some of which are essentially supernaturally obtained reports and others of supernatural control over men and the forces of nature. In an age of apostasy and Baal worship, these miracles gave continuing testimony in favor of Yahweh as the true God, and Elisha as his messenger. Elisha is distinguished in the annals of sacred history as the greatest miracle-working prophet of all time, after Jesus Christ. Abel-mehola, a town in the upper Jordan valley, was his home until he was called to prophetic office, which occurred when he was plowing (1Ki 19:19-21). For an unspecified time he was Elijah’s personal attendant (2Ki 3:11). His immediate response to the prophet’s call and his persistence in accompanying him to the place of his translation speak of the fervor with which Elisha accepted the work entrusted to him (2:1-12). Returning from Elijah’s ascension, Elisha miraculously sweetened the brackish waters of a spring in Jericho (vs 19-22), and en route from there to Bethel he pronounced a curse on a group of ungodly youngsters who mocked him as messenger of God (vs 23-25). Later, he miraculously provided water for an expedition by Kings Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah to suppress a rebellion in Moab, and anticipated the success of their campaign (3:6-27). He provided help to the widow of one of the sons of the prophets when she found herself in financial difficulties (4:1-7), and on another occasion foretold the birth of a son to the Shunammite who sheltered him when he passed by, and later resurrected him (vs 8-37). During a famine he provided the antidote for some poisonous gourds while a group of sons of the prophets were sitting at the table (vs 38-41), and miraculously satisfied the appetite of 100 men with 20 loaves of barley and a few ears of ripe grain (42-44). He healed Naaman of leprosy (5:1-19) and foretold Gehazi’s fate as a leper when he dishonored the prophetic office (vs 20-27). 373 he retrieved the valuable ax that had fallen into the Jordan (6:1-7). He advised the king of Israel to defend the nation against a Syrian invasion (vv. 8-12), and when he himself was surrounded at Dothan, he led a group of Syrian soldiers to Samaria, brought them before the king, and then let go home (6:13-23). On another occasion, when the Syrian forces had besieged Samaria to the point of starvation, he predicted an abundance of food for the next day, implying the lifting of the siege (6:24-31; 7:1-20). . He foretold the arrival of a messenger sent to arrest him (6:32, 33). He declared the destruction of Ahab’s house because of apostasy, and arranged to anoint Jehu as king (9:1-10:28). The last recorded act was the encouragement of King Jehoshaphat to defend Israel against the Syrians (13:14-19). After his death, another man hastily buried in the same tomb was miraculously restored to life when his body touched Elisha’s bones (vs 20, 21).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
God has helped. Prophet, son Safat, of Abel Mejolá. He exercised the prophetic ministry, in the middle of the IX century a. C., in the kingdom of Israel.
He was a servant and disciple of the prophet Elijah who anointed him for this ministry by Yahweh’s mandate, 1 R 19, 15-16 and 19-21. Being in Jericho, on the banks of the Jordan River, when the prophet Elijah was caught up to heaven in a chariot of fire, E. received from him two thirds of his spirit. The disciples of the prophets, who were there, then said: “The spirit of Elijah has rested on E. †, 2 R 2, 9-15, and here began his prophetic work. E. had a lot of influence on the politics of the courts of his time. He predicted the victory of Joram, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, against Mesha, king of Moab, who had rebelled against Israel, after the death of Ahab, father of Joram, 2 Kings 3, 4-27 . E., in the war of Israel against the kingdom of Aram, he kept the king of Israel informed about all the movements of his enemy and what was spoken in his chamber, 2 Kings 6, 8-12. The king of Aram, aware of this situation, sent a detachment to Dothan to arrest E., but he captured all the soldiers in Samaria, 2 R 6, 13-23. When Ben Hadad, king of Aram, laid siege to Samaria, E. predicted the end of the siege, 2 Kings 7, 1-2. He also predicted the seven years of famine in Canaan, 2 R 8, 1. Likewise, in Damascus, he predicted the death of Ben Hadad, king of Aram, when he sent Jazael to consult the prophet about his illness, and this same he announced that he would be the king of Aram, instead of Ben Hadad, and that he would do much harm to the Israelites, 2 R 8, 7-15. E. sent one of the disciples of the prophets, to Ramoth Gilead, to anoint Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, as king of Israel, 2 R 9, 1-3. E., before dying, he predicted to Joash, king of Israel, his victory over Aram, 2 Kings 13, 14-19. E. performed many miraculous actions. E. separated, like Elijah, the waters of the Jordan River, beating them with the mantle of the prophet, whose spirit he had received, and passed through the dry bed of the river, 2 R 2, 14. He sanitized the waters of the city of Jericho, 2 R 2, 19, 22. E. helped a widow, whose children were going to be taken by a creditor, miraculously filled her empty vessels with oil, with whose sale they paid the debt and were left to live, 2 R 4, 1-7. E. brought back to life the son of a leading woman of Shunem, 2 Kings 4, 18-37.
In Gilgal in a famine, the disciples of the prophets prepared a meal with poisonous wild gourds, and E. miraculously removed the poisonous effect, and everyone ate, 2 Kings 4, 38-41. E. multiplied a few loaves and fed a hundred men, 2 R 4, 42-44. Naaman, chief of the army of the king of Aram, fell ill with leprosy and E. ordered him to wash seven times in the waters of the Jordan, and the soldier was clean, 2 R 5, 14.
When the disciples of the prophets, possibly in Gilgal, cut down trees with an ax to build a house, on the banks of the Jordan River, the iron of the ax fell into the waters of the river, and E. made it float, 2 R 6, 1- 7. E. made his servant see the armies of heaven, horses and chariots of fire around the prophet, when the detachment of soldiers of the king of Aram went in pursuit to arrest him, whom the prophet blinded, 2 Kings 6 , 16-18. Already dead E., a man was resurrected by being thrown into the tomb of the prophet and coming into contact with his bones, 2 R 13, 20-21. E. died while king of Israel Joash, 798-783 a. C., 2 R 13, 14-20. Sirácida, in Praise of the Ancestors, praises the prophet E., Si 48, 12 14. In the NT, he is mentioned in relation to the episode of Naaman’s healing, Lk 25, 27.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(called Eliseus, the Gk. form of the Heb. †™elisha†™ in Luk 4:27).
God directed Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor (1Ki 19:16-21).
Elijah found Elisha (1Ki 19:16) plowing with the last of 12 yoke of oxen. The number of oxen indicates the wealth of the family. Elijah put his mantle over Elisha to indicate the succession. The next time Elisha appears is in connection with Elijah’s translation (2 Kings 2). He insisted on following Elijah until he was taken to heaven. Because he saw him go, he was given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Taking Elijah’s mantle, he used it to make a dry path over the Jordan, as his teacher had done. He then healed the waters at Jericho and cursed the populace at Bethel (2Ki 2:19-25).
Elisha had a long ministry during the reigns of Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash, kings of Israel. Elisha saved a poor widow from financial suffering by miraculously multiplying her supply of oil (2Ki 4:1-7).
A well-to-do woman and her husband in Shunem frequently entertained Elisha. In turn, their request for a son was granted. When the boy suffered a fatal stroke, the mother sought out Eliseo, who brought him back to life. During a famine at Gilgal (2Ki 4:38-41) Elisha saved a company of prophets from death by eating poisonous vegetables. When given a gift of food, Elisha set it before 100 men and the Lord increased the provision to satisfy them (2Ki 4:42-44). Elisha cured Naaman of leprosy (ch. 5) and rescued a borrowed ax from a young prophet (2Ki 6:1-7). He gave …