“Plowing with Twelve Spans”

◆ Persons who read the Bible account at 1 Kings 19:19 might conclude that the prophet Elisha was plowing with a team of twelve pairs of bulls. They might wonder how he ever managed to do this. However, travelers in Bible lands have reported some interesting facts about plowing methods there. Considering these reports will help us get a clearer picture of how Elisha plowed.

Since the small plows of the farmers in the Middle East do not make a very deep furrow, farmers there will arrange to plow in company with fellow farmers. One traveler reported that he had seen more than a dozen plows at work in the same field, each with its own plowman and team of oxen before him. Evidently, Elisha was not behind a single plow to which twenty-four bulls were yoked, but he was in charge of the last of twelve plows.