Elijah in the Bible

Why does Elijah stay with a widow at Zarephath?

After announcing the drought, Elijah hides by the brook Cherith, where ravens bring him bread and meat. When the brook dries up, God sends him to Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. The widow he meets has only a handful of flour and a little oil. She expects to prepare one last meal for herself and her son.

Elijah asks her to make him a small cake first and gives God’s promise that the flour and oil will last until rain returns. She does as he asks, and the household eats for many days. When her son later dies, Elijah carries him upstairs, cries to Yahweh, and stretches himself over the child three times. The text says Yahweh hears him and the boy revives. The widow’s grief is real; the passage does not say her son died because she lacked faith.

1 Kings 17:1–24; Luke 4:24–26

What happens after the victory on Mount Carmel?

Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah. He runs to Beersheba, leaves his servant there, and goes a day’s journey into the wilderness. Under a tree he asks God to take his life. An angel wakes him to eat and drink twice; strengthened by that food, he travels forty days and nights to Horeb. The WEB and KJV call the tree a juniper; the NIV calls it a broom bush.

At Horeb, Elijah says Israel has broken the covenant, killed the prophets, and left him alone. A strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire pass, but the passage says Yahweh is not in them. Afterward comes what the WEB and KJV call a “still small voice.” Elijah covers his face and goes to the cave entrance. This scene does not mean that God only ever speaks quietly.

God gives Elijah further work and tells him of seven thousand who have not bowed to Baal. Elijah then calls Elisha by placing his mantle on him while he plows. The commission also names Hazael and Jehu; later chapters show Elisha addressing Hazael and sending a prophetic messenger to anoint Jehu. Kings does not describe Elijah personally completing all three anointings.

1 Kings 19:1–21; 2 Kings 8:7–15; 9:1–10 · Read the Mount Carmel events that precede Elijah’s flight →

Elijah’s later confrontations with the kings

Naboth refuses to sell his inherited vineyard to Ahab. Jezebel arranges false accusations and his execution; Ahab then goes to claim the property. Elijah meets the king there and announces judgment on him and his house. When Ahab tears his clothes, fasts, and humbles himself, God tells Elijah that the disaster on Ahab’s house will come in his son’s days.

After Ahab’s death, his son Ahaziah sends messengers to ask Baal Zebub of Ekron whether he will recover from an injury. Elijah intercepts them with God’s message that the king will die. Fire consumes two captains and their fifty men each. The third captain pleads for their lives, and an angel tells Elijah to go with him to the king. These are separate events from the fire at Carmel. In Luke 9:51–56, Jesus rebukes disciples who want to destroy a Samaritan village with fire; Elijah’s account is not permission for readers to attack religious opponents.

1 Kings 21:1–29; 2 Kings 1:1–17; Luke 9:51–56

Why is John the Baptist connected with Elijah?

Malachi 4:5–6 promises Elijah before the day of Yahweh and describes a turning of parents’ and children’s hearts. Luke 1:17 applies that language to John, who will go in Elijah’s spirit and power. Jesus also connects John with the expected Elijah in Matthew 11:14 and 17:10–13.

John 1:21 records John’s own answer that he is not Elijah. Read together, the passages distinguish the earlier prophet from John while presenting John’s ministry as fulfilling an Elijah-like role. They do not describe reincarnation. Elijah himself appears with Moses at Jesus’ transfiguration; Luke says they speak about the departure Jesus will accomplish at Jerusalem.

Malachi 4:5–6; Luke 1:17; 9:28–36; Matthew 11:14; 17:1–13; John 1:21 · Read about John the Baptist’s ministry and message →

Elijah, Eliyyahu, and Elias

What does the name Elijah mean?

Elijah is the English form of Eliyyahu, also shortened to Eliyyah. Brown–Driver–Briggs explains the name as “Yah(u) is God”; it is also commonly rendered “My God is Yahweh,” as the NABRE note on 1 Kings 18:8 explains. The name combines a word for God with a form of the divine name. Kings does not tell us who named the prophet. “Elias” in the KJV New Testament is another form of Elijah’s name, not a different prophet.

Brown–Driver–Briggs: Elijah, entry 452

NABRE note on Elijah’s name in 1 Kings 18:8