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1 In the Bible

Elijah is first introduced in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the God to Ahab, king of Israel. He is sometimes known as " The Tishbite," being from the town of Tishbe .

Having delivered his message to Ahab, he retired at the command of God to a hiding-place by the brook Cherith, beyond Jordan, where he was fed by ravenSee text Many large black birds of the genus Corvus are called ravens . Other birds in the same genus are the smaller crows, jackdaws, and rooks. With its black plumage, croaking call, and carrion-eating, the Raven was considered a bird of ill omen long bs. When the brook dried up God sent him to the widow of Zarephath, a city of Zidon, from whose scanty store he was supported for the space of two years. During this period the widow's son died, and was restored to life by Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-24).

During these two years a famine prevailed in the land. At the close of this period of retirement and of preparation for his work, Elijah met ObadiahObadiah "Servant of the LORD", Standard Hebrew Ovadya Tiberian Hebrew Oayh Vulgate Abdias is the name of many people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. An Israelite who was chief in the household of King Ahab (1 Kings 18:3). Amid a climate, one of Ahab's officers, whom he had sent out to seek for pasturage for the cattle, and bade him go and tell his master that Elijah was there. The king came and met Elijah, and reproached him as the troubler of Israel. It was then proposed that sacrifices should be publicly offered, for the purpose of determining whether BaalThis article is a discussion of Baal the deity; for Baal as a Christian or Jewish demon see Baal (demon). Baal Standard Hebrew Baal Tiberian Hebrew Baal / Baal is a northwest Semitic word signifying 'lord, master, owner (male), husband' cognate with Akkad or the Israelite God was the true God. This was done on Mount CarmelMount Carmel is a coastal mountain in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean sea. The city of Haifa is partially on Mount Carmel, and so are a few smaller towns such as Nesher, Tirat Hakarmel. The shrine of the Bab is on the side of Mount Carmel. on the nin; the result was that a miracle took place convincing those watching that Baal was false and that the Israelite God was real. The prophets of Baal were then put to death by the order of Elijah.

Some six years after this he warned Ahab and Jezebel of the violent deaths they would die (1 Kings 21:19-24; 22:38). He also, four years afterwards, warned Ahaziah, who had succeeded his father Ahab, of his approaching death (2 Kings 1:1-16). During these intervals he probably withdrew to some quiet retirement, no one knew where. His interview with Ahaziah's messengers on the way to Ekron, and the account of the destruction of his captains with their fifties, suggest the idea that he may have been in retirement at this time on Mount Carmel. The Carmelites have a tradition that they were founded by Elijah at this time.

The time now drew near when he was to be taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:1-12). He went down to Gilgal, where was a school of the prophets, and where his successor Elisha, whom he had anointed some years before, resided. Elisha was solemnized by the thought of his master's leaving him, and refused to be parted from him. "They two went on," and came to Bethel and Jericho, and crossed the Jordan, the waters of which were "divided hither and thither" when smitten with Elijah's mantle. Arrived at the borders of Gilead, which Elijah had left many years before, it "came to pass as they still went on and talked" they were suddenly separated by a chariot and horses of fire; and "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, "Elisha receiving his mantle, which fell from him as he ascended.

Elijah's chosen successor was the prophet Elisha; Elijah designated Elisha as such by leaving his mantle with him (2 Kings 2:13-15), so that his wish for "a double portion" of the older prophet's spirit (2:9), in allusion to the preference shown the first-born son in the division of the father's estate ( Deuteronomy 21:17), had been fulfilled.

Some Christian theologians of a conservative, pre-millenial perspective believe that Elijah must return to physically die here on earth eventually. This plays into many eschatological scenarios. Conservatives who come from amillenial or preterist positions would probably see John the Baptist as a fulfillment of this expectation, in the time of Jesus. Christian theologians of a more liberal persuasion would tend to interpret Elijah's eschatological significance in a more spiritual sense.