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ii miracles, but through quiet human agencies and in the slow movements of history. E. is therefore 8ho%vn that J" has still a great work for him to do : he must shape the destinies of two great nations, and provide for the continuance of the prophetic succession. Three commands are laid upon him : to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Klisha to be his own suc- cessor.

And he is comforted with the assurance that the work in which he has been engaged has not been a failure : J" reserves for Himself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. With faith restored E. returns to his task (w. "'"-'). On his way to Damascus he finds Elisha at the plough, and throws his mantle over him — a symbol u; action by which he claims him as his son and invests him with the prophetic office. Elisha leaves all, and ministers unto him. From this time E.

is never alone : he has a companion to whom he becomes a true spiritual father (2 K 2"), w^nning his filial allection as well as profound veneration. Here there is a oreak in the narrative. It is nowhere stated by what means E. sought to fulfil the other two parts of the commission which he received at Horeb. The account of the actual completion of his task by Elisha in 2 K 9. 10 is apparently by another narrator. Nor is it directly recorded what means E.

afterwards used for the advancement of the true religion. But there are deeply interesting hints in the memoirs. Cheync's singular statements (fi'a/toiOTn_7o/'CW(icw7?i, p. 143), that E. was weak in spiritual intuition, and that the lesson of Horeb was lost upon him, do not seem to be warranted. On the contrary, there are not wanting indications that from the day on which E. heard the still small voice there was another spirit in him.

He does not again attempt to sujiprcss Ahab's idolatry by force. He leaves the apostate king alone, and waits the course of events. If he does not entirely abandon his lonely desert life, he at least becomes a familiar figure in the schools of the prophets at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho (2 K 2'"'). His personality, and probably his teaching, make a profound impression upon the young prophets.

He kindles in their minds his own zeal for J" ; he transfuses his spirit into them ; the homage which they pay to Klisha (2 K 2'°) is entirely due to the fact that they perceive in him the spirit of the greater prophet. When E.'s moral indignation once more flashes out against the house of Ahab (1 K 21), it is not now for the destruction of idolatry but in the cause of justice and humanity that he appears, lie has become the champion of the civil and mor.al ri"hts of the people.

Ahab vioKates the ancient laws of property, which are the charter of the people's liberties, by forcibly alienating the vineyard of Naboth. He deepens his guilt by allowing his wife to compass the innocent man s ruin by peculiarly nefarious means (1 K 21"). This crime is the signal for K.'s reajipearance at Jezreel. On the day after Naboth's murder, the king is proceeding in state to take posses.

sion of the coveted gardens, when he is confronted by the prophet, and quails once more before his moral indignation. His enemy has found hini (v.-"). His own sin finds him out. His con- science condemns him. He stands spcccliless wiiile the prophet's words of doom smite him like thunilerbolts : Ahab's house shall fall; dogs shall cat the carcase of Jezebel ; the king's whole pos- terity shall iierish, and their bodies be given In the dogs of the city or the fowls of tlio air (ho \y' in vv.

™''"*'). In the chariot behind Ahab on that memorable day was an ofiicer named Jehu, on whoso mind the words of E. left an indelible ini- pres-sion (2 K 9^) ; and though the execution of the sentence was deferred in consideiation of the 690 ELIJAH ELIJAH king's penitence, this man was the instrument chosen by J" for tlie overthrow of the house of Aliab. The episode of Naboth's vineyard produced a great cliange in the popular sentiment. It revealed the true cliaracter ot the issues in E.'

s conflict a<;ainst idolatry. It showed the people, that while idolatry went hand in hand with injustice and crime, the religion of J" was the bulwark of right- eousness and liberty. At the same time, it opened their eyes to the real grandeur of the propliet in their midst, and doubtless we are to date from this event a great increase in his power as the prophet of J". It is impossible to determine the extent and duration oi E. 's subsequent labours.

There are two other narratives, one of which brings him into con- tact with Ahaziah, son of Ahab (B.C. c. 853), while the other implies that he lived on till the reign of Jehoram of Judah (c. 849-844). It is difficult to harmonize this chronology with that of 2 K 3, which makes it clear that E.'s career ended and Elisha's began before the death of Jehoshaphat (c. 874-849).

It is possible, however, that Jehoram reigned for a time during the life of liis father Jehoshaphat (2 K 8" ; the text is doubtful). According to the narrative in 2 K 1, Ahaziah, son of Ahab, having injured himself by falling from a balcony of his palace, sends messengers to the shrine of Baal-zebub, god of Ekron, to inquire if he shall recover.

On their way they are inter- cepted by Elijah, who indignantly asks them if there is not a God in Israel of whom they might inquire, and commands them to go back and tell the king that his injuries will certainly prove fatal. When the messengers describe to the king the person who waylaid tliem, he immediately recognizes in him the old enemy of his house, and xB the true spirit of Jezebel, his mother, sends out a band of fifty men to capture him.

They find the prophet seated ' on the top of the hill ' (name not given : Carme!, say some critics, but it is not on the way to Ekron). At his word, fire comes down from heaven and consumes them all. Another band of the same number meet the same fate. A third company is sent out, but their leader takes warning, adopts a humble tone, and he and his men are spared. E. then goes in person to the king, and repeats the declaration that his doom is sealed.

This narrative differs widely in language, style, and spirit from those of the preceding group. The prophet's personal appearance has altered (1) ; his name has changed from i.t^k to the later form .t'?n ; and instead of being directly inspired and guided by J as hitherto, he receives the word of prophecy from an angel (l*-").

'The representation of the prophet assumes gigantic proportions, but at the same time becomes rigid and lifeless : it ceases to he available as a pattern of human action ' (Ewald). The narrator tells the story, without apology, for the glorification of his hero ; but no narrative in the OT presents greater moral difficulties.

If it is regarded as literal history, one's moral sense is shocked at the destruction of a great number of •nen whose only fault is obedience to the orders of their captain and their king. One cannot conceive the story to have been penned by the historian who related the parable of the still small voice at Iloreb. The best comment on the story was sun- lilied by Christ.

He condemned with unmistakable I'lainness the vindictive spirit which His disciples, hy citing the example of Eliiali, sought to justify (I-k 9""). Others besides the disciides have used the story as an argument for persecution. E. was the patron of the Inquisitors. Even Calvin and Beza argued from this narrative that fire was the (iroper instrument of punishment for heretics. But the story itself can hardly be regarded as history.

It is rather one of those imaginative apologues — abundant in the schools of the scribes — which borrowed the names of ancient heroes to lend vividness and concreteness to abstract doctrines. The other narrative (2 Ch 21'-*) is given only by the Chronicler, and bears distinct marks of late- ness. Jehoram, king of Judah, son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, having fallen under the siiell of sensuous Baal-worship, E.

is represented as %end ing him a letter warning him that J" will bring a plague upon Judah, by which all the king's house will be afflicted, and to which the king himself will early fall a victim. This is the only narrative which brings E. into connexion with the kingdom of Judah, and the only one which represents him as carrying on his work by means of writing. The style and language of tlie letter correspond very closely with those of the Chronicler. Ihe narrative of E.'

s translation (2 K 2'-") re- turns to the lofty style of the writer of 1 K 17- 19. 21. Ewald, indeed, regarded it as the work of the same great narrator ; more recent critics con- sider that from a literary point of view it is more closely connected with the history of Elisha (2 K 2'"'-). E.'s end is still more mysterious than his beginning. He alone shares with Enoch the glory of being ' translated,' so that he should not ta.ste death (He 11°).

Of him alone is it recorded, as of Christ (Lk 24"), that he was carried up into heaven. He is residing at the ancient sanctuary of Gilgal (now Jiljilia, between Sheehem and Bethel, not the town of the same name on the Jordan), where a prophetic guild is established, when he is warned that the time of his departure is come. His inWsible Guide calls him for the last time into solitude.

The appointed place is beyond Jorilan, not now in the ravines of his native Gilead, but southward in the wild region of Nebo, where his greatest forerunner fell asleep. As he went to Horeb for inspiration in his time of spiritual storm and stress, so he is drawn in the final crisis of his life to the mountain region in which Moses was summoned to die, away from the face of man.

But he begins his last journey by visiting the prophetic guilds at Bethel and Jericho, probably for the purpose of confirm- ing the young prophets in the faitn. Wishing to spare Elisha the pain of witnessing the last fiery ordeal, he tenderly entreats him to remain at Gilgal. His faithful companion cannot brook the idea of separation : he solemnly vows that he will never leave his master. At Bethel the sons of the prophets, foreboding E.'

s coming removal, ask Elisha if he knows that his master is to be taken away from him. He knows it well, but is too straitened in spirit to speak of it, and entreats them to hold tlieir peace. Erom Bethel E. pro- ceeds to Jericho, where he again endeavours to persuade his disciple to let him go on this journey alone ; but Elisha repeats his vow. At Jeric^ho some of the prophetic guild wish to question Elisha about the impending event, but he begs them to be silent.

Fifty sons of tlie prophets ascend the heights above the city to watch the prophet as he descends with his disciple to the Jordan. They see him strike the river with his mantle ; the waters part ; the two men cross by the bed of the river and pass out of sight. As they approach their destination, E. asks his disciple if he has any last request to make. Elisha seeKs '» double portion ' of his master's spirit — not twice E.'

s inspiration, but the portion of an eldest son, who received twice as much as the younger sons (Dt 21"). E. replies that it is a hard request. Siiiritual gifts are the most difficult of all to trans- mit. Nevertheless, lie assures his follower that if he prove his fitness for prophetic gif'-s by remain- ELIJAH ELIJAH 691 ing with his master to the end, and lookinjr without fear on the dread messengers of the invisible world, his request will not be denied.

They now enter the dark mountains of Moab. Somewhere here J" Himself laid His servant Moses to rest. No man knew the exact place. 'The whole region is a sepulchre.' As tliey still advance and talk to- gether, black clouds gather, a tempest descends, the air is filled with tire, and, 'beholcl, there appear chariots of tire and horses of lire, and E. is taken np to heaven in a whirlwind.' Elisha sees him no more. He rends his clothes, and mourns for his pia-ster as one mourns for the dead.

He is bereft of the prophet who has been to him a father, and to Israel a power as great as its cliariots and horsemen. But he has stood the severe test im- posed npon him, and receives the reward — the spirit of E. rests upon him. Taking up the mantle which has fallen from his master, he returns from tlie scene of the translation to the Jordan, and puts his new power to the proof liy striking the waters with the mantle and calling upon the God of Elijah.

The waters divide as before, and he passes over on dry land. When the sons of the prophets at Jericho hear of what has liapjiened, antf perceive that the sjiirit of E. rests ujion his disciple, they bow themselves to the earth and acknowledge Elisha as their new ma.ster. Hut the story of the translation awakens their scepticism, and they send out Hfty strong men to make search for the missing prophet, Eli.slia trying in vain to dissuade them.

For three days they prosecute the search among the mountains of Moab, expect- ing to lind E. on some lonely peak or in some dark valley, cast away as at other times by the .Sjiirit of J . When tliey return and confess tliat the search has been vain, Elisha gently chides their unbelief (2 K 2'»). E. is thus removed from the scene of his labours before the whole task laid upon him (1 K 19") is finished.

But Elisha and others enter into his lal)Ours, sons of the prophets animated by his spirit are raised up in hundreds, his teaching spreads, his spirit penetrates the nation. Then ttie harvest is reaped. After two short reigns tlie idolatrous house of Ahab falls (2 K 9). The enemies of J" and of E. perish. Superstition dies hard, but there is never again any question of rivalry l)ctween J' and Baal. There is no more danger of Baal-worship becominjj the national religion.

It sinks into the superstition of a sect, known to later prophets as the remnant of Baal (Zcj.h !•). '1 he weapons by which this reformation was ac- complished were mainly spiritual. It cannot be denied that some of h.'a own actions may have furnished an excuse for certain deeds of violence. It is like a Nemesis that the finishing touch has to be given to the work by a man of blood like Jehu.

Yet it was not the tire and sword of Carmel, but the still small voice speaking in the schools of the prophets and the hearts of the faithful that again made Israel a people prepared for J". K.'s moral power fies in the simplicity of his faith. He realizes the belief in J" intensely, and lives a heroic life in the strength of it. 'J" before whom I stand' is his favourite formula (1 K 17' 18").

He stands erect and haughty before kinj's ; but in the presence of J" he wraps his head in iiis mantle, or crouches to the ground with his face between his knees (1 K 18'- 19"). Stern and rugged by nature, a prophet moulded for heroic work in evil days, he is led Ihrougli an experience which awakens in him the tenderness that is only to be found in union with strength.

His personal history, especially the narrative of the breakdown and restoration of his faith, brings him into touch with human beings in all ages. He is so great that readers of his story are not unthankful for his failings. 'E. was a man of like passions with us' (JaS"). Critics difTer widely in their estimates of the historical importance of E. Wellhausen thinks that his influence is appraised too higlily in the biblical narratives.

His struggle with liaal cannot have possessed the importance attributed to it from the point of view of a later time. Israel was never torn asunder by such a religious commotion as that described in 1 K 18. It was not Baal that brought about the fall of the house of Ahab, but common trea.son on the part of Jehu (Proteg. 291). Wellhau-sen is given to depreciating the part played by prophecy in the history of Israel.

'In the eyes of their contemporaries,' he says, ' the prophets were completely overshadowed by the kin^s ; only to later times did they become the principal per- sonages.' E. must hide his diminished head before Ahab. ' He efieeted nothing against the king, and quite failed to draw the people over to his side.' Wellhausen states no convincing reasons for this interesting view. There is probably more truth in the opinion of those who .s.

ay that the history of Israel is essentially the history of prophecy. And Kuenen's estimate of E. appears much fairer : ' The consequences of the struggle with the .Syrian Baal and the victory of Jahvism were most important. Had the is-sue of the con- flict been dillerent, the existence of J"-worship woiiM liave been at stake ; the averting of this danger was an important result. From this period onward the belief in "J" the God of Israel" is a.ssailed no longer.

The prophets of the eighth century are able to start from it as a universal conviction. For this foundation for their preach- ing they have to thank Elijah and his school' {Jirlii/iiDi of Isrnrl, i. HGU). No OT hero tills a larger place in Jewish tradi tion than Elijah. How he impressed the mit;ds of his own people in after-ages is shown by the striking eulogium pronounced upon him by the son of Sirach (Sir 48'"). It became a li.\-ed belief that E.

would appear again for the deliverance and restoration of Israel. This is expressed in the very last words of the OT (Mai 4''-"). Jesus teaches that this expectation was fulfilled by the appearance of John the Baptist (Mt 17"'-). Jesus' cry on the cross, ' Eli, Eli, was mistaken for a call to Elijah to come for His deliverance (Mt 27'", Mk 15»»). No prophet is mentioned so frenuently in the NT as Elijah. The priests and Levites (.

In 1^) cannot understand John's right to baptize, if he is neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor that proiihet (like unto Moses, Dt 18"). As E. was witli Moses in spirit at Sinai and Nebo, so these two prophets appear together conversing with Jesus im the Mount of the Transfiguration (Mt 17', Mk 9', Lk O*"). It only remains to be said that E. occupies a conspicuous place in the legends and rites of many l)eoples.

Among the Jews he is the expecteil guest at every passover, for whom a vacant seat 18 reserved. Among the Greeks he is the jiatron saint of mountains, anil many summits in Greece are now calleil by his name. In the Koman Catholic Church bo is revered as the founder of the Order of the Barefooted Carmelites. By the Mohammedans he is often confounded with the great and mysterious I'.

l-Khuilr, the Eternal Wanderer, who having drunk the water of life retains everlasting youth, and appears ever and anon to right the wrongs of men. E. is canonized both in uie Greek and the Latin Church, his festival being on the 20th July. I,iTKlUTCRR.— Driver, LOT 184 !T.; Wollhnuiien, Comp. 281 If., Protfil. 21HirT.. nut. of Itr. and Judah, tUfT. ; SUwie, tie d. V. It. 1. bit IT.; W. R. 8n\itli, OTJC KXIf., Proph <tf 692 ELIJAH, APOCALYPSE OF ELIPHAZ ItT. 76 IT., 116 IT.: Comill, /«r.

Proph. 12, 16, 20, 29-36, 157; Kittel, Uut.of Ueh.vt. 213, 266 ff., 275, 279 ; Ewald, £// iv. &!9.; Oraetz, Hi»t. o/ Jeirs (tr. by B. Lowy), i. 2iMtf.; Maurice, Fro- vheU and Kitiyi, y. 126 ff. ; Schiirer, UJP ii. ii. 166 (. iu. 129 ff.; Kuent-n, Rel. of Isr. i. 354 ff.; Kenan, Uiet. of People of llrr. (Eng. tr.) ii. 229-242; Monteflore, Uihbert Lett. p. 911.

; Liddon, Sennom on OT Sultjecta, 185, 209 ; Milli^an, Elijah ("Men of Bible'); Clieyne, Uallowing of Criticvtin ; Farrar, Boijkg of Kitujtt, U.cit.i Walker and Pateraoo In Kxpoi. Timei, Iv. 252ff.,321. 2. (n;'?!<, AV Eliah) A Benjamite chief, 1 Ch 8". 3. 4. A prie-st and a layman who had married foreign wives, Ezr lO"'- "*. J. Strachan.