Person Old Testament
Shaphat
Shaphat was the father of Elisha, the prophet who succeeded Elijah and performed many miracles during the reigns of the kings of Israel. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at 1 Kings 19:16.
Why it matters. Father of Elisha the prophet
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Shaphat
Shaphat, mentioned in 1Ki.19.16,19 and 2Ki.3.11, 6:31, was the father of Elisha, the prophet who succeeded Elijah. Shaphat was from Abel-meholah, a town in the Jordan Valley. When Elijah was instructed by God to anoint Elisha as his successor, he found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, indicating that Shaphat's family was wealthy and had a large agricultural operation. Elisha's response to Elijah's call, slaughtering the oxen and using the equipment to cook a meal for the people, demonstrates his willingness to leave behind his former life and fully commit to his prophetic ministry. As a prophet, Elisha performed numerous miracles and played a significant role in the religious and political affairs of Israel during the reigns of kings Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Jehoash. The mention of Shaphat as Elisha's father highlights the family background of this important prophetic figure.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Elisha
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.