1 Kings Chapter 17

“And Elijah the Tishbite, [who] was of the inhabitants of Gilead, etc.] Which belonged partly to the Reubenites and Gadites, and partly to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the other side Jordan, where this prophet dwelt; but why he is called the Tishbite is not easy to say; what Kimchi observes seems right, that he was at first of a city called Toshab, and afterward’s dwelt at Gilead; which city perhaps is the same with Thisbe, in the tribe of Naphtali, the native place of Tobit, “Who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called…”

“ELIJAH, PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB, IS SENT TO CHERITH. (Kg1 17:1-7) Elijah the Tishbite--This prophet is introduced as abruptly as Melchisedek--his birth, parents, and call to the prophetic office being alike unrecorded. He is supposed to be called the Tishbite from Tisbeh, a place east of Jordan. who was of the inhabitants of Gilead--or residents of Gilead, implying that he was not an Israelite, but an Ishmaelite, as MICHAELIS conjectures, for there were many of that race on the confines of Gilead. The employment of a Gentile as an extraordinary minister might be to rebuke and shame the apostate people of Israel.…”

“The name Elijah means “Yahweh is my God.” It is expressive of the truth which his whole life preached. The two words rendered “Tishbite” and “inhabitant” are in the original (setting aside the vowel points) “exactly alike.” The meaning consequently must either be “Elijah the stranger, of the strangers of Gilead,” or (more probably) “Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbi of Gilead.” Of Tishbi in Gilead there is no further trace in Scripture; it is to be distinguished from another Tishbi in Galilee. In forming to ourselves a conception of the great Israelite prophet, we must always bear in mind that the wild and…”

“Elijah - The most eminent of the prophets, who is here brought in, like Melchisedek, without any mention of his father, or mother, or beginning of his days; like a man dropt out of the clouds, and raised by God's special providence as a witness for himself in this most degenerate time that by his zeal, and courage and miracles, he might give some check, to their various and abominable idolatries, and some reviving to that small number of the Lord's prophets, and people, who yet remained in Israel. He seems to have been naturally of a rough spirit. And rough spirits are called to rough services. His name…”

“17:1–19:21 The ministry of the prophet Elijah was intimately connected to his own spiritual journey. Elijah confronted Israel’s flirtation with the Canaanite storm-god, Baal. As the struggle ensued, Elijah learned of God’s power and provision in contrast to Baal’s impotence, as demonstrated during Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (18:1-46). Elijah’s subsequent flight from Jezebel led to God’s renewal of his prophetic commission at Mount Sinai (19:1-18). Elijah’s commission was completed by his successor, Elisha (19:19-21). 17:1 Elijah was God’s prophet to the northern kingdom during the…”

“am 3094, bc 910 Elijah: Heb. Elijahu, Mat 11:14, Mat 16:14, Mat 27:47, Mat 27:49; Luk 1:17, Luk 4:25, Luk 4:26, Luk 9:30, Luk 9:33, Luk 9:54; Joh 1:21, Joh 1:25; Rom 11:2, Elias As the Lord God: Kg1 22:14; Kg2 3:14, Kg2 5:16; Isa 49:18; Mat 7:29; Luk 1:17 before whom: Deu 10:8; Jer 15:19; Luk 1:19, Luk 21:36; Act 27:23 dew nor rain: Luk 4:25; Jam 5:17; Rev 11:6 3 Kings (1 Kings) 17:2”

“Elijah the Tishbite is introduced without the formula "The word of the Lord came to ...," with which the appearance of the prophets is generally announced, proclaiming to king Ahab in the name of the Lord the punitive miracle of a drought that will last for years. This abrupt appearance of Elijah cannot be satisfactorily explained from the fact that we have not the real commencement of his history here; it is rather a part of the character of this mightiest of all the prophets, and indicates that in him the divine power of the Spirit appeared as it were personified, and his life and acts were the direct effluence…”