אֵלִיָּה

From the study of 1 Kings 17:1

Range of meaning

A personal name meaning “My God is Yahu,” built from ʾēlî (my God) and -yāhû (a short form of YHWH).

Against the English

English “Elijah” is just a name. Readers do not hear the confession built into it.

How it drifted

Names transliterated into English lose their meaning.

Used elsewhere in the period

Names ending in -yāhû are common on Israelite and Judean seals and ostraca (inscribed potsherds) of the period. The Samaria ostraca from the Omride era also include names built with Baal (bʿl), which shows that in Ahab's kingdom people gave their children names honouring either god.

From the study of 1 Kings 18:17

Range of meaning

Personal name: ʾeli ("my God") + yahu (short form of YHWH): "My God is Yahweh" or "Yahweh is my God".

Against the English

English "Elijah" hides the meaning entirely.

Used elsewhere in the period

The name's confession is echoed at the climax of the chapter, when the people cry "YHWH, he is God! YHWH, he is God!" (18:39).

From the study of Malachi 4:5

Range of meaning

Eliyyah is a name meaning "my God is Yah(weh)," which is itself the theme of Elijah's career: "If Yahweh is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). Navi means a spokesman, someone called to speak for God. A navi announced God's verdicts, called people back to the covenant, interceded for them and sometimes worked signs. Telling the future was one part of the job, and not the main one.

Against the English

English "prophet" often suggests mainly a predictor. In Elijah's case the emphasis falls on confrontation and restoration. He called a divided people back to sole loyalty to Yahweh on Mount Carmel and "repaired the altar of Yahweh" with twelve stones for the twelve tribes (1 Kings 18:30–31).

How it drifted

In popular use, "prophet" narrowed toward forecasting. In the Hebrew Bible a navi's foretelling always served the call to return to God.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2 tell the Elijah stories, ending with his ascent in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). He also goes to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), the same mountain named in Malachi 4:4 for Moses, which links the two figures. Ben Sira (about 180 BC) already reads Malachi as a job description: Elijah is "ready at the appointed time… to calm wrath before it breaks out, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob" (Sirach 48:10). A Dead Sea Scrolls fragment (4Q558) appears to echo this verse. The Mishnah expects Elijah to settle disputed matters and restore peace (m. Eduyot 8:7; compare "until Elijah comes," m. Bava Metzia 1:8). Justin Martyr's Jewish conversation partner Trypho says the Messiah will be unknown until Elijah comes and anoints him (Dialogue with Trypho 8, 49). In the New Testament, John the Baptist comes "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), and Jesus says "he is Elijah who is to come" (Matthew 11:14; 17:10–13; Mark 9:11–13). Yet John denies being Elijah when asked in literal terms (John 1:21).