Elijah: The Lonely Zealot (Maggid Tanakh Companions)

by Elchanan Samet

Publisher:

The Toby Press

, 2021

Overview

The prophet Elijah’s powerful character looms over some of the most tumultuous chapters in the Bible. Elijah’s policy of confronting power and corruption aroused opposition and protest - indeed, it endangered his life.

Many questions arise: Why does Elijah appear at this specific time? Why does he perform so many miracles seemingly at his own initiative, without any divine command? To what extent is the prophet’s aggressive policy approved of by God? And, looking beyond the biblical text, what can we learn about our own confrontations with entrenched injustice?

Elijah: The Lonely Zealot is the first work by the renowned Bible scholar Rabbi Elchanan Samet to appear in English. This systematic and creative literary commentary on the Elijah narrative has influenced a generation of readers and teachers since its first appearance in Hebrew (entitled ’Pirkei Eliyahu’). Now English readers too can benefit from Rabbi Samet’s penetrating analyses and insights in this masterwork.

Key Features

• Analyzes the powerful character and tumultuous life of the prophet Elijah
• Explores key questions surrounding Elijah’s actions and divine approval
• Offers penetrating analyses and insights from a renowned Bible scholar

Contents

• Preface to the English Edition
• Introduction
• The Drought
• 1. Elijah’s Appearance
• 2. Elijah’s Oath: Commanded by God or at the Prophet’s Initiative?
• 3. Elijah’s Experiences During the Drought: Why Are They Recorded?
• 4. Wadi Cherith (I Kings 17:2–7)
• 5. The Widow in Zarephath (I Kings 17:8–16)
• 6. Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son (I Kings 17:17–24)
• 7. Elijah on His Way to Appear Before Ahab (I Kings 18:1–16)
• 8. The Second Encounter Between Elijah and Ahab (I Kings 18:16–18)
• 9. Structure of the Drought Narrative (I Kings 17:1–18:18)
• Appendix: The Complete Narrative of I Kings Chapters 17–19 and Its Components
• Carmel
• 10. Was Elijah Commanded to Act as He Does?
• 11. Elijah Addresses the Nation (I Kings 18:21–24)
• 12. Elijah Addresses the Prophets of Baal (I Kings 18:25–29)
• 13. Elijah’s Preparations for Descent of God’s Fire (I Kings 18:30–35)
• 14. Elijah’s Prayer (I Kings 18:36–37)
• 15. God’s Fire
• 16. “To Whom Shall You Compare Me, That I Shall Equal Him? – Says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25)
• 17. The Nation’s Response (I Kings 18:39–40)
• 18. Ahab’s Return to the Scene (I Kings 18:41–42)
• 19. “Go Up, Eat and Drink, for There Is the Sound of Rumbling Rain” (I Kings 18:41)
• 20. Why Is Elijah’s Prayer Not Answered Immediately? (I Kings 18:42–44)
• 21. “God’s Hand Was Upon Elijah… and He Ran Before Ahab” (I Kings 18:45–46)
• Appendix: Elijah the Prophet and Ĥoni HaMe’agel
• Horeb
• 22. Structure of the Story (I Kings 19:1–21)
• 23. Elijah’s Flight (I Kings 19:1–4)
• 24. God’s Angel’s Two Revelations to Elijah (I Kings 19:5–8)
• 25. “He Announced Rebuke at Sinai, and Judgments of Vengeance at Horeb” (Sefer Ben Sira)
• 26. Revelation in a “Small, Silent Voice” (I Kings 19:11–14)
• 27. “They Seek My Life, to Take It” (I Kings 19:14)
• 28. The Mission (I Kings 19:15–18)
• 29. Was the Mission Fulfilled?
• 30. Elijah and Elisha’s First Encounter (I Kings 19:19–21)
• Appendix I: Comparison Between Elijah’s and Jonah’s Flight and Move East of Nineveh
• Appendix II: Haftara of Parashat Pinĥas
• Naboth
• 31. The Episode of Naboth and the King’s Rights
• 32. “Have You Murdered and Also Inherited?” – Ahab’s Responsibility
• 33. Naboth’s Refusal and His Motives
• 34. Ahab’s Punishment and That of His Household
• 35. “Have You Found Me, My Enemy?” (I Kings 21:20)
• 36. The Significance of Ahab’s Submission (I Kings 21:27–29)
• 37. Ahab’s Two Responses: A Comparison
• 38. Conclusion: Structure of the Narrative
• Ahaziah
• 39. Ahaziah Son of Ahab: Overview
• 40. Ahaziah’s Messengers: King vs. Prophet
• 41. Ahaziah’s Messengers: “Go, Inquire” vs. “Go, Return” (II Kings 1:2–6)
• 42. “A Hairy Man with a Girdle of Leather About His Loins” (II Kings 1:7–8)
• 43. The Consumption by Fire of the Two Captains of Fifty and Their Fifty Men (II Kings 1:9–12)
• 44. The First Captain of Fifty vs. the Second (II Kings 1:9–12)
• 45. The Third Captain of Fifty (II Kings 1:13–14)
• 46. “Who Has Ascended to Heaven and Descended Again?” (Proverbs 30:4)
• 47. Structure of the Narrative
• 48. God and His Prophet’s Word vs. the King’s Word: Summary
• The Storm
• 49. Preface
• 50. Elijah’s Journey to His Place of Ascent
• 51. Elijah and Elisha on Their Way to the Jordan
• 52. The Dialogue on the Other Side of the Jordan (II Kings 2:9–10)
• 53. Elijah’s Ascent (II Kings 2:11–12)
• 54. After Elijah’s Ascent
• 55. Elijah Lives On

Product Details

• Title: Elijah: The Lonely Zealot (Maggid Tanakh Companions)
• Author: Elchanan Samet
• Publisher: The Toby Press
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Pages: 632
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• ISBNs: 9781592645336, 159264533X
• Resource ID: LLS:MTCLJHLNLYZLT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-07-08T21:49:44Z

About Elchanan Samet

Rabbi Elchanan Samet is a lecturer at Herzog College, affiliated with Yeshivat Har Etzion. He has published three series of commentaries on the Torah as well as a number of other books on Bible and Rambam.