Elisha
Son of Shaphat; Successor to Elijah
c. 890-800 BCE
Father
Shaphat
Biography
Elisha was called in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah threw his mantle over him as he plowed with twelve yoke of oxen. He burned his plow and yoke as a sacrifice of complete commitment, kissed his parents goodbye, and followed Elijah. He served as attendant until Elijah's ascension, then received the double portion he had requested. Elisha's miracles pattern and amplify Elijah's: cleansing bitter waters, multiplying oil for a widow, raising a dead child, feeding one hundred with twenty loaves (prefiguring Jesus's miraculous feedings), healing Naaman the Syrian leper, striking the Syrian army with blindness, and — uniquely — after his death, a corpse touched to his bones came back to life (2 Kgs 13:21). Elisha's ministry extended YHWH's grace beyond Israel's borders (Naaman was a Syrian general; the widow of Zarephath foreshadows this Gentile reach). Jesus cites both Elijah and Elisha at his rejection in Nazareth (Luke 4:25-27) as evidence that prophetic grace was always destined to include Gentiles. Elisha's ministry, parallel to Elijah's but more extensive, is the OT template for apostolic ministry after Christ's ascension.
Key Events
c. 850 BCE
c. 848
c. 845
c. 840
c. 800
Key Verses
“Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me”
“The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha”
“his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child”
“there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian”
Spiritual Significance
Elisha models the successor prophet who does greater works because his master has gone. His Gentile-inclusive miracles (Naaman) foreshadow the apostolic Gentile mission.
Typological Connection
Elisha's miracles (especially feeding a hundred with a small amount of bread) prefigure Jesus's miraculous feedings. The double-portion Spirit parallels Pentecost. The Gentile-inclusion pattern is the OT type of the post-Pentecost mission.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Faithfulness to his master; pastoral tenderness (especially to the Shunammite); miraculous discernment; boldness before foreign royalty.
Weaknesses
Periodic sternness (calling bears on the mocking boys at Bethel); had to discipline the unfaithful Gehazi.
Lessons
Receiving the double portion requires witnessing the master's translation. Successor ministry extends and amplifies rather than merely replicates. Grace reaches beyond ethnic boundaries.
Related Characters
Elijah
master and predecessor
Shaphat
father
Gehazi
unfaithful servant
Naaman
Syrian general healed
the Shunammite woman
hostess whose son was raised