2 Kings 2:1-15

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.

8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

11 As they were walking along and talking together, 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.

12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

2 Kings 2:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 2

This chapter relates, how that Elisha accompanied Elijah to several places, and on the other side Jordan Elijah was taken up from him to heaven, which occasioned great lamentation in him, 2Ki 2:1-12, but having the mantle of Elijah, he divided the waters of Jordan, and passed over, 2Ki 2:13,14, and the sons of the prophets at Jericho, perceiving the spirit of Elijah on him, showed him great respect, and proposed sending men to seek his master, which they did in vain, 2Ki 2:15-18, when he healed the waters at Jericho, at the request of the men of it, 2Ki 2:19-22, and the chapter is concluded with the destruction of forty two children at Bethel by bears, who mocked him, 2Ki 2:23,24.

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5
• 2. ver 11; 1 Kings 19:11; Isaiah 5:28; Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:13; Nahum 1:3
• 3. S 1 Kings 19:16,21
• 4. S Deuteronomy 11:30; 2 Kings 4:38
• 5. ver 6
• 6. Ruth 1:16; 1 Samuel 1:26; 2 Kings 4:30
• 7. S 1 Samuel 10:5; 2 Kings 4:1,38
• 8. Joshua 3:16; Joshua 6:26
• 9. ver 3
• 10. ver 2
• 11. Joshua 3:15
• 12. Ruth 1:16
• 13. S 1 Kings 19:19
• 14. ver 14
• 15. S Exodus 14:21
• 16. Exodus 14:22,29
• 17. S Deuteronomy 21:17
• 18. S Numbers 11:17
• 19. 2 Kings 6:17; Psalms 68:17; Psalms 104:3,4; Isaiah 66:15; Habakkuk 3:8; Zechariah 6:1
• 20. S Genesis 5:24
• 21. S ver 1
• 22. 2 Kings 6:17; 2 Kings 13:14
• 23. S Genesis 37:29
• 24. S 1 Kings 19:19
• 25. ver 8
• 26. ver 7; S 1 Samuel 10:5
• 27. S Numbers 11:17