Difference between revisions of "Eliyahu's Death/2"

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<category>Eliyahu is Alive
 
<category>Eliyahu is Alive
 
<mekorot><multilink><a href="BavliMoedKatan26a" data-aht="source">Bavli</a><a href="BavliMoedKatan26a" data-aht="source">Moed Katan 26a</a><a href="BavliBavaBatra121b" data-aht="source">Bava Batra 121b</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah21-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah21-5" data-aht="source">21:5</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>,&#160;<multilink><a href="IbnEzraMalakhi3-24" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraMalakhi3-24" data-aht="source">Malakhi 3:24</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanVayikra18-4" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanVayikra18-4" data-aht="source">Vayikra 18:4</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RalbagMelakhimII2-13" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagShofetim6-1" data-aht="source">Shofetim 6:1</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimI22-38" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 22:38</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimII2-13" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 2:1,3,11</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimII12-18" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 12:18</a><a href="RalbagDivreiHaYamimII21-12" data-aht="source">Divrei HaYamim II 21:12</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershom</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelMelakhimII2-12" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelMelakhimII2-12" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 2:12</a><a href="AbarbanelMalakhi3-23" data-aht="source">Malakhi 3:23</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink></mekorot>
 
<mekorot><multilink><a href="BavliMoedKatan26a" data-aht="source">Bavli</a><a href="BavliMoedKatan26a" data-aht="source">Moed Katan 26a</a><a href="BavliBavaBatra121b" data-aht="source">Bava Batra 121b</a><a href="Talmud Bavli" data-aht="parshan">About the Bavli</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="BereshitRabbah21-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit Rabbah</a><a href="BereshitRabbah21-5" data-aht="source">21:5</a><a href="Bereshit Rabbah" data-aht="parshan">About Bereshit Rabbah</a></multilink>,&#160;<multilink><a href="IbnEzraMalakhi3-24" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraMalakhi3-24" data-aht="source">Malakhi 3:24</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanVayikra18-4" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanVayikra18-4" data-aht="source">Vayikra 18:4</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RalbagMelakhimII2-13" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagShofetim6-1" data-aht="source">Shofetim 6:1</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimI22-38" data-aht="source">Melakhim I 22:38</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimII2-13" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 2:1,3,11</a><a href="RalbagMelakhimII12-18" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 12:18</a><a href="RalbagDivreiHaYamimII21-12" data-aht="source">Divrei HaYamim II 21:12</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershom</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="AbarbanelMelakhimII2-12" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelMelakhimII2-12" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 2:12</a><a href="AbarbanelMalakhi3-23" data-aht="source">Malakhi 3:23</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink></mekorot>
<point><b>"וַיַּעַל אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם"</b> These commentators disagree where Eliyahu is alive:<br/>
+
<point><b>Where is Eliyahu?</b> These commentators disagree where Eliyahu is alive:<br/>
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
 
<li><b>Eliyahu is alive in Gan Eden</b> – from Midreshei Chazal it seems that Eliyahu went up to Gan Eden with his body and lives there.&#160; Every so often he comes down to the land to fulfill his missions.</li>
 
<li><b>Eliyahu is alive in Gan Eden</b> – from Midreshei Chazal it seems that Eliyahu went up to Gan Eden with his body and lives there.&#160; Every so often he comes down to the land to fulfill his missions.</li>

Version as of 14:22, 16 November 2017

Eliyahu's Death

Exegetical Approaches

This topic is currently in progress

Eliyahu Died

"וַיַּעַל אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם" – These commentators disagree regarding what happened during the storm:
  • Transported – R. Saadia Gaon says that Eliyahu was lifted into the air in a whirlwind, and brought to an unknown place on earth, where he lived for an undesignated amount of time before he died.2  He understands the term "הַשָּׁמָיִם" as hyperbolic; Eliyahu was not brought literally to heaven, but simply raised up via the storm winds.
  • Death – Radak and Hoil Moshe,3 in contrast, understand the term "הַשָּׁמָיִם" to refer to the heavenly realm, and suggest that during the storm the "chariots of fire" burned Eliyahu's body, while his soul went up to heaven.
"מִכְתָּב מֵאֵלִיָּהוּ" – These commentators must explain how Eliyahu could write a letter to Yehoram if he had died before Yehoram's reign.  They offer several possible explanations:
  • Prophetic Ibn EzraMalakhi 3:24About R. Avraham ibn Ezra brings the possibility that Eliyahu wrote the letter prophetically before he died and then gave it to one of בני הנביאים to give to Yehoram in the future.4
  • Alive during Yehoram's reign – Since R. Saadia maintains that Eliyahu died at some point after the storm, it is possible that he was still alive during the reign of Yehoram and sent him a letter from wherever Hashem had placed him. The Biur, instead, posits that there is achronology in the verses and that the story of the storm in Chapter 2 really occurred at some point after Yehoram began to reign.5
  • Via vision after death – Radak suggests that after Eliyahu died he appeared to one of the prophets in a vision and told him to write the letter in the name of Eliyahu.6
"הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא"
  • Eliyahu will be resurrected – Radak asserts that Eliyahu will be resurrected so that he can return to the earth and act as Hashem's messenger before the Day of Judgement.
  • Eliyahu as a term for prophet – Hoil Moshe, in contrast, asserts that Malakhi does not mean to insinuate that Eliyahu himself is to return but rather that at that point there will once again be prophets, like Eliyahu, in Israel.7
Why is Eliyahu's death so unusual? Hoil Moshe explains that in eras in which the nation was mired in idolatry, Hashem wanted his prophets' lives and deaths to be extraordinary so as to leave an impression on the people.  Recognizing prophets' wondrous, angel-like status would encourage people to heed their words.
What did בני הנביאים know and think? Radak suggests that the בני הנביאים thought that maybe Eliyahu didn't die but simply disappeared (as he would somewhat regularly), so they were looking where he was secluded. [According to R. Saadia, they were absolutely correct.]  Hoil Moshe disagrees and claims that בני הנביאים did know that Eliyahu had died; they were simply looking for his body so they could bury it.8
Resurrection of the dead
"סְעָרָה"
לקיחה
Polemics
Philosophical motivation

Eliyahu is Alive

Where is Eliyahu? These commentators disagree where Eliyahu is alive:
  • Eliyahu is alive in Gan Eden – from Midreshei Chazal it seems that Eliyahu went up to Gan Eden with his body and lives there.  Every so often he comes down to the land to fulfill his missions.
  • Eliyahu is alive on Earth – Ralbag says that Eliyahu did not go up to שמים rather went up "בגובה האויר" and Hashem took him to an unknown place where he still lives.
"מִכְתָּב מֵאֵלִיָּהוּ" – This approach maintains that Eliyahu was still alive and was able to send the letter.
Malakhi 3:23 – This verse is one of the motivations for this approach that Eliyahu is still alive.
Why didn't Eliyahu die?
Resurrection of the dead
What did בני הנביאים know and think?
"סְעָרָה"
לקיחה
Pinchas
Polemics
Philosophical motivation