1 Kings 19:19

So he departed thence, and found [Nothing can be concluded from this word as to previous acquaintance] Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [It was in the winter, consequently. "Elisha is found not in his study, but in the field: not with a book in his hand, but the plough" (Hall). with twelve yoke of oxen [Heb. ploughing twelve yoke , from which Ewald gathers that he was ploughing twelve yoke of land— צֶמֶד like jugum, is used as a measure of land in 1 Samuel 14:14 , Isaiah 5:10 —and was then at work on the twelfth and last. But the meaning of the "twelve yoke" here is surely settled by the "yoke of oxen;" cf. Isaiah 5:21 and see below] before him [This word also points to animals, not land. The twelve pair of oxen, it is generally thought, are mentioned to show that Elisha was a man of substance. It is not certain, however, that all the twelve belonged to him. See next note], and he with the twelfth ["I have seen more than a dozen ploughs thus at work. To understand the reason of this, several things must be taken into account. First, that the arable land of nearly all villages is cultivated in common; then that Arab farmers delight to work together, partly for mutual protection, and partly from their love of gossip," etc. Thomson, L. and B. 1:208]: and Elijah passed by him [Heb. to him . The idea that he may have "crossed the stream of the Jordan" (Rawlinson) is extremely improbable. The current is strong, and it is not everywhere fordable, especially in winter], and cast his mantle upon him. [Heb. to him אֱלָיו . But LXX . ἐπ αὐτόν . Already, it would seem, the rough hairy mantle had come to be recognized as the garb of a prophet (of. Zechariah 13:4 ). "The prophet's cloak was a sign of the prophet's vocation" (Keil). To cast the cloak to or upon Elisha was therefore an appropriate and significant way of designating him to the prophetic office. "When Elijah went to heaven Elisha had the mantle entire" 2 Kings 2:13 (Henry). The Germans use the word mantel-kind of an adopted child.]