Eliyahu's Death/1/en

Eliyahu's Death

Introduction

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Eliyahu's Disappearance

Chapter 2 in Melakhim II describes Eliyahu's departure.  Throughout the whole chapter we hear that Eliyahu is about to be taken away:

EN/HEע/E

...כִּי הַיּוֹם י"י לֹקֵחַ אֶת אֲדֹנֶיךָ מֵעַל רֹאשֶׁךָ...בְּטֶרֶם אֶלָּקַח מֵעִמָּךְ...אִם תִּרְאֶה אֹתִי לֻקָּח מֵאִתָּךְ...

In all of these verses the word used to describe Eliyahu's departure is "לקח" rather then saying that he is going to die.¹  The description itself of Eliyahu's departure seems to be mysterious, all of the sudden a chariot of fire appeared and Eliyahu rose up to "שמים":

EN/HEע/E

(א) וַיְהִי בְּהַעֲלוֹת י"י אֶת אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם...

(יא) וַיְהִי הֵמָּה הֹלְכִים הָלוֹךְ וְדַבֵּר וְהִנֵּה רֶכֶב אֵשׁ וְסוּסֵי אֵשׁ וַיַּפְרִדוּ בֵּין שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיַּעַל אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם.

After Eliyahu disappears, בני הנביאים go to look for him which implies that there is something irregular happened.  Also, the chapter never actually says that Eliyahu died, rather that he went up "בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם".  Did Eliyahu die or is he still alive?  Where was he taken to and where is he now?

Later Reappearances

There are two later occurrences of Eliyahu in Tanakh after he disappears².  It is unclear when exactly Eliyahu disappeared but it seems that Elisha replaced Eliyahu as a prophet already in the time of Yehoshafat. On this backdrop, it would seem that when a letter from Eliyahu comes to Yehoram, son of Yehoshafat, king of Yehuda, this was a letter after Eliyahu left the world:

EN/HEע/E

וַיָּבֹא אֵלָיו מִכְתָּב מֵאֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר י"י אֱלֹהֵי דָּוִיד אָבִיךָ תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַכְתָּ בְּדַרְכֵי יְהוֹשָׁפָט אָבִיךָ וּבְדַרְכֵי אָסָא מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה. 

In addition, at the end of Malakhi, it says that Hashem is going to send Eliyahu before the coming of the great day of Hashem:

EN/HEע/E

 הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא לִפְנֵי בּוֹא יוֹם י"י הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא.

Is Eliyahu being resurrected in order to fulfill his duties or does this verse also imply that Eliyahu never died?

Eliyahu in Aggadah

In Aggadot Chazal, Eliyahu is the only character which walks around alive.  Many halakhot are learned from his actions.

¹ This verb is also used to describe Chanokh's disappearance in Bereshit 5:24 "כִּי לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים", where also we are not told explicitly that he died.

² A similar case of someone reappearing a long time after they should be is Pinchas.  In Shofetim 20:28, in the story of פילגש בגבעה we are told that Pinchas was in front of the ארון הברית at that time.