2:1 Just before 1 the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.
4:38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him 3 and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire 4 and boil some stew for the prophets.” 5
9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild 6 and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container 7 of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.
8:1 Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, 8 for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.”
13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. 9 King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. 10 He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot 11 and horsemen of Israel!” 12
6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. 13 The king 14 sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, 15 Elisha 16 said to the leaders, 17 “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” 18 Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 19
1 tn Or “when.”
2 sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.
3 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
4 tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
5 tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
4 tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”
5 tn Or “flask.”
5 tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
6 tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”
7 tn Heb “went down to him.”
8 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
9 sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.
7 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “elders.”
12 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
13 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”