1 Kings 19:20

20. Ran after Elijah Elijah, as he cast his mantle on Elisha, walked rapidly away, and this was as much as to say, “Follow me.”

Let me… kiss my father and my mother Elisha was at this time a young man, living with his parents, and probably unmarried. Like others who have been called with a holy calling, his heart yearns for his home and his kindred. Compare Matthew 8:21; Luke 9:61.

Go back again: for what have I done to thee There is something uncertain and mysterious about these words. Here is no clear permission to go and kiss his parents farewell, and whether he did so or not is an unsettled question. Elijah would throw the whole responsibility of the matter on the conscience of Elisha. “Go home and stay there, if you have such desire; and as regards your duty in view of what I have done to you, settle that matter yourself.”