Elisha’s Posthumous Miracle in Textual History (II Kings 13. 20–21). What does This Story Teach Us about the Textual History of the Books of Kings?

Abstract

The conclusion of the prophetical narrative of Elisha is a posthumous miracle. A dead man comes back to life after a contact with the prophet’s bones, II Kings 13. 20-21. It is an outstanding example of classical Hebrew narrative style aiming at utmost concision. Moreover, the three earliest textual witnesses, MT, LXX and Old Latin, differ widely between themselves on the textual and on the literary level. An analysis of their literary forms, relationship, causes and origins, in one specific pericope, may reveal their stylistic and literary interests, as well as their qualities and weaknesses in textual transmission. Despite the shortness of II Kings 13. 20-21, its textual history is likely to be representative for the whole book of I-II Kings, and to shed light on the textual witnesses and the text history of Kings, and even of all Former and Latter Prophets for most of them were transmitted in the same circles in the last three centuries bce.