2 Kings 2:14 (WEB)

Passage

He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:12 Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.

2 Kings 2:13 He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

2 Kings 2:14 He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.

2 Kings 2:15 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2 Kings 2:16 They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley.” He said, “Don’t send them.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "took", "elijah", "mantle", "fell", "struck", "waters", "said", and "where". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "took" and "elijah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "He also took up Elijah s mantle..." into verse 15's "When the sons of the prophets who...", so "took" and "elijah" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "took" and "elijah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.