Elisha

Elisha was a prophet who performed many miracles and served as a spiritual leader in Israel after Elijah.

The name Elisha means “salvation of God”

MaleProphetDivided Monarchy eraOld & New Testaments3 books97 verses

Summary

A prophet living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1 Kings 19:16; referred to as Elisha (אֱלִישָׁע) or Elisha (Ἐλισσαῖος); a son of Shaphat.

Profile

Elisha the prophet followed and succeeded Elijah in the northern kingdom of Israel during the late 800s BC. At that time, the leaders and people of the northern kingdom turned away from God and worshiped the Canaanite god Baal. Ahab and Jezebel were devoted worshipers of this false god, as were their descendants who followed them on the throne. Elisha's ministry lasted from 853 to 798 BC. It began as King Ahab's reign was ending. He played a key role in God's plan to remove Israel's idol-worshiping leaders.

Elisha began his work as a follower of Elijah and was chosen by God to replace him (1 Kings 19:15–21; 2 Kings 2:1–18). After Elijah went up to heaven, Elisha's miracles showed that God's great power was with him.

Elisha’s miracles often involved water. He made the bad water of a spring near Jericho clean and made an ax head float (2 Kings 2:19–22; 6:1–7). When King Joram ran out of water in enemy territory, Elisha accurately predicted that plenty of water would appear (2 Kings 3:4–20). People believed Baal controlled water, so these miracles showed that the Lord, not Baal, was truly in control.

Elisha showed God's power by helping people in real ways. He helped a poor woman by miraculously filling her jars with olive oil (2 Kings 4:1–7). He told a woman from Shunem she would have a son and later brought her son back to life (2 Kings 4:8–37). He healed an Aramean general named Naaman of leprosy (2 Kings 5:1–19). He also provided food for those in need (2 Kings 4:38–44).

Elisha played a role in God's plan to judge the northern kingdom. He anointed Jehu of Israel and Hazael of Aram (2 Kings 8:7–15; 9:1–13). He poured sacred oil on their heads to show God had chosen them. They violently ended the rule of Israel's leaders who promoted Baal worship (see 1 Kings 19:15–18).

Elisha's miracles foreshadowed the work of Jesus. Jesus also:

Jesus spoke about healing Naaman to show that God's mercy extends beyond Israelites to Gentiles (Luke 4:27).

Passages for Further Study

1 Kings 19:15–21; 2 Kings 2:1–9:13; 13:14–21; Luke 4:27

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Elisha

Family members

Father

Shaphat

Alternative names

Mentions

Includes 44 verses that refer to Elisha without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.
  2. Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
  3. So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
  4. 1 Kings 19:20Referred to, not named
    So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
  5. 1 Kings 19:21Referred to, not named
    So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. Using the oxen’s equipment for fuel, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.
  6. Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal,
  7. …and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
  8. Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”
  9. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
  10. Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”
  11. 2 Kings 2:6Referred to, not named
    And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
  12. After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
  13. 2 Kings 2:10Referred to, not named
    “You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.”
  14. As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.
  15. 2 Kings 2:13Referred to, not named
    Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
  16. Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.
  17. When the sons of the prophets who were watching him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
  18. 2 Kings 2:16Referred to, not named
    “Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied.
  19. 2 Kings 2:17Referred to, not named
    But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
  20. 2 Kings 2:18Referred to, not named
    When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
  21. Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
  22. 2 Kings 2:20Referred to, not named
    “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him,
  23. 2 Kings 2:21Referred to, not named
    …and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’”
  24. And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha.
  25. 2 Kings 2:23Referred to, not named
    From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
  26. 2 Kings 2:24Referred to, not named
    Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
  27. 2 Kings 2:25Referred to, not named
    And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
  28. But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”
  29. 2 Kings 3:12Referred to, not named
    Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
  30. Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
  31. Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you.
  32. 2 Kings 3:15Referred to, not named
    But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha
  33. 2 Kings 3:16Referred to, not named
    …and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’
  34. Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
  35. “How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
  36. 2 Kings 4:3Referred to, not named
    “Go,” said Elisha, “borrow empty jars from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few.
  37. 2 Kings 4:5Referred to, not named
    So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring.
  38. One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.
  39. 2 Kings 4:9Referred to, not named
    Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
  40. 2 Kings 4:10Referred to, not named
    Please let us make a small room upstairs and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
  41. 2 Kings 4:11Referred to, not named
    One day Elisha came to visit and went to his upper room to lie down.
  42. 2 Kings 4:12Referred to, not named
    And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him,
  43. 2 Kings 4:13Referred to, not named
    …and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied.
  44. 2 Kings 4:14Referred to, not named
    So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?” “Well, she has no son,” Gehazi replied, “and her husband is old.”
  45. 2 Kings 4:15Referred to, not named
    “Call her,” said Elisha. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway.
  46. 2 Kings 4:16Referred to, not named
    And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
  47. But the woman did conceive, and at that time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
  48. When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed.
  49. 2 Kings 4:33Referred to, not named
    So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
  50. 2 Kings 4:34Referred to, not named
    Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm.
  51. 2 Kings 4:35Referred to, not named
    Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
  52. 2 Kings 4:36Referred to, not named
    Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”
  53. 2 Kings 4:37Referred to, not named
    She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
  54. When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”
  55. 2 Kings 4:41Referred to, not named
    Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
  56. Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
  57. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
  58. Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.”
  59. 2 Kings 5:11Referred to, not named
    But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure my leprosy.
  60. Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, by not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
  61. When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.
  62. 2 Kings 5:26Referred to, not named
    But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants?
  63. 2 Kings 5:27Referred to, not named
    Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.
  64. Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please take note that the place where we meet with you is too small for us.
  65. 2 Kings 6:2Referred to, not named
    Please let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a log so we can build ourselves a place to live there.” “Go,” said Elisha.
  66. 2 Kings 6:3Referred to, not named
    Then one of them said, “Please come with your servants.” “I will come,” he replied.
  67. 2 Kings 6:4Referred to, not named
    So Elisha went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they began to cut down some trees.
  68. But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
  69. 2 Kings 6:13Referred to, not named
    So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,”
  70. Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
  71. As the Arameans came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike these people with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha.
  72. And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria.
  73. When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Then the LORD opened their eyes, and they looked around and discovered that they were in Samaria.
  74. And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
  75. 2 Kings 6:22Referred to, not named
    “Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.”
  76. He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
  77. Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
  78. 2 Kings 6:33Referred to, not named
    While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
  79. Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”
  80. Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the LORD has decreed that a seven-year famine will come to the land.”
  81. Now the king had been speaking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things Elisha has done.”
  82. And Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had revived came to appeal to the king for her house and her land. So Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is the son Elisha restored to life.”
  83. Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
  84. 2 Kings 8:9Referred to, not named
    So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
  85. Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”
  86. 2 Kings 8:11Referred to, not named
    Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
  87. “But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
  88. So Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he replied, “He told me that you would surely recover.”
  89. Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
  90. When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
  91. Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows.
  92. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
  93. “Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”
  94. 2 Kings 13:18Referred to, not named
    Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped.
  95. And Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring.
  96. Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.
  97. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”