Elisha was plowing a field with twelve teams of oxen when Elijah threw a cloak over him. He kissed his parents goodbye, burned the plow for a fire, cooked the oxen for his neighbors, and followed (1 Kings 19:19-21).
Elijah's work was mostly against kings. Elisha's was often in kitchens and back rooms. He fills a widow's jars with oil, raises a boy, fixes poisoned stew, and finds a lost axe head (2 Kings 4:1-44; 6:1-7). He shows that God cares about the small troubles of ordinary people.
“
Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
Name means
God is salvation
Home
Abel-meholah
Role
Prophet in Israel after Elijah, serving through several kings from Jehoram to Joash
Read in
;
Elisha's story
Open his eyes
Beginning
Burns the plow
He leaves his family farm and makes a clean break to follow Elijah.
High point
A double portion
He refuses to leave Elijah three times, asks for a double portion, and parts the Jordan with the cloak.
High point
The Shunammite's son
A family that housed him loses their only son. Elisha prays, and the boy lives.
Turning point
Gehazi's greed
Elisha refuses Naaman's gifts. His own servant chases them down and lies.
High point
Chariots of fire
Surrounded by an army, he asks God to open his servant's eyes, then feeds the enemy and sends them home.
Ending
Life from his bones
He dies of illness. Later a dead man thrown into his grave touches his bones and lives.
Starts as a farmer's son behind twelve oxen. Ends as a father to Israel, mourned by its king.
Where Elisha lived and went
Only places Scripture records. Softer, dotted pins are traditional or uncertain sites. Tap a pin for the passage.
HomeMinistryKey momentTraditional or uncertainPinch or use + to zoom. Tap a cluster to spread it out.
How Elisha is wired
The Helper
Enneagram 2, Reformer wing
To meet people's needs and be close to those he serves.
Scripture doesn't give us much here, so treat this as a best guess.
At their best, toward 4 Under stress, toward 8
Why we think so
1
Practical help. He fills a poor widow's jars with oil so she can pay her debts. ()
2
Close relationships. He stays with a family in Shunem, and he cares about their needs. ()
3
Feeds the hungry. He feeds a hundred men with twenty loaves, with some left over. ()
His refusal of Naaman's gifts shows a principled concern that God's grace not be sold. ()
The Individualist. He weeps openly before Hazael, grieving the harm he sees coming to Israel. ()
The Challenger. Mocked at Bethel, he answers with a curse and judgment falls. ()
The case for 6
Three times he refuses to leave Elijah, and he asks for a double portion. That reads like a loyalist seeking a secure foundation.
Other lenses
Big Five. Read from what is recorded in Kings and the prophets.
ReservedOutgoing
SteadyReactive
ChallengingAccommodating
SpontaneousDisciplined
TraditionalCurious
DISC style: steady, present, quietly bold
Strengths & struggles
What's good in Elisha
Loyal, persistent, compassionate, calm under threat, generous with God's power ().
Where Elisha struggles
Can be severe. His curse on the jeering boys at Bethel is hard to read (). He did not see Gehazi's greed coming until it was done ().
What Elisha wanted most
To carry Elijah's spirit and work forward, even more fully ().
What Elisha feared most
Losing his master and being left without God's power ().
Elisha's name means God saves, and his works point ahead to the Savior.
Elisha fed a crowd with a few loaves and had food left over, healed a foreign leper, and raised a son for his mother. Jesus did all these things more fully. He even pointed to Naaman: “there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” ().
Questions to sit with
1
What would it look like for you to burn your plow?
2
Who around you needs help with an ordinary, unglamorous problem?
Study Elisha with your group
Ready-to-lead group studies with discussion questions and a leader's note are on the way.
