In 2 Kings 4.32–35, the prophet Elisha lies down over a boy with ‘his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands’. This article explores the hypothesis that Elisha is sexually abusing the boy. In Part 1, we give a verse-by-verse analysis of the scene, consider the interpretations that have been proposed, and make the case that these all leave many of Elisha’s actions inexplicable. In Part 2, we turn to the sexual abuse interpretation. This interpretation, we argue, makes sense of all of Elisha’s actions in the scene. We then argue that the sexual abuse interpretation also make sense of two other scenes in the Elisha narrative that are otherwise puzzling: the mauling of the harassing boys (2 Kgs 2.23–25) and King Jehoram’s recompense to the Shunammite boy’s family (2 Kgs 8.1–6).
Moen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.