1 Kings 19:19

The call of Elisha (Not in Chronicles)

19. So he departed thence Josephus says, what the visit to Abelmeholah shews, that Elijah returned into the land of the Hebrews. He was instructed, comforted, and assured of safety. God, who had assigned him work to do, and given him hope therein, would not allow him to fall into the hands of his enemies.

plowingwith twelve yokeof oxen before him He had servants with him to manage all the yokes but one, and to these people it was that he afterwards made a farewell feast. It is clear from the description that Elisha was the son of a wealthy father, and that the leaving all to follow Elijah was a trial to test the character of the future prophet.

Elijah passed by him The Hebrew requires the rendering of the R.V. passed over unto him. Elijah left the road and crossed into the field where Elisha and his companions were plowing.

and cast his mantle upon him The prophetic mantle was probably of a special character. In Zechariah 13:4 we are told that the prophets -shall not wear a rough garment (R.V. a hairy mantle) to deceive," and the whole description of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8) and the New Testament explanation thereof in the description of John the Baptist, bears out the idea that he wore such a mantle. It was this mantle which Elisha took up after the departure of Elijah into heaven, and the possession thereof, and the employment of it to divide the waters of the Jordan, caused the sons of the prophets to exclaim -The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha" (2 Kings 2:15). To cast such a robe upon the shoulders of Elisha was to claim him, by a symbolical act, as one of the members of the prophetic band. This Elisha felt and acted on.