A Prophet of the Hebrew Bible, Opponent of Baal Worship
The Book of Kings records that Elijah was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel who stood up to defend faith in God when King Ahab and Queen Jezebel promoted Baal worship, his most famous deed the public contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, proving the true faith by fire from heaven. Tradition holds that Elijah did not die but was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind in a chariot of fire, which gives him the role of "forerunner of the end times" in Jewish tradition — at the Passover seder a seat is still left and a cup poured for him, awaiting his coming.
Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal, each side building an altar and laying a sacrifice without setting it alight, to see whose god would send fire to consume the offering. The prophets of Baal cried out and cut themselves from morning to evening with no response; after Elijah prayed, fire fell from heaven and consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and even the water in the trench around the altar, and the people fell down crying, "the Lord, he is God!"
The Hebrew Bible records that at the end of Elijah’s life, a chariot of fire with horses of fire separated him from his follower Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind, his body never knowing death. This singular end is an important reason for the eschatological significance later given him in the Jewish and Christian traditions.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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