now to be frustrated ; i1 the one lamp phetarum fe.oile princepe; et si e. Mose disces- which cast e. re.y on the world's thick dark- seris, nulli secundus," is the testimony of e.n ness was not to be utterly extinguished, illustrious Jew (Abmve.nel), "The grandest Uien, e.s fa.r e.s we ce.n see, God must send e.nd most romantic character that lsl'ael ever specie.I messengers, e.nd arm them, in token produced " is the verdict of e. brilliant writer of their mission e.nd e.uthority, with super- amongst ourselves (Stanley). His highest h11.me.n powers. The age demanded the praise, however, is that "in the New Testo.- messenger; the messenger must have ore- ment no prophet is mentioned and extolled denti.e.ls ; the credentials conld only be so frequently e.s Elija.h" (Bii.hr). Nor must mire.culons. If it is objected, therefore, it be forgotten here that he it we.s who we.s against our history that it contains a mass chosen to appear with Moses in glory at our of miracles, our answer is that the crisis Lord's transfiguration, and to speak of the necessitated them, and that only miracles exodus He should accomplish in Jeruse.lem would have availed to accomplish the moral (Luke ix. 31). and religions reformation which Elijah is The chapter divides itself into four parts. e.llowed on all hands (see, e.g., Ewa.Id," Hist. In ver. 1 we see Elija.h standing before Ahe.b Israel," iv. 63) to have wrought; that only e.nd denouncing the drought ; in vers. 2-7 signs such as he we.s commissioned to show we find him hiding in the Wady Cherith would have sufficed, in that age, to counter. e.nd fed by the " Orebi.m ; " in '\'erf!, 8-19 act the influences of such e. princess e.s he is resident e.t Zarephath, feeding the Jezebel and of such e. propaganda as her widow e.nd her honse; in vers. 17-24 he eight hundred e.nd fifty priests ; to resone restores the widow's son to life and health. the world from corruption, e.nd to preserve Ver. 1.-And Ellja.h [This name, whioh to distant generations the treasury of truth appears both as ~i1!?~, and, less frequently, and hope with which the Jewish people had been entrusted by the Most High. " The i1:?~, means my God is Jehovah. It is so singularly appropriate to the man who bore times," says Bishop Hall, werefitforElija.h, it, and eo exe.ctly expresses the idea of his and Elija.h for the times. The greatest life and the character of his work (see espe- prophet is reserved for the worst e.ge. Israel cially eh. xviii. 39), the.tit is difficult to resist he.d never snch an impious king as Ahab, the belief that it was assumed by him. This nor such a mira.culons prophet a.a Elija.h." is certainly more probable than that it was due to the prescience of his parents. It me.y, " The profusion of God's miraculous work- however, mark their piety and hopes, e.nd ing in Elija.h was due to the exorbitant may have influenced the life of their son, wickedness of the rulers of Israel at the.t Cf. 1 Chron. iv. 10], the Tishblte [So he is time, which required an extraordinary mani- called without any further designation in festation of God's Divine power, in order to eh. xxi. 17; 2 Kings i. 3, 8, &c. The pre- sumption is altogether in favour of 1:i~n recover His people from the ruin and misery being the name of his birthplace. Of. eh. xi. into which they had fallen" (Bishop Words- 29] , who was of the lnha.bltants of Gilead worth). rThe interpretation of these words ie muoh The grandeur of the character of Elijah, disputed. The Heb. stands '~~r-,~ 1~~T;l1J however, has been universally recognized, if7~. It will be observed that the first and not least by those who have disputed and second words have the same re.dico.ls, his miracles. Indeed, it may well be ques- e.nd it has been hence inferred that they tioned whether the intellect and conceptions cannot mean "two entirely distinct things" of that or a much later age were adequate (Rawlinson, al.), and that E1ither the Maso- retie pointing must be set aside, whe,n the t.o create such a character and personality words would yield the meo.ning, " Elijah, as his, a chare.cter which has profoundly the Tish bite of Tish be of Gilead," or they i.mpressed men of e.11 ages and of e.11 creeds. must be interpreted," Elija.h, the stranger of The glowing panegyric of the son of Sire.eh the strangers of Gileo.d." But it is by no (Ecclns. :x.lviii.) need only be hinted at here. means certain that the current interpreta- The colossal proportions he assumes in the tion is not the best. Such B play upon words as it invoives is not at o.11 uncom- traditions and belief of the Mobammedans is mon in HeLrew, The meaning would then well know12. " Om.nium suae &etatis pro- be the.t Elijah, who was, il not by birth, by CB, XV!l, 1-24.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 881
domicile, of Tishbe, wo.e one of the str&ngers with o. tempest, and goes out with e. whirl- -.l~ iJ:l is found in the sense of 1rapoucoc, wind" (Hall). But there is no sufficient ground for believing (Thenius, al.) that a inq;,il-inus, in Gen. xxiii. 4 ; Exod. xii. 45 ; part of our history which described some of Levit. xxii. 10; xxv. 35, 47, &o.-or immi- his antecedents has been lost to us, or that gro.nts who had settled in Gile11d. The only our text merely reci tea the issue of a long objecHon to this rendering-ape.rt from the conference which EliJah had held with Ahab, identity of radicals just mentioned-is th&t for otb_er prophets of this period, Abijah, we should have oxpected to find 1;+~J:1 Bhema1ab, Jehu, are introduced to us in a. written plene, as the word always is else- similar manner, though it must be a.llowed where. It is a.lleged by Keil, Bahr, al., that their respective ministries were of very however, that the stat. constr. plur. may dillerent proportions and importance from well be an exception to the rule, and in sup- Elijah's. This sudden appearance, how- port of this view it may be mentioned that ever, is thoroughly characteristic of the man. He presently disappearn just as the cognate word, :J~l', is constantly found suddenly (ver. 5. Cf. xix. 3 ; 2 Kings i. 8). in the constr. plural as 1;+~1 (see Gesen., It was thought by some in that age that he Thea. 635). 0