Texts in Conversation
Genesis records that Enoch “walked with God” and then “was no more, for God took him,” hinting at a heavenly ascent. Elijah’s ascent to heaven in a whirlwind in 2 Kings closely echoes this tradition, making the implicit explicit.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 5:24
Hebrew Bible
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.
2 Kings 2:11
Hebrew Bible
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you?” 10 Elijah replied, “That’s a difficult request! If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don’t, it will not happen.” 11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm. 12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.
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Notes and References
“... The expression “he was no more” is likewise equivocal: on the one hand, it can indicate Enoch’s death, as in Psalm 39:14: “Look away from me that I may recover, before I pass away and am no more,” but it might refer to a passing from life on this earth to another existence. The same can be said about the expression that God “took him.” Being “taken” can refer to death (as in Ezekiel 24:16: “O mortal, I am about to take the delight of your eyes from you through pestilence; but you shall not lament or weep or let your tears flow”), or, alternatively, to a person’s being taken alive to heaven, as we hear the disciples tell Elisha before Elijah’s ascendance to heaven (a story we’ll return to shortly): “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you” (2 Kings 2:3). ...”
Shinan, Avigdor and Yair Zakovitch
From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends
(pp. 179-180) The Jewish Publication Society, 2012
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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