Elisha
He asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and saw the hills full of fire.
Old Testament · 9th century BC · 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Luke · Also known as Eliseus, Son of Shaphat
About Elisha
Elisha was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen when Elijah threw his cloak over him. He left everything to follow, and when Elijah was taken up, he asked for "a double portion of thy spirit." His ministry was full of help for ordinary people: oil that kept flowing for a poor widow, a Shunammite family’s son raised to life, and the Syrian commander Naaman healed of leprosy. When an enemy army surrounded him, he prayed for his frightened servant: "LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see."
Elisha served in the northern kingdom of Israel through several kings. Many of his miracles happen in homes and fields, among widows, farmers, and even foreigners. Jesus mentioned Naaman’s healing in his first sermon at Nazareth.
The story
The cloak
Elisha was ploughing "with twelve yoke of oxen before him" when Elijah passed by and cast his mantle upon him. Elisha said goodbye to his parents, sacrificed his oxen to feed the people, "and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him."
1 Kings 19:19-21
A double portion
Before Elijah was taken, he asked, "Ask what I shall do for thee." Elisha answered, "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." He saw Elijah go up, took up his mantle, struck the Jordan and asked, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" The waters parted.
2 Kings 2:9-14
Oil that kept flowing
A prophet’s widow was about to lose her two sons to a creditor. All she had was a pot of oil. Elisha told her to borrow empty vessels, "not a few," and pour. The oil stopped only when there were no more vessels. She sold it and paid her debt.
2 Kings 4:1-7
Wash in Jordan seven times
Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, had leprosy. Elisha sent word: "Go and wash in Jordan seven times." Naaman was furious, but his servants persuaded him. "His flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel."
2 Kings 5:1-15
Open his eyes
An army surrounded the city of Dothan. Elisha’s servant cried, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Elisha said, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them," and prayed, "LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes." The mountain was "full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
2 Kings 6:13-17
Key moments
- Called from the plough: Elijah’s mantle falls on him. (1 Kings 19:19)
- A double portion: His request to Elijah. (2 Kings 2:9)
- The widow’s oil: Enough to pay every debt. (2 Kings 4:7)
- Naaman healed: Seven times in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5:14)
- Chariots of fire at Dothan: "Open his eyes." (2 Kings 6:17)
Questions about Elisha
In meetBible these answers are given in Elisha’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
What is a double portion?
When Elijah asked what he could do for me before he was taken, I said, "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." In Israel the firstborn son inherited a double portion, so many readers understand it as asking to be Elijah’s true heir and successor. Elijah answered, "Thou hast asked a hard thing," and said it would be so if I saw him taken. I did.
Why did Naaman have to wash seven times?
Scripture doesn’t explain why seven. It records that Naaman expected me to come out and wave my hand over him, and was angry: weren’t the rivers of Damascus better than the Jordan? His servants said, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?" When he washed as he was told, he was healed, and he said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel."
What did your servant see at Dothan?
He saw the Syrian army surrounding the city and was terrified. I told him, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them," and prayed, "LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." Then "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 2 Kings 2; 4–6.