He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;Which fell — God so ordering it for Elisha's comfort, and the strengthening of his faith, as a pledge, that together with Elijah's mantle, his Spirit should rest upon him. And Elijah himself was gone to a place, where he needed not the mantle, either to adorn him, or to shelter him from weather, or to wrap his face in. read more
And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.The Lord — Who at Elijah's request divided these waters, and is as able to do it again. read more
And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.Bowed themselves — They had been trained up in the schools: Elisha was taken from the plough. Yet, when they perceive, that God is with him, and that this is the man whom he delights to honour, they readily submit to him as their head and father, as the people to Joshua when Moses was dead. "Those... read more
1. When the Lord would take up Elijah There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth. Into heaven Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that... read more
ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 2 Kings 2:1-18. We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur... read more
2. Tarry here Why should Elijah thus exhort Elisha? Some think, to prove his fidelity and love; but others, with greater probability, think that Elijah wanted no human eye to witness his departure from the world, and that feelings of deep humility prompted this request. I will not leave thee Elisha seems to have had a revelation, or at least a premonition, that his master was about to be taken away from him that day, and “no dread of that final parting could deter him from the mournful... read more
3. The sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el Here, at the very place where the calf-worship of Jeroboam was chiefly observed, there existed a school of the prophets. Their zeal and devotion to the true God of Israel perhaps served largely to counteract the prevalent idolatry, and preserve among the hosts of the people a faithful seven thousand. See notes on 1 Samuel 10:5, and 1 Kings 19:18. Knowest thou The schools of the prophets, both at Beth-el and Jericho, (2 Kings 2:5,) have... read more
4. Jericho A city in the Jordan valley. See on Joshua 2:1. In Ahab’s reign Hiel, the Beth-elite, had rebuilt this city. 1 Kings 16:34. read more
7. Fifty men… stood to view afar off What all they saw we are not told. They probably saw the waters of Jordan divided, and the two prophets pass beyond the stream; and possibly they beheld Elijah at the moment he was parted from Elisha; but they probably did not behold his ascension, for of that Elisha had only a momentary glimpse, and that by special grace of God. read more
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes - 2 Kings 2:12
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.My father — So he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which he had over him, in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons. He saw his own condition like that of a fatherless child, and laments it accordingly.The chariot, … — Who by thy... read more