The Legends of the Jews, Volume IV, Chapter 8, ELISHA AND JONAH

THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS

VOLUME IV

BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS FROM JOSHUA TO ESTHER

BY LOUIS GINZBERG

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT

8. ELISHA AND JONAH

ELISHA THE DISCIPLE OF ELIJAH

The voices of the thousands of prophets of his time were stilled when Elijah
was translated from earth to heaven. With him vanished the prophetical spirit
of those who in former times had in no wise been his inferiors. Elisha was the
only one among them whose prophetical powers were not diminished. On the contrary,
they were strengthened, as a reward for the unhesitating readiness with which
he obeyed Elijah’s summons, and parted with the field he was ploughing, and with
all else he possessed, in favor of the community. Thenceforward he remained Elijah’s
unwearying companion. When the angel descended from heaven to take Elijah from
earth, he found the two so immersed in a learned discussion that he could not
attract their attention, and he had to return, his errand unfulfilled.

Elijah’s promise to bestow a double portion of his wondrous spirit upon his
disciple was realized instantaneously. During his life Elisha performed sixteen
miracles, and eight was all his master had performed. The first of them, the crossing
of the Jordan, was more remarkable than the corresponding wonder done by Elijah,
for Elisha traversed the river alone, and Elijah had been accompanied by Elisha.
Two saints always have more power than one by himself.

His second miracle, the “healing” of the waters of Jericho, so that they became
fit to drink, resulted in harm to himself, for the people who had earned their
livelihood by the sale of wholesome water were very much incensed against the
prophet for having spoiled their trade. Elisha, whose prophetic powers enabled
him to read both the past and the future of these tradesmen, knew that they, their
ancestors, and their posterity had “not even the aroma of good about them.” Therefore
he cursed them. Suddenly a forest sprang up and the bears that infested it devoured
the murmuring traders. The wicked fellows were not undeserving of the punishment
they received, yet Elisha was made to undergo a very serious sickness, by way
of correction for having yielded to passion. In this he resembled his master Elijah;
he allowed wrath and zeal to gain the mastery over him. God desired that the two
great prophets might be purged of this fault. Accordingly, when Elisha rebuked
King Jehoram of Israel, the spirit of prophecy forsook him, and he had to resort
to artificial means to re-awaken it within himself.

Like his teacher, Elisha was always ready to help the poor and needy, as witness
his sympathy with the widow of one of the sons of the prophets, and the effective
aid he extended to her. Her husband had been none other than Obadiah, who, though
a prophet, had at the same time been one of the highest officials at the court
of the sinful king Ahab. By birth an Edomite, Obadiah had been inspired by God
to utter the prophecy against Edom. In his own person he embodied the accusation
against Esau, who had lived with his pious parents without following their example,
while Obadiah, on the contrary, lived in constant intercourse with the iniquitous
King Ahab and his still more iniquitous spouse Jezebel without yielding to the
baneful influence they exercised. This same Obadiah not only used his own fortune,
but went to the length of borrowing money on interest from the future king, in
order to have the wherewithal to support the prophets who were in hiding. On his
death, the king sought to hold the children responsible for the debt of the father.
In her despair the pious wife of Obadiah went to the graveyard, and there she
cried out: “O thou God-fearing man!” At once a heavenly voice was heard questioning
her: “There are four God-fearing men, Abraham, Joseph, Job, and Obadiah. To which
of them does thou desire to speak?” “To him of whom it is said, “He feared the
Lord greatly.'”

She was led to the grave of the prophet Obadiah, where she poured out the tale
of her sorrow. Obadiah told her to take the small remnant of oil she still had
to the prophet Elisha and request him to intercede for him with God, “for God,”
he said, “is my debtor, seeing that I provided a hundred prophets, not only with
bread and water, but also with oil to illuminate their hiding-place, for do not
the Scriptures say: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord’?”
Forthwith the woman carried out his behest. She went to Elisha, and he helped
her by making her little cruse of oil fill vessels upon vessels without number,
and when the vessels gave out, she fetched potsherds, saying, “May the will that
made empty vessels full, make broken vessels perfect.” So it was. The oil ceased
to flow only when the supply of potsherds as well as vessels gave out. In her
piety the woman wanted to pay her tithe-offering, but Elisha was of the opinion
that, as the oil had been bestowed upon her miraculously, she could keep it wholly
and entirely for her own use. Furthermore, Elisha reassured her as to the power
of the royal princes to do her harm: “The God who will close the jaws of the lions
set upon Daniel, and who did close the jaws of the dogs in Egypt, the same God
will blind the eyes of the sons of Ahab, and deafen their ears, so that they can
do thee no harm.” Not only was the poor widow helped out of her difficulties,
her descendants unto all times were provided for. The oil rose in price, and it
yielded so much profit that they never suffered want.

THE SHUNAMMITE

The great woman of Shunem, the sister of Abishag and wife of the prophet Iddo,
also had cause to be deeply grateful to Elisha. When Elisha came to Shunem on
his journey through the land of Israel, his holiness made a profound impression
upon the Shunammite. Indeed, the prophet’s eye was so awe-inspiring that now woman
could look him in the face and live. Contrary to the habit of most women, who
are intent upon diminishing their expenses and their toil, the Shunammite took
delight in the privilege of welcoming the prophet to her house as a guest. She
observed that not even a fly dared approach close to the holy man, and a grateful
fragrance exhaled from his person. “If he were not so great a saint,” she said,
“and the holiness of the Lord did not invest him, there were no such pleasant
fragrance about him.” That he might be undisturbed, she assigned the best chambers
in the house to the prophet. He on his part, desiring to show his appreciation
of her hospitality, knew no better return for her kindness than to promise that
she should be blessed with a child within a year. The woman protested: “O, my
husband is an old man, nor am I of an age to bear children; the promise cannot
be fulfilled.” Yet it happened as the prophet had foretold. Before a twelvemonth
had passed, she was a mother.

A few years later her child died a sudden death. The mother repaired to the
prophet, and lamented before him: “O that the vessel had remained empty, rather
than it should be filled first, and then be left void.” The prophet admitted that,
though as a rule he was acquainted with all things that were to happen, God had
left him in the dark about the misfortune that had befallen her. With trust in
God, he gave his staff to his disciple Gehazi, and sent him to bring the boy back
to life. But Gehazi was unworthy of his master. His conduct toward the Shunammite
was not becoming a disciple of the prophet, and, above all, he had no faith in
the possibility of accomplishing the mission entrusted to him. Instead of obeying
the behest of Elisha, not to speak a word on his way to the child of the Shunammite,
Gehazi made sport of the task laid upon him. To whatever man he met he addressed
the questions: “Dost thou suppose this staff can bring the dead back to life?”
The result was that he forfeited the power of executing the errand with which
he had been charged. Elisha himself had to perform the miracle. The prophet uttered
the prayer: “O Lord of the world! As Thou didst wonders through my master Elijah,
and didst permit him to bring the dead to life, so, I pray Thee, do Thou perform
a wonder through me, and let me restore life to this lad.” The prayer was granted,
and the child was revived. The act of the prophet proves the duty of gratitude
in return for hospitality. Elisha did not attempt to resuscitate his own kith
and kin who had been claimed by death; he invoked a miracle for the sake of the
woman who had welcomed him kindly to her house.

GEHAZI

Gehazi, proved untrustworthy by his conduct on this occasion, again aroused
the ire of the prophet when he disregarded the order not to accept money from
Naaman, the Syrian captain. He did not succeed in deceiving the prophet. On his
return from Naaman he found Elisha occupied with the study of the chapter in the
Mishnah Shabbat which deals with the eight reptiles. The prophet Elisha greeted
him with the rebuke: “Thou villain! the time has come for me to be rewarded for
the study of the Mishnah about the eight reptiles. May my reward be that the disease
of Naaman afflict thee and thy descendants for evermore.” Scarcely had these words
escaped his lips, when he saw the leprosy come out on Gehazi’s face. Gehazi deserved
the punishment on account of his base character. He was sensual and envious, and
did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. His unworthy qualities were displayed
in his conduct toward the Shunammite and toward the disciples of Elisha. When
the pretty Shunammite came to the prophet in her grief over the death of her child,
Gehazi took her passionately in his arms, under the pretext of forcing her away
from the prophet, on whom she had laid hold in her supplications.

As for the other disciples of Elisha, he endeavored to keep them away from
the house of the prophet. He was in the habit of standing without the door. This
induced many to turn away and go home, for they reasoned that, if the house were
not full to overflowing, Gehazi would not be standing outside. Only after Gehazi’s
dismissal did the disciples of Elisha increase marvellously. That Gehazi had no
faith in the resurrection of the dead, is shown by his incredulity with regard
to the child of the Shunammite.

In spite of all these faults, Elisha regretted that he had cast off his disciple,
who was a great scholar in the law, especially as Gehazi abandoned himself to
a sinful life after leaving the prophet. By means of magnetism he made the golden
calves at Beth-el float in the air, and many were brought to believe in the divinity
of these idols. Moreover, he engraved the great and awful Name of God in their
mouth. Thus they were enabled to speak, and they gave forth the same words God
had proclaimed from Sinai: “I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt have no other gods
before Me.” Elisha accordingly repaired to Damascus to lead Gehazi back to the
paths of righteousness. But he remained impenitent, for he said: “From thyself
I have learned that there is no return for him who not only sins himself, but
also induces others to sin.” So Gehazi died without having done aught to atone
for his transgressions, which were so great that he is one of the few Jews who
have no share in Paradise. His children inherited his leprosy. He and his three
sons are the four leprous men who informed the king of Israel of the precipitate
flight of the Syrian host.

Elisha’s excessive severity toward his servant Gehazi and toward the mocking
boys of Jericho did not go unpunished. He had to endure two periods of disease,
and the third sickness that befell him cause his death. He is the first known
to history who survived a sickness. Before him death had been the inevitable companion
of disease.

A great miracle marked the end of a life rich in miraculous deeds: a dead man
revived at the touch of Elisha’s bier, and stood on his feet. It was a worthy
character for whom the wonder was accomplished Shallum the son of Tikvah, the
husband of Huldah the prophetess, a man of noble descent, who had led a life of
lovingkindness. He was in the habit of going daily beyond the city bearing the
pitcher of water, from which he gave every traveller to drink, a good deed that
received a double reward. His wife became a prophetess, and when he died and his
funeral, attended by a large concourse of people, was disturbed by the invasion
of the Arameans, he was given new life by contact with the bones of Elisha. He
lived to have a son, Hanamel by name.

The death of Elisha was a great misfortune for the Israelites. So long as he
was alive, no Aramean troops entered Palestine. The first invasion by them happened
on the day of his burial.

THE FLIGHT OF JONAH

Among the many thousands of disciples whom Elisha gathered about him during
the sixty years and more of his activity, the most prominent was the prophet Jonah.
While the master was still alive, Jonah was charged with the important mission
of anointing Jehu king. The next task laid upon him was to proclaim their destruction
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The doom did not come to pass, because they repented
of their wrong-doing, and God had mercy upon them. Among the Israelites Jonah
was, therefore, known as “the false prophet.” When he was sent to Nineveh to prophesy
the downfall of the city, he reflected: “I know to a certainly that the heathen
will do penance, the threatened punishment will not be executed, and among the
heathen, too, I shall gain the reputation of being a false prophet.” To escape
this disgrace, he determined to take up his abode on the sea, where there were
none to whom prophecies never to be fulfilled would have to be delivered.

On his arrival at Joppa, there was no vessel in port. To try him, God cause
a storm to arise, and it carried a vessel back to Joppa, which had made a two
days’ journey away from the harbor. The prophet interpreted this chance to mean
that God approved his plan. He was so rejoiced at the favorable opportunity for
leaving land that he paid the whole amount for the entire cargo in advance, no
less a sum than four thousand gold denarii. After a day’s sailing out from shore,
a terrific storm broke loose. Wonderful to relate, it injured no vessel but Jonah’s.
Thus he was taught the lesson that God is Lord over heaven and earth and sea,
and man can hide himself nowhere from His face.

On the same vessel were representatives of the seventy nations of the earth,
each with his peculiar idols. They all resolved to entreat their gods for succor,
and the god from whom help would come should be recognized and worshipped at the
only one true God. But help came from none. Then it was that the captain of the
vessel approached Jonah where he lay asleep, and said to him: “We are suspended
‘twixt life and death, and thou liest here asleep. Pray, tell me, to what nation
dost thou belong?” “I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “We have heard,” said the captain,
“that the God of the Hebrews is the most powerful. Cry to Him for help. Perhaps
He will perform such miracles for us as He did in days of old for the Jews at
the Red Sea.”

Jonah confessed to the captain that he was to blame for the whole misfortune,
and he besought him to cast him adrift, and appease the storm. The other passengers
refused to consent to so cruel an act. Though the lot decided against Jonah, they
first tried to save the vessel by throwing the cargo overboard. Their efforts
were in vain. Then they placed Jonah at the side of the vessel and spoke: “O Lord
of the world, reckon this not up against us as innocent blood, for we know not
the case of this man, and he himself bids us throw him into the sea.” Even then
they could not make up their minds to let him drown. First they immersed him up
to his knees in the water of the sea, and the storm ceased; they drew him back
into the vessel, and forthwith the storm raged in its old fury. Two more trials
they made. They lowered him into the water up to his navel, and raised him out
of the depths when the storm was assuaged. Again, when the storm broke out anew,
they lowered him to his neck, and a second time they took him back into the vessel
when the wind subsided. But finally the renewed rage of the storm convinced them
that their danger was due to Jonah’s transgressions, and they abandoned him to
his fate. He was thrown into the water, and on the instant the sea grew calm.

JONAH IN THE WHALE

At the creation of the world, God made a fish intended to harbor Jonah. He
as so large that the prophet was as comfortable inside of him as in a spacious
synagogue. The eyes of the fish served Jonah as windows, and, besides, there was
a diamond, which shone as brilliantly as the sun at midday, so that Jonah could
see all things in the sea down to its very bottom.

It is a law that when their time has come, all the fish of the sea must betake
themselves to leviathan, and let the monster devour them. The life term of Jonah’s
fish was about to expire, and the fish warned Jonah of what was to happen. When
he, with Jonah in his belly, came to leviathan, the prophet said to the monster:
“For thy sake I came hither. It was meet that I should know thine abode, for it
is my appointed task to capture thee in the life to come and slaughter thee for
the table of the just and pious.” When leviathan observed the sign of the covenant
on Jonah’s body, he fled affrighted, and Jonah and the fish were saved. To show
his gratitude, the fish carried Jonah whithersoever there was a sight to be seen.
He showed him the river from which the ocean flows, showed him the spot at which
the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, showed him Gehenna and Sheol, and many other
mysterious and wonderful place.

Three days Jonah had spent in the belly of the fish, and he still felt so comfortable
that he did not think of imploring God to change his condition. But God sent a
female fish big with three hundred and sixty-five thousand little fish to Jonah’s
host, to demand the surrender of the prophet, else she would swallow both him
and the guest he harbored. The message was received with incredulity, and leviathan
had to come and corroborate it; he himself had heard God dispatch the female fish
on her errand. So it came about that Jonah was transferred to another abode. His
new quarters, which he had to share with all the little fish, were far from comfortable,
and from the bottom of his heart a prayer for deliverance arose to God on high.
The last words of his long petition were, “I shall redeem my vow,” whereupon God
commanded the fish to spew Jonah out. At a distance of nine hundred and sixty-five
parasangs from the fish he alighted on dry land. These miracles induced the ship’s
crew to abandon idolatry, and they all became pious proselytes in Jerusalem.

THE REPENTANCE OF NINEVEH

Jonah went straightway to Nineveh, the monster city covering forty square parasangs
and containing a million and half of human beings. He lost no time in proclaiming
their destruction to the inhabitants. The voice of the prophet was so sonorous
that it reached to every corner of the great city, and all who heard his words
resolved to turn aside from their ungodly ways. At the head of the penitents was
King Osnappar of Assyria. He descended from his throne, removed his crown, strewed
ashes on his head instead, took off his purple garments, and rolled about in the
dust of the highways. In all the streets royal heralds proclaimed the king’s decree
bidding the inhabitants fast three days, wear sackcloth, and supplicate God with
tears and prayers to avert the threatened doom. The people of Nineveh fairly compelled
to God’s mercy to descend upon them. They held their infants heavenward, and amid
streaming tears they cried: “For the sake of these innocent babes, hear our prayers.”
The young of their stalled cattle they separated from the mother beasts, the young
were left within the stable, the old were put without. So parted from one another,
the young and the old began to bellow aloud. Then the Ninevites cried: “If Thou
wilt not have mercy upon us, we will not have mercy upon these beasts.”

The penance of the Ninevites did not stop at fasting and praying. Their deeds
showed that they had determined to lead a better life. If a man had usurped another’s
property, he sought to make amends for his iniquity; some went so far as to destroy
their palaces in order to be able to give back a single brick to the rightful
owner. Of their own accord others appeared before the courts of justice, and confessed
their secret crimes and sins, known to none beside themselves, and declared themselves
ready to submit to well-merited punishment, though it be death that was decreed
against them.

One incident that happened at the time will illustrate the contrition of the
Ninevites. A man found a treasure in the building lot he had acquired from his
neighbor. Both buyer and seller refused to assume possession of the treasure.
The seller insisted that the sale of the lot carried with it the sale of all it
contained. The buyer held that he had bought the ground, not the treasure hidden
therein. Neither rested satisfied until the judge succeeded in finding out who
had hidden the treasure and where were his heirs, and the joy of the two was great
when they could deliver the treasure up to its legitimate owners.

Seeing that the Ninevites had undergone a real change of heart, God took mercy
upon them, and pardoned them. Thereupon Jonah likewise felt encouraged to plead
for himself with God, that He forgive him for his flight. God spoke to him: “Thou
wast mindful of Mine honor,” the prophet had not wanted to appear a liar, so that
men’s trust in God might not be shaken “and for this reason thou didst take to
sea. Therefore did I deal mercifully with thee, and rescue thee from the bowels
of Sheol.”

His sojourn in the inside of the fish the prophet could not easily dismiss
from his mind, nor did it remain without visible consequences. The intense heat
in the belly of the fish had consumed his garments, and made his hair fall out,
and he was sore plagued by swarms of insects. To afford Jonah protection, God
caused the kikayon to grow up. When he opened his eyes one morning, he saw a plant
with two hundred and seventy-five leaves, each leaf measuring more than a span,
so that it afforded relief from the heat of the sun. But the sun smote the gourd
that it withered, and Jonah was again annoyed by the insects. He began to weep
and wish for death to release him from his troubles. But when God led him to the
plant, and showed him what lesson he might derive from it, how, though he had
not labored for the plant, he had pity on it, he realized his wrong in desiring
God to be relentless toward Nineveh, the great city, with its many inhabitants,
rather than have his reputation as a prophet suffer taint. He prostrated himself
and said: “O God, guide the world according to Thy goodness.”

God was gracious to the people of Nineveh so long as they continued worthy
of His lovingkindness. But at the end of forty days they departed from the path
of piety, and they became more sinful than ever. Then the punishment threatened
by Jonah overtook them, and they were swallowed up by the earth.

Jonah’s suffering in the watery abyss had been so severe that by way of compensation
of God exempted him from death: living he was permitted to enter Paradise. Like
Jonah, his wife was known far and wide for her piety. She had gained fame particularly
through her pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a duty which, by reason of her sex, she was
not obliged to fulfil. On one of these pilgrimages it was that the prophetical
spirit first descended upon Jonah.