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Elijah the Foreigner from Gilead

To hear the podcast (10 min) click here.

When an OT character is first introduced in narrative literature, we are typically given important clues about who they are and what they are going to do. So it is with Elijah, a foreigner who would seem to be an unlikely opponent of Baal worship. Dr. David Firth is Old Testament Lecturer at Trinity College, Bristol, UK. Among his publications are, Including the Stranger: Foreigners in the Former Prophets, 1 & 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Study Guide: A Kingdom Comes, and (co-edited with Brittany Melton) Reading the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. 


Check out related programs at Wheaton College:


B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3RMY2E5


M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4cBEcU7

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Who is the better Baal?

There are Hebrew word plays in 2 Kings 1 that are not apparent in English translations but are part of the original narrator’s intention, not without a touch of humor, to show that the Israelite prophet Elijah out-Baals Baal. Dr. Andrew Burlingame is a Wheaton College Classical Languages program alumnus and is now Assistant Professor of Hebrew at the same. He specializes in Northwest Semitic languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Ugaritic, along with their history and texts. His recent publications are featured here. 

To hear the podcast click here.