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Elijah.
Elijah the Tishbite confronts King Ahab and Queen Jezebel during the deepest apostasy in the northern kingdom. He announces a three-year drought, defeats the prophets of Baal in the contest at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), and then collapses in suicidal despair under a juniper tree. God meets him not in earthquake or fire but in "a still small voice" (or "a low whisper") and recommissions him. He anoints Elisha as his successor and is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.
Timeline
- Confrontation with Ahab over the drought (1 Kings 17)
- Fed by ravens, then by a widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17)
- Contest with the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18)
- Despair under the juniper tree (1 Kings 19)
- Anointing Elisha as successor (1 Kings 19)
- Taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2)
Key verses
Why Elijah matters
Elijah is the prophet whose return Israel always expected. Malachi 4:5 ends the Old Testament with the promise of Elijah's return; the New Testament identifies John the Baptist with Elijah (Luke 1:17). At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus — together they represent the Law and the Prophets. The "still small voice" passage (1 Kings 19) is one of the most-loved depictions of how God speaks.
Related tools
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