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1–12. The Ascension of the Prophet Elijah to Heaven. 13–25. The beginning of the prophetic ministry and social activities of the prophet Elisha: his first miracles. 2 Kings 2:1. While the Lord wanted to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah was walking with Elisha from Gilgal. The first verse in its first half has the character of an inscription to a whole section about the “ascension of Elijah” - an event apparently completely known among readers of the 4th book of Kings; Among the Jews, this event, like the entire life of the prophet Elijah, was surrounded by a whole network of legends 2. The time of the ascension of the prophet Elijah dates back to the time after the death of King Ahaziah of Israel (2 Kings 1:17) and, probably, to the very beginning of the reign of Jehoram of Judah (to whom the prophet Elijah, according to (2 Chronicles 21:12-15) wrote an accusatory letter). In meaning, the mysterious ascension of the prophet Elijah is similar to the mysterious death of the patriarch Enoch (Gen. 5:24; cf. Sir. 48:12, 49:16; see “Explanatory Bible,” vol. I, pp. 42–43): both events assured Old Testament man of the existence of an afterlife and predicted the future general resurrection of the dead Gilgals (Heb. gilgal). Of the two localities of this name, this is certainly not the so-called one. “Hill of Circumcision” - Gilgal between Jordan and Jericho east of the latter in the tribe of Benjamin, known from the history of Joshua (Joshua 4:19,5:3,10,9:6,10:6,15); Samuel and Saul (1 Samuel 6:16,11:15,13:1 et seq.) and David (2 Samuel 19:15,40, now Jeljul (Onomasticon, 287)), and Gilgal near Bethel (cf. 2 Kings 4:38; Am.4:4,5:5; Os.4:5,9:15,12:12); southwest of Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, now Giljila (Onomasticon, 319). 2 Kings 2:2. And Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Bethel. But Elisha said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth! I won't leave you. And they went to Bethel. 2 Kings 2:3. And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will exalt your master over your head?” He said: I also know, be silent. 2 Kings 2:4. And Elijah said to him: Elisha, stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives! I won't leave you. And they came to Jericho. 2 Kings 2:5. And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came to Elisha and said to him: Do you know that today the Lord will take your master and exalt him above your head? He said: I also know, be silent. 2 Kings 2:6. And Elijah said to him: Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives! I won't leave you. And they both went. Apparently, the prophet Elijah had only a general premonition, based on the general nature of the revelation, that the time had come for his departure from earthly life: in such a general form, both the prophet Elisha and the sons of the prophets could have been informed from him (v. 3); but not only the latter and the prophet Elisha, but probably the prophet Elijah himself did not know the situation and details of the upcoming event: this is indicated by the conditional form of the prophet Elijah’s speech to Elisha (2 Kings 2:10): “if you see me taken away from you...”. In view of this, not knowing whether God wants even Elisha to witness the last minutes of his earthly life, and also due to the understandable desire for solitude in these moments from everything everyday, from the world and people, the prophet Elijah more than once evades even Elisha; together, he could experience the love and devotion of this disciple closest to him, long destined to be his successor (1 Kings 19:16,19). Here the peculiarity of the entire future activity of the prophet Elisha is outlined, that it was carried out in constant interaction with the “sons of the prophets” Bene-Nebiim (2 Kings 2:3,5,7,15), who appeared everywhere in the subsequent activities of the prophet Elisha (4 Kings 4:1,38,5:22,7:1), while the prophet Elijah acted alone ( 1 Kings 19:14). Perhaps the development of the institution of “sons of the prophets” (see the note about this institution in 1 Kings 20:35) at this time was caused by the particular tension of the struggle of the true religion of Jehovah with pagan cults, as well as with the cult of calves; The fight against the latter is indicated by the concentration of the sons of the “prophets” in Bethel and Gilgal – the main (along with Dan and other cities) points of service to the golden calves (cf. Am.4:4,5:5; Hos.4:5, etc.). The very visit of the prophet Elijah to these areas in the last minutes of his life was probably intended to further strengthen the sons of the prophets in the theocratic task of their ministry (the words of Elisha to them also have the nature of a calming admonition to the sons of the prophets: “I also know, be silent” v. 3). 2 Kings 2:7. Fifty men from the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, and they both stood by the Jordan. 2 Kings 2:8. And Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the water with it, and it parted this way and that, and they both crossed on dry ground. But the sons of the prophets were eyewitnesses not to the main miracle in this narrative - the ascension of the prophet Elijah to heaven, but only to the miraculous transition of both prophets through the Jordan - a transition that resembled the miraculous transition of the Jews through the Red Sea (Ex. 14:16,21; cf. Josh. 4:23): then Moses, in sight of the whole people, with his rod, a symbol of his dignity as a leader, strikes and divides the water, and the people believed his divine calling (Ex. 14:31); now Elijah, like the second Moses (cf. 1 Kings 19:1), before the host of the sons of the prophets with his mantle, a symbol of his prophetic ministry (now transferred to Elisha, cf. 1 Kings 19:19), divides the water and thus for the last time before separation from his disciples testifies to himself as the true leader of prophecy. Only after accepting Elijah's mantle (2 Kings 2:13) does Elisha become filled with his spirit of power, the successor of the great prophet. (On the holiness of priestly vestments cf. Eze. 44:19). 2 Kings 2:9. When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what you can do before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, Let the spirit that is in you be doubly upon me. 2 Kings 2:10. And he said: You are asking something difficult. If you see how I will be taken from you, then it will be so for you, but if you do not see it, it will not be so. To understand the meaning of Elisha’s request (v. 9), which at first glance seems to cast a shadow on his humility and modesty, it is necessary to keep in mind the relationship that existed between both prophets: the prophet Elijah was the spiritual father (2 Kings 2:12) of Elisha, as well as many “sons of the prophets.” Parting with his spiritual father, the prophet Elisha, as it were, asks him to recognize him as his firstborn spiritual son: according to the law (Deut. 21:17), the firstborn son has the advantage over other brothers that he receives a double part (Hebrew pi-shnaim, as here, v. 9, cf. (Zech. 13:8) where the expression means “2/3 of the whole”) in comparison with each of them; and the prophet Elisha, counting himself, along with the sons of the prophets, among the spiritual sons of the prophet Elijah, asks him to recognize him as the firstborn and from his gracious inheritance - the “spirit” (Hebrew ruach) or “spirit and power” (Luke 1:17) of Elijah, the spirit of prophecy and miracles - to give him a predominant part, and not a double, greater part in comparison with the spirit of Elijah, as in the texts of the LXX, Vulg., Slavic, Russian synodal lists: how could the prophet Elijah tell his successor more than he himself had? The prophet Elijah finds Elisha’s request difficult (v. 10), since its fulfillment depends on whether God will honor Elisha and open his spiritual eyes (cf. 2 Kings 6:17) to see the glorious repose of the prophet Elijah. The prophet Elisha saw this with his spiritual eye (2 Kings 2:11–12), and this was a sign for him that his request (v. 9) was heard and fulfilled; on the contrary, the sons of the prophets who stood close (2 Kings 2:7) obviously did not see anything as Elijah departed from this life, which is why they looked for him on earth (2 Kings 2:16–18). Wed. bliss Theodorite, in question. 7 to 4 Kings. 2 Kings 2:11. As they walked and talked along the way, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated them both, and Elijah rushed into heaven in a whirlwind. 2 Kings 2:12. Elisha looked and exclaimed: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry! And I didn’t see him again. And he grabbed his clothes and tore them in two. The image of the death of the prophet Elijah was clothed in the symbolic images of a whirlwind, fire, chariots and horses - the usual symbols of the Old Testament theophany (Isa.66:15; Hab.3:8; Ps.49:3, 103:3). In this case, the symbols of the whirlwind and fire corresponded to the fiery zeal of the spirit of Elijah (Sir.48:1-12); chariots and horses, as the main strength, support and glory of the people (Exod. 14:9,17; Deut. 20:1; 1 Kings 10:29; Is. 31:1; and further) signified the death of the prophet, as his glorification, a triumphal procession into the world of the celestials (LXX, glorious art. 1, 11: ὠς εὶς τόν σὺρανον, like to heaven). The symbolic meaning of chariots and horses indicated here also serves to explain the exclamation of the prophet Elisha (v. 12) in relation to the disappeared prophet Elijah: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry!” : kings of other nations used horses and chariots in war. “Therefore Elisha called the great Elijah the chariot of Israel and the horseman, because he alone was enough to defeat the enemies and grant victory to his fellow tribesmen” (Blessed Theodoret, question 8). The above expression of the prophet Elisha at his death was used by King Joash of Israel in relation to him (2 Kings 13:14). As a sign of sadness over separation from the prophet Elijah, Elisha tears his clothes. 2 Kings 2:13. And he picked up Elijah's mantle that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan; 2 Kings 2:14. and he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water with it, and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah, He Himself? And he struck the water, and it parted this way and that, and Elisha crossed over. The mantle of Elijah now taken by Elisha was a sign of the prophetic ministry Elisha now accepted (compare the verses (2 Kings 2:8) and (1 Kings 19:19)), a guarantee of the fulfillment of Elisha’s request (2 Kings 2:9-10). With this symbol of the prophetic title, the prophet Elisha goes back to the Jordan and, like Elijah (2 Kings 2:8), strikes him (according to the LXX, Vulgata, Slavic texts - “twice”), with the words of the prayer question: “Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah, He Himself?” , euro af-gu; seventy interpreters (LXX), not understanding this expression, wrote it only in Greek. letters: ἀφφώ, Slav.: “affo”. Taking the reading of LXX, blessed. Theodoret says in explanation of Art. 14: “The prophet, intending to cross the Jordan, imitated the teacher and struck the water with a mantle, without saying anything, but thinking that one mantle was enough to perform a miracle. Since the watery nature did not obey him, he called on God as a teacher, invisible and inaccessible to people. For the word “affo”, according to other translators, is interpreted as “hidden” (Blessed Theodoret, question 9 of the 4th book of Kings). Both for Elisha himself and for the nearby sons of the prophets, the miracle of the division of the Jordan was a sign that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha; in an educational sense, this miracle, like the passage of the Jews through the Red Sea and through the Jordan, predicted the saving waters of baptism (see Troparion on January 5 on the eve of baptism). 2 Kings 2:15. And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho saw him from afar, and said: The spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha. And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground, The sons of the prophets, seeing this miracle, recognize in Elisha the true successor of Elijah, the bearer of his spirit, and reverently bow (cf. 1 Kings 18:7) before the prophet. 2 Kings 2:16. and they said to him: Behold, we have thy servants about fifty men, strong men; Let them go and seek your master; Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord carried him away and cast him down on one of the mountains, or on one of the valleys. He said: don’t send it. 2 Kings 2:17. But they took a long time to get to him, so he got bored, and he said: send it. And they sent fifty men and searched for three days, and did not find him, 2 Kings 2:18. and they returned to him, while he remained in Jericho, and said to them: Did I not tell you: do not go? But not having witnessed the miraculous death of the prophet Elijah and thinking, like Obadiah (1 Kings 18:12), that the Spirit could temporarily capture the great prophet somewhere, they search for him in the mountains and valleys for three days, but in vain, as the prophet Elisha had told them earlier. 2 Kings 2:19. And the inhabitants of that city said to Elisha: Behold, the state of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is barren. 2 Kings 2:20. And he said, Give me a new cup and put salt in it. And they gave it to him. 2 Kings 2:21. And he went out to the source of the water, and threw salt there, and said: Thus says the Lord: I have made this water healthy; there will be no more death or barrenness from it. 2 Kings 2:22. And the water became healthy unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake. Elisha miraculously neutralizes the water in Jericho, which had the power to produce death and infertility (human abortions and animal miscarriages). “The great Moses, having put in wood, transferred the bitter property of water into sweet; and Elisha freed the water from its harmful effects with salt, because it is not difficult for the Lord God to transform the properties of the elements by will, and by word, and by whatever He pleases” (Blessed Theodoret, question 10). 2 Kings 2:23. And he went from there to Bethel. As he walked along the road, little children came out of the city and mocked him and said to him: Go, you bald man! go, baldhead! 2 Kings 2:24. He looked around and saw them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two children from them. The wicked children, the wicked inhabitants of Bethel, the main focus of the cult of the bulls - children who allowed themselves, perhaps with the knowledge of their fathers, who had reason to be hostile to the true prophet of God, to insult the prophet, suffer a terrible punishment according to the word of the prophet for frivolously mocking him (“baldness” is a symbol of shame (Is. 3:17, etc.)). According to the Talmud, Moed dalon 26th century, “Elijah lives forever.” The Talmud and Midrash represent St. Elijah as present in assemblies of the wise and saints, in Jewish schools, in synagogues during circumcision and other rituals; he is the forerunner of the messianic time, he is an inhabitant of paradise who did not suffer the death of Adam; Elijah will one day resolve all difficult issues, Vava mezia 37-a; will explain difficult sections of the Bible, like Ezek.45:18 a., Menachoth 45-a. Wed. lebamoth 102 in. Berachoth, 58-a. - Josephus (Jude. Ancient. 9:2, 2) speaks about the death of the prophet Elijah like this: “About the time of Jehoram disappeared from the face of the earth, and no one to this day knows the details of his death...” Regarding Elijah, just like regarding Enoch who lived before the flood, there is data in the Holy Scriptures, while no one has learned anything accurate about their death You might be interested in: