The Bible Book

126

LET ME INHERIT

A DOUBLE PORTION

OF YOUR SPIRIT

2 KINGS 2:9, THE CHARIOT OF FIRE

E

lijah’s impressive exit

from this world stands

as testament to his

importance as a prophet and

faithful servant of God. Both he

and his disciple Elisha know in

advance that God will take him

to heaven and are able to prepare.

Devoted to Elijah to the end,

Elisha refuses three times to leave

his master in his last moments.

Elijah uses his cloak to part the

waters of the Jordan River before

asking whether there is any last

request he can grant his disciple.

The only thing Elisha asks of his

master is “a double portion of your

spirit” (2 Kings 2:9), a phrasing that

references Israel’s inheritance laws.

Although land was shared out

between a man’s sons when he

died, the eldest would receive a

larger share—two portions of land.

By asking for this, Elisha wishes

to confirm himself as Elijah’s

spiritual heir and successor.

The prophet ascends

Elijah’s ascension to heaven occurs

quite suddenly as the two men

walk together. He is swept away

dramatically in a whirlwind, as a

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

2 Kings 2

THEME

The ascension of a prophet

SETTING

Around 850 bce

Banks of the Jordan River.

KEY FIGURES

Elijah A prophet who urges

the people of Israel to abandon

their worship of Baal and

return to the worship of

the true God.

Elisha A faithful servant

of Elijah and the prophet

chosen by God to be Elijah’s

successor. Over the course of

60 years, he builds on Elijah’s

work by teaching the

Israelites the ways of God.

Elijah

Little is known about Elijah’s

life before his sudden

appearance as a prophet about

halfway through the reign of

Ahab, the son of Omri. This

would put Elijah’s emergence

as a prophet at around 864 bce.

Mostly, Elijah’s activities are

confined to the northern

kingdom, although he is forced

to take refuge elsewhere when

fleeing from Ahab’s wrath.

Throughout his relatively brief

career, Elijah has one main

purpose: This is to turn the

Israelites back to the worship

of the one true God and away

from the worship of Baal and

other pagan deities.

In the conflict with Baal’s

priests, Elijah aims to show

the supremacy of monotheism

over pagan polytheism. A man

of firm and unflinching faith,

Elijah constantly teaches that

there is no god except the

God of Israel, a statement

backed up by the translation

of His name, which means

“My God is Jehovah.”

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127

A fiery chariot carries Elijah to

heaven in this 16th-century Russian

icon. Although the Bible mentions

horses of fire, the presence of angels,

seen here, is not explicitly stated.

See also: A Prophet in Hiding 124 ■ Elijah and the Prophets of Baal 125

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

burning chariot divides him from

Elisha. Indeed, it is more of a

disappearance than a death, and

he later returns to Earth, along

with the prophet Moses (see

pp. 234–35). The chariot of fire

Elisha sees has connotations with

God’s heavenly host of angels,

which further suggests that Elijah

does not simply die, but joins the

ranks of God’s faithful in heaven.

When Elijah disappears, Elisha

cries out and rips his garments in

two, an action that is often a

response to calamity in the Bible.

He picks up Elijah’s cloak and

strikes the Jordan River with it.

The waters part, just as they did for

Elijah, and Elisha crosses the river

on dry land. Prophets from Jericho

witness the miracle and proclaim

that “the spirit of Elijah is resting

on Elisha” (2:15). They hail Elisha as

Elijah’s chosen successor.

Two contrasting leaders

Elijah and Elisha are both chosen

by God, who empowers them

to carry out miraculous deeds.

Yet, their backgrounds could not

be more different. Elijah was born

and raised in rural Gilead beyond

the Jordan River, probably in a poor

family, whereas Elisha is the son of

a wealthy Israelite landowner.

While there is no doubting that

Elijah has the harder task of the

two in rekindling the Israelites’

faith in God and turning them

away from the god Baal, Elisha

competently carries on his legacy,

counseling the rulers of the time

and continuing to produce many

more miracles in service to God. ■

Suddenly a chariot of

fire and horses of fire

appeared and separated

the two of them, and

Elijah went up to heaven

in a whirlwind.

2 Kings 2:11

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