Prophet: Elijah

By the 9th century BC, the Kingdom of Israel, once united under Solomon, had been divided into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Omri, King of Israel, continued policies contrary to religious law, that were intended to reorient religious focus away from Jerusalem: encouraging the building of local temple altars for sacrifices and appointing priests from outside the family of the Levites. He encouraged the building of temples dedicated to Baal, the Canaanite deity.  Omri achieved domestic security with a marriage alliance between his son Ahab and princess Jezebel, a worshipper of Baal and the daughter of the king of Sidon in Phoenicia.

Under Ahab's kingship tensions exacerbated. Ahab built a temple for Baal, and his wife Jezebel brought a large entourage of priests and prophets of Baal and Asherah into the country. In this context Elijah is introduced  and warns Ahab that there will be years of catastrophic drought because he had "done evil in the sight of the Lord."

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection and bringing fire down from the sky. Elijah led a school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets," and following his own ascension to heaven, Elisha, his disciple and most devoted assistant, took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah's return "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD," making him a harbinger of the Messiah.

The Christian New Testament notes that some people thought that Jesus was, in some sense, Elijah, but it also makes clear that John the Baptist is "the Elijah" who was promised to come in Malachi 3:1. According to accounts in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, Elijah appeared with Moses during the Transfiguration of Jesus.