Elijah Thundered

Andrew Burlingame is Assistant Professor of Hebrew at Wheaton College within the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. He has authored several articles, one of which received the 2018 Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem. He observes that until now we have had to guess at the meaning of a rare Hebrew word translated as “bowed down” in 1 Kings 18:42. Recent scholarship devoted to cognate languages has led some to believe that Elijah was actually making a rumbling sound, imitative of thunder.

To listen to the seven minute podcast click here.

“Exegetically Speaking” is a weekly podcast of the friends and faculty of Wheaton College, IL and The Lanier Theological Library. Hosted by Dr. David Capes, it features language experts who discuss the importance of learning the biblical languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—and show how reading the Bible in the original languages “pays off.” Each podcast lasts between seven and eleven minutes and covers a different topic for those who want to read the Bible for all it is worth.

If you’re interested in going deeper, learn more about Wheaton’s undergraduate degree in Classical Languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) and our MA in Biblical Exegesis. 

You can hear Exegetically Speaking on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. If you have questions or comments, please contact us at exegetically.speaking@wheaton.edu.