As we begin to recount the life of Saint Elijah, the God-Seer and glorious zealot for God, the rebuker of lawless kings, the chastiser of those who fell away from God, the punisher of false prophets, the wondrous miracle-worker to whom the elements obeyed and whom heaven itself heeded, the great favorite of God who remains in the flesh even to this day and is destined to come to earth before the second coming of Christ—for a clearer and stronger demonstration of the zeal with which he contended for the Lord God—we shall first briefly set forth the events that took place before him.
From of old the chosen people of God, multiplied from the twelve sons of Israel into twelve tribes called tribes, formed one kingdom, ruled undividedly and sovereignly by one leader, beginning from Moses and Joshua the son of Nun and the other judges of Israel down to the kings David and Solomon. When, after the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam ascended the throne and, in the government of the kingdom, not following in his youth the counsel of experienced elders but listening to young men like himself, proved burdensome to his subjects—for he oppressed them with excessive taxes and labors, punished them cruelly, and not infrequently even sent them into exile—then ten of the tribes revolted from him and chose for themselves another king named Jeroboam. Jeroboam had formerly been a servant of Solomon. Once Solomon wished to put him to death for some offense on his part, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon. After Solomon’s death he returned to the land of Israel and was chosen king by the Israelite tribes that had revolted from Rehoboam. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Jerusalem over only two tribes—Judah and Benjamin; while Jeroboam, the servant of Solomon, reigned over the ten tribes of Israel, dwelling in the city of Shechem, which he restored and rebuilt, for until that time it had lain in ruins. The two tribes that remained faithful to the son of Solomon were called the kingdom of Judah; and the ten tribes that went over to the servant of Solomon formed the kingdom of Israel.
Yet although the tribes of Israel were divided into two kingdoms, they all still served the one God who created heaven and earth; for they could have neither another temple than the one in Jerusalem built by Solomon, nor other priests than those appointed by God. Therefore at all times multitudes of people from the kingdom of Israel went up to Jerusalem to worship and offer sacrifice to the Lord their God. Seeing this, Jeroboam, king of Israel, began to be troubled, saying:
“If these people continue always to go up to Jerusalem to worship God, they will desire to return again to their former king, the son of Solomon, and will kill me.”
Reflecting on this, he began to seek means of turning the Israelites away from Jerusalem so that they should no longer go there. And he first thought of turning them away from God.
“It is impossible,” he said, “for them to leave Jerusalem unless they first leave God.”
Knowing that the people of Israel were easily inclined to idolatry and to every unclean lawlessness, Jeroboam devised for their apostasy this cunning stratagem. He cast two young calves of gold, just as the ancient Israelites, after their departure from Egypt, had fashioned for themselves in the wilderness a golden calf which they worshiped in place of the true God. Summoning to himself the whole people of Israel and pointing to those two calves, Jeroboam said:
“O Israel! These are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Go no more up to Jerusalem, but worship these gods.”
And he set the calves in different places: one in Bethel and the other in Dan, building for them beautiful temples, establishing festivals and many sacrifices in their honor, and appointing priests for them; and he himself even performed the duties of a priest. For the greater seduction of sin-loving people, Jeroboam commanded that at those calf-shaped idols cast of gold, on the days of the festivals established in their honor, every kind of lawlessness should be committed.
Thus the impious king, for the sake of a temporary kingdom, himself fell away from God and turned all the ten tribes of Israel away from Him. After this king the other kings of Israel, with all their subjects, held to the same impious idolatry, as they had learned and become accustomed to it under Jeroboam.
But the most merciful Lord, who does not abandon even those who have abandoned Him, but in His goodness seeks their conversion, sent to the Israelites His holy prophets to rebuke their errors and exhort them, having escaped the snares of the devil, to return again to the pious worship of the true God. Among the prophets sent by God to Israel at different times was also the great prophet, Saint Elijah, of whose life we are about to speak.
According to reliable accounts, the native land of the holy prophet of God Elijah was the country of Gilead, beyond the Jordan, bordering on Arabia; and the city in which he was born was called Tishbe, whence Elijah was called the Tishbite. Elijah was of the lineage of Aaron, from a father named Savach. The birth of Elijah was marked by a vision to his father. At the very time when the mother of Elijah was giving birth to him, Savach saw white-clad men who conversed with the infant, swaddled him with fire, and fed him, putting a flame of fire into his mouth. Terrified by such a vision, Savach went to Jerusalem and related the vision to the priests. Then one of them, a man of insight, said to Savach:
“Fear not the vision concerning your son, but know that that infant will be a vessel of the grace of God: his word will be like fire, powerful and effective; great will be his zeal for the Lord, and his life will be well-pleasing to God, and he will judge Israel with the sword and with fire.”
Such was the sign at the birth of Elijah and the prediction concerning him, indicating what he would be when he grew up.
Elijah, as one of priestly lineage, received his upbringing and education among the priests; from his earliest youth, having devoted himself to God, he loved virgin purity, in which he remained, like an angel of God, blameless before God, pure in soul and body. Loving to meditate upon God, he often withdrew for silence into desert places, where for long periods he conversed alone with God in fervent prayer, burning toward Him, like a Seraph, with flaming love. And Elijah himself was loved by God, for God loves those who love Him. Elijah was granted gracious conversation with God and, by reason of his angelic life, acquired great boldness toward Him: whatever Elijah asked of God he received, as one who had found favor before Him. Hearing and seeing, on the one hand, the lawlessness committed in corrupt Israel—kings abiding in godless impiety, judges and elders acting not according to justice, the people serving the abominations of idols and persisting in every spiritual and bodily vice without fear or dread of God, offering their sons and daughters in sacrifice to demons; and on the other hand, the zealous worshipers of the true God enduring every kind of oppression and persecution, even unto death—concerning all this the prophet of God was deeply grieved in heart: he either wept over the destruction of so countless a multitude of human souls, or lamented the cruel persecution of the righteous; and especially he sorrowed and suffered in soul over the dishonor done to the true God by impious men, and more and more was filled with zeal for the glory of God. First of all Elijah prayed to God that He would turn sinners to repentance. But since God requires of sinful men a voluntary conversion, and in the hard-hearted Israelites there was no such striving toward the good, the prophet Elijah, greatly zealous for the glory of God and the salvation of men, asked God to punish the Israelites for a time, that by this means at least they might be turned away from impiety. Yet knowing at the same time that the Lord, in His loving-kindness and long-suffering, is not quick to punish, Elijah, by reason of his great zeal for Him, dared to ask God to command him, Elijah, to punish the transgressors of the law, in the thought that they might perhaps turn to repentance when punished by a man. And he persistently asked this of God until he obtained his request from the all-bountiful Lord: the most merciful Lord, as a loving Father, did not wish to grieve His beloved servant, who served Him as a son and had never transgressed even His least commandment; but since Elijah was obedient to Him in all things and had never provoked Him in any way, He hearkened to the petitions and prayers of His faithful servant, not grieving him by leaving them unfulfilled.
At that time there reigned in Israel the lawless king Ahab, having for his capital city Samaria (this city was already the third capital of the kingdom of Israel: the first capital was Shechem, in the tribe of Ephraim; the second was Tirzah, in the tribe of Manasseh; the third was Samaria, again in the tribe of Ephraim). Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon. Jezebel, being a pagan, brought with her into her new country the idol of the Sidonian god Baal. Ahab built for him a temple in Samaria and set up an altar to him there; he himself worshiped Baal as a god and compelled all the Israelites to bow down to this idol. By this he soon carried idolatry in his kingdom to the extreme, and more than all the kings who had reigned before him over Israel he provoked the Lord God Most High. And to this king came the prophet of God Elijah, filled with zeal for God, and rebuked him for his error—that, having forsaken the God of Israel, he himself worshiped demons and with himself drew all his people to destruction. Seeing that the king did not heed his admonitions, the holy prophet added deed to word, delivering the God-opposing king and his subjects to punishment. He said:
“As the Lord God Almighty lives, the God of Israel, before whom I stand—there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
Having said this, Elijah departed from Ahab, and according to the word of the prophet the heaven was shut up and a drought began: not a single drop of rain or dew fell upon the earth. In consequence of the drought there was a complete failure of the grain harvest, and famine set in. For when one king sins, the wrath of God comes upon all his subjects (as formerly, because of the sin of David alone, the whole kingdom suffered). The prophet of God Elijah expected that Ahab, king of Israel, being punished, would recognize his error, turn to God with repentance, and with himself turn the people whom he had corrupted onto the path of truth. But when Saint Elijah saw that Ahab, like Pharaoh, remained hardened, not only did not think of forsaking impiety but, on the contrary, sank more and more into the abyss of evil, persecuting and even killing those who pleased God by their life, he prolonged the punishment into the second and third year. At this time was fulfilled the word of the first God-Seer, the holy prophet Moses, spoken to Israel:
“The heaven over you shall be brass, and the earth under you iron”; for with the heaven shut up, the earth had no moisture and yielded no fruit whatever.
Since the air was always scorching and every day a strong heat stood from the blazing sun, all the trees, flowers, and grass withered; the fruits perished; gardens, fields, and meadows became completely desolate, and there was neither plowman nor sower upon them. The water in the springs failed; the small rivers and streams dried up entirely, and in the large rivers the quantity of water diminished; the whole earth became waterless and dry, and men, cattle, and birds died of hunger. This punishment fell not only upon the kingdom of Israel but also upon the surrounding countries. For when one house in a city catches fire, the fire spreads also to the neighboring houses. So it happened under the heavens: one people of Israel brought the wrath of God upon itself, and the whole world suffered. Yet all this came about not so much from the wrath of God as from the zeal of the prophet Elijah for the glory of God. For the most merciful and man-loving Lord, in His boundless goodness, seeing the distress of men and the destruction of every kind of animal, was already ready to send rain upon the earth, but He restrained Himself from this in order to fulfill the decision of Elijah and that the words of the prophet might not prove false:
“As the Lord lives—from this time neither rain nor dew shall fall upon the earth, except by my word.”
And he who said this was so possessed by zeal for God that he did not spare even himself; for he knew that when the store of food upon the earth was exhausted, he too, like all men, would have to suffer hunger. But he disregarded this, for he preferred rather to die of hunger than to show mercy to unrepentant sinners who were at enmity with God.
What then does the all-good God do? He sends the prophet Elijah into a certain solitary place, far from the dwellings of men, saying:
“Go to the east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan. You shall drink from this brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
The Lord did this in order to deliver Elijah from being slain by Jezebel, that Elijah might not perish from hunger, and that by means of the ravens and the brook Cherith He might awaken in Elijah compassion for the people who were suffering and perishing from hunger and thirst. Ravens, in comparison with other birds, possess a peculiar characteristic: they are very voracious and have no feeling of pity even for their own young; for a raven, as soon as it has hatched its nestlings, abandons them in the nest, flying away to another place and condemning the nestlings to death by hunger. Only the Providence of God, which cares for every creature, saves them from death: flies fly of themselves into their mouths, and the nestlings swallow them. And every time that the ravens, by the command of God, flying each day to the prophet, brought him food—bread in the morning and meat in the evening—conscience in Elijah, that inner voice of God in man, cried out to his heart:
“Behold, the ravens, being by nature wild, greedy, and voracious, and not loving their own young, how they care for your nourishment: they themselves are hungry, yet they bring you food. But you, being yourself a man, have no compassion for men, and wish to starve not only men but also cattle and birds to death.”
Likewise, when after some time the prophet saw the brook dried up, God said to him:
“It is time already to show mercy to the tormented creation and to send it rain, lest you yourself also die of thirst.”
But the zealot of God held firm; on the contrary, he prayed to God that there should be no rain until those still unpunished were punished and until all the enemies of God perished upon the earth. Then again the Lord, wisely inclining His servant to mercy, sent him to Zarephath of Sidon, which was not under the authority of the king of Israel, to a poor widow, that he might reflect within himself what calamity he had brought not only upon rich men and those living in marriage but also upon poor widows, who even in years of abundant harvest of grain and of every earthly plenty often lack daily food. The prophet, coming to the gate of that city, saw a widow carrying wood, no more than two sticks; for she had in the jar only a handful of meal and a little oil in the cruse. Since Elijah was tormented by hunger, he asked of the widow a piece of bread. The widow, telling him of her extreme poverty in the last days, said that she wished for herself and her son to prepare a last meal from the remaining meal, and afterward they must die of hunger. The man of God might have been moved by this and have taken pity upon all the poor widows suffering from hunger; but the great zeal for God overcame everything, and he showed no mercy whatever to the perishing creation, desiring to glorify the Creator and to show to the whole world His almighty power. Having from God, according to his faith, the gift of working miracles, Elijah caused the meal and the oil in the house of the widow to remain inexhaustible; and he was fed by the widow until the famine ceased. The prophet also raised the dead son of the widow by prayer, accompanied by threefold breathing upon the dead, as it is written in the Word of God. There is a tradition concerning this raised son of the widow that his name was Jonah, and that he, coming to manhood, was granted the gift of prophecy, was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance; and being swallowed in the sea by a whale and after three days cast up by it, he prefigured the three-day resurrection of Christ, as is related in detail in the prophetic book and in his life.
After the lapse of three rainless and famine-stricken years, the all-good God, seeing His creation completely perishing upon the earth from hunger, was moved to compassion and said to His servant Elijah:
“Go, show yourself to Ahab; I wish to have mercy on My creation and according to your word to send rain upon the dried-up earth, to water it and make it fruitful. Ahab is already inclined to repentance, seeks you, and is ready to obey you in all that you command him.”
The prophet immediately set out from Zarephath of Sidon for Samaria, the capital city of the kingdom of Israel. King Ahab had at that time a steward named Obadiah, a faithful servant to him and a God-fearing man. He had hidden from slaughter by Jezebel a hundred prophets of the Lord, placing them in two caves, fifty in each, and had fed them with bread and water. Calling this steward to himself, King Ahab (still before the coming of Elijah to him) sent him to seek grass by the dried-up streams, that there might be something with which to feed the few horses and other cattle that still remained alive. As soon as Obadiah went out of the city, he met the holy prophet Elijah, bowed down to him to the earth, and said that Ahab had diligently sought him throughout all his kingdom. Saint Elijah answered Obadiah:
“Go, tell your master: Behold, I, Elijah, am coming to him.”
Obadiah refused, saying:
“I fear lest, when I go from you, the Spirit of the Lord should carry you away into another country, and I should then appear a liar before my master, and he, being angry with me, should kill me.” Elijah answered:
“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand! This very day I will show myself to Ahab!”
Obadiah returned and told the king. Ahab hastened to go out to meet the man of God. When he saw Elijah, from the malice he had concealed within him toward the prophet he could not restrain a harsh word and said to Elijah:
“Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
But the prophet of God answered Ahab without fear:
“I do not trouble Israel, but you and your father’s house, who have forsaken the Lord your God and worship the foul Baal.”
After this the prophet of God, as one who had within himself the power of divine help, began with authority to command the king, saying:
“Immediately send and gather to me on Mount Carmel all the ten tribes of Israel; bring the four hundred and fifty impious prophets who serve other idols on the high mountains and in the groves, who eat at Jezebel’s table; let them enter into a contest with me concerning God, and we shall see which is the true God.”
Immediately the king, sending messengers throughout all the land of Israel, gathered an innumerable multitude of people, and summoned all the impious prophets and priests to Mount Carmel, and himself came thither.
Then the zealot of God Elijah, standing before the assembled, turned to the king and to all the people of Israel with these words:
“How long will you limp on both your knees? If the Lord God, who brought you out with a strong hand from Egypt, is God, why do you not follow Him? But if Baal is your god, then go after him.”
The people were silent, and indeed could make no answer, for every Israelite was convicted by his own conscience of error. Then Elijah continued:
“Behold what: that you may this day know the true God, do what I shall command you. You see that I alone of all Israel remain a prophet of the Lord; all the other prophets you have slain; you see also how many prophets of Baal are here. Therefore give us two bulls for sacrifice, one for me and the other for the priests of Baal; but we need no fire. Upon whose sacrifice fire shall fall from heaven and consume it, the god of that one is the true God, and all must worship Him, and those who do not acknowledge Him shall be put to death.”
Hearing these words, all the people approved the decision of the prophet of God and said:
“Let it be so; your word is good.”
When the bulls were brought into the midst of the assembly, Saint Elijah said to the impious prophets of Baal:
“Choose for yourselves one bull, and you first prepare the sacrifice, for you are many, and I am one, and I will prepare afterward. Having laid the bull upon the wood, kindle no fire, but pray to your god Baal that he send fire from heaven and burn your sacrifice.”
The shameless prophets did so. Casting lots, they took the bull, divided it into pieces, laid them upon the altar upon the wood, and began to pray to their Baal that he send fire upon their sacrifice. They called upon his name from morning until noon, crying:
“Hear us, Baal, hear us!”
But there was neither voice nor answer. They began to leap about the altar, but all in vain. At noon the prophet of God mocked them:
“Cry louder,” he said, “that your god may hear you; it may be that he is not free just now: either he is occupied with something, or he is conversing with someone, or he is feasting, or he is asleep; cry as loudly as you can, to awaken him.”
The false prophets called upon Baal with a loud voice and, according to their custom, cut themselves with knives, while others beat themselves with scourges until the blood flowed. Toward evening Saint Elijah the Tishbite said to them:
“Be silent and cease; it is already time for my sacrifice.”
The worshipers of Baal ceased. Then Elijah, turning to the people, said:
“Come near to me!”
All came near to him. The prophet took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel, built of them an altar to the Lord, then laid wood upon the altar, divided the bull into pieces, laid them upon the wood, dug a trench around the altar, and commanded the people to take four jars and pour water upon the sacrifice and upon the wood; and they did so. Elijah commanded them to do it a second time; they did it again. He commanded them to do the same a third time, and they did it. The water ran round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water. And Elijah cried to God, lifting his eyes to heaven, saying:
“O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Hear me this day, Your servant, and send fire from heaven upon the sacrifice, that all these people may this day know that You alone are the God of Israel, and I am Your servant, and that I have offered this sacrifice to You! Hear me, O Lord, answer me with fire, that the hearts of these people may be turned to You.”
And fire fell from the Lord from heaven and consumed everything that was to be burned—the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench—everything the fire destroyed. At the sight of this all the people fell upon their faces to the earth, crying:
“Truly the Lord is God alone, and there is no other God besides Him!”
Elijah said to the people:
“Seize the prophets of Baal, that not one of them escape.”
The people fulfilled his command, and Elijah led them to the brook Kishon, which empties its waters into the Great Sea. There he slew them with his own hands and cast the impious corpses into the water, that the earth might not be defiled by them and that the air might not be infected by their stench. After this Saint Elijah commanded King Ahab to eat and drink quickly and to harness the horses to the chariot, that he might set out on the way, for soon a great rain would come which would wet everything. While Ahab sat eating and drinking, Elijah went up to Mount Carmel. Bowing down to the earth, he put his face between his knees and prayed to God for the sending of rain upon the earth. Immediately upon his prayer the heavens were opened as with a key and a great rain fell, which wet all and abundantly watered the thirsty earth. Then Ahab, recognizing his error, on the way to Samaria wept over his sins. But Saint Elijah, girding up his loins, went before him on foot, rejoicing in the glory of the Lord his God.
The impious queen, the wife of Ahab, Jezebel, learning of all that had taken place, was terribly enraged against Elijah for the destruction of her shameless prophets and, swearing by her gods, sent word to him that on the morrow, at the very hour at which Elijah had slain the prophets of Baal, she would kill him. Saint Elijah was afraid of death, for he was a man with all the weaknesses proper to men, as it is said of him: “Elijah was a man like us.” Because of Jezebel’s threats he fled to Beersheba, in the kingdom of Judah, and went alone into the wilderness. Having gone through the wilderness one day, he sat down under a juniper bush to rest. Tormented by sorrow, he began to ask of God death for himself, saying:
“O Lord! It is enough for me that I have lived until now upon the earth; take now my soul; am I better than my fathers?”
The prophet said this not because of grief from the persecution against him, but as a zealot of God who could not endure the malice of men, the dishonor of God, and the reproach of the most holy name of the Lord: it was easier for him to die than to hear and see the lawless despising and rejecting their God. With such a prayer upon his lips Elijah lay down and fell asleep under the tree. And behold, an angel of the Lord touched him, saying:
“Arise, eat and drink.”
Rising, Elijah saw at his head a warm cake and a cruse of water; he arose, ate, drank the water, and again fell asleep. The angel of the Lord touched him a second time, saying:
“Arise, eat and drink, for a long journey lies before you.”
Elijah, arising, ate again, drank water, and, strengthened by this food, went forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb, where he settled in a cave. Here his interlocutor was the Lord God Himself, who appeared to him in a gentle wind, blowing softly in the clear air. When the Lord drew near to him, terrible signs of His appearance preceded: first there was a strong storm, rending the mountains and breaking the rocks; then came fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire a gentle breeze; there was the Lord. When Elijah heard the passing of the Lord, he covered his face with his mantle and, going out of the cave, stood by it. He heard the Lord saying to him:
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah answered:
“I have been very jealous for You, the Lord of hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
But the Lord, comforting Elijah in his sorrow, revealed to him that not the whole people of Israel had fallen away from Him, but that He had seven thousand secret servants of His who had not bowed the knee to Baal. At the same time the Lord announced to Elijah the impending destruction in a short time of Ahab and Jezebel and of all their house, and commanded Elijah to designate for the kingdom of Israel a certain worthy man named Jehu, who was to destroy the whole race of Ahab, and to anoint Elisha as prophet. Thus, having comforted His servant, the Lord departed from him. The favorite of God, according to the Lord’s command, went from Horeb, and on the way met Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing the land with twelve yoke of oxen; laying his mantle upon him, Saint Elijah declared to him the will of the Lord, named him a prophet, and commanded him to follow him. Elisha said to Elijah:
“I pray you, let me go for a short time to take leave of my father and mother, and then I will go after you.”
Saint Elijah did not hinder this. Elisha, coming home, slew a pair of oxen with which he himself had plowed, made a feast for the neighbors and relatives, and then, having taken leave of his parents, went to Elijah and everywhere followed him, being his servant and disciple.
At this time King Ahab, under the influence of his impious wife Jezebel, added to his former lawlessness a new one, as follows.
A certain Israelite named Naboth had a vineyard near the possession of King Ahab in Samaria. Ahab proposed to Naboth:
“Give me your vineyard, that it may serve me for a garden, for it is near my palace. And I will give you another much better than this; or if this is not agreeable to you, I will pay you money for your vineyard.”
Naboth answered:
“The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
Ahab returned to his house troubled and offended by the answer of Naboth, and from vexation could not eat bread. But Jezebel, learning the cause of his sorrow, mocked him, saying:
“Is such your power, O king of Israel, that even over one man you are not able to exercise your will? But cease to be sorrowful, eat bread, and wait a little while: I myself will put the vineyard of Naboth into your hands.”
Having said this, she wrote in the name of the king an order to the elders of the Israelite citizens and affixed to it the royal seal. It was written that they should bring a false accusation against Naboth, as though he had cursed God and the king, and, having produced false witnesses, should stone him outside the city. And that unjust murder was carried out according to the lawless order. After the execution of the innocent Naboth, Jezebel said to Ahab:
“Now inherit the vineyard without money, for Naboth is no longer alive.”
Ahab, hearing of the murder of Naboth, was a little grieved, and then went into the vineyard to take possession of it. On the way, by the command of God, the holy prophet Elijah met him and said to him:
“Because you have unjustly slain the innocent Naboth and unlawfully taken possession of his vineyard, therefore thus says the Lord: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick your blood also; and your wife Jezebel the dogs shall eat, and all your house shall be destroyed.”
Ahab, hearing these words, wept, took off his royal garments, clothed himself in sackcloth, and imposed a fast upon himself. And so slight a repentance of Ahab before the Lord had such power that the fulfillment of the appointed punishment upon all his house was deferred until the time after the death of Ahab. For the Lord said to His prophet Elijah:
“Because Ahab has humbled himself, I will not bring the evil upon his house in his lifetime, but in the days of his son.”
After this Ahab lived three years and was killed in battle. From the place of battle he was carried in a chariot to Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood that flowed from the chariot, as the prophet of God had foretold. Likewise all that had been foretold concerning Jezebel and the whole house of Ahab was fulfilled afterward in its own time, after the taking up of Saint Elijah into heaven.
After the death of Ahab his son Ahaziah reigned in his stead, who proved to be the heir both of the throne and of the impiety of his father; for, listening to his impious mother Jezebel, he worshiped and offered sacrifices to Baal, whereby he greatly provoked the God of Israel. Once, through carelessness, Ahaziah fell from a window of his house and became very ill. He sent messengers to the false god Baal—properly speaking, to the demon who dwelt in the idol of Baal and gave false answers to those who inquired of him. To that demon he sent to inquire concerning his health, whether he would recover from the illness. When the messengers of Ahaziah were going to Baal, on the way, by the command of God, the prophet Elijah appeared to them and said:
“Is there no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal? Return and say to the king who sent you, Thus says the Lord: From the bed on which you have lain down you shall not rise, but shall die upon it.”
Returning, the messengers reported these words to the sick king. The king asked them:
“What was the appearance of the man who spoke these words to you?”
They answered:
“The man was all hairy and girt about his loins with a leather girdle.”
The king said:
“It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
And he sent a captain of fifty with fifty men, that they might take Elijah and bring him to him. They went and saw Elijah on Mount Carmel, for he was accustomed to abide chiefly on that mountain. Seeing Elijah sitting on the top of the mountain, the captain of fifty said to him:
“Man of God! Come down hither; the king commands you to go to him.”
Saint Elijah answered the captain of fifty:
“If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.”
And immediately fire fell from heaven and burned them up. The king sent another captain of fifty with the same number of men, but the same thing happened to them: fire falling from heaven consumed them also. The king sent a third captain of fifty with fifty men. This captain of fifty, learning what had happened to those sent before him, came to Saint Elijah with fear and humility and, falling on his knees before him, besought him, saying:
“Man of God! Behold, I and these servants of yours who have come with me stand before you; have mercy upon us: we have not come of our own will, but have been sent to you; do not destroy us with fire, as you destroyed those sent before us.”
And the prophet spared those who came with humility; those who had come before he did not spare because they came with pride and authority, wishing to take him as a captive and lead him with dishonor. The Lord commanded Saint Elijah to go with these third ones without fear and to say to the king the same that he had said before. Therefore the man of God, coming down from the mountain, went with the captain of fifty and his men. Coming to the king, Elijah said to him:
“Thus says the Lord: Because you sent to inquire of Baal concerning your life, as though there were no God in Israel whom you could inquire of, therefore you shall not rise from the bed on which you lie, but shall die.”
And Ahaziah died, according to the word of God spoken by the mouth of the prophet. After Ahaziah his brother Joram ascended the throne, because Ahaziah had no sons. With this Joram the race of Ahab came to an end, being destroyed by the wrath of God in the days of the holy prophet Elisha, as is written in his life.
When the time drew near in which the Lord determined to take Elijah to Himself alive, in the flesh, Elijah and Elisha were going from the city of Gilgal to the city of Bethel. Knowing by divine revelation of his approaching taking up into heaven, Elijah wished to leave Elisha in Gilgal, humbly concealing from him the impending glorification of himself by God. He said to Elisha: “Remain here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Saint Elisha, also knowing by divine revelation of what was about to take place, answered:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you”—and both went to Bethel. The sons of the prophets who lived in Bethel, coming to Elisha privately, said to him:
“Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over your head today?”
Elisha answered:
“I also know it; but be silent.”
After this Elijah said to Elisha:
“Remain here; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
Elisha answered him:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you”—and both came to Jericho. The sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, coming to Elisha, said to him:
“Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over your head?”
Elisha answered:
“I have already learned it; be silent.”
Saint Elijah said again to Elisha:
“Remain here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
But Elisha said:
“As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you”—and they went together. After them, at a distance from them, went fifty men of the sons of the prophets; when both holy prophets reached the Jordan, Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the water divided on both sides, and they both passed through the Jordan on dry ground. Having crossed the Jordan, Elijah said to Elisha:
“Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.”
Elisha answered:
“I ask that a double portion of the spirit that is in you may be upon me.”
Elijah said:
“You have asked a hard thing; but if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you; but if you do not see, it shall not be so.”
As they were going and talking thus, suddenly there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and separated them from one another, and Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha looked and cried:
“My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” (By these words he as it were said: You, father, were all the strength for Israel: by your prayer and zeal you helped the kingdom of Israel far more than a great multitude of war chariots and armed horsemen could help it.) Elisha saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own garments and in sorrow tore them. Soon there fell at his feet the mantle of Elijah that had been cast down from above. Taking it up, Elisha stood on the bank of the Jordan and, dividing the water with it on both sides as Elijah had done, crossed over on dry ground and became the heir of the grace that had worked in his teacher. But the holy prophet of God Elijah, taken up in a chariot of fire together with his flesh into heaven, remains to this day alive in the flesh, preserved by God in the dwellings of paradise. He was seen by three holy Apostles at the time of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tabor, and ordinary mortal men will again see him before the second coming of the Lord to earth. Having escaped death from the sword of Jezebel, he will then suffer from the sword of Antichrist, and already not only as a prophet but also as a martyr will be accounted worthy in the choir of the saints of a greater honor and glory than now from the righteous Rewarder, God, who is One in Three Persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom be honor and glory now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.