Elijah or Elias (Hebrew: אליהו, Eliyahu; Arabic:إلياس, Ilyās, meaning "Yahweh is my God"[1]) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, Christian Bible, and the Qur'an. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and ascended into heaven in a chariot. In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord,"[2] making him a harbinger of the Messiah and the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Elijah's name is invoked at the weekly Havdalah ritual that marks the end of Shabbat, and Elijah is invoked in other Jewish customs, among them the Passover seder and the Brit milah (ritual circumcision). He appears in numerous stories and references in the aggadah and rabbinic literature, including the Babylonian Talmud. In Christianity, the New Testament describes how both Jesus and John the Baptist are compared with Elijah, and on some occasions, thought by some to be manifestations of Elijah, and Elijah appears with Moses during the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Hermon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes Elijah returned in 1836 to visit Joseph Smith, and the Bahá'í Faith believes Elijah returned in 1844 in Shiraz, Iran, as the Báb.
Elijah is also a figure in various folkloric traditions. In Bulgaria, he is known as "Elijah the Thunderer" and in folklore is held responsible for summer storms, hail, rain, thunder and dew. [3]
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Virtue Online
Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God follow him; but if Baal is God, ...
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Rob
Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:00:00 GM
Peace party: Two young heroes fight everything from prejudice and pollution to supervillains and the supernatural. An ongoing series from Blue Corn Comics.
