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Nach YomiI Kings · מלכים א׳Chapter 19

I Kings 19

מלכים א׳ פרק י״ט

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: I Kings | Chapter: 19 of 22 | Day: 119 of 742

Date: June 10, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 19 is the great reversal of the book of Kings. The previous chapter ended at a peak of public, miraculous triumph: fire fell from heaven on Mount Carmel, the people cried out that the LORD alone is God, and the prophets of Baal were slain. One might expect that decisive moment to break Baal worship in Israel forever. Instead, the chapter opens with Ahab reporting everything to Jezebel, who answers not with repentance but with a death threat, swearing by her gods to make Elijah’s life like the life of one of the slaughtered prophets by that hour the next day (v1-2). The whole apparatus of spectacle has changed nothing at the center of power, and the prophet who stood alone against four hundred and fifty men now collapses. Elijah, frightened, flees south to Beersheba in Judah, leaves his servant, and walks a day into the wilderness to sit beneath a broom bush (רותם) and pray for death: enough, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers (v3-4). The commentators register the strangeness of this: the man of fire is undone not by Jezebel’s army but by despair, by the discovery that his zeal has not bent the nation’s heart.

The middle of the chapter is structured as a slow rehabilitation followed by a theophany. Twice an angel rouses the sleeping prophet, touches him, and commands him to arise and eat; he finds a cake baked on hot coals (עוגת רצפים) and a jar of water, and the second time the angel adds that the journey is too great for him (v5-8). Sustained by that single meal, Elijah walks forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. The deliberate echo of Moses is unmistakable and is noted by the classical commentators: forty days without ordinary food, the mountain of Sinai/Horeb, the cave that recalls the cleft of the rock where Moses was hidden when the divine glory passed. Elijah has retraced the nation’s founding journey backward, returning to the place where the covenant began, as if to relitigate Israel’s standing before God.

There the word of God confronts him with a question that is also a rebuke: what are you doing here, Elijah? (v9-10). His answer is the refrain of the chapter, his zeal (קנא קנאתי) for the LORD: Israel has forsaken the covenant, torn down the altars, killed the prophets, and he alone is left and they seek his life. In response God stages the chapter’s theological climax. A great wind splits mountains and shatters rocks, but the LORD is not in the wind; an earthquake follows, but the LORD is not in the earthquake; then fire, but the LORD is not in the fire; and after the fire comes a still, small voice (קול דממה דקה), a thin sound of silence (v11-12). The lesson is a corrective to Elijah’s whole method. At Carmel he had summoned God in fire and thunder, and at Sinai the nation had met God in storm and quaking; but the abiding presence of God, and the way His purposes truly advance, is in the quiet, persistent voice rather than the overwhelming display. Rashi and the other commentators read the still small voice as the manner in which the divine word makes itself heard once the violent forces have passed. Elijah wraps his face in his mantle and stands at the cave’s mouth, and the voice repeats its question word for word; he repeats his complaint verbatim (v13-14), unmoved, his despair intact even after the revelation.

God’s answer is not consolation but commission. Elijah is sent back by way of the wilderness of Damascus to anoint Hazael as king of Aram, Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat as prophet in his place, with the grim promise that the sword will pass from Hazael to Jehu to Elisha, each completing the judgment the others begin (v15-18). The prophet who wished to die is instead told that the struggle will continue through other hands, that history will grind on toward the purging of Baal whether he sees it or not. And to the heart of his despair, the claim that he alone is left, God gives the chapter’s great consolation: He will leave seven thousand in Israel, every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. The faithful remnant is larger and quieter than the prophet imagined, hidden like the still small voice itself.

The chapter closes by enacting the transition of leadership it has just announced. Elijah finds Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and throws his mantle (אדרת) over him, a wordless act of designation; Elisha runs after him and asks to kiss his father and mother goodbye, and Elijah answers, go back, for what have I done to you? (v19-21). Elisha then slaughters his oxen, boils their flesh using the plowing gear itself as fuel, feeds the people, and rises to follow and minister to Elijah. The commentators note the totality of the gesture: by destroying the instruments of his old life he severs himself from it completely, an apt counterpoint to Elijah’s wish to be released from his task. The chapter that began with a prophet fleeing toward death ends with a young man embracing the prophetic calling, and the mantle that will one day fall to Elisha at the Jordan has already, in symbol, changed shoulders.

פרק י״ט · Chapter 19

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיַּגֵּ֤ד אַחְאָב֙ לְאִיזֶ֔בֶל אֵ֛ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ וְאֵ֨ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָרַ֛ג אֶת־כׇּל־הַנְּבִיאִ֖ים בֶּחָֽרֶב׃

English:

When Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophetsaall the prophets Of Baal; see 18.40. to the sword,

Ahab reports to Jezebel everything Elijah accomplished at Mount Carmel and how he put all the prophets of Baal to the sword. Notably, after his own great triumph, Ahab takes no action himself but defers to his idolatrous queen, setting the chapter's reversal in motion.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַתִּשְׁלַ֤ח אִיזֶ֙בֶל֙ מַלְאָ֔ךְ אֶל־אֵלִיָּ֖הוּ לֵאמֹ֑ר כֹּֽה־יַעֲשׂ֤וּן אֱלֹהִים֙ וְכֹ֣ה יֽוֹסִפ֔וּן כִּֽי־כָעֵ֤ת מָחָר֙ אָשִׂ֣ים אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁךָ֔ כְּנֶ֖פֶשׁ אַחַ֥ד מֵהֶֽם׃

English:

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “Thus and more may the gods dobThus and more may the gods do A formula of imprecation. Many Heb. mss. and Septuagint add “to me.” if by this time tomorrow I have not made you like one of them.”

Jezebel dispatches a messenger with a death threat, swearing by her gods to make Elijah's life like one of the slain prophets by this time tomorrow. The commentators explain her words as an oath formula; that she warns rather than acts immediately reflects either bravado or, as some note, an intent that he flee.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כֹּה יַעֲשׂוּן אֱלֹהִים. כְּמוֹ שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ לִנְבִיאֵי הַבַּעַל.
So may the gods do. As you have done to the prophets of the Baal.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אֶל־נַפְשׁ֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֕א בְּאֵ֥ר שֶׁ֖בַע אֲשֶׁ֣ר לִיהוּדָ֑ה וַיַּנַּ֥ח אֶֽת־נַעֲר֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃

English:

Frightened,cFrightened So many Heb. mss. and Septuagint; most mss., and the editions, read “And he saw, and.” he fled at once for his life. He came to Beer-sheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there;

Seeing himself in danger, Elijah flees for his life all the way to Beersheba in Judah and leaves his servant there. The commentators note that Beersheba lay in Judah, outside Ahab's jurisdiction; the prophet who had just stood fearless before all Israel now runs from a single woman's threat.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְהֽוּא־הָלַ֤ךְ בַּמִּדְבָּר֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ י֔וֹם וַיָּבֹ֕א וַיֵּ֕שֶׁב תַּ֖חַת רֹ֣תֶם (אחת) [אֶחָ֑ד] וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ֙ לָמ֔וּת וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ רַ֗ב עַתָּ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ קַ֣ח נַפְשִׁ֔י כִּֽי־לֹא־ט֥וֹב אָנֹכִ֖י מֵאֲבֹתָֽי׃

English:

he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush and sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. “Enough!” he cried. “Now, O ETERNAL One, take my life, for I am no better than my predecessors.”dpredecessors Lit. “fathers.”

Going a further day's journey into the wilderness, Elijah sits beneath a lone broom bush (rotem) and prays to die, crying 'Enough! Now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.' This is the prophet's nadir of despair, sinking into hopelessness in the very wake of his Carmel victory; the commentators connect the words to his unusually long life.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
רֹתֶם. ייניבר"א בְּלַעַ"ז (עַרְעָר קוֹצָנִי). וַיֹּאמֶר רַב. (תַּרְגּוּם:) סַגִּי לִי אַרְכָּא, עַד אֵימָתַי אֲנָא מַטְרַף כְּדֵין.
Juniper. Genevrier, in O.F. And he said, "It is enough." [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "My long life is enough,1According to the opinion that Eliyahu is Pinchos, Aharon's grandson, he was over 500 years old at this time. until when will I be confused like this?"

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁכַּב֙ וַיִּישַׁ֔ן תַּ֖חַת רֹ֣תֶם אֶחָ֑ד וְהִנֵּה־זֶ֤ה מַלְאָךְ֙ נֹגֵ֣עַ בּ֔וֹ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ ק֥וּם אֱכֽוֹל׃

English:

He lay down and fell asleep under a broom bush. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.”

Elijah lies down and sleeps under the broom bush, and an angel touches him and tells him to arise and eat. God responds to the despairing prophet not with rebuke but with tender, physical care, attending first to his bodily exhaustion.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיַּבֵּ֕ט וְהִנֵּ֧ה מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֛יו עֻגַ֥ת רְצָפִ֖ים וְצַפַּ֣חַת מָ֑יִם וַיֹּ֣אכַל וַיֵּ֔שְׁתְּ וַיָּ֖שׇׁב וַיִּשְׁכָּֽב׃

English:

He looked about; and there, beside his head, was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water! He ate and drank, and lay down again.

Elijah looks and finds at his head a cake baked on hot coals and a jar of water; he eats, drinks, and lies down again. Radak notes he did not finish the food, since the angel will rouse him a second time to eat from the same provisions.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
רְצָפִים. פֶּחָמִים, וְכֵן: וּבְיָדוֹ רִצְפָּה.
Hot coals. Hot coals, and similarly, "and in his hand was a hot coal [רצפה]."2Yeshayahu 6:6.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֩שׇׁב֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ שֵׁנִית֙ וַיִּגַּע־בּ֔וֹ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר ק֣וּם אֱכֹ֑ל כִּ֛י רַ֥ב מִמְּךָ֖ הַדָּֽרֶךְ׃

English:

The angel of GOD came a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”

The angel returns a second time, touches him, and urges him to arise and eat, for the journey ahead is too great for him. The commentators explain that the long road through the wilderness would offer no food, so this meal had to sustain him for the entire journey.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֖קׇם וַיֹּ֣אכַל וַיִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה וַיֵּ֜לֶךְ בְּכֹ֣חַ ׀ הָאֲכִילָ֣ה הַהִ֗יא אַרְבָּעִ֥ים יוֹם֙ וְאַרְבָּעִ֣ים לַ֔יְלָה עַ֛ד הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים חֹרֵֽב׃

English:

He arose and ate and drank; and with the strength from that meal he walked forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God at Horeb.

Strengthened by that single meal, Elijah walks forty days and forty nights until he reaches Horeb, the mountain of God. The commentators explain that the food sustained him miraculously for the entire period; the forty days and the destination of Sinai consciously echo Moshe, drawing Elijah into the mold of the great prophet.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹא־שָׁ֥ם אֶל־הַמְּעָרָ֖ה וַיָּ֣לֶן שָׁ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֥ פֹ֖ה אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃

English:

There he went into a cave, and there he spent the night.Then the word of GOD came to him: “Why are you here, Elijah?”

Elijah enters a cave and lodges there, and the word of God comes to him, asking 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' The commentators identify this cave with the cleft of the rock where Moshe stood, and explain the question as an opening for dialogue rather than a request for information, since God already knows the heart.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶל הַמְּעָרָה. הִיא נִקְרַת צוּר שֶׁעָמַד בָּהּ משֶׁה.
To the cave. That is the cleft of the rock where Moshe stood.3Shemos 33:22. The cave that Eliyahu entered is "the cleft of the rock" in which Moshe stood while God's Divine Presence passed.4See Maseches Megillah 19b and Rashi there.

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

ו��יֹּ֩אמֶר֩ קַנֹּ֨א קִנֵּ֜אתִי לַיהֹוָ֣ה ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י צְבָא֗וֹת כִּֽי־עָזְב֤וּ בְרִֽיתְךָ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתֶ֣יךָ הָרָ֔סוּ וְאֶת־נְבִיאֶ֖יךָ הָרְג֣וּ בֶחָ֑רֶב וָאִוָּתֵ֤ר אֲנִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י לְקַחְתָּֽהּ׃

English:

He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”

Elijah pours out his complaint of zeal: Israel has forsaken the covenant, torn down God's altars, and killed His prophets, and 'I alone am left, and they seek my life.' The commentators note that the hundred prophets Obadiah had hidden were unknown to Elijah, so he felt himself the sole surviving servant of God.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתֶיךָ הָרָסוּ. בָּמוֹת יָחִיד הַנַּעֲשׂוֹת לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, שֶׁהֲרֵי מִזְבַּח בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם הָיָה.
They have demolished Your Altars. [I.e.,] the private altars that were built in the Name of Heaven,5See above 18:30 and Rashi there. for the altar of the Beis [Hamikdosh] was in Yerusholayim.6Eliyahu intimated that God should take vengeance against the Bnei Yisroel.—Ralbag

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר צֵ֣א וְעָמַדְתָּ֣ בָהָר֮ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהִנֵּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֣ה עֹבֵ֗ר וְר֣וּחַ גְּדוֹלָ֡ה וְחָזָ֞ק מְפָרֵק֩ הָרִ֨ים וּמְשַׁבֵּ֤ר סְלָעִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א בָר֖וּחַ יְהֹוָ֑ה וְאַחַ֤ר הָר֙וּחַ֙ רַ֔עַשׁ לֹ֥א בָרַ֖עַשׁ יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

“Come out,” He called, “and stand on the mountain before GOD.”And lo, GOD passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by GOD’s power; but GOD was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but GOD was not in the earthquake.

God tells Elijah to stand on the mountain, and a great wind splits mountains and shatters rocks, yet God is not in the wind; then an earthquake comes, but God is not in the earthquake. This begins the great lesson: the dramatic forces of nature that herald the divine Presence are not themselves where God reveals Himself.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְרוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה. (תַּרְגּוּם:) מַשִּׁרְיַת מַלְאֲכֵי רוּחָא. בְּרַעַשׁ. (תַּרְגּוּם:) מַשִּׁרְיַת מַלְאֲכֵי זִיעָא.
And a great wind. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "a camp of angels of the wind." In the earthquake. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "a camp of angels of earthquake.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וְאַחַ֤ר הָרַ֙עַשׁ֙ אֵ֔שׁ לֹ֥א בָאֵ֖שׁ יְהֹוָ֑ה וְאַחַ֣ר הָאֵ֔שׁ ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה׃

English:

After the earthquake—fire; but GOD was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound.ea soft murmuring sound In contrast to others “a still, small voice.”

After the earthquake comes fire, but God is not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice (kol demamah dakah). This is the chapter's theological climax, teaching that God is found not in spectacle and overwhelming power but in quiet stillness, a gentle rebuke to Elijah's expectation of fiery judgment against Israel.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֵשׁ. (תַּרְגּוּם:) מַשִּׁרְיַת מַלְאֲכֵי אֶשָּׁתָא. קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה. (תַּרְגּוּם:) קָל דִּמְשַׁבְּחִין בַּחֲשַׁאי, אֲבָל בִּנְבִיאֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם אוֹמֵר: דְּמָמָה וְקוֹל אֶשְׁמַע, דְּמָמָה הָיְתָה לְשַׁבֵּחַ. וַאֲנִי שָׁמַעְתִּי קוֹל הַבָּא מִתּוֹךְ הַדְּמָמָה, דטינטישמנ"ט בְּלַעַ"ז (הֵד), וְאֵין שׁוֹמְעִין הַקּוֹל מַמָּשׁ.
Fire. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "a camp of angels of fire." A calm quiet. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "a voice of those praising quietly," but regarding the prophets of the [other] nations, it states, "Silence and a voice I heard,"7Iyov 4:16. there was silence to the praising. But I heard, it is a voice coming out of the silence, rentesment, in O.F., but the voice itself is not heard.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כִּשְׁמֹ֣עַ אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ וַיָּ֤לֶט פָּנָיו֙ בְּאַדַּרְתּ֔וֹ וַיֵּצֵ֕א וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖ד פֶּ֣תַח הַמְּעָרָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֤ה אֵל��יו֙ ק֔וֹל וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מַה־לְּךָ֥ פֹ֖ה אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃

English:

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice addressed him: “Why are you here, Elijah?”

Hearing the still small voice, Elijah wraps his face in his mantle and stands at the cave's entrance, and the voice again asks 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' The commentators compare his veiling his face to Moshe hiding his face at the bush; he recognizes that the true Presence has now passed in the quiet voice, not the storm.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיָּלֶט פָּנָיו. (תַּרְגּוּם:) וְכָרִיךְ אַפּוֹהִי, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר: לוּטָה בַשִּׂמְלָה.
He wrapped his face. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "and he wrapped his face,"8In the same manner that Moshe covered his face at the "burning bush" in Shemos 3:6. and so it states, "wrapped up [לוטה] in a cloth."9I Shmuel 21:10.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ קַנֹּ֨א קִנֵּ֜אתִי לַיהֹוָ֣ה ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י צְבָא֗וֹת כִּֽי־עָזְב֤וּ בְרִֽיתְךָ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתֶ֣יךָ הָרָ֔סוּ וְאֶת־נְבִיאֶ֖יךָ הָרְג֣וּ בֶחָ֑רֶב וָאִוָּתֵ֤ר אֲנִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י לְקַחְתָּֽהּ׃ {ס}        

English:

He answered, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and have put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”

Elijah repeats his complaint word for word: Israel has forsaken the covenant, killed the prophets, and 'I alone am left, and they seek my life.' Strikingly, even after the profound revelation of the still small voice, the prophet's grievance is unchanged, underscoring the gap between the lesson offered and his readiness to receive it; Metzudat David stresses that his zeal was for God's honor, not his own.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֵלָ֔יו לֵ֛ךְ שׁ֥וּב לְדַרְכְּךָ֖ מִדְבַּ֣רָה דַמָּ֑שֶׂק וּבָ֗אתָ וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֧ אֶת־חֲזָאֵ֛ל לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־אֲרָֽם׃

English:

GOD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, [and] on to the wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king of Aram.

God commissions Elijah to return by way of the wilderness of Damascus and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. Radak explains that Elijah would not personally anoint Hazael but would set in motion the chain of agents through whom God's judgment on the unfaithful would unfold.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וְאֵת֙ יֵה֣וּא בֶן־נִמְשִׁ֔י תִּמְשַׁ֥ח לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְאֶת־אֱלִישָׁ֤ע בֶּן־שָׁפָט֙ מֵאָבֵ֣ל מְחוֹלָ֔ה תִּמְשַׁ֥ח לְנָבִ֖יא תַּחְתֶּֽיךָ׃

English:

Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.

God further charges Elijah to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat as prophet in his place. The naming of a successor marks the beginning of the transfer of prophetic leadership; Rashi reads 'in your place' as a sign that Elijah's relentless prosecution of Israel has made way for a different kind of prophet.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
תִּמְשַׁח לְנָבִיא תַּחְתֶּיךָ. אִי אֶפְשִׁי בִּנְבִיאוּתְךָ, מֵאַחַר שֶׁאַתָּה מְלַמֵּד קָטֵּיגוֹרְיָא עַל בָּנַי.
You should anoint as prophet in your place. [God said,] "I do not want your prophecy, because you plead for the prosecution of My children.10Alternatively, "you should appoint another prophet in your place because you had asked to die, and for God to take your soul," in v. 4 above.—Radak

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וְהָיָ֗ה הַנִּמְלָ֛ט מֵחֶ֥רֶב חֲזָאֵ֖ל יָמִ֣ית יֵה֑וּא וְהַנִּמְלָ֛ט מֵחֶ��רֶב יֵה֖וּא יָמִ֥ית אֱלִישָֽׁע׃

English:

Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael shall be slain by Jehu, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu shall be slain by Elisha.

God declares that whoever escapes Hazael's sword Jehu will slay, and whoever escapes Jehu's sword Elisha will slay. These three appointees become the successive instruments of divine retribution against those who abandoned the covenant; the commentators explain Elisha's role, since he killed by his word and curse rather than by the sword.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
יָמִית אֱלִישָׁע. לֹא מָצִינוּ שֶׁהֵמִית אֶלָּא אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁנַיִם יְלָדִים עַל יְדֵי הַדֻּבִּים בִּירִיחוֹ.
Elisha will kill. We do not find that Elisha killed anyone but the forty-two children through the bears in Yericho.11See II Melochim 2:24. Alternatively, the hunger in Shomron was initiated by Elisha's curse, as implied in II Melochim 6:31.—Ralbag

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְהִשְׁאַרְתִּ֥י בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שִׁבְעַ֣ת אֲלָפִ֑ים כׇּל־הַבִּרְכַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־כָֽרְעוּ֙ לַבַּ֔עַל וְכׇ֨ל־הַפֶּ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־נָשַׁ֖ק לֽוֹ׃

English:

I will leave in Israel only seven thousand—every knee that has not knelt to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

God promises to leave seven thousand in Israel, every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. This consolation of a faithful remnant directly rebuts Elijah's despairing claim that he alone is left; Metzudat David notes that even amid the coming sword, the righteous will be preserved.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ מִ֠שָּׁ֠ם וַיִּמְצָ֞א אֶת־אֱלִישָׁ֤ע בֶּן־שָׁפָט֙ וְה֣וּא חֹרֵ֔שׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂ֤ר צְמָדִים֙ לְפָנָ֔יו וְה֖וּא בִּשְׁנֵ֣ים הֶעָשָׂ֑ר וַיַּעֲבֹ֤ר אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֵלָ֔יו וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ אַדַּרְתּ֖וֹ אֵלָֽיו׃

English:

He set out from there and came upon Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah came over to him and threw his mantle over him.

Elijah finds Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, himself driving the twelfth, and throws his mantle over him. The commentators see the twelve yokes as a sign that Elisha would become prophet over the twelve tribes; casting the mantle was a wordless summons that Elisha would understand as a call to prophecy.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֶת־הַבָּקָ֗ר וַיָּ֙רׇץ֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י אֵלִיָּ֔הוּ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶשְּׁקָה־נָּא֙ לְאָבִ֣י וּלְאִמִּ֔י וְאֵלְכָ֖ה אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ לֵ֣ךְ שׁ֔וּב כִּ֥י מֶה־עָשִׂ֖יתִי לָֽךְ׃

English:

He left the oxen and ran after Elijah, saying: “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by, and I will follow you.” And he answered him, “Go back. What have I done to you?“fWhat have I done to you? I.e., I am not stopping you.

Elisha leaves the oxen, runs after Elijah, and asks leave to kiss his father and mother goodbye before following him; Elijah replies 'Go back, for what have I done to you?' Rashi reads this as Elijah testing Elisha's resolve, while Metzudat David hears in it a promise that the wonders Elijah works will become Elisha's own.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לֵךְ שׁוּב. מֵאַחֲרַי. כִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לָךְ. שֶׁתָּבוֹא אַחֲרַי.
Go back. From following me.12Eliyahu was testing Elisha's resolve.—Radak For what have I done to you. That you should follow me.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֨שׇׁב מֵאַחֲרָ֜יו וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֶת־צֶ֧מֶד הַבָּקָ֣ר וַיִּזְבָּחֵ֗הוּ וּבִכְלִ֤י הַבָּקָר֙ בִּשְּׁלָ֣ם הַבָּשָׂ֔ר וַיִּתֵּ֥ן לָעָ֖ם וַ��ֹּאכֵ֑לוּ וַיָּ֗קׇם וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אַחֲרֵ֥י אֵלִיָּ֖הוּ וַֽיְשָׁרְתֵֽהוּ׃ {פ}

English:

He turned back from him and took the yoke of oxen and slaughtered them; he boiled their meatgtheir meat Lit. “them, the flesh.” with the gearhwith the gear I.e., using it as firewood; cf. 2 Sam. 24.22. of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and became his attendant.

Elisha slaughters the oxen, boils their flesh using the plowing equipment as firewood, feeds the people, then arises, follows Elijah, and ministers to him. The commentators note he made a feast out of great joy and, in his eagerness to follow at once, broke up the very tools of his old life as fuel, a decisive break with his former occupation that completes the transfer of prophetic leadership.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בִּשְּׁלָם הַבָּשָׂר. בִּשֵּׁל לָהֶם אֶת הַבָּשָׂר, כָּךְ פֵּרְשׁוּ דוֹנַ"שׁ וּמְנַחֵם, וְכֵן תִּרְגְּמוֹ יוֹנָתָן בִּשְׁתֵּי תֵבוֹת (בָּשִׁיל לְהוֹן). וַאֲנִי אוֹמֵר, אֵין צָרִיךְ לְחַלְּקוֹ לִשְׁתֵּי תֵבוֹת, וּמַהוּ בִּשְּׁלָם הַבָּשָׂר, בִּשְּׁלָם לִשְׁנֵי הַשְּׁוָרִים אֶת הַבָּשָׂר שֶׁלָּהֶם, שֶׁהַצֶּמֶד אֵין פָּחוֹת מִשְּׁנַיִם. וַיִּתֵּן לָעָם. מֵרֹב שִׂמְחָה עָשָׂה מִשְׁתֶּה.
He cooked the meat for them. He cooked for them the meat, so do Dunash and Menachem explain, and so did [Targum] Yonoson render [בשלם] as two words [בשיל להון]. But I say, that it is unnecessary to divide it into two words, and what is the meaning of "בשלם הבשר"? He cooked the two oxen, their flesh, for צמד is a minimum of two. And he gave it the people. He made a feast out of great joy.

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