The Crucial Bridge: The Elijah-Elisha Narrative as an Interpretive Synthesis of Genesis-Kings and a Literary Model for the Gospels

The Elijah-Elisha narrative (1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 13) is perhaps the most underestimated text in the Bible. Far from being a disparate collection, it is a carefully crafted double drama that both mirrors life and synthesizes the entire Primary History (Genesis-Kings). In a bold hermeneutical move it transforms the language of historiography - of patriarchs and kings - into the language of prophetic biography. The prophetic biography, rooted in historiography, later becomes the evangelists' primary literary model. The Elijah-Elisha narrative is the crucial bridge between the foundational narratives of Judaism and Christianity.