Elijah and Elisha, Part I

Four hundred years after the time of Moses, Elijah the Tishbite (mid-ninth-century BCE) serves as the greatest religious leader and prophet of his generation, often patterning his acts on the deeds of Moses. Moses had mentored Joshua, who then succeeded him. Joshua replicated some of Moses’ miracles. Elijah mentors Elisha ben Shaphat, who then succeeds him. Elisha in turn replicates some of the acts of Elijah, and by extension, some of the acts of Moses and Joshua.

Elijah and Moses

Although Elijah, in the overall scheme of things, is less significant than Moses, the relevant narratives in the Book of Kings reflect events in the life of the earlier leader.¹ “The cumulative impact of these extensive Mosaic allusions is to present Elijah as a Moses redivivus. Both appear at crucial moments in the religious and political history of the people. Through Moses, [God] rescued the Israelites from Egyptian oppression and formed [them] as his people; through Elijah, [God] preserves the faithful members of his people amid paganism and persecution. Both are significant figures in the history of prophetism as well. [The] long line of [God’s] intermediaries in Israel [began with Moses]; in Elijah that line produces its quintessential hero.”²

Elijah, as Moses, is an important leader in his day. Each is a powerful figure, commanding respect from his peers. Each hears directly from God. Each spends significant time in the wilderness. Each has a distinctive appearance (Ex. 34:29-35; II Kgs. 1:8). There are many other parallels between Elijah and Moses:

• Elijah treks forty days and forty nights to reach Mount Horeb [Sinai]; Moses is atop Sinai for forty days and forty nights (I Kgs. 19:8; Ex. 24:18).
• Elijah survives on very limited rations in his escape to Horeb; Moses eats neither bread nor water on Sinai (I Kgs. 19:8; Ex. 34:28).
• Elijah rests in a cave on Horeb; Moses stands in a cleft on Mount Sinai (I Kgs. 19:9 ff.; Ex. 33:22-23).
• At Horeb/Sinai each stands in the presence of God and receives a theophany (ibid).³
• “Elijah covers his own face with his mantle much as [God] places a hand over the cleft of rock so that Moses cannot see the divine face” (Ex. 33:21-23).⁴

Each prophet confronts the ruler of his day (Elijah with Ahab, as earlier Moses with Pharaoh) and demands — and provokes — the desired changes in the monarch’s behavior (I Kgs. 18:19-20, 41-45 and 21:20-29; Ex. 7-12); asks the populace to decide between loyalty to him or to another group (the prophets of Baal, I Kgs. 18:21; the challenge from Korah, Dathan and Abiram, Num. 16); sets up an altar with twelve stones, corresponding to the twelve tribes (I Kgs. 18:31; Ex. 24:4); and is informed as to the identity of his successor, who is then asked to appoint his successor publicly (I Kgs. 19:16; Num. 27:18, Deut. 31:7-8).⁵

In the lives of both Elijah and Moses, God manifests the divine presence and power through a judicious use of fire. The burning bush, the Mount Sinai revelation (Ex. 19:18), and the dedication of the Tabernacle (Lev. 9:24) all had the divine presence represented by fire. Elijah invokes God’s fire during the contest with the prophets of Baal atop Mount Carmel (I Kgs. 18:38), where the fire comes and consumes the offerings set up by Elijah, serving as miraculous proof of God’s presence in the world. Sudden fire is also at the center of events when King Ahaziah sends two military delegations to capture Elijah; there, at Elijah’s behest, fire consumes these warriors (II Kgs. 1:10-12), echoing the incineration of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, where divine fire likewise consumes them (Lev. 10:2). In Pesikta Rabbati, the editor of that Midrash collection lists many similarities between Moses and Elijah, often ingeniously citing biblical verses to support these connections.⁶

Joshua and Moses

Joshua not only follows Moses as leader of the Israelites, he consciously repeats events in Moses’ life. Just as Moses sent scouts to seek out the land, so Joshua sends scouts to reconnoiter Jericho (Num. 13, Josh. 2). Just as the waters of the Sea of Reeds split to allow the Israelites to cross through in safety, so a similar event takes place with Joshua at the Jordan (Ex. 14:21-30; Josh. 3:7-13; 4:23). Joshua, like Moses before him, needs to adjudicate between the territorial wishes of the various tribes (Josh. 17:14-18; Num. 32).

When the Israelites cross over the Jordan, they place twelve memorial stones to acknowledge this event. Joshua chapter 4 “preserves two traditions about memorial stones set up to commemorate the crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites. One describes the memorial stones set up at Gilgal (4:1-3, 6-7, 8b, 9, 15-19).”⁷ This parallels the twelve stones set up in the bed of the river at the base of Mount Sinai, one each for the twelve tribes (Ex. 24:4).

Prior to a significant event — the giving of the Decalogue for Moses, the crossing of the Jordan for Joshua — each leader informs the people that they are to prepare themselves for this great occasion (Ex. 19:10-15; Josh. 3:1-5). “[A close reading of the text] reveals that the biblical narrative portrays Joshua as more than just a successor to Moses. Numerous passages seem consciously to portray him as [a counterpart] of Moses … The Lord assures Joshua that the divine presence will accompany him as it did Moses (Josh. 1:5, 3:7; cf. 4:14). The crossing of the Jordan, led by Joshua, is described as analogous to the crossing of the Red Sea (Josh. 4:23). Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the army of [God] (Josh. 5:13-15) exhibits a striking resemblance to Moses’ encounter with the angel of [God] at the burning bush (Ex. 3:2-5) … Joshua 12 juxtaposes a summary of Joshua’s military feats (12:7-24) to those of Moses (12:1-6). Joshua’s assignment of the inheritances for nine and one-half tribes [west] of the Jordan is paralleled to the similar work by Moses for the Transjordanian tribes (Josh. 13:8-33 = 14:1-19:51). Joshua’s function as covenant mediator in Joshua 24 resembles that of Moses at Sinai (Ex. 20-24).”⁸ The Midrash also frequently used the epithet “servant of [God]” for both Moses and Joshua.⁹

Elijah and Elisha

Not only did Elijah appoint Elisha ben Shaphat as his successor, but for five or six years (or longer) he was Elisha’s mentor.¹⁰ Elisha repeats many of Elijah’s acts. As Elijah, on his southward journey, had struck the Jordan River with his cloak in order for the waters to split to allow dry passage for himself and Elisha, so following Elijah’s ascent to heaven, Elisha takes that selfsame mantle and divides the Jordan on his return journey to the north (II Kgs. 2:13-14).¹¹

Elisha duplicates some of the miracles of his mentor, to honor Elijah’s memory, to claim his own power, and to be seen by others as a prophet of God. “It is often observed that several deeds told of Elisha — the multiplication of oil ([II Kgs. 4] vv. 4-5) and bread (vv. 43-44), and the revival of the woman’s son (vv. 33-35) — have their counterpart in the Elijah cycle of stories (cf. I Kgs. 17:14-16, 17:20-22).”¹² Radak, on II Kings 2:14, notes that Elisha performs sixteen miracles in comparison to the eight performed by Elijah (cf. II Kgs. 2:9-10).

Some of Elisha’s deeds have a Moses-like quality. After assuming his new role, Elisha sweetens the waters at Jericho (II Kgs. 2:19-22), an act reminiscent of Moses’ prescription for healing the waters at Marah (Ex. 15:23-25).¹³ Elisha’s healing of the tzara’at of the Aramean general Naaman echoes Moses’ request for Miriam’s healing in the Book of Numbers (II Kgs. 5; Num. 12). His feeding of the hungry villagers (II Kgs. 4) is in the tradition of Moses with the Israelites in the desert (Ex. 16, Num. 11 — quail and manna). Further, Elisha delegates some of his authority to others, as did Moses (II Kgs. 9:1-3; Ex. 18:24-26, 24:14).

As fire, horses, and chariots are part of Moses’ life (Ex. 3, 14, 15), so there are several incidents in the life of Elisha where these elements play a role. Not the least of them tells how, at the time of Elijah’s ascension, Elisha sees a fiery chariot with fiery horses. Later, Elisha’s life is saved when the hills all around him are covered with horses and chariots of fire (II Kgs. 2:11; 6:17).

That Elisha chooses to repeat some of the miracles of Elijah, his direct mentor, echoes similar parallel patterning by Joshua in terms of Moses, as noted earlier. Perhaps Elisha thinks of himself in part as a latter-day Joshua. When they cross the Jordan, Elijah asks Elisha what final act he can perform for his disciple; Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s “spirit” (ru’ah) — the same word God uses to describe Joshua to Moses (“Single out Joshua … an inspired man,” ish asher ru’ah bo, Num. 27:18) and which describes Joshua following Moses’ death (filled with the spirit, malei ru’ah, Deut. 34:9). I Kings 19 closes on the note that Elisha became Elijah’s attendant, using the same verbal root (sh-r-t) that describes Joshua’s relationship to Moses (I Kgs. 19:21; Ex. 24:13; 33:11; Num. 11:28). II Kings 2 situates Elijah and Elisha at Gilgal, likewise the site of Joshua’s initial encampment once the Israelites crossed the River Jordan (Josh. 4-5). “Gilgal’s association with the Joshua traditions establishes the analogy between the relationship of Elijah and Elisha and that of Moses and Joshua.”¹⁴

A good leader sets a personal example and serves as a model for appropriate behavior. Elijah served as a guide for Elisha ben Shaphat, just as Moses had been the mentor of Joshua ben Nun. Some of this mentoring/example-setting was direct, and in other cases the disciple was aware of his exemplar’s fame and sought to adopt similar behavior. The mid-ninth-century prophets Elijah and Elisha were aware of the acts of Moses, even though that leader had lived hundreds of years before them. In different ways, they sought to emulate Moses. Each of these biblical leaders — Elijah and Elisha, and Joshua in his time — performs acts unique to his own life situation, yet they display an awareness of past precedents. They follow and honor those who preceded them.