Sublime

Elijah—He stands first as a new breed of prophet, confronting Israel’s political and religious establishment with pronouncements that begin with the jolting phrase, “thus says the Lord.”

Elijah represents the possibility of deliverance, either immediately or finally when he will escort the Messiah.

Elijah has now become a champion of ethical demands, advocating for justice and human rights. He exhibits the moral conscience that develops further in the classical prophets of the next century: Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah. As we will see, this sterling quality characterizes the postbiblical Elijah.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up[1] and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!” 12But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fift

this respect, Elijah outshines Moses, for he is the only figure in the Hebrew Bible of whom it is explicitly stated that he went up to heaven. Perhaps

The notion that Elijah became an angel accords with rabbinic tradition, but the Zohar alludes to a more radical view: Elijah was originally an angel, even before his biblical phase.

Elijah fills a need for hope—and for justice.

he and his disciple-successor, Elisha, are the only prophets in the Hebrew Bible especially noted for performing miracles.

Having ascended to heaven, Elijah does not remain there constantly, awaiting his messianic mission; he returns to earth ahead of time, frequently—to save those in danger, fight for justice, champion the innocent, heal the sick, gladden the miserable, fortify the weak, and stimulate both the wicked and the average to engage in teshuvah