The Second Book of Kings: A Study in Prophetic History

By Martin Sicker

The subject of this study is the continuing story of the transition of the ancient Israelites from a loose confederation of ethnically related tribes into a territorially based nation and state and its subsequent transition to a monarchy, as depicted in the biblical books of Samuel. The work that follows begins with the succession of Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, to the throne of the kingdom of Israel and concludes with the end of the kingdom of Judah and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586.

The term prophetic history is employed to describe the subject because prophecy in biblical thought is not fatalistic and does not predict future events. What it does is assert that the moral course a society chooses to follow in the present can determine its probable but not inevitable future. The purpose of the biblical book is to inform the reader of the historical consequences of the failure to observe the terms of the divine covenant entered into between God and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai, following the exodus from Egypt. Although the narrative is based on events that were believed to have taken place, the primary focus of prophetic history is on the moral implications of the decisions taken by men rather than the factual accuracy of the details of the events described, which have been studied exhaustively by archaeologists and historians of the ancient world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984533579

Martin Sicker

Dr. Martin Sicker is a writer and lecturer on the Middle East and Jewish history and religion. His is the author of 42 previous books including Reading Genesis Politically; The Trials of Abraham; The Ordeals of Isaac and Jacob; Aspects of Jewish Metarational Thought; The Exodus and the Reluctant Prophet; The Convocation at Sinai; The Theopolitical Discourses of Moses; and Pondering the Imponderable.

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1

Elijah and Ahaziah

¹.¹ And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

The opening of this chapter concerning the brief reign of Ahaziah (855-854), who succeeded his father Ahab as king of Israel, begins with this cryptic remark regarding the rebellion of Moab following the death of Ahab which occurred as Ahaziah was ascending his father’s throne. As mentioned in the Second Book of Samuel, David smote Moab … And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought presents (8:2). That is, Moab became a vassal of the united monarchy, and following its dissolution Moab became a vassal of the kings of Israel and ultimately of Ahab. However, as recorded in the First Book of Kings, Ahab’s final battle with the Arameans took place at Ramoth-gilead, east of the Jordan and north of Moab. When Ahab was killed in that battle, and his forces withdrew back across the Jordan, Moab evidently took advantage of the chaotic situation and rebelled against Israel before his son and successor Ahaziah could attempt to re-impose Israel’s suzerainty over the territory, something that Israel sought to do only after the succession of Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram to the throne, as described later in the biblical narrative.

In an attempt to explain why this verse regarding the rebellion of Moab, which is dealt with in some detail in chapter 3, is presented before the narrative concerning Ahaziah, it has been suggested that it points out that just as Ahaziah was guilty of rebellion against the Lord, so was the vassal state of Moab in rebellion against Ahaziah, the king of Israel.¹ It has been suggested further that the revolt was intended to serve as a warning to Ahaziah that there was still time to earn some merit that might prolong his reign, a warning he ignored. And, ‘having no merit to protect him, his doom came without delay,’ as described below.²

The ensuing narrative is a continuation of the brief description of the reign of Ahaziah the son of Ahab, with which the First Book of Kings came to an end. To provide context for what subsequently took place with regard to Ahaziah, the relevant passage from the preceding book will be repeated here. Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jereboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done (1 Kings 22:52-54).

The narrative continues by implicitly suggesting the reason for Ahaziah’s failure to act aggressively to suppress Moab’s rebellion against his suzerainty. In antiquity, rulers were expected to participate actively in the military campaigns they undertook, and Ahaziah was unable to do so because of a serious injury that incapacitated him and appeared life-threatening.

¹.² And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick; and he sent messengers, and said unto them: ‘Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this sickness.’ ¹.³ But an angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? ¹.⁴ Now therefore thus saith the Lord: ‘Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die.’ And Elijah departed. ¹.⁵ And when the messengers turned back to him, he said unto them: ‘Why are ye now turned back?’ ¹.⁶ And they said unto him: ‘There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us: Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say unto him: Thus saith the Lord: Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die.’ ¹.⁷ And he said unto them: ‘What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?’ ¹.⁸ And they answered him: ‘He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.’ And he said: ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’

Ahaziah evidently was seriously incapacitated when he fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber of the royal palace in Samaria, an unanticipated consequence of which was that he was unable to deal effectively with the rebellion of Moab. It is noteworthy that his incapacitation was the result of an accident, which is by definition an event beyond one’s control. This, coupled with Isaiah’s prophetic message, clearly suggests that it occurred as part of the fulfillment of the divine promise to Ahab that because thou hast given thyself over to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord … I will bring evil upon thee, and will cut off from Ahab every man-child (1 Kings 21:20-21).

Although exactly how this accident took place is of little intrinsic significance, the narrator’s curious assertion that Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber begs explication. It is assumed by some that the Hebrew term sevakhah, which is commonly translated as a lattice, as used in the present context likely refers to a "window-lattice,³ or a trellis-work placed in front of a window or balcony."⁴ According to these definitions, Ahaziah would have had to accidentally push himself against a window or balcony-lattice with sufficient force to cause him to fall out of the presumably raised lattice of his upper chamber to the ground below. Alternatively, and perhaps more plausibly, sevakhah has been understood as referring to a ‘spiral staircase’ connecting the upper chamber to the floor below, on which Ahaziah slipped and hurt himself enough to become bedridden.⁵

In any case, the fall evidently did some damage to one or more vital organs which caused him to become seriously ill. Concerned about the extent of his illness and whether he would be able to recover from it, Ahaziah wanted to consult an oracle and sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this sickness. Why did he not consult with any of the hundreds of so-called ‘prophets of the Lord’ supported by the state, as his father Ahab did (1 Kings 22:6)? What Ahaziah did by turning to a Canaanite god for an answer to his primary concern, was to effectively reduce the God of Israel to a secondary status in direct violation of the Lord’s covenantal demand: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me (Ex. 20:3). It has been suggested that Ahaziah may have done this because, under the influence of his Phoenician mother Jezebel, who worshipped the gods Baal and Astarte, he considered himself more of a Phoenician than an Israelite, and acted accordingly.⁶ However, as the act of a king of Israel, which when become known would further demoralize the public, it was considered an especially grievous transgression of the covenant that necessitated a divine reaction. Once again the choice to serve as the one to speak truth to power fell on Elijah, which coincidentally was to be his final mission as a prophet of the Lord.

It appears, according to some, that Baal-zebub, meaning ‘lord of the fly,’ was a god believed to control the movements of flies, which was a major concern because in a generally hot climate flies may be the cause of serious epidemic.⁷ In this regard, a sage of the Talmud suggested that the idol representing Baal-zebub was shaped in the image of a fly.⁸ Alternatively, it is noteworthy that numerous scholars maintain that the god worshipped at the sanctuary in Ekron, the northernmost city-state of the earlier Philistine pentapolis, was the Canaanite god Baal-zebul, meaning ‘Baal the prince’, which was deliberately corrupted by the biblical writer to Baal-zebub, as a pejorative.⁹ Ahaziah chose to send messengers to Ekron, which was relatively far from his palace, presumably because the priests of Baal-zebul were noted for their oracles.

It is noteworthy that the usual Hebrew spelling of the name of the prophet Elijah is eliyahu, whereas in this verse as well as in verses 4, 8, and 12 the name is spelled eliyah. Although a simple explanation might be that it merely reflects some scribal errors, it seems unlikely that such errors would appear in four verses in a chapter in which another four verses, 10, 13, 15, and 17, spell the name in its usual form. One possible explanation as to why he is identified at the beginning of this chapter as eliyah is that eliyah was his actual birth name, although the evidence for this is not intrinsically conclusive. There is a tradition cited in the early rabbinic literature to the effect that Elijah was a Benjamite.¹⁰ Assuming this to be correct, an examination of the list of the descendants of Benjamin, there is mention of only one descendant named eliyah (1 Chron. 8:27), which could be none other than Elijah the Tishbite. In response to the question of why the Hebrew text now deviates from the normal spelling of Elijah’s name as eliyahu and gives it as eliyah, it has been suggested that it has to do with Elijah’s tenure as a principal prophet of the Lord. That is, when eliyah was elevated to the role of principal prophet of the Lord, his name was changed to eliyahu, it being a common albeit not always consistent practice to alter one’s name when assuming a more elevated role. This was done with Abram whose name was changed to Abraham, and Moses’ minister hoshea whose name was changed to yehoshua or Joshua when he was designated to replace Moses. Now that his disciple Elisha has been designated as his replacement in that important role, Elijah is identified by his birth name of eliyah.¹¹

Returning to the narrative, an angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria. It has been suggested that the textual reference to Ahaziah as king of Samaria instead of ‘king of Israel’ is an intentional slur against the unpopular ruler, implicitly asserting that his sway was so limited that it only applied to his reign over Samaria, the capital city.¹² Elijah was to ask them, rhetorically: Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? In effect, Elijah was told to intercept the delegation and tell them that their mission was unnecessary because the answers that the king sought would now be answered by the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹.⁴ Now therefore thus saith the Lord: Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die. Immediately upon receiving these instructions, Elijah departed to carry out his assignment, intercepting the king’s delegation on the road to the south. He then conveyed to them the precise message they were to deliver to the king. Complying with Elijah’s instruction, they turned around and went back to the king in Samaria.

The question not addressed by the text is why the messengers aborted the mission given to them by the king, at the word of a man who suddenly appeared and, as made clear from the text, whose identity was unknown to them, probably because Elijah had not been in the capital for years out of fear of assassination by Jezebel’s agents. Are we to assume that by sheer force of personality Elijah overwhelmed them to the extent that they felt compelled to follow his instruction, notwithstanding that of their king? As expected, when the messengers returned to the king, he questioned them about why they did not carry out their mission, a question to which the text offers no cogent response. It may be assumed that they surely explained that the man who accosted them thoroughly convinced them that it was essential to return immediately to the king and deliver his message to him.

They then repeated to Ahaziah verbatim what the unidentified stranger said to them. Obviously stung by what he heard, Ahaziah suspected that it was Elijah who confronted them, he being the only person he knew of by reputation who would have had the audacity to send such a prophetic message to the king by means of the king’s servants. Moreover, he was probably the only man in the kingdom, who by force of his personality could so intimidate others that the king’s messengers felt compelled to abandon their mission. To confirm his suspicion, Ahaziah, who was raised in the palace where Elijah and his dress and manners must often have been spoken of, asked them to describe the man that met them on the road and told them not to go to Ekron, as they were instructed to do by the king, and instead to return to the king with the message they brought.¹³ In response, they described him only as a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. The phrase ish baal seor, translated as a hairy man, suggests the possibility that Elijah may have been a Nazirite, forbidden by oath to trim his hair. Alternatively, the phrase has also been understood as referring to a man wearing a ‘hairy mantle,’ the dress typical of a prophet, as noted by the later prophet Zechariah: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be brought to shame … neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive (Zech. 13:4). In either case, the description of the man they encountered confirmed Ahaziah’s suspicion, and he said: It is Elijah the Tishbite. Furious over Elijah’s interference, and considering the purportedly divine message he had conveyed as an act of treason, Ahaziah ordered that Elijah be brought to account before him.

¹.⁹ Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him; and, behold, he sat on the top of the hill. And he spoke unto him: ‘O, man of God, the king hath said: Come down.’ ¹.¹⁰ And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty: ‘If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹.¹¹ Again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him: ‘O, man of God, thus hath the king said: Come down quickly.’ ¹.¹² And Elijah answered and said to them: ‘If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty.’ And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹.¹³ And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him: ‘O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty thy servants be precious in thy sight. ¹.¹⁴ Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two former captains of the fifties with their fifties; therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.’ ¹.¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah: ‘Go down with him; be not afraid of him.’ And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

It is noteworthy that Ahaziah did not again send messengers to Ekron to learn about his future, which was frighteningly revealed to him by Elijah. As his father Ahab had learned repeatedly through direct experience, Ahaziah too felt compelled to acknowledge Elijah as an authentic prophet and his words as God’s judgment. His only hope, then, was to persuade Elijah to withdraw his prophecy.¹⁴ Accordingly, he dispatched a captain of fifty with his fifty to apprehend Elijah, who evidently found him in the place where he earlier encountered the king’s messengers on their way to Ekron, and to bring him to the palace in Samaria. It seems reasonable to assume that Elijah knew that his message would infuriate the king, who he was sure would send men to capture or possibly kill him. That he remained perched on a hill in the place where the king’s men would likely begin their search for him, suggests that he did so as an act of divinely inspired defiance. As he anticipated, the commander of the troop went up the hill to confront him, demanding, O, man of God, the king hath said: Come down. In effect, he ordered Elijah, who as a man of God considered himself to be unanswerable to the king, to surrender peacefully, as demanded by the king, because he and his men could not return to Samaria without him, dead or alive.¹⁵

By not taking steps to avoid capture, Elijah had placed himself in an untenable situation; if he surrendered, Ahaziah would have him executed; if he resisted, he would be killed on the spot. Accordingly, Elijah implicitly replied to commander of the troop that he would not surrender to him, and that if the soldiers intended to take him by force, he would have no alternative but to invoke divine intervention on his behalf, presumably confident that his invocation would be heeded. Accordingly, he warned him, if he and his men did not desist, and if I be, as you yourself have called me, a man of God, responsible only to the Lord and not the king, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. As a practical matter, the captain of fifty had no alternative but to carry out the command of the king, and as soon as he began to move against Elijah there came down fire from heaven, presumably a series of lightning strikes, that effectively wiped out him and his troop. It has been pointed out that the infliction of fire from heaven reflects divine anger at those Israelites who betray His covenant, as it states: For the Lord thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God (Deut. 4:24).¹⁶

When word of what happened reached Ahaziah, he evidently could not accept the notion that Elijah had become untouchable and was able singlehandedly to wipe out a troop of fifty men. He therefore dispatched another captain of fifty with his fifty to capture or kill Elijah. Although the second captain of fifty acted more cautiously than his predecessor by not going up the hill to directly confront Elijah, this time he told the prophet that the king demanded not only that Elijah come down, but that the he come down quickly. This attempt to seize Elijah produced the same result as the first attempt. Notwithstanding having already lost a hundred men and two officers in the attempt to capture or kill Elijah, Ahaziah insisted on sending a captain of the third fifty with his fifty, insanely expecting a different outcome.

However, aware of what happened with regard to the two previous attempts to capture or kill Elijah, the third captain of fifty went up to meet with Elijah, and fell on his knees before Elijah, showing humility and respect before the prophet of the Lord. He then besought him, and said unto him: O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty thy servants be precious in thy sight, pleading that Elijah not let fire come down from heaven to destroy him and his men who had no choice but to try to carry out the assignment given him by the king. Moreover, if he desisted from trying to seize Elijah and returned to Samaria without him, he would face the wrath of the king.¹⁷

It has been suggested that until now Elijah was confident that he would be safe from harm in the event that Ahaziah would send men to seize him, as already happened twice. However, he didn’t know how to respond in the event that Ahaziah’s men came to plead with him to save their lives, as was the case now. Accordingly, this time, the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah: Go down with him; be not afraid of him. That is, he need have no concern about his safety when brought before Ahaziah.¹⁸ Accordingly, he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

¹.¹⁶ And he said unto him: ‘Thus saith the Lord: Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to enquire of His word? Therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.’ ¹.¹⁷ So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. ¹.¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

When Elijah was brought before the king, he essentially repeated to Ahaziah the same message that the king’s messengers brought to him after Elijah encountered them on their way to Ekron. Thus saith the Lord: Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to enquire of His word? Therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. Ahaziah’s impertinence in placing higher value on the oracles of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron than on the true prophets of the Lord of Israel crossed a line beyond which only his death could serve to atone. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken.

Since Ahaziah had no son to succeed him on the throne of Israel, his brother Jehoram reigned in his stead, ascending the throne in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. It is noteworthy that the correlation between the dating of the onset of the reigns of the two kings bearing the same name is problematic, primarily because it is asserted later that Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel (8:16). Scholars have long struggled with this problem, which is of only peripheral concern for the purpose of this study.

2

Elijah and Elisha

The Ascension of Elijah

².¹ And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ².² And Elijah said unto Elisha: ‘Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el.’ And Elisha said unto him: ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they went down to Beth-el. ².³ And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him: ‘Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today?’ And he said: ‘Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.’ ².⁴ And Elijah said unto him: ‘Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.’ And he said: ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they came to Jericho. ².⁵ And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him: ‘Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today?’ And he said: ‘Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.’ ².⁶ And Elijah said unto him: ‘Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to the Jordan.’ And he said: ‘As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ And they two went on.

².⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite to them afar off; and they two stood by the Jordan. ².⁸ And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. ².⁹ And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha: ‘Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.’ And Elisha said: ‘I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.’ ².¹⁰ And he said: ‘Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. ².¹¹ And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ².¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried: ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.’ And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

It would appear from the beginning of this long passage that Elijah had already been told that his prophetic mission had run its course and that his death was imminent. However, from his behavior it seems reasonable to assume that he only knew that it would happen, but not when and where it would take place. Some traditional commentators suggest that Elijah was aware that he would undergo an extraordinary ascension as the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, whatever that assertion means, beyond that his departure from his worldly existence would not be as that of other mortals. It has been suggested that the whirlwind into heaven is a metaphor for deep spiritual dynamics which cannot properly be explained in human terminologies … He did not die a normal death, but was taken into the spiritual worlds by some process referred to as a whirlwind.¹⁹ There was only one comparable instance recorded in Scripture and that was with regard to pre-diluvium Enoch, who walked with God, and he was not; for God took him (Gen. 5:24), the meaning of which also remains a mystery. It is noteworthy that, in a minor tractate of the Talmud, both Enoch and Elijah are listed among the nine or ten notables who entered the Garden of Eden alive.²⁰

We are told that, in anticipation of Elijah’s demise, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. As there are several locations that bore the name Gilgal, there is disagreement among commentators as to which one is mentioned here. It has cogently been argued that the Gilgal mentioned in this text must refer to a town north of Bethel, possibly modern Gilgilia, a few miles to the north.²¹ In support of this, it has been pointed out that the very next verse in the text states that they went down to Beth-el, which suggests that Gilgal was at a higher elevation than Bethel. This alone is taken as evidence that the text is not referring to the more prominent and historic Gilgal in the Jordan valley, from which one would have to ‘go up’ to Bethel.²² However, assuming that this reading is correct, it may be asked what Elijah and Elisha were doing in this rather obscure Gilgal, a location not mentioned previously in connection with Elijah.

Alternatively, and despite the difficulty caused by the text’s assertion that they went down to Beth-el, it has been argued that the reference is to Gilgal in the Jordan valley, which played a prominent role in the history of the children of Israel. It was the site of the Tabernacle following the crossing of the Jordan under Joshua to stake claim to the Promised Land, and later served as the site where Samuel gathered the people to accept Saul the Benjamite as their first king (1 Sam. 11:14).²³ Moreover it was at Gilgal that Joshua circumcised all those who had not been formerly entered into the covenant so that they could join in celebration of Passover in their homeland (Josh. 5:2-10). It may be assumed that Elijah went there because of the residual sanctity of Gilgal, which made it an appropriate venue from which to leave his mortal existence. However, when nothing happened to him there, he urged Elisha: Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. That is, as one commentator imaginatively explained Elijah’s implicit intent, he said to Elisha, Let me take leave of you here, and here you will take over leadership of the other prophets and of the whole Jewish People. By transferring the leadership to you at Gilgal, you will be fortified in Torah and the sanctity of the commandments, as is epitomized by this place.²⁴

Why did Elijah want Elisha not to accompany him to Beth-el? It has been suggested that Elijah’s intrinsic modesty urged that there be no witnesses to his anticipated extraordinary departure from mortal existence.²⁵ Another approach suggests that Elijah, knowing what would take place, did not want Elisha to be startled by the awesome unnatural manner in which he would leave his disciple.²⁶ Alternatively, it is possible that Elijah was testing Elisha’s commitment to him as his trusted disciple and successor, a commitment that proved to be unwavering.²⁷ Rejecting Elijah’s request, Elisha said unto him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. Elisha was determined to remain with Elijah to the very end.

It is noteworthy that the Hebrew text states that the Lord sent Elijah ad beit-el, translated as to Beth-el. However, the phrase ad beit-el may also be understood as saying ‘until Beth-el,’ which might mean that Elijah was told to go as far as Beth-el without entering the city. That is, he was not to go into the city which had been spiritually contaminated since Jereboam made it a center of worship intended to replace the Temple in Jerusalem. However, outside the walls of Beth-el, the name which Jacob gave to the Canaanite city Luz to commemorate his dream of the ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven and which, upon awakening, Jacob declared this is none other than the house of God (Gen. 28:12-19). Elijah apparently thought that this might be the appropriate place from which to depart the mundane world.

So they went down to Beth-el, where there apparently was a seminary for prophets. It has been pointed out that, with some notable exceptions, as a rule one does not attain to prophecy by sudden inspiration. Just as in all sciences and professions, one must go through a series of stages of study and experience before being able to reach the necessary proficiency to become a master of the field, in this case it was also necessary in order to become a true prophet of the Lord. Those attending the seminary were designated as sons of the prophets, that is, students that attached themselves as apprentices to an acknowledged prophet who instructs them about what is required of them to attain to prophecy.²⁸ It has been pointed out that notwithstanding the animus of Jezebel toward the prophets of the Lord and her attempt, with Ahab’s complicity, to have them exterminated, only a hundred of them known to the palace were successfully hidden from her (1 Kings 18:4). However, after Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal and Astarte on Mount Carmel, the sons of the prophets soon began to multiply in different centers in the country where seminaries, which were abolished during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, were reestablished for their education and training.²⁹

Upon word of the arrival of Elijah and Elisha, the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him: Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? It has been pointed out that the words thy master might be read as suggesting that Elijah was his master but not theirs, possibly implying that they considered themselves to be the equals of Elijah.³⁰ This would have been a rather naïve if not arrogant assumption on their part, because it has been noted that "those who desire to prophesy are called sons of the prophets and, although they train their minds, it is uncertain whether or not the Shechinah [Divine Presence] will rest upon them."³¹ In any case, word of Elijah’s impending transition appears to have become common knowledge in prophetic circles, which is rather surprising especially with the sons of the prophets inquiring of Elisha if he, the disciple of Elijah, was aware of what they purported to know. Elisha’s curt response to their naïve if not foolish question was Yea, I know it. And, aware as he was of Elijah’s reluctance to publicize what awaited him, Elisha asked them to hold ye your peace.³²

As time went by and Elijah continued to thrive it was evident that he was not going to meet his end in Beth-el, he repeated what he told Elisha in Gilgal, tarry here in Beth-el, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho, and he received the identical response: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho, which also had a seminary for prophets, with Elijah hoping that it would be his final destination. Like Gilgal and Beth-el, Jericho also boasted great spiritual and historical significance. It was there that Joshua encountered the captain of the host of the Lord as he prepared to conquer the ancient well-fortified city (Josh. 5:13-15). The conquest subsequently took place in an extraordinary manner after the Lord intervened on behalf of the children of Israel, facilitating its conquest (Josh. 6:20).

At Jericho the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and offered the identical comment that he received at Beth-el, to which Elisha gave the same response as he did to the sons of the prophets there. And repeating what occurred before, Elijah again pleaded with Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to the Jordan, and Elisha again responded: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. The two then went on to the river’s edge.

The narrator asserts that fifty of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite to them afar off, on the eastern shore of the Jordan, and watched as Elijah and Elisha stood on the western shore of the river. It may be suggested that Elijah came to believe that it was across the river that his end awaited him; possibly because of the parallel that could be drawn between his having been instructed by an angel of the Lord at Beersheba to have a hearty meal, after which he went in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God (1 Kings 19:8), and the story of Moses’ ascension there. We are told that Moses ascended the mount to receive the Torah and that he remained there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water during that entire period (Ex. 34:28). And like Moses, who died on the eastern shore of the Jordan and was secretly buried in an unmarked grave, Elijah might have suspected that he too would die there and be similarly buried. Presumably it was for this reason that he had again asked Elisha not to accompany him, not wishing anyone who knew him to witness his demise, a wish the fulfillment of which would be denied him.

To meet his anticipated fate, Elijah needed to cross the Jordan. It will be recalled that Moses miraculously crossed the Sea of Reeds on dry land during the exodus from Egypt, when the waters were miraculously parted, and a similar miracle occurred when the Jordan was parted to allow the children of Israel to cross the river on dry land to enter the Promised Land (Josh. 3:16-17). In an inspired move, Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. As pointedly noted by the narrator there were fifty of the sons of the prophets who could bear witness to the miraculous event.

Once they crossed over the Jordan, sensing that his end was at hand, Elijah said unto Elisha: Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. Elisha responded: I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. What he had in mind by requesting that Elijah bequeath to him a double portion of thy spirit is uncertain. However, it has cogently been suggested that what Elisha had in mind was that Elijah’s role as primary spokesman for the Lord would henceforth be assumed by any number of the sons of the prophets. Accordingly, what he was asking for was that Elijah consider him as his son eldest and heir, who would be entitled to a double portion of his legacy, that is, of his indomitable spirit to serve as human mouthpiece of the Lord.³³

Elijah responded to his principal disciple that thou hast asked a hard thing; that is, under normal circumstances it would not be in his purview to make such a commitment, the grant of prophecy being a divine prerogative. Nonetheless, and presupposing that Elijah was aware of how his departure from mortal existence would take place, he was inspired to tell Elisha, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be unto thee. That is, since his departure would be humanly inexplicable, and therefore not to be witnessed by other mortals, if Elisha were to be divinely privileged to witness it, in effect his wish would already have been granted.³⁴ However, if he were unable to see it, that would be a sign that it shall not be so. That is, he would not be granted the degree of spiritual infusion that he so desired.

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire that came between them, and, as noted earlier in the text (2:1), Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. It has been noted that the chariot of fire, and horses of fire present a pictorial symbol which had more than one association for Israel. Since the function of a symbol is to evoke a response rather than to communicate a precise meaning, and since that response may be made up of several elements which are not directly related to each other, it is difficult, if not impossible, to give a clear description of what the words were intended to convey.³⁵

Perhaps needless to point out, the description of Elijah’s ascension to heaven transcends the bounds of reason and therefore defies rational explanation. It is noteworthy that it was said of Moses that there hath not risen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face (Deut. 34:10), yet Moses’ death and burial are recorded (Deut. 34:5-6), whereas Elijah simply vanishes, without any mention of his death anywhere in Scripture. It has been suggested that Moses died after completing his mission in life, whereas Elijah lives on in some inexplicable manner because his mission to prepare the children of Israel for their final redemption is not yet completed. As the last of the prophets prophesied: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction (Mal. 3:23-24).

When Elisha saw Elijah’s ascension in a