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Elisha
Elisha The designated successor of Elijah (1 Kgs. 19: 19 ff.), who lived in the second half of the 9th cent. BCE. He seemed more at home in an urban environment than Elijah, even though his father was a farmer. He preferred city life (2 Kgs. 6: 13) and had a residence in the city of Samaria (2 Kgs. 6: 32). He visited religious centres like Bethel (2 Kgs. 2: 23) and Gilgal (2 Kgs. 2: 1) but was also attached to groups of ecstatic prophets (2 Kgs. 2: 3–15) who lived in communities.
In the stories handed down in the oral tradition about Elisha and eventually written down, perhaps about 700 BCE, there is a strong element of sympathetic magic, or the extraordinary combined with prayer to Yahweh, as when the prophet is said to have divided the waters of the Jordan after receiving the mantle of Elijah (2 Kgs. 2: 13 f.) and when he struck his enemies with blindness (2 Kgs. 6: 18 ff.). There is a similar kind of magic in the story of Elisha recovering a borrowed axe-head from the water and making it float (2 Kgs. 6: 1–7). But it was a demonstration of the power of the God of Israel when he healed Naaman's leprosy during a temporary lull in the perennial conflicts between Israel and Syria (2 Kgs. 5: 1–19). That Elisha was a prophet of an era before the great classical prophets of the 8th cent. is indicated by the use of music to induce his trance (2 Kgs. 3: 15; cf. 1 Sam. 10: 5–7); and the mockery of his baldness by a group of jeering boys suggests that he had assumed the tonsure, a ritual shaving of the head commonly practised by holy men (2 Kgs. 2: 23). According to the narrative the boys were promptly devoured by bears as a punishment; a coincidence that is thus given a theological, and by no means agreeable, interpretation. On the political level, Elisha aided the Israelites against Moabites (2 Kgs. 3: 21–7) and Syrians (2 Kgs. 6: 13–7: 23). His motive was to persuade the kings of the absolute sovereignty of the God of Israel, who would tolerate no apostasy. There are similarities between the story (2 Kgs. 4: 42–4) of Elisha's miracle in feeding 100 people with twenty loaves, with some still left over, and the account in Mark (6: 30–44) of Jesus' multiplication of loaves. |
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Elisha." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Elisha." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Elisha.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Elisha." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
Elisha , in the Bible, prophet who functions as a model of the Mosaic prophetic office after Elijah , whose work he continued; he is believed to have lived in the 9th cent. BC Elisha initiated the political programs outlined to Elijah on Mt. Horeb. The stories about Elisha are collected in Second Kings, which relates a collection of miracle stories and associates Elisha with political revolution in Syria; he is said to have initiated the revolution of Jehu. Elisha is also attested in the Qur'an. |
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"Elisha." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Elisha." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Elisha.html "Elisha." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
Elisha ♀, ♂ Traditionally a male Biblical name derived from Hebrew el ‘God’ + sha ‘to help or save’. It is borne in the Bible by a prophet, the disciple and successor of Elijah, whose story is told in the Second Book of Kings. It has long been popular among Christian fundamentalists as a boy's name, but is now increasingly frequent as a girl's name, perhaps influenced by Alicia.
Variant: Eleesha ♀. |
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Elisha." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Elisha." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Elisha.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Elisha." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
Elisha Old Testament prophet of Israel, disciple and successor of Elijah (2 Kings 2–13). He appeared in the 9th century bc, and accomplished the destruction of the Phoenician cult of Baal. Elisha is portrayed as a miracle-worker, healer and fulfiller of God's commissions to his master Elijah.
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"Elisha." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Elisha." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Elisha.html "Elisha." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
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JOHN BOWKER. "Elisha." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Elisha." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Elisha.html JOHN BOWKER. "Elisha." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Elisha." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Elisha." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Elisha.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Elisha." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Elisha.html |
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Elisha
Elisha
•Asher, clasher, Falasha, flasher, lasher, masher, Natasha, pasha, rasher, Sasha, slasher, smasher, thrasher
•haberdasher • gatecrasher • Marsha
•rancher
•flesher, fresher, pressure, thresher
•welsher
•adventure, bencher, censure, dementia, front-bencher, trencher, venture, wencher
•backbencher • acupressure
•acacia, Asia, Croatia, Dalmatia, ex gratia, geisha
•Lucretia, magnesia, Rhodesia, Venetia
•Fischer, fisher, fissure, justiciar, Laetitia, militia, Patricia, Phoenicia, Tricia
•clincher, flincher, lyncher, wincher
•Frobisher • furbisher • brandisher
•Yiddisher • kingfisher • establisher
•embellisher
•abolisher, demolisher, polisher
•publisher • skirmisher • replenisher
•finisher • punisher
•burnisher, furnisher
•perisher
•flourisher, nourisher
•Britisher • ravisher • languisher
•vanquisher • well-wisher
•extinguisher • Elisha
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"Elisha." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Elisha." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Elisha.html "Elisha." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Elisha.html |
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