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Becoming Elijah: Prophet of transformation by Daniel C. Matt

by
16 September 2022

Anthony Phillips reads about Elijah and how he has been revered

WHILE Christians will be well aware of the exploits of the zealous Elijah, not least in his confrontation with Queen Jezebel and his dramatic ascension into heaven, they probably know little of Judaism’s reverence for him as a post-biblical benevolent Saviour. It is this development from the Bible which forms the main section of Matt’s study.

The author begins by exploring the biblical narrative, arguing that Elijah is portrayed “as a sort of Moses redivivus”. While in the introduction he raises questions about the story’s reliability and the author’s motives in its composition, these issues are not tackled in the book itself.

It is the elusiveness of Elijah which Matt seeks to explore, as he uncovers “the various portrayals of the immortal prophet”; for, whoever Elijah was in real life, he is still active.

Turning to Elijah in the Talmud and Midrash, a very different picture of the prophet is presented, which concentrates on his compassion. Far from remaining in heaven, he constantly returns to earth to help those in need. Indeed, he becomes “a supernatural mediator” able to reveal even God’s intimate feelings. In contrast to Enoch, who never leaves heaven, Elijah, like Enoch, identified as an angel, is constantly in transit. Yet he remains “more human than angelic, a super-rabbi” who knows everything from celestial secrets to mundane reality and is able to assume a variety of identities and identifications. Matt concludes this section by discussing Elijah as herald of Messiah, and compares him with Moses, Jonah, and Phineas.

Next, Matt considers the ways in which Elijah inspired the mystics, and examines many aspects of the Zohar, the canonical text of the Kabbalah. The prominence of Elijah enhanced his authority. Sometimes, the prophet appeared to the kabbalists; at others, his words were put into their minds, so that they thought that they were their own. Because of the lack of any biblical reference to Elijah’s parents, the view emerged, though it was not universally accepted, that he was always an angel, who came to earth in human form in Ahab’s time.

Beyond Judaism, Elijah’s influence extended to both Christianity and Islam. Matt examines both John the Baptist’s and Jesus’s links with Elijah in the Gospels. The bond between Jesus and Elijah “testifies to the inherent Jewishness of Jesus”. Later, Elijah was reimagined as a hermit and founder of monastic life, his cave on Mount Carmel becoming the home of the contemplative community known as Carmelites.

Along with Jews and Christians, Muslims also came to Elijah’s cave to venerate the prophet. For Muslims, it became the cave of al-Khidr (the Green One), a figure similar to and at times identical with Elijah.

Next, Matt discusses the place of Elijah in Jewish ritual life — all threshold moments: the Passover, a boy’s circumcision and as part of Havdalah, the service separating the sabbath from the new week. Elijah is also recalled several times a day in the grace after meals.

Finally, meditating on Malachi 3.13, Matt notes that this sending of Elijah means that his quality is present in everyone. He can and does transform us. His story is not just about the past: it is “still unfolding, endless”.

Clearly, this is a specialised study; but for those who want to get inside the Jewish mindset of the ever evolving use of scripture, it is both enjoyable and invaluable.


Canon Anthony Phillips is a former headmaster of The King’s School, Canterbury.

 

Becoming Elijah: Prophet of transformation
Daniel C. Matt
Yale £16.99
(978-0-300-24270-6)
Church Times Bookshop £15.29

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