Millgram-giving Elijah (and Ahab) a seat at the table

Posted on December 28, 2018 by jamesbradfordpate

theoutwardquest

It is time to finish up with Hillel Millgram’s The Elijah Enigma.

In a postscript to the book, he talks about the myth of Elijah that continued in Judaism. This had already started before Kings was written. One of its sources contained the mythical story of his translation. It continued in Malachi 4:5 which promises that Elijah will return. This is picked up in Ben Sira and in the rabbinical literature. Millgram does not go into its presence in the New Testament. But he gives examples from folk Judaism and mystical Judaism.

Today it is still the custom to have an empty seat for Elijah at circumcisions and sometimes at meals.

Millgram sees as the purpose of his book to go behind the myth and recover a more realistic and historical portrait of the prophet. The historical Elijah had flaws. The most obvious of these was a lack of…

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About jamesbradfordpate

My name is James Pate. This blog is about my journey. I read books. I watch movies and TV shows. I go to church. I try to find meaning. And, when I can’t do that, I just talk about stuff that I find interesting. I have degrees in fields of religious studies. I have an M.Phil. in the History of Biblical Interpretation from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also have an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from Jewish Theological Seminary, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from DePauw University.
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