Cultic Prophecy and Levitical Inheritance in the Elijah-Elisha Cycle

This article seeks to elucidate the nature and significance of the enigmatic mantle transfer rite involving Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kgs 19.19. When Yahweh instructs Elijah to anoint Elisha to be prophet in his place, Yahweh has a type of symbolic adoption in mind to take Elisha as an heir through the rite of mantle transfer. This article argues that Elijah's mantle is a marker of his identity, and that the conferment of his clothing is a means of claiming Elisha, who subsequently takes leave of his natural father (v. 20). Elijah and Elisha function in the northern kingdom as cultic prophets, performing duties typical of both prophet and priest, not unlike Samuel. This double role gives context for an analogy—or possible typology—for Elisha's inheritance with that of the Levitical priest in Deuteronomy.