Elisha’s Sacrifice(?)
The OT reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for today included 1 Kings 19:19-21, which reads:
So [Elijah] set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah?? said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant. (NRSV)
As I was listening to the reading, a question occurred to me: Why did Elisha kill the oxen? Was it a sacrifice or not?
When I got home, I checked the different translations. The ESV and NASB say that Elisha sacrificed the oxen, while the NRSV and NIV both say that Elisha slaughtered them. The Hebrew does not provide much help here. The verb used is zabakh. This generally indicates a sacrifice, but also could be used for common slaughter of animals.
If this passage were from the priestly layers of the OT, it would be a moot point. All slaughter of animals was considered a sacrifice in the priestly schema. But Deuteronomy allows for the non-sacrificial slaughter of animals (Deut. 12:13-27). Since the 1 Kings passage is part of the DtrH, this could be either.
But Deuteronomy also states that all sacrifice must be done in Jerusalem. Elisha is from Abel-Meholah. Although 1 Kings 19 does not state it explicitly, it is likely that the call of Elisha took place in or near his home town, not in Jerusalem. If Elisha is being pictured following the Deuteronomic law, then what he is doing should not be considered a sacrifice. I would say the NRSV and NIV have the better translation in this case.
But that leaves us with out original question: Why did Elisha kill the oxen? If it was not a sacrifice, why did he do it? Although the passage is not explicit, I think the clue to interpretation needs to come from Elisha’s request to kiss his father and mother before following Elijah. The slaughter of the oxen and ensuing feast seem to be the fulfillment of that wish.
Now, if I really wanted to go out on a limb, I might argue that his request to kiss his father and mother and the feast that followed were part of paying homage to his departed ancestors, since his new life would be one that took place outside of his family. I am not feeling that brave today, so I will offer that suggestion only as a possibility.
On July 1st, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I must admit I didn’t give this much thought in my sermon prep, since my focus was elsewhere, but in my rather superficial way I took this as an absolute commitment, where Elijah’s rather peremptory rebuke stirs Elisha not to go back to his parents as he intended, but to turn his back on normal livelihood without thought for his parents, and incidentally, destroy their livelihood in the process, so that it becomes a case of the absolute priprity of the prophetic demand. But perhaps I was over-influnced by the Gospel for the day.
On July 1st, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I would think that destroying his parents livelihood would be something more than incidental, at least to them. If he is illustrating the absolute priority of the prophetic call, then I am unsure why he takes the time to stop and feed the people.
On July 2nd, 2007 at 7:18 pm
NAB has slaughtered with the implication that the yoke was the instrument of slaughter. However, since Elisha has just been anointed (cf 1Kgs 19:16), he has a priestly function as well and so the difference is really moot. David was anointed and often did priestly functions (for example, He dances in a priestly garment before the ark and his wife complains about it)
But since the NT interprets the OT (Lk 9:51-62). And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” (To him) Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” (NAB w.RNT/RP Lk 9:61-62) Thus the one who puts his hand out for Jesus and looks to the LEFT BEHIND isn’t fit for heaven. The OT didn’t require the perfection of the NT, because in NT we have the true sacrifice, the true communion that is God, when in the divine liturgy the bread and wine become Jesus’s body, blood, soul and divinity, and we can truly stomach Him to sustain our spirits to participate in the devine economy.
Also, we cannot be fit for heaven, if we are looking to the “Left Behind” crowd - beware the Left Behind book series.
On July 3rd, 2007 at 7:39 am
The text gives no indication that Elisha was anointed. Elija merely places his mantle over Elisha.
But even if he were anointed, that would not give him the right to perform sacrifices (at least according to P). Prophet, priest, and king were separate offices. We see them combined sometimes, such as in the person of Samuel, but it was not the general rule. Whether David’s sacrifices were acceptable is open to question.
I would reject the notion that the NT interprets the OT, at least in the way you are using it here. I don’t think there is any reason to read Luke 9:61-62 into the 1 Kings passage.