Eliseus is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Eliseus is the Greek form of the name Elisha, the prophet who succeeded Elijah in the Old Testament. In the King James Bible, the name appears only once, in the New Testament, when Jesus refers to him during a sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth. The source note identifies him as a prophet of Israel who was known for performing many miracles. Though his full story is told in the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Kings, the single KJV occurrence of the name “Eliseus” comes from the lips of Christ Himself.
The setting of this reference is significant. Jesus had just read from the prophet Isaiah and declared that the Scripture was fulfilled in the hearing of His listeners. He then reminded them that in the days of Elias, or Elijah, God sent help to a widow in Sidon rather than to Israel, and that in the time of Eliseus the prophet, many lepers lived in Israel, yet none was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. The point was pointed: God’s mercy had reached beyond Israel’s borders when Israel itself was unbelieving.
Scripture says of Eliseus only what Jesus states here—that he was a prophet, that he lived in a time when many lepers were in Israel, and that none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. The account of that healing is recorded in 2 Kings 5, where Naaman, a Syrian commander, was cured of his leprosy after washing seven times in the Jordan at Elisha’s instruction. The reference in Luke highlights both the reality of the miracle and the surprising object of God’s grace.
The Name
The name Eliseus is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Elisha, which is well established in meaning. It is commonly understood to mean “God is salvation” or “my God is salvation,” built from the Hebrew elements for “God” and “salvation.” This meaning is not in doubt among those who study biblical names, and it fits the pattern of other Hebrew names that confess God as Savior. The Greek form appears in the New Testament because Luke wrote in Greek, and it is the same prophet whom the Old Testament calls Elisha. The KJV preserves the Greek spelling in this one verse.
A Closing Thought
Eliseus reminds us that God’s grace has never been confined to the people we expect. Jesus pointed to him to show that when Israel was faithless, God still reached a Syrian leper. That is both humbling and hopeful. Humbling, because it warns us against assuming that God’s favor belongs to us by default. Hopeful, because it means no one is beyond His mercy—not the outsider, not the enemy, not the one we would overlook. The same Lord who cleansed Naaman still saves sinners today, and He saves them by grace, not by pedigree.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Luke 4:27 — And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.