Elijah (, meaning "My
God is
Yahu") or
Elias (;
Elías;
Syriac:
Elyāe;
Arabic: إلياس or إليا,
Ilyās or
Ilyā) was a
prophet and a
wonder-worker in the
northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of
Ahab (9th century BC), according to the biblical
Books of Kings. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah defended the worship of
Yahweh over that of the Canaanite idol
Baal. God also performed many miracles through him, which included
raising the dead, bringing fire down from the
sky, and taking him up to heaven "by a whirlwind". In the
Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord", making him a harbinger of the
Messiah and the
eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in the
New Testament, the
Talmud, the
Mishnah, and the
Qur'an.
