Elijah
Biblical prophet
Elijah(Hebrew: אֱלִיָּהוּ, Eliyahu, meaning "My God isYahweh") orElias(/ɨˈlaɪ.əs/; Greek: Ηλίας,Elías;Arabic:إلياس,Ilyās) was aprophetand awonder-workerin the northernkingdom of Israelduring the reign ofAhab(9th century BC). In theBooks of Kingshe is said to have promoted the worship ofYahwehagainstidolatriesinvolving the CanaaniteBaal,to have raised thedead,broughtfiredown from thesky,and to have been taken into theheavensin awhirlwind,either accompanied by a chariot andhorsesof flame or riding in it. Many later legends arose in which his activities continued, appearing often in the guise of a beggar and scholar; during their own careers, bothJohn the BaptistandJesuswere compared with Elijah and were thought by some to beappearancesof him. He is reported to have appeared withMosesduring theTransfiguration of Jesus.
Quotes
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- As the LordGodofIsraelliveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
- Declaration toAhab,in the firstBooks of Kings17:1
- I, even I only, remain aprophetof the Lord;but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: Andcall ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.
Quotes about Elijah
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- Elijah, when he entered into rivalry with the prophets of Baal became one of them, because God is not to be found in such circuses, nor in the murders which go along with them. At the end of his undeceiving, Elijah is more Yahwist, more atheist, less of a shaman, less of a sacrificer, because God is not like the gods, not even so as to show himself superior to them.
- James Alison,Faith Beyond Resentment,30
- WhenPeaceandMercy,banished from the plain,
Sprung on the viewless winds toHeavenagain;
All, all forsook the friendless, guilty mind,
ButHope,the charmer, lingered still behind.
Thus, while Elijah's burning wheels prepare,
From Carmel's height, to sweep the fields ofair,
Theprophet's mantle, ere his flight began,
Dropt on theworld— asacredgiftto man.- Thomas Campbell,inThe Pleasures of Hope(1799), Part I, lines 41 - 44
- And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.And it shall be, that thou shaltdrinkof the brook; and I have commanded theravensto feed thee there.So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening;and he drank of the brook.
- And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a littlewaterin a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth,I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.And Elijah said unto her,Fearnot; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.- 1 Kings17:7-16
- And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man ofGod?art thou come unto me to call mysintoremembrance,and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said,O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said,O Lord my God, Ipraythee, let thischild'ssoulcome into him again.
And the Lord heard thevoiceof Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said,See, thy sonliveth.
And the woman said to Elijah,Nowby this Iknowthat thou art a man ofGod,and that thewordof the Lord in thy mouth istruth.- 1 Kings17:17-24
- He himself went a day's journey into thewilderness,and came and sat down under a juniper tree:and he requested for himself that he mightdie;and said,It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then anangeltouched him, and said unto him,Arise and eat.
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said,Arise and eat; because thejourneyis too great for thee.And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb themountofGod.And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: forthe children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with thesword;and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.- 1st Books of Kings19:4 - 10
- Elijah said unto Elisha,Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thyspiritbe upon me. And he said,Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot offire,andhorsesof fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by awhirlwindintoheaven.
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, Myfather,myfather,the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.- 2 Kings2:10 - 12
- Behold, I will send you Elijah theprophetbefore the coming of thegreatand dreadfulday of the Lord:And he shall turn theheartof the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
- Book of Malachi4:5–6(KJV)
