2 Kings
Chapter 2
Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven
The Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. It happened this way: Elijah and Elisha had left Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elisha:
“I beg you to stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Bethel.” Elisha said: “I swear by the Lord and by your life that I will never leave you.” So they went down to Bethel together.
The fellow prophets in Bethel welcomed Elisha and said to him: “Don’t you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” He answered them: “Yes, I also know it. So, be quiet.”
Elijah told Elisha: “Please stay here, for the Lord is only sending me to Jericho.” Elisha answered: “I swear by the Lord and by your life that I will never leave you.”
So they went on to Jericho.The fellow prophets in Jericho approached Elisha and said: “Do you not know that the Lord is to take your master away today?” Elisha answered: “Yes, I know it. Be quiet.”
Elijah said again to Elisha: “Stay here, I beg you, for the Lord is only sending me to the Jordan.” But Elisha answered: “I swear by the Lord and by your life that I will never leave you.”And as they went on their way,
fifty fellow prophets of Jericho followed them at a certain distance.When Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan,
Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water parted to either side, and they crossed over onto the dry ground.
After they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha: “What shall I do for you before I am taken away from you? Ask me.” Elisha said: “May I receive a double portion of your spirit?”
Elijah answered: “Your request is most difficult. Yet if you see me while I am being taken from you, then you shall have it. But if not, you shall not have it.”
As they were talking on the way, a chariot of fire with horses of fire stood between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.
Elisha saw him and cried out: “Father, my father, chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”When Elisha lost sight of him, he took hold of his clothes and tore them.
He then picked up the mantle which had fallen from Elijah and returned to the banks of the Jordan.
He took the cloak that had fallen off Elijah, hit the water with it, and asked: “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” It divided when he hit the water again, and Elisha crossed over.
The fellow prophets of Jericho saw him from the other side and said: “The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.” And as they came to him, they bowed to the ground before him, saying:
“There are fifty valiant men here with us. Let them go in search of Elijah, for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or some valley.” Elisha replied: “Do not send anyone.”
But they insisted so much that Elisha let them go, and they sent fifty men to search for Elijah.
After three days, they had not found him, and they returned to Elisha, who had stayed in Jericho. He commented: “Did I not tell you not to go?”
Miracles of Elisha I
The men of the city said to Elisha: “The location of this city is good, as my lord can see, but the water is bad, and so the land is unproductive.”
He told them: “Bring me a new pot with salt in it.” When they brought it to him,
Elisha went to the fountain and threw salt in it, saying: “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water; never more will it cause death or sickness.’”
And the water has remained wholesome to this day, just as Elisha said.
From there, he went up to Bethel. He was on his way when some youths came out from the city and made fun of him, saying: “Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!”
Elisha turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. At once, two she-bears came out of the forest and killed forty-two of them.
From there, Elisha set out for Mount Carmel, and from there, he returned to Samaria.
Commentaries
Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven.
Elisha, Elijah’s successor, enters the scene. Several critical moments stand out: 1. Elijah’s journey to Bethel (2), Jericho (4-6), and the Jordan (6ff). According to Elijah, the Lord directs this journey, and he must undertake it alone; however, Elisha disregards his master and follows him everywhere. 2. The prophets’ communities in Bethel (3) and Jericho (5) come out to meet Elijah and Elisha, and from their words, it seems they already knew the Lord’s decision to take Elijah away. 3. The conversation between Elijah and Elisha (9-12). Elisha wishes for two-thirds of his master’s spirit (9c), which he receives when he sees him at the moment of his departure. 4. Elijah’s being taken away (11ff). 5. Elisha’s return from the Jordan to Jericho (13-18). 6. The prophets’ community confirms that Elijah’s spirit has rested on Elisha (17). 7. The prophets encourage Elisha to let them go out and search for Elijah (16-18).
Miracles of Elisha I.
Elisha shows his role by healing the spring used by the people of Jericho. The second sign is the curse he places on some children who mocked him, leading to the death of forty-two children by two bears. The message of this detail, which is somewhat exaggerated, might be that the curse affects those who mock a prophet of the Lord. The story concludes with Elisha’s arrival at Mount Carmel (25).