Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jason Hare <jaihare AT gmail.com>]

Bryan,

The answer is found in verse 15. In the beginning of verse 12, it says 
W)LY$( RW)H [ואלישע רואה], and this refers to the fact that he *did* see 
Elijah go away into heaven. The confirmation in verse 15 says that NXH 
RWX )LYHW (L )LY$( [נחה רוח אליהו על אלישע], "the spirit of Elijah has 
rested upon Elisha."

Jason Hare
English Teacher
Rishon LeZion, Israel

B. M. Rocine wrote:
> B-Haveray,
>
> I see in this dramatic scene the writer's craft prefers many 
> non-sequential verb forms such as infinitive, participle, and qatal.  I 
> take this to be a good way of expressing in BH that a lot of things in 
> the narrative happened at once.
>
> So  I am not sure whether Elisha saw Elijah taken up or not.  Elisha's 
> tearing of his clothes and his later "Where is YHWH, the God of Elijah?" 
> suggest to me that Elisha may have thought he missed his chance to meet 
> Elijah's condition for a double portion of his spirit.
>
> What are your thoughts?  Does the language indicate Elisha saw Elijah 
> taken from him or not?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Blessings,
> Bryan