Double portrait: Elijah and Elisha
Elisha prophesied from the 19th year of Jehozephat, which is the 2nd year of Joram, to the 10th year of Joash. This is a period of approximately 66 years. Besides these kings, Elisha also experienced Jehu and Jehoahaz. However, Elisha's accounts (2 Kings 2-8) only mention Joram. Numerous accounts are anonymous (2 Kings 5-8). Do these also concern Joram, or does it concern a different king? The latter seems unlikely, especially considering that Joram reigned for only 12 years.
Upon closer inspection, there appears to be a good reason why the accounts are largely anonymous. They are not in chronological order. Because it would be very confusing to mention a different king each time, the narrator left the king anonymous. The accounts are arranged in a sequence that parallels the accounts of Elijah. The overview below illustrates this.
Elijah (1 Kon. 16 – 2 Kon. 1)
1 Kon. 16:34 Jericho
17:2-6 Elijah drinks the water in the wadi
17:8-16 Elijah and the widow; miraculous multiplication of oil and flour
17:17-24 resurrection of a widow's child
18:20-39 After the events on Mount Carmel, the people cry out: The LORD alone is God
19:1-3 Elijah's life is threatened
20 en 22: two military campaigns against Aram
2 Kon. 1: Elijah gives the word of God to a dying king
2 Kon. 2:12 Elijah dies; proclamation: My father, my father! Israel's chariot and horsemen
Elisha (2 Kon. 2 – 8)
2 Kon. 2:18 Elisha in Jericho
3:9-20 soldiers drink the water in the wadi
4:1-7 Elisha and the widow: miraculous multiplication of the oil
4:38-44 flour in the pot; loaves multiply to give food
4:8-37 resurrection of a widow's child
5:1-27 After his healing, Naaman says: Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel
6:8-14 Elisa's life is threatened
6 en 7: two military campaigns of Aram against Israel
8:7-15 Elisha gives the word of God to a dying king
2 Kon. 13:14 Elisha dies; proclamation: My father, my father! Israel's chariot and horsemen
There is a clear parallel between Elijah and Moses. Elijah was miraculously provided with water and bread at the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:6), while the people of Israel, under Moses' leadership, were provided with manna and water by God during their passage. And just as Moses met God (Exodus 34), Elijah also met God on the same mountain (1 Kings 19). When we compare these last two stories, the significant similarities are striking. Both Moses and Elijah did not die but were taken up into heaven.
Moses was succeeded by Joshua. He was to complete Moses' commission by leading the tribes into the promised land. Strikingly, this commission begins with a crossing of the Jordan River, which is immediately reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea.
At the end of his life, Elijah uses his cloak to create a dry path across the Jordan (2 Kings 2:8). After Elijah is taken up, Elisha takes Elijah's cloak and uses it to cross the Jordan as well (2 Kings 2:14). In the New Testament, we find numerous parallels between Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. It's striking how Jesus commands his disciples (and us) to spread the Gospel, baptize people in His name, and perform signs and wonders in His name. What a tremendous commission! As a Christian community, we can be the Joshua and Elisha of the world.
Bas Krins
Important source: Alex Israel; II Kings; in a whirlwind