[4] The Gilgal of Elisha is near the Jordan--comp. vi. 1 with iv. 38, [Hebrew: shavim lefanaiv],--and cannot be other than the great sanctuary 2 m. from Jericho, the local holiness of which is still attested in the _Onomastica_. It is true that in 2 Kings ii. 1 Bethel seems to lie between Gilgal and Jericho; but v. 25 shows that Gilgal was not originally represented as Elisha's residence in this narrative, which belongs to the Carmel-Dothan series. On the other hand, for the identification with the Gilgal (Jiljilia) S.W. of Shiloh, see G.A. Smith, _Ency. Bib._ (s.v. Gilgal); Burney, _op. cit._, p. 264; Skinner, _Century Bible_: _Kings_, p. 278. ELISHA BEN ABUYAH (c. A.D. 100), a unique figure among the Palestinian Jews of the first Christian century. He was born before the destruction of the Temple (which occurred in A.D. 70) and survived into the 2nd century. It is not easy to decide as to his exact attitude towards Judaism. That he refused to accept the current rabbinical views is certain, though the Talmud cites his legal decisions. Most authorities believe that he was a Gnostic; but while it is certain that he was not a Christian, it is possible that he was simply a Sadducee, and thus an opponent not of Judaism but of Pharisaism. His disciple, the famous Pharisee Meir, remained his steadfast friend, and his efforts to reclaim his former master are among the most pathetic incidents in the Talmud. In later ages Elisha (_aher_ "the other," as he was named) was regarded as the type of a heretic whose pride of intellect betrayed him into infidelity to law and morals. Without much appropriateness Elisha has been sometimes described as the "Faust of the Talmud." (I. A.) ELIXIR (from the Arabic _al-iksir_, probably an adaptation of the Gr. [Greek: xêrion], a powder used for drying wounds, from [Greek: xêros], dry), in alchemy, the medium which would effect the transmutation of base metals into gold; it probably included all such substances--vapours, liquids, &c.--and had a wider meaning than "philosopher's stone." The same term, more fully _elixir_ _vitae_, elixir of life, was given to the substance which would indefinitely prolong life; it was considered to be closely related to, or even identical with, the substance for transmuting metals. In pharmacy the word was formerly given to a strong extract or tincture, but it is only used now for an aromatic sweet preparation, containing one or more drugs, and in such expressions as "elixir of vitriol," a mixture of sulphuric acid, cinnamon, ginger and alcohol.