JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

elijah
activity encountered opposition from the royal court whose
policy was to cultivate economic ties with Israel’s neighbors
and specifically with Tyre. Ahab saw no more harm in showing
tolerance toward the religion of the people of Tyre and
establishing a place of worship in Samaria than did Solomon
who had acted similarly in behalf of his foreign wives (I Kings
11:7–8). But Elijah, whose attitude to the Sidonians themselves
was not hostile (cf. the incident at Zarephath, which belonged
to Sidon, I Kings 17:8–16), believed that it was his people’s obligation
to preserve within its own borders a “pure” religious
cult that did not recognize any other gods but Yahweh. Hence,
his vehement opposition to the cults of Baal and *Asherah of
Sidon, supported by the royal court.
The most dramatic point of Elijah’s activity was the confrontation
on Mount Carmel. In response to Elijah’s demands,
Ahab assembled “all Israel unto Mount Carmel” together with
850 prophets of Baal and Asherah (I Kings 18:19). In their presence
and that of the king, Elijah turned to the people: “How
long will you keep limping between the two boughs? [Thus
Joseph Caspi] If Yahweh is God, follow Him; and if Baal, follow
him” (18:21). While the priests of Baal were offering up
their sacrifices and calling “O Baal hear us,” cutting themselves
with knives and lances until the blood gushed out, Elijah
mockingly suggested that they cry more loudly, since their
god might be asleep or his attention otherwise engaged. Only
after their prolonged pleas and cries proved of no avail did
Elijah step forward to repair the demolished altar of Yahweh,
make all the necessary preparations for the sacrifice, and offer
up a short prayer. According to the biblical narrative, fire
immediately descended from heaven, consuming the burnt
sacrifice, and all the people of Israel present fell on their faces
chanting, “Yahweh, He is the God; Yahweh, He is the God.”
At Elijah’s command those present attacked and killed the
prophets of Baal. The king showed no sign of opposition to
Elijah’s actions. This story is interwoven with another occurrence,
which has a historical foundation, connected with the
drought, the beginning and end of which were prophesied by
Elijah. A short while after the events on Mount Carmel, the sky
became black with clouds and heavy rain began to fall (I Kings
18:45). This was seen by Elijah and his followers as a sign that
God had forgiven the repentant people their sin of Baal-worship
which had been the cause of the drought (cf. I Kings 17:1).
The Tyrian chronicle of Menander, which is generally reliable
(Ant., 8:323–4), confirms that a drought occurred at that time,
though it ascribes the rains to the prayers of Ethbaal (Ithobal)
of Tyre, Ahab’s father-in-law.
Elijah triumphed over the adversaries of Yahweh on the
border of Tyre and Israel, and the altar on Mount Carmel remained
in existence for some time (II Kings 2:25; 4:25). However,
Jezebel was furious over the massacre of the prophets of
Baal and launched a bloody war against Elijah and his followers,
According to I Kings 19, Elijah was forced to flee to the
desert south of Beersheba, where, tired and disheartened, he
longed to die. However, while he was lying in a mood of despair
under a broom bush, an angel appeared, strengthened
Elijah with food and drink, and urged him to continue his
journey. Elijah traveled 40 days until he reached Mount Horeb.
There, in the place where the Lord had revealed Himself to
Moses, He appeared to Elijah. The description of the revelation
to Elijah differs from similar revelations which the Bible
recounts as taking place on Mount Sinai. Fearful phenomena
such as tempests, fire, and a general cacophony accompanied
the revelation there also, but the Bible stresses specifically that
these mighty forces appeared before the revelation of the Lord;
that the Lord did not reveal Himself within them but rather
in a still, small voice.
It is the task of the prophet to listen to the voice of God
and pass on its message to the people. Since Elijah had fulfilled
his prophetic task and the people had failed to stand by him
in his war against Jezebel, retribution was merely a matter of
time. The instruments of God’s retribution were to be *Hazael,
who was to assume power in Syria; *Jehu, the future king of
Israel; and *Elisha, Elijah’s successor. Elijah was commanded
to anoint all three (I Kings 19:15–16), but the narrative makes
it clear that he only appointed Elisha as a prophet and passed
on to him the task of anointing Hazael and Jehu. Elisha, in
turn, anointed only Hazael, and Jehu was anointed by one of
the “sons of the prophets” at the behest of Elisha. All these actions,
however, were carried out in the spirit of Elijah’s ideals,
with the aim of uprooting the worship of Baal in Israel. Despite
the sharp conflict between Elijah and the royal palace over
Baal-worship, there is no conclusive evidence that because of
this Elijah prophesied the destruction of Ahab’s house; in fact,
the accusation of Baal-worship was leveled equally against the
masses and the royal household. What finally caused Elijah to
prophesy the complete destruction of the House of Ahab was
the crime committed against *Naboth.
Elijah’s last deed in the days of Ahaziah son of Ahab also
reflects his zeal for the Lord. When Ahaziah fell ill and sent
to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether or not
he would recover, his messengers were intercepted by Elijah
who asked, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are
going to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore,
thus says the Lord, you shall not come down from the
bed which you have mounted, but shall surely die” (II Kings
1:3–4). In contrast to his relations with Ahab, on this occasion
Elijah had no dealings with the king; he passed his judgment
on to the king and after a short while his words were
fulfilled. It seems that the difference lay in the nature of the
king’s fault – open consultation of a foreign god, a sin which
Ahab never committed. The account in II Kings 1–2 makes it
difficult to establish whether Elijah’s activity ceased during
the reign of Ahaziah or in that of his brother and successor
Jehoram. According to II Chronicles 21:12, Elijah sent a letter
to Jehoram son of *Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. It is likely
however that the letter was sent while Jehoram was acting as
regent for Jehoshaphat (according to Thiele, 853–848 B.C.E.),
and it is therefore possible that the event occurred in the lifetime
of Ahab. By the time Jehoram of Judah was king in his
own right, Elisha had succeeded Elijah. Elijah’s standing was
332 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6