1. Elisha changed undrinkable water to good
2. he directed two bears to maul some disrespectful children
3. he created an optical illusion that delivered the Moabites into the hands of Jehoshaphat of Judah
4. he multiplied a quantity of olive oil so a widow could pay off her debts (paralleling Elijah's miracle in Zarephath)
5. he resuscitated the son of the woman from Shunem (again duplicating one of Elijah's miracles)
6. he rescued some tainted stew
7. he fed 100 men with twenty loaves of bread
8. he cured Naaman of leprosy
9. he recovered an iron ax head from the Jordan River
10. he blinded the Syrian army and led them into captivity

    All of these stories tend to glorify Elisha as a miracle worker and prophetic figure. Like Elijah, he was a northern prophet and represented that tradition. Elisha was also involved in Israelite and even international politics, though to a lesser degree than Elijah. He supported Hazael to be king of Syria in place of Ben-hadad. This was in fulfillment of Yahweh's instructions to Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19). It might seem strange to see this Israelite prophet encouraging Hazael, who then went on to make war against Israel. But this is the Deuteronomistic writer's way of showing how this Syrian pressure was planned by God as punishment for Israel's covenant breaking.
    Elisha also supported Jehu in his coup d'état to overthrow the dynasty of Ahab. Again, this was punishment for the way Ahab and Jezebel promoted the worship of Baal and Asherah. Jehu's purge of the Ahab dynasty was swift and brutal. First, he went to Jezreel, the site of the royal retreat. He assassinated Joram, Ahab's son and king of Israel, along with his ally Ahaziah, king of Judah. Then he had Jezebel tossed out an upper-story window; landing on the pavement, she died. He continued to secure his position by assassinating the seventy sons of Ahab in Samaria, the capital; he killed anyone closely associated with or even distantly related to Ahab, and capped it off with a massacre of the royally sponsored priests, prophets, and worshipers of Baal. It is no wonder that Hosea, a later prophet, recalled those times of infighting and ruthlessness as the "bloody business of Jezreel" (Hosea 1:4). Although he acted by divine mandate according to the Deuteronomistic writer, other minds in Israel viewed this violent era with great disdain.

Figure 9.6 Shalmaneser III and Jehu Jehu is one of the few Israelite kings mentioned by name in material from outside the Hebrew Bible, and he is the only one depicted in relief. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (a 9th-century B.C.E. king of Assyria) is a carved basalt-rock standing monument that contains pictures and Assyrian inscriptions. In this panel Shalmaneser is receiving tribute from "Jehu, son of Omri," who is on his hands and knees, though technically Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat. British Museum, London -- Photo by Barry Bandstra