Elijah formally passed on the mantle as prophet to Elisha by throwing the heavy robe-like coat on him while Elisha worked in the field. Elisha immediately understood the mantle as an Old Testament symbol of authority and as a symbol of the power of God resting on a prophet in Israel. Elisha accepted the mantle with humility and did not question Elijah. The text connects this event to total commitment by noting that Elisha burned the plows as a symbol of his commitment to God and left his former life behind. The text later asks whether focus remains on the mantle that has been placed on the shoulders.

Elisha collects the very mantle Elijah had thrown over Elisha's shoulders when he was supervising the plowing of his father's fields. At the time a cloak like this signified the wearer as God's prophet. Elisha's first miracle occurs when he strikes the Jordan River with the mantle and the waters part as they had for Elijah allowing him to cross back to the western bank. These actions observed by numerous eyewitnesses verify and establish him as the true successor to the prophet Elijah. No doubt the youths recognized him from the distinctive mantle he wore. They knew it as Elijah's mantle as he had recently visited the city.