1 Kings 19:19

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) Twelve yoke of oxen, or (as Ewald renders it) of land, indicate some wealth in Elisha’s family, which he has to leave to follow the wandering life of Elijah. The character and mission of Elisha will appear hereafter: but the contrast between the prophets is marked in the difference of their home and origin; even the quiet simplicity of Elisha’s call stands contrasted with the sudden, mysterious appearance of Elijah.

Cast his mantle—i.e., the rough hair-mantle characteristic of the ascetic recluse. The act is said to have been a part of the form of adoption of a child; hence its spiritual significance here, which, after a moment’s bewilderment, Elisha seems to read.

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 19:19. And found Elisha — In his journey toward Damascus. Who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen — Who had twelve ploughs going, whereof eleven were managed by his servants, and the last by himself; according to the simplicity of those ancient times, in which men of good estate submitted to the meanest employments. Cast his mantle upon him — By that ceremony conferring upon him the office of a prophet, which God was pleased to accompany with the gifts and graces of his Spirit, wherewith he endowed and qualified him for it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:19-21 Elijah found Elisha by Divine direction, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field; not reading, or praying, or sacrificing, but ploughing. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world, does not put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more than it did Elisha. His heart was touched by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready to leave all to attend Elijah. It is in a day of power that Christ's subjects are made willing; nor would any come to Christ unless they were thus drawn. It was a discouraging time for prophets to set out in. A man that had consulted with flesh and blood, would not be fond of Elijah's mantle; yet Elisha cheerfully leaves all to accompany him. When the Saviour said to one and to another, Follow me, the dearest friends and most profitable occupations were cheerfully left, and the most arduous duties done from love to his name. May we, in like manner, feel the energy of his grace working in us mightily, and by unreserved submission at once, may we make our calling and election sure.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Plowing - Elisha's occupation is an indication of his character. He is emphatically a man of peace. He passes the year in those rural occupations which are natural to the son of a wealthy yeoman - superintending the field-laborers himself, and taking a share in their toils. He thus presents a strong contrast to the stern, harsh, rugged Gileadite, who is almost half an Arab, who seems to have no settled home, no quiet family circle, who avoids the haunts of men, and is content for months to dwell in a cavern instead of under a roof.

With twelve yoke of oxen - He was plowing in a field with eleven other plows at work, each drawn by one yoke of oxen. Plowing with a single pair of oxen was the practice in Egypt, in Assyria, in Palestine, and in modern times throughout Western Asia.

Passed by him - Rather, "crossed over to him." Perhaps it is meant that he crossed the stream of the Jordan.

Cast his mantle upon him - The action is explained as constituting a species of adoption, because a father naturally clothes his children. The notion of fatherhood and sonship was evidently understood between them 2 Kings 2:9-12.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 19:19-21. Elisha Follows Elijah.

19. Elisha the son of Shaphat—Most probably he belonged to a family distinguished for piety, and for their opposition to the prevailing calf-worship.

ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen—indicating that he was a man of substance.

Elijah … cast his mantle upon him—This was an investiture with the prophetic office. It is in this way that the Brahmins, the Persian Sufis, and other priestly or sacred characters in the East are appointed—a mantle being, by some eminent priest, thrown across their shoulders. Elisha had probably been educated in the schools of the prophets.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He with the twelfth; who had twelve ploughs going, whereof eleven were managed by his servants, and the last by himself; according to the simplicity and humility of those ancient times, in which men of good worth and estate submitted themselves to the meanest employments.

Cast his mantle upon him; by that ceremony conferring upon him the office of a prophet, which God was pleased to accompany with the gifts and graces of his Spirit, wherewith he endowed and qualified him for it. The mantle was the usual habit of the prophets. See 2 Kings 1:8 Zechariah 13:4. But whether he did also anoint him is uncertain. See Poole "1 Kings 19:16".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

So he departed thence,.... From Mount Horeb, and came to Abelmeholah, which Bunting computes (z) at one hundred and fifty six miles:

and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; which may be understood either of twelve couple of oxen drawing one plough; which was a large number, but will not seem strange when it is observed, that Abelmeholah, where Elisha was ploughing, lay in the vale of Jordan, which was a clayey stiff ground, and required such a number of oxen to plough it up, especially at the first tilling of it, as this might be (a); compare 1 Kings 4:12 A late traveller (b) observes, that at Damegraed, in upper Egypt on the Nile, six oxen yoked to plough had a great deal of difficulty to turn up the ground; or else, as the Jewish writers generally understand it, there were twelve ploughs, and a yoke of oxen to each, and a ploughman to attend everyone, and Elisha attended the twelfth; or was with one of the twelve, as the Targum, and might have the oversight of them all; Kimchi thinks, and so Abarbiuel after him, that this signified that he should be leader of the twelve tribes of Israel:

and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him; the skirts of it.

(z) Travels, &c. p. 204. (a) See Fuller's Pisgah-Sight, &c. B. 2. ch. 8. p. 175. (b) Norden's Travels in Egypt and Arabia, vol. 2. p. 85.

Geneva Study Bible

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19–21. 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.

plowing with twelve yoke of 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.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - So he departed thence, and found [Nothing can be concluded from this word as to previous acquaintance] Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [It was in the winter, consequently (Proverbs 20:4. See Condor, p. 328). "Elisha is found not in his study, but in the field: not with a book in his hand, but the plough" (Hall). with twelve yoke of oxen [Heb. ploughing twelve yoke, from which Ewald gathers that he was ploughing twelve yoke of land - צֶמֶד like jugum, is used as a measure of land in 1 Samuel 14:14, Isaiah 5:10 - and was then at work on the twelfth and last. But the meaning of the "twelve yoke" here is surely settled by the "yoke of oxen;" cf. ver. 21 and see below] before him [This word also points to animals, not land. The twelve pair of oxen, it is generally thought, are mentioned to show that Elisha was a man of substance. It is not certain, however, that all the twelve belonged to him. See next note], and he with the twelfth ["I have seen more than a dozen ploughs thus at work. To understand the reason of this, several things must be taken into account. First, that the arable land of nearly all villages is cultivated in common; then that Arab farmers delight to work together, partly for mutual protection, and partly from their love of gossip," etc. Thomson, L. and B. 1:208]: and Elijah passed by him [Heb. to him. The idea that he may have "crossed the stream of the Jordan" (Rawlinson) is extremely improbable. The current is strong, and it is not everywhere fordable, especially in winter], and cast his mantle upon him. [Heb. to him ךאלָיו. But LXX. ἐπ αὐτόν. Already, it would seem, the rough hairy mantle had come to be recognized as the garb of a prophet (cf. Zechariah 13:4). "The prophet's cloak was a sign of the prophet's vocation" (Keil). To cast the cloak to or upon Elisha was therefore an appropriate and significant way of designating him to the prophetic office. "When Elijah went to heaven Elisha had the mantle entire" 2 Kings 2:13 (Henry). The Germans use the word mantel-kind of an adopted child.] 1 Kings 19:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Call of Elisha to be a prophet. - 1 Kings 19:19. As he went thence (viz., away from Horeb), Elijah found Elisha the son of Shaphat at Abel-Meholah, in the Jordan valley (see at Judges 7:22), occupied in ploughing; "twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he himself with the twelfth" (a very wealthy man therefore), and threw his cloak to him as he passed by. The prophet's cloak was sign of the prophet's vocation so that throwing it to him was a symbol of the call to the prophetic office.