25 Details About the Life of Elijah - 'A' to 'Z' Quiz

Answer: Ahab

Ahab, the king of Israel, was a bitter adversary of Elijah. Ahab's wife was Jezebel and she is generally regarded as the most wicked woman in the Bible. According to Scripture, Ahab and Jezebel worshipped false gods and Elijah strongly condemned the couple. Spurred on by his wife, Ahab executed a number of prophets of God and attempted to kill Elijah as well.

According to 1 Kings 16:33, Ahab "did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him."

The story of Ahab can be found in 1 Kings, Chapters 16 through to 22.

Answer: Baal

Baal is the correct answer. According to notes in the New King James Study Bible, Baal was the male god of the Phoenicians and the Canaanites and the counterpart of the female Ashtaroth.

According to 1 Kings 18, Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a showdown to see who could call upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. The 450 prophets called on Baal and Elijah called on the LORD with Elijah being the clear winner.

Elijah is well known for many things, but perhaps the best known story involving him is his duel with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

Answer: Carmel

Mount Carmel was the location of Elijah's victory over the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. As stated in the answer to Question No. 2, Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a showdown to see who could call upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. The 450 prophets called on Baal and Elijah called on the LORD with Elijah being the clear winner, according to Scripture.

Carmel was such a lovely place that Solomon even compares the beauty of a bride to it. Song of Solomon 7:5, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple; a king is held captive by your tresses."

Answer: Three years and six months

The correct answer is three years and six months. In Luke 4:25, Jesus states heaven was shut up for three years and six months during the days of Elijah.

Backing up Christ's statement is the verse 1 Kings 18:1. The verse tells of the word of the LORD coming to Elijah in the third year saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."

If a person were to use only information in the Old Testament, the correct answer to this question would be "at least three years". However, the question is based on what is stated in Luke 4:25.

Answer: Elisha

Elisha, of course, is the correct answer. In 1 Kings 19:16, Elijah received instruction from the LORD to anoint Elisha "the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah" in his place.

1 Kings 19:19-21 tells of the first meeting between Elijah and Elisha. The account in the NKJV, reads:

"So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, 'Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.' And he said to him, 'Go back again, for what have I done to you?' So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant."

Some obscure trivia about Elisha. He is the only person in the Bible who is described as being bald. (See 2 Kings 2:23).

Answer: Elijah spared their lives after they begged for mercy.

The third group, consisting of a captain and fifty men, was spared by Elijah after the captain begged for mercy. Ahaziah, king of Samaria, ordered the arrest of Elijah because he was indignant with the prophet of God.

It's a bit of a long story, but according to Scripture Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room and and had sent messengers to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if he would recover from his injuries. However, Elijah met the messengers and rebuked them for consulting with Baal-Zebub and then proclaimed Ahaziah would die from his injuries.

After the messengers told Ahaziah about what Elijah had told them, the king became indignant and ordered the arrest of the prophet.

We pick up the story in 2 Kings 1:9-17, in the NKJV Bible: "Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: 'Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down'!' So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, 'If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.' And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.
And he answered and said to him: 'Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly'!' So Elijah answered and said to them, 'If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.' And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: 'Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.' And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, 'Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.' So he arose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, 'Thus says the LORD: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die'."

The chapter concludes with Ahaziah dying, just like Elijah said he would.

Much of Ahaziah's story is told in the first chapter of 2 Kings. (Incidentally, this king is not to be confused with a king of Judah also named Ahaziah, who ruled for one year.)

Answer: various times

There are at least seven times times in Scripture where Elijah received specific instructions, or guidance, from the LORD. Here's a look at them:

1.) 1 Kings 17:1-7 -- God told Elijah that he should go to the brook Cherith and hide himself.

2.) 1 Kings 17:9 -- God told him to travel some 50 miles north to the town of Zarephath.

3.) 1 Kings 18:1 -- God told Elijah He would send rain after three years of drought.

4.) 1 Kings 19:5 -- As Elijah slept under a broom tree, an angel touched him, and said, 'Arise and eat'.

5.) 1 Kings 19:9 -- The LORD speaks to Elijah in a cave and tells him to go to a mountain top

6.) 1 Kings 19:11-16 -- After an extremely strong wind, followed by an earthquake and then followed by a fire, the LORD spoke to Elijah in "a still small voice."

7.) 1 Kings 19:16 -- The LORD tells Elijah to anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, as prophet in his place.

The correct answer to the question, is various times.

Answer: Go into 'hiding'

Elijah was told by the LORD to go into hiding after he confronted Ahab, king of Israel. While he was in hiding, Scripture states God commanded ravens to feed Elijah daily. Details can be found in 1 Kings 17:1-6.

Here's how the passage reads in the NKJV Bible: "And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.' Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.' So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook."

Answer: He heard a still small voice

After experiencing a major wind storm, an earthquake and fire, Scripture says Elijah heard "a still small voice". The voice was that of God giving Elijah divine instructions. One of the instructions was to anoint Elisha as a prophet to replace himself.

Incidentally, the wind in 1 Kings 19:12 is described as being "great" and "strong". It was that and very much more, as Scripture says the wind was so powerful it "tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces". No details are given in Scripture about the intensity of the earthquake and the fire. One can only imagine.

Answer: True

2 King 1:8 and Matthew 3:4 both tell of a similarity between the two men.

In the verse in 2 King, Elijah is described as "a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist." Meanwhile, the passage in Matthew describes John as wearing camel hair and a leather belt around his waist.

Notes in the Thomson Chain Reference Study Bible describe Elijah as one of the most unique and rugged characters of Bible history.

"Rugged in appearance and dress, he is a prototype of John the Baptist," the notes state.

Answer: More than 550

The correct answer is more than 550 men.

1 Kings 18:38-40 tells of Elijah soundly defeating 450 prophets of Baal in a duel to see who could call upon a higher power to ignite a sacrificial offering on Mount Carmel. Elijah called on God while the 450 prophets called on Baal. Verse 40 tells of Elijah taking the 450 prophets to the Brook Kishon and executing them.

Meanwhile, 2 Kings 1:1-18 tells of Elijah calling upon the LORD who consumed with fire two different teams, each consisting of a captain and fifty men, for a total of 102 people. The captains and their men had been instructed by Ahaziah to arrest Elijah.

In these two incidents alone, 552 men were killed.

Answer: Yes

Yes. It would be safe to describe Elijah as a lone wolf during certain times of his ministry. Often he acted alone and had no one at his side, similar to many of the other prophets in the Old Testament. For example, Scripture tells of him going into hiding and being fed by ravens as King Ahab sought to kill him. (See information in answer to Question 8 for more information.)

Toward the end of his ministry, however, Elijah was accompanied by Elisha, his young understudy.

Answer: Both Jesus and John the Baptist

Both Jesus and John the Baptist were mistaken for Elijah, according to Scripture. Various places in the New Testament, Scripture states a number of people believed Jesus was actually Elijah. Two examples of this are Matthew 16:14 and Mark 8:28.

Meanwhile, John 1:21 tells of John the Baptist denying he is Elijah as some people apparently thought.

Answer: Moses

Moses is the correct answer. The events on Mount Transfiguration are recorded in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew, the ninth chapter of Mark and the ninth chapter of Luke. According to Scripture, Peter, James and John were with Jesus when Elijah and Moses appeared in their midst.

Matthew 17:1-8, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!' And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, 'Arise, and do not be afraid.' When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."

Answer: Obadiah

Obadiah is the correct answer. According to 1 Kings 18:3, Obadiah was in charge of King Ahab's household. And while Ahab and his wife Jezebel worshipped false gods, 1 Kings 18:3 states Obadiah "feared the LORD greatly".

1 Kings 18:3-19 tells of Elijah and Obadiah meeting followed by a another meeting between Elijah and Ahab. According to Verse 13, Obadiah "hid one hundred men of the LORD'S prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water."

Answer: False

False. There is no record of Elijah writing a Psalm. Out of 150 Psalms, David is credited with writing more than seventy of them. Other Psalms were written by Ethan, Heman and Asaph while two are credited to Solomon. Meanwhile, a large number of the other Psalms do not have an author's name.

Yes, it is possible Elijah wrote some part of the Psalms, but going strictly by Scripture, the answer to this question has to be false.

Answer: Queen Jezebel

The correct answer is Jezebel. She is regarded by many as the most wicked woman in the Bible and according to the website Meaning-of-names.com, Jezebel means 'impure'. She is despised in Scripture because she convinced her husband Ahab to worship false gods and persecuted God's prophets. According to Scripture, Jezebel was a bitter adversary of Elijah who condemned her for worshipping false gods.

Her life ended when she was thrown out of a window by her aids and she was trampled by horses, as per 2 Kings 9:30-37.

Answer: ravens

Ravens is the correct answer. As stated in the answer to Question No. 8, Elijah was told by the LORD to go into hiding after he confronted Ahab, king of Israel. While he was in hiding, Scripture states God commanded ravens to feed Elijah daily. Details can be found in 1 Kings 17:1-6.

Verse 6 states ravens brought Elijah "bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening" to his hiding place, which was by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

Answer: True

True. Elijah was severely depressed at one point in his life. In fact, 1 Kings 19:4 states he prayed to God that he might die, saying "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

He uttered the words after he scored a spectacular victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel followed by Jezebel issuing a pronouncement she would kill him.

Elijah, of course, weathered the storm with Scripture telling of Jezebel suffering a violent death. According to 2 Kings 9:30-37, she was thrown down from a widow with some of her blood splattering on a wall and then horses trampling her. A while later, some men were assigned to bury her and they were met with a gruesome sight.

2 Kings 9:35-37, in the NKJV, states: "So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, 'This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, 'Here lies Jezebel'."

Answer: Tishbe

Elijah was from Tishbe and was known as Elijah the Tishbite in 1 Kings 17:1, 21:17, 21:28, 2 Kings 1:3, 1:8 and 9:36.

According to Wikipedia, Tishbe was in Gilead, a region of Gad and Mannesah east of the Jordan River.

Answer: Enoch

Enoch is the correct answer. Genesis 5:21-24 in the NKJV Bible, states: "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."

In other words, Enoch did not die, but was taken away by God, similar to Elijah. Incidentally, Hebrews 11:5, in the New Testament, has this to say about Enoch and his departure: "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

According to Wikipedia, Enoch means initiated, dedicated and disciplined.

Elijah's sudden departure is recorded in 2 Kings 2:11-13, while he was walking along with the prophet Elisha. The NKJV Bible records Elijah being taken upward this way: "Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!' So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces."

Answer: Jehovah is the true God

According to Scripture, the verdict was virtually unanimous: Jehovah was the true God. In fact, the people were so impressed with Elijah's victory on Mount Carmel, they agreed with a request of Elijah to round up the 450 defeated prophets of Baal and execute them.

1 Kings 18:38-40 tells what happened after Elijah was able to call on God to ignite a sacrifice after numerous unsuccessful attempts by the prophets of Baal:
"Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!' And Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!' So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there."

Answer: No name is given

No name is given for the widow or that of her son. According to 1 Kings 17:8-24, she lived in Zarephath, a town which the LORD instructed Elijah to go to. The widow had an unnamed son who died, only to be raised from the dead by Elijah. Scripture tells of Elijah miraculously providing food for the widow and her child. After the account in the 17th Chapter of 1 Kings, there is no further mention of the widow in the Old Testament.

However, in Luke 4:26, Jesus makes passing reference of Elijah being sent to Zarephath to assist the widow.

Answer: Scripture doesn't say

Scripture doesn't say how old the boy was, or his name. The account of Elijah raising the boy from the dead is found in 1 Kings 17:17-24. The story reminds me about Jesus raising the widow's son from the dead at Nain, as per Luke 7:11-17. Both accounts are wonderful stories, but short on details.

Although the ages of both sons raised from the dead are not given, there's a suggestion in 1 Kings 17:19 the boy Elijah revived may have been a toddler as the verse tells of the prophet of God taking the dead boy's body out of his mother's arms.

Here's how the account of Elijah raising the widow's son from the dead reads in 1 Kings 17:17-24 in the NKJV:

"Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, 'What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?' And he said to her, 'Give me your son.' So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?' And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him.' Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, 'See, your son lives!' Then the woman said to Elijah, 'Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth'."

Answer: Elijah built a new house for a widow and her son.

According to Scripture, Elijah performed two miracles in Zarephath. 1 Kings 17:8-24, he miraculously raised a widow's son from the dead after miraculously providing food for the two of them. Scripture also tells of Elijah residing with the widow and her son.

However, there is no account in Scripture about Elijah building a new house for the widow and her son. So, the correct answer to this question is, "Elijah built a new house for a widow and her son."

Incidentally, the woman's name is not given in Scripture. She is simply described in the NIV as the widow of Zarephath in the region of Sidon.