he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. 18. And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

Beginning of Elisha's Miracles

19. And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the land miscarrieth. 20. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters: there shall not be from thence any more death. or miscarrying. 22. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

23. And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24. And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

II Kings 4:1. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead: and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen. 2. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me: What hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. 3. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4. And thou shalt go in and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 5. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. 6. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.

38. And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. 40. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. 41. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42. And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. 43. And his servants said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 44. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord.

II Kings 6:1. And the sons of the prophet said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us. 2. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan,

and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. 3. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. 4. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. 5. But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water: and he cried; and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. 6. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and made the iron to swim. 7. And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it.

Accession and Character of Jehoram

So (Ahaziah) died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in his stead, because he had no son, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, and he reigned twelve years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jereboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster; and he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams. But it came to pass that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel when Ahab was dead.

* See Chronology Appendix A. Both systems of chronology are used, e.g., Asa

956 (Usher)
917 (Revised)

+ We are told (II Kings 8:16) "And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign." If now, as above stated, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat was in his second year when Joram the son of Ahab began to reign, then the fifth year of the latter would be the seventh year of the former, and not the first, when, as stated, he began to reign. This discrepancy can be reconciled on the supposition that Jehoram was co-regent with his father Jehoshapha, during this period. One passage refers to the beginning of his co-regency, and the other to the beginning of his reign, as sole king. This supposition finds some confirmation in II Chron. 21:1-4: 1. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 2. And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3. And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. 4. Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel."

Now it is natural to suppose that this division of great gifts and fenced cities to his six brothers was made when he became co-regent. This beneficent arrangement for all his children was put an end to when Jehoram became sole king, and slew all his brethren and divers princes.

Alliance of Jehoshaphat and Jehoram

II Kings 3:6. And king Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel. 7. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 8. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom. 9. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them. 10. And the king of Israel said, Alas! for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 11. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. 12. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

Prediction and Prophecy of Elisha

into the hand of Moab.

13. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them 14. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 15. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of trenches. 17. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water: and ye shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. 18. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

20. And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 21. Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood on the border. 22. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood: and they said, This is blood: the kings are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow: now, therefore, Moab to the spoil. 24. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites. 25. And they beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees: until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. 26. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom: but they could not. 27. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Prophet's Chamber at Shunem

II Kings 4:8. And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. 9. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passed by us continually. 10. Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. II. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. 12. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

Elisha's Appreciation and Reward

13. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. 14. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old. 15. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. 16. And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. 17. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her. 18. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. 20. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. 22. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. 23. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. 24. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slacken me not the riding, except I bid thee. 25. So she went, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunamite: 26. run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 27. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 28. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? 29. Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 30. And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. 31. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. 32. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 33. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. 34. And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the