Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 19:16

"and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room." — 1 Kings 19:16 (ASV)

And Jehu. —Of this charge Elijah fulfilled in person but one part, in the call of Elisha: for the fulfilment of the other two parts, see 2 Kings 8:8–13; 2 Kings 9:1–6. This apparently imperfect correspondence of the event to the charge is a strong indication of the historical character of the narrative.

The history, indeed, records no actual anointing of Elisha; and it is remarkable that in no other place is any such anointing of a prophet referred to, unless Psalms 105:15 be an exception. The anointing, signifying the gift of grace, was first instituted for the priests (Exodus 40:15; Numbers 3:3); next it was extended to the royal office, and became, in common parlance, especially attached to it.

The prophetic office, as the third great representative of the power of Jehovah, might well be hallowed by the same ordinance, especially as the prophets dispensed it to the kings; but whether the prophets were always consecrated with the sacred oil, or whether, as in the Prophet of prophets, the anointing with the Holy Ghost and with power sometimes superseded the outward sign, we do not know. Abelmeholah (“the meadow of the dance,” see 1 Kings 4:12) lay in the rich country near the Jordan valley and the plain of Esdraelon; it was therefore on Elijah’s way.