them as if they were an enemy (^122) ; and tbey are divided hither and thither, and they two go over oa dry gi-ound. What follows is best told in the simple words of the narrative. "And it came to pass wdien they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken awa}' from thee.' And Elisha said, ' I praj' thee let a double por- tion of th)' spirit be upon me.' And he said, 'Thou hast asked a hard thing : if thou see me taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if not, it shall not be so.' And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went up by the whirlwind into the skies." (It was not in the chariot of fire that he went up into the skies. The fire served to part the master from the disciple, to show that the severance had arrived, but Elijah was taken up by the fierce wind of the tempest, mrp). Well might Elisha cry with bitterness (p^'U), " My fa- ther, my father." He had gone who, to the discern- ing eye and loving heart of his disciple, had been "the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof" for so many years ; and Elisha was at last left alone to carrj' on a task to which he must often have looked forward, but to which in this moment of grief he may w-ell have felt unequal. He saw him no more ; but his mantle had fallen, and this he took up — at once a personal relic and a symbol of the double portion of the spirit of Elijah with which he was to be clothed. Little could he have realized, had it been then present- ed to him, that he whose greatest claim to notice was that he had " poured water on the hands of Elijah" should hereafter possess an influence which had been denied to his master — should, instead of the terror of kings and people, be their benefactor, adviser, and friend, and that over his death-bed a king of Israel should be found to lament with the same words that had just burst from him on the departure of his stern and silent master, " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" (2 Kings xiii, 14). 4. Traditionary/ Views and Cliaracter. — Elijah and Moses are the onh' men whose history does not termi- nate with their departure out of this world. Elijah appeared with Moses on Mount Hermon at the time of our Lord's transfiguration, and conversed with him respecting the great work of redemption which he was about to accomplish (Matt, xvii, 1-3). The author of the book of Ecclesiasticus (ch. xlviii) justly describes him as a prophet " who stood up as a fire, and whose word burned as a lamp." But, with the exception of the eulogiums contained in that catalogue of worthies, and 1 Mace, ii, 5S!, and the passing allusion in Luke ix, 54, none of the later references allude to his works of destruction or of portent. They all set forth a dif- ferent side of his character from that brought out in the historical narrative. They speak of his being a man of like passions with ourselves (James v, 17) ; of his kindness to the widow of Sarepta (Luke iv, 25) ; of his "restoring all things" (Matt, xvii, 11) ; "turn- ing the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just" (Mai. iv. 5, 6 ; Luke i, 17). In the sternness and power of his re- proofs, however, he was a striking type of John the Baptist, and the latter is therefore prophesied of under his name : " Behold, I will send you Elijah the proph- et before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (JIal. iv, 5, 6). Our Saviour also declares that Elijah had already come in spirit, in the person of John the Baptist. Many of the Jews in our Lord's time believed him to be Elijah, or that the S",)ul of Eli- jah had passed into his liody (Luke ix, 8). See JoiiN THE Baptist. How deep was the impression which he made on the mind of the nation ma.v b3 judged from the fixed belief which many centuries after pre- vailed that Elijah would again appear for the relief and restoration of his country. The prophecy of Jlal-
ELIJAH
150
ELIKA
achi was possibly at once a cause and an illustration of the strength of this belief. Each remarkable per- son, as lie arrives on the scene, be his habits and char- acteristics what they maj' — the stern John, equally with his gentle Successor — is proclaimed to be Elijah (Matt, xvi, 14 ; Mark vi, 15 ; John i, 21). His appear- ance in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration does not seem to hare startled the disciples. They were "sore afraid," but not apparently surprised. On the contrary, Peter immediately proposes to erect a tent for the prophet whose arrival they had so long been expecting. Even the cry of our Lord from the cross, containing as it did but a slight resemblance to the name of Elijah, imniediatelj' suggested him to the by- standers. "He calleth for Elijah." "Let be, let us see if Elijah will come to save him."