The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.

Fragment 1

(Too fragmentary for continuous translation.)

Fragment 2

[...] for he [...]

[...] Elij[ah ...]

[...and the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho, from afar, said:]

The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.

And they came toward him and bowed to him, to the ground. And they said to him: Behold, there are among your servants fifty men of valor.

Let them go and seek your master — the spirit of YHWH may have lifted him and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.

[And he said:] Do not send them. [But they pressed him]... until he relented [and said:] Send them. [...]

Fragment 3

[...] and he [...]

[...] to grow great [...]

[...] and he said [...] in waiting [...] [...] and not... and my lord [...]

[...] in Judah [...]

[Remainder too fragmentary.]

Colophon

Source: 4Q481a, Caves of Qumran (Cave 4), first century BCE. Two fragments. Published in Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, Vol. 3 (Yad Ben-Zvi, 2015). See also DJD XXXVI (Tov et al., Oxford University Press, 2000).

Tradition: Judean sectarian literature. 4Q481a is an apocryphon drawing on the Elijah-Elisha succession narrative of 2 Kings 2. Fragment 2 closely follows 2 Kings 2:15–17 — the scene where the sons of the prophets at Jericho recognize that the spirit of Elijah has transferred to Elisha, bow before him, and urge the sending of fifty men to search for Elijah's body. The apocryphon does not merely copy the canonical text: the fragment adds a direct address to Elijah as "my father and my lord" (avi ve'adoni) — expanding 2 Kings 2:12's famous "my father, my father, the chariot of Israel!" — and positions the scene within a wider eschatological or prophetic framework whose shape is not recoverable from the surviving fragments.

The Elijah-Elisha cycle was of deep interest to the Dead Sea community. The transfer of prophetic spirit, the role of Elijah as eschatological forerunner (Malachi 4:5), and the motif of Elisha's succession by recognition (yadau — "they knew") all connect to the community's self-understanding as a prophetic remnant awaiting renewal. Fragment 3's reference to Judah — rare in the sectarian corpus, which usually speaks of Israel — may indicate a wider geographic or historical framing beyond the Jericho scene.

Note on lacunae: Fragment 2 is the primary legible unit; the succession scene (2 Kings 2:15–17) is recoverable with confidence. Fragment 1 yields only isolated traces. Fragment 3 preserves partial phrases. Square brackets mark supplied text or uncertain readings; lacunae are not filled beyond what the transcription supports. The rendering of the succession scene follows 2 Kings 2:15–17 where the apocryphon parallels the canonical text.

Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026 (from Hebrew transcription in Qimron composite edition). This translation draws on the canonical 2 Kings 2 for the recoverable narrative core and is independent of existing English renderings of the apocryphon.

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