ELmm
149
ELIJAH
places (2 Kings iii, 1 ; viii, 16), vet it is not invali- dated, and the conclusion is almost inevitable that Joram ascended the throne as viceroy or associate some 3'ears before the death of his father. See Jo- ram ; Jehosmaphat; Judaii. The ancient Jewish commentators get over the apparent difficulty by say- ing that the letter was written and sent after Elijah's translation. Others believed that it was the produc- tion of Elisha, for whose name that of Elijah had been substituted by copyists. The first of tiiese requires no answer. To the second, the severity of its tone, as above noticed, is a sufficient reph% Josephus (A7it. ix, 5, 2) says that the letter was sent while Elijah was still on earth. (See Lightfoot, Chronicle, etc., " Je- horam." Other theories will be found in Fabricius, Cod. Pseudejnff. p. 1075, and Otho, Lex. liabb. p. 167). In its contents the letter bears a strong resemblance to the speeches of Elijah, while in the details of style it is very peculiar, and quite different from the nar- rative in which it is imbedded (Bertheau, Ckronik, ad loc).
(5.) The prophet's warfare being now accomplished on earth, God, whom he had so long and so faithfully served, will translate him in a special manner to heav- en. Conscious of this, he determines to spend his last moments in imparting divine instruction to, and pro- nouncing his last benediction upon, the students in the colleges of Bethel and Jericho ; accordingly, he made a circuit in this region (2 Kings ii, 1, etc.). It was at Gilgal (q. v.) — probably not the ancient place of Joshua and Samuel, but another of the same name still surviving on the western edge of the hills of Ephraim ■ — that the prophet received the divine intimation that his departure was at hand. He was at the time with Elisha, who seems now to have become his constant companion. Perhaps his old love of solitude returned upon him, perhaps he wished to spare his friend the pain of a too sudden parting, or perhaps he desired to test the affection of the latter; in either case he endeav- ors to persuade Elisha to remain behind while he goes on an errand of Jehovah. " Tarry here, I pray thee, for Jehovah hath sent me to Bethel." But Elisha will not so easil}"^ give up his master — "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." They went together to Bethel. The event which was about to happen had apparentl}' been communicated to the sons of the prophets at Bethel, and the}' inquire if Elisha knew of his impending loss. His answer shows how fully he was aware of it. "Yea," says he, with emphasis, "indeed / do know it ("J^'DS '^P'"'!!^) '• 'lol'l }'6 your peace." But, though impend- ing, it was not to happen that day. Again Elijah at- tempts to escape to Jericho, and again Elisha protests that he will not be separated from him. Again, also, the sons of the prophets at Jericho make the same un- necessary inquiries, and again he replies as emphatic- all}' as before. Elijah makes a final effort to avoid what they both so much dread. " Tarrj' here, I pray thee, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan." But Elisha is not to be conquered, and the two set off • across tiie undulating plain of burning sand to the dis- tant river — Elijah in his mantle or cape of sheep-skin, Elisha in ordinary clothes ("133, ver. 12). Fifty men of the sons of the prophets ascend the abrupt heights behind the town— the same to which a late tradition would attach the scene of our Lord's temptation — and which command the plain below, to watch with the clearness of Eastern vision what happens in the dis- tance. Talking as they go, the two reach the river, and stand on the shelving bank beside its swift brown current. But they are not to stop even here. It is as if the aged Gileadite cannot rest till he again sets foot on his own side of the river. He rolls up (obs) his mantle as into a staff, and with his old energy strikes the waters as Moses had done before him — strikes