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.
⚠ QC Status (2026-03-22): This file is one of a duplicate pair. A companion file, Apocryphon of Elisha.md (same manuscript, 4Q481a), exists in Drafts/DSS Duplicates/ and Good Works Library WIP/Judean/. The Apocryphon of Elisha file cites DJD XXII (Trebolle Barrera, 1996) — the editio princeps of 4Q481a — and uses a DSSE-based Hebrew transcription. The tracker's original QC recommendation (2026-03-21) was to keep Apocryphon of Elisha and treat this file as the inferior duplicate. The current Sitepublish arrangement is the reverse of that recommendation. Miko review needed before the Duplicates folder is cleared: confirm whether the Elijah or Elisha file should be retained in Sitepublish.
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Source Text: פסוידו-אליהו (4Q481a)
Hebrew, Qumran Cave 4. Apparatus-verified vocabulary, after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 3 (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2015); primary publication: Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXXVI (Oxford: Clarendon, 2000). Primary text body encoded in Miqdas Type1 font; only apparatus-confirmed phrases and source narrative (2 Kings 2:15–17) presented. Lacunae marked with [...]; no text conjectured.
Source Narrative — 2 Kings 2:15–17 (Elisha Succession)
וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי-הַנְּבִיאִים אֲשֶׁר בִּירִיחוֹ מִנֶּגֶד
וַיֹּאמְרוּ נָחָה רוּחַ אֵלִיָּהוּ עַל-אֱלִישָׁע
וַיָּבֹאוּ לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ-לוֹ אָרְצָה
(And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho
saw him opposite them, they said: The spirit of Elijah
rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed
before him to the ground. — 2 Kgs 2:15)
4Q481a closely follows this passage and is translated accordingly for the recoverable Fragment 2. The apocryphon adds the address "my father and my lord" (אבי ואדוני), expanding Elisha's cry in 2 Kgs 2:12.
Source Colophon
Apparatus-verified Hebrew after Elisha Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, vol. 3 (Yad Ben-Zvi Press, 2015). Primary publication: E. Tov et al., DJD XXXVI (Clarendon, 2000). Source narrative: 2 Kings 2:15–17 (Masoretic Text). Lacunae marked with [...]; no text conjectured beyond recoverable readings.
Other Testaments and Apocrypha in the Good Work Library: Apocryphon of Elisha · Apocryphon of Jeremiah C · Apocryphon of Joseph · Apocryphon of Levi · Apocryphon of Levi A · Aramaic Enoch · Aramaic Levi Document · Aramaic Levi Document — Source Text · Birth of Noah · Daniel-Suzanna · Prayer for King Jonathan · Prayer of Enosh · Prayer of Nabonidus · Pseudo-Daniel · Pseudo-Jubilees A · Pseudo-Jubilees A — Source Text · Testament Fragment (3Q7) · Testament Fragment (3Q7) — Source Text · Testament of Jacob · Testament of Judah · Testament of Naphtali · Testament of Qahat · The Book of Tobit · Visions of Amram · Visions of Amram — Source Text · Words of Michael
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