Elijah (Hebrew origin: My God is Jehovah)
(1 Kings 17:1). 9th century b.c.e.
Elijah prophesied during the reign of King Ahab of Israel. Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, was a Phoenician princess. She introduced in Israel the Phoenician pagan cult of the god Baal, a development that was bitterly opposed by Elijah. Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria, so Elijah told the king that God would withhold rain to punish him and left the country. There was a severe food shortage in Samaria, which lasted three years.
Elijah confronted 450 priests of Baal at Mount Carmel and challenged them to prove who was the true God, the Lord or Baal, by having fire from heaven come down and consume the sacrifice. The priests of Baal prayed for hours without any results, while Elijah mocked them. Then it was Elijah's turn to pray to God. Fire came down on the altar and consumed the sacrifice. Elijah told the people to seize and kill the priests of Baal. The drought, which had lasted three years, broke in a great storm. Ahab told Jezebel that Elijah had killed her prophets. The queen was furious and sent a messenger to Elijah, threatening to kill him. The prophet escaped to the desert in the south. There, he found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing with oxen when Elijah placed his cloak upon him, thus symbolizing that he had chosen Elisha as a disciple.
Read more biographies from Who's Who in the Jewish Bible.
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