Tishbite
Elijah the prophet was thus named (1 Kgs 17:1; 1 Kgs 21:17, 1 Kgs 21:28, etc.). In 1 Kgs 17:1 the word rendered “inhabitants” is in the original the same as that rendered “Tishbite,” hence that verse may be read as in the LXX., “Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbi in Gilead.” Some interpret this word as meaning “stranger,” and read the verse, “Elijah the stranger from among the strangers in Gilead.” This designation is probably given to the prophet as denoting that his birthplace was Tishbi, a place in Upper Galilee (mentioned in the apocryphal book of Tobit), from which for some reason he migrated into Gilead. Josephus, the Jewish historian (Ant. 8:13, 2), however, supposes that Tishbi was some place in the land of Gilead. It has been identified by some with el-Ishtib, a some place 22 miles due south of the Sea of Galilee, among the mountains of Gilead.
Named in the Bible
6 verses
- 1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
- 1 Kings 21:17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
- 1 Kings 21:28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
- 2 Kings 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?
- 2 Kings 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
- 2 Kings 9:36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
