Resurrection or miraculous cures? The Elijah and Elisha narrative against its ancient Near Eastern background

Shaul Bar

University of Memphis

Correspondence

ABSTRACT

The Elijah and Elisha cycles have similar stories where the prophet brings a dead child back to life. In addition, in the Elisha story, a corpse is thrown into the prophet's grave; when it comes into contact with one of his bones, the man returns to life. Thus the question is do these stories allude to resurrection, or "only" miraculous cures? What was the purpose of the inclusion of these stories and what message did they convey? In this paper we will show that these are legends that were intended to lend greater credence to prophetic activity and to indicate the Lord's power over death.

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Correspondence:
Dr. Shaul Bar
Bornblum Judaic Studies, The University of Memphis
Mitchell Hall 301, Memphis, Tenn
Email: sbar@memphis.edu