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From: 2 Kings 2:1, 6-14
Elijah is taken up into the sky
[6] Then Elijah said to him, “Tarry here, I pray you; 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 sons of the 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, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of
them could go over on dry ground.
[9] When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you,
before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “I pray you, let me inherit a double
share of your spirit.” [10] And he said, “You have asked for a hard thing; yet, if
you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do
not see me, it shall not be so.” [11] And as they still went on and talked, behold,
a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up
by a whirlwind into heaven. [12[ And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my
father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then
he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces.
Elisha, Elijah’s successor
2:1-13:25. Having concluded the section dealing with kings in the time of Elijah
(cf. 1 Kings 17:1-2 Kings 1:18), the biblical narrative now focuses on Elisha.
First it tells how he succeeded Elijah (chap. 2) and then it goes on to cover his
wonderworking and prophetical activity, up to his death (chap. 13). The account
of his death, which occurred at the beginning of the eighth century BC, brings
to a close a period of the history of Israel spanning the careers of two great pro-
phets, Elijah and Elisha.
Elisha’s activity is different from Elijah’s in many ways: firstly, Elisha’s miracles
are designed to resolve difficulties of his contemporaries, whereas Elijah’s were
performed to demonstrate the sovereignty of the one God; secondly, Elisha is
much more involved than his predecessor in political affairs and is much closer
to the kings, too; finally, Elisha has more contact with the groups of prophets
than Elijah had. Elisha is, then, a prophet much closer to the people, showing
them the love God has for them.
2:1-25. Elisha becomes the heir of his master’s spirit when he sees Elijah being
taken up to heaven (vv. 9-12). The signs which Elisha goes on to work win him
recognition as Elijah’s successor – first, from the other prophets, once they are
convinced that Elijah is indeed no longer in this world (vv. 13-18), and then from
all the people, who witness extraordinary prodigies worked by Elisha (vv. 19-25).
2:1-12. This passage deals with one of the most mysterious, and also the most
popular, episodes in the Old Testament – Elijah being taken up to heaven by a
whirlwind. God wants to show the special destiny reserved for Elijah on account
of his fidelity, a destiny similar to Enoch’s for having walked with God (cf. Gen
5:21-24).
In recounting this ancient tradition about Elijah, the sacred writer highlights as-
pects of Elijah’s connexion with groups of prophets and particularly with Elisha,
whom he had already designated as his successor (cf. 1 Kings 19:19-21).
Elisha’s request for a double share of Elijah’s spirit is reminiscent of the double
portion of the paternal estate due to the first-born in Israel (cf. Deut 21:17). The
condition that Elijah lays down shows that divine gifts can be passed on only
to those able to receive them (cf. vv. 10-12).
The function of the chariot and horses of fire is to separate the two prophets
when Elijah is being swept up. The book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), in its time,
will interpret them as a sign that God has brought him up into heaven (cf. Sir 48:
8-9). Chariots of fire are also a symbol of God’s presence and of his glory, as in
Psalm 68:17, for example. The fact that Elijah had not died is the reason why he
is assigned a role in the future, at the messianic restoration of the twelve tribes
(cf. Sir 48:10) and before the coming of the “day of the Lord” (Mal 4:5). The fi-
gure of Elijah is also to be found in the New Testament where he is identified
with John the Baptist, Christ’s precursor (cf. Mt 11:14, 17:10-12), in the sense
that the Baptist is inspired by the same spirit as inspired Elijah.
The last wonder worked by Elijah, over the waters of the Jordan (cf. v. 8), again
likens him to Moses (cf. Ex 14:16-21 and notes on 1 Kings 19:1-18). Even the
place where Elijah is taken up into heaven is not far from where Moses died (cf.
Deut 34:4-6) before the people entered the promised land. These similarities be-
tween Moses and Elijah suggest certain parallels: Moses represents the Law
which God gave Israel through his mediation; Elijah represents the prophetical
spirit which God manifested through the prophet’s life and through his being ta-
ken up into heaven. So, it is not surprising that when our Lord chose to reveal
his glory to the disciples by his transformation on Mount Tabor, he should have
chosen to appear alongside Moses and Elijah, because the Law and the Pro-
phets find their fulfilment in Christ (cf. Mt 17:3 and par.).
2:13-18. The mantle symbolizes the authority of its owner and, in this case, the
fact that he possesses the prophetical spirit (cf. 1 Kings 19:19-21). Elisha uses
it to repeat the prodigy previously worked by Elijah; but now he does so to cross
towards the land of Israel, as the people once did on the orders of Joshua (cf.
Josh 3:14-17).
On witnessing the prodigy worked by Elisha, the prophets acknowledge him as
Elijah’s true heir (v. 15); but they want to make sure that it was not to some o-
ther place on earth that Elijah was taken, as popular thinking had it (cf. 1 Kings
18:12).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.