The Story of Elijah in the Bible

The story of Elijah is about a prophet from Gilead who stood against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel when Israel turned to the worship of Baal, around 870 to 850 BC. He announced a drought, was fed by ravens and a poor widow, called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, fled into despair, met God in a still small voice, and was finally taken up to heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot of fire. His story is told in 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2.

Who Was Elijah?

Elijah is introduced suddenly as "Elijah the Tishbite," from among the settlers of Gilead, east of the Jordan River (1 Kings 17:1). The Bible says nothing about his family or his early life. His name means "my God is the LORD," itself a message in a nation that had turned to Baal. He served in the northern kingdom of Israel and was remembered as a hairy man with a leather belt (2 Kings 1:8), a rough figure from the wilderness who stood before kings without fear.

Ahab, Jezebel and the Worship of Baal

King Ahab, son of Omri, did more evil in the sight of the LORD than all the kings before him (1 Kings 16:30). He married Jezebel, daughter of the king of the Sidonians, and built a temple and altar to Baal in his capital, Samaria (1 Kings 16:31–33).

Baal was worshiped as a storm god who controlled the rain. Jezebel supported hundreds of his prophets and tried to wipe out the prophets of the LORD (1 Kings 18:4, 19). So Elijah's first act strikes at Baal's supposed power over the sky.

The Drought

Elijah walked into Ahab's court and made a stunning announcement:

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 17:1 (KJV)

God then sent Elijah to hide by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. He drank from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening (1 Kings 17:2–6). Eventually the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

Next God sent Elijah to Zarephath, a town near Sidon, in Jezebel's home territory. At the town gate he met a widow gathering sticks. When he asked for bread, she told him she had only a handful of flour and a little oil, and was about to make a last meal for herself and her son before they died (1 Kings 17:12).

Elijah told her not to be afraid, but to make him a small cake first, because God promised her supplies would last until the rain returned. She trusted the word, and it happened just as promised:

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

— 1 Kings 17:16 (KJV)

Later her son stopped breathing. Elijah carried him to the upper room, cried out to God, and the child's life returned (1 Kings 17:17–24). Jesus later mentioned this widow as an example of God's care for an outsider (Luke 4:25–26).

The Troubler of Israel

In the third year, God sent Elijah back to Ahab, because rain was coming (1 Kings 18:1). When Ahab saw Elijah, he asked whether this was the man who troubled Israel. Elijah replied that the trouble came from Ahab and his family, who had abandoned God's commandments and followed Baal (1 Kings 18:17–18). Then he proposed a public contest on Mount Carmel.

Fire on Mount Carmel

Ahab gathered all Israel, along with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Elijah stood before the people and challenged them directly:

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

— 1 Kings 18:21 (KJV)

Each side would prepare a bull on an altar with no fire under it, and the God who answered by fire would be God. The prophets of Baal called out from morning until evening, while Elijah mocked that Baal might be asleep. There was no voice and no answer (1 Kings 18:26–29).

Then Elijah rebuilt the LORD's altar with twelve stones, one for each tribe, and had the sacrifice soaked with water three times. He prayed a short prayer that God would turn the people's hearts back again (1 Kings 18:30–37).

Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

— 1 Kings 18:38–39 (KJV)

The prophets of Baal were then put to death at the brook Kishon (1 Kings 18:40).

A Cloud Like a Man's Hand

Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bowed with his face between his knees, and prayed. Six times his servant looked toward the sea and saw nothing. Elijah told him to go again (1 Kings 18:41–43).

And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

— 1 Kings 18:44 (KJV)

The sky grew black, a great rain fell, and Elijah ran ahead of Ahab's chariot to Jezreel (1 Kings 18:45–46).

Under the Broom Tree

Instead of repenting, Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah within a day. The prophet who had faced 450 prophets of Baal ran for his life into the wilderness. He sat under a juniper (broom) tree and asked God to take his life, saying, "It is enough" (1 Kings 19:4).

God did not scold him. He let him sleep. An angel touched him and gave him bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water, twice, because "the journey is too great for thee" (1 Kings 19:5–7). Strengthened by that food, Elijah walked forty days and nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. If you have known that kind of exhaustion, these Bible verses about anxiety speak to it gently.

The Still Small Voice

At Horeb, Elijah spent the night in a cave. God asked him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" He answered that he had been very zealous for the LORD, that Israel had killed the prophets, and that he alone was left (1 Kings 19:9–10). Then God told him to stand on the mountain:

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

— 1 Kings 19:11–12 (KJV)

The same God who answered with fire on Carmel now spoke in a whisper. He gave Elijah new work, including anointing Elisha as his successor, and corrected his loneliness: there were still seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:15–18).

Naboth's Vineyard

When Jezebel had Naboth killed with false witnesses so Ahab could take his vineyard, Elijah met the king there and pronounced judgment. Ahab humbled himself, and God delayed the disaster, showing how ready He is to show mercy (1 Kings 21).

The Chariot of Fire

At the end of his ministry, Elijah walked with Elisha to the Jordan, struck the water with his mantle, and the two crossed on dry ground. Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit (2 Kings 2:1–10). Then:

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

— 2 Kings 2:11 (KJV)

Elisha picked up the fallen mantle, struck the Jordan and asked, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" The waters parted again (2 Kings 2:13–14). Only one other person in the Bible left the world without dying: Enoch, who walked with God.

Elijah in the Rest of the Bible

Malachi promised that God would send "Elijah the prophet" before the great day of the LORD (Malachi 4:5). Jesus said John the Baptist came in that role (Matthew 11:14; 17:12–13). Elijah appeared with Moses on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17:1–3). And James points to him as a model of prayer:

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

— James 5:17 (KJV)

Lessons From the Story of Elijah

• One voice matters. Elijah stood almost alone against a king, a queen and hundreds of false prophets.
• God provides in small ways. Ravens, a brook, a widow's last flour and a jar of oil were enough.
• Keep looking for the cloud. Six times the servant saw nothing. The answer came on the seventh look.
• Great faith and deep despair can live in the same person. God met Elijah's exhaustion with sleep, food and a gentle voice, and reminded him he was not alone.

Elijah's courage is echoed in the story of Jeremiah, another prophet who spoke the truth to kings at great cost.

Watch the Movie

The full film, Elijah – The Movie, is at the top of this page. In about thirty minutes it follows the prophet from Ahab's palace to the widow of Zarephath, the fire on Mount Carmel, the small cloud over the sea, the still small voice at Horeb and the chariot of fire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Elijah die?

The Bible says Elijah did not die in the ordinary way. He was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind while a chariot and horses of fire separated him from Elisha (2 Kings 2:11). Enoch is the only other person in Scripture described as leaving the world without death.

How long was the drought in Elijah's time?

James 5:17 and Luke 4:25 say it lasted three years and six months. In 1 Kings 18:1, the word to end it came "in the third year," which many readers count from Elijah's stay with the widow rather than from the start of the drought.

What is the still small voice?

It is the gentle way God spoke to Elijah on Mount Horeb after a wind, an earthquake and a fire (1 Kings 19:12). Some modern translations render it "a gentle whisper" or "the sound of a low whisper." It reminds readers that God is not only present in dramatic events but also in quiet moments.

Is John the Baptist Elijah?

Jesus said John the Baptist was the "Elias, which was for to come" in the sense of fulfilling Malachi's prophecy (Matthew 11:14). Luke explains that John came "in the spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17). Most Christians understand this as John fulfilling Elijah's role, not as Elijah returning in person.