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Passover Tidbit #2:  Elijah

Many of us are familiar with the tradition of setting an extra plate and glass of wine for Elijah at the Passover table. The tradition is to leave the door open to allow the prophet access.  But what's up with that?  There is no mention of Elijah in the Exodus account of Passover.

Elijah is the prophet of God, whom you may recall brought fire down to consume the offering, and many other miracles of YHWH.  He was the one taken away up to YHWH in a fiery chariot.  He is the guy with Moses and Jesus at the transfiguration, and is probably the other witness with Moses at the end of time. A cool guy by all accounts, but what is the Passover connection?

1 Kings 17:1 introduces us to Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead.  Many English Bibles guess that Tishbi is a city or area or Gilead. In fact, John Schofield has in the maps at the back of his Bible a question mark in the area of Gilead marked "Tishbi".

In Hebrew the word pronounced tish-bi, is spelled the same as the Hebrew word pronounced to-sha-vi, (remember there are no vowls in Hebrew, they are implied) Tav, Shin, Bet, Yud or TShBY.  B's and V's are more or less interchangeable in most languages, as they are in Hebrew, thus Tish-bee' or To-shov-i' are spelled the same, but pronounced differently and are both  from the root Shin, Vav, Bet, ShVB, pronounced shoob, and is the Hebrew word for return or turn back.  As a side note, this word shoob is often incorrectly translated in English as repent, but really means to return...to the time we walked with YHWH.

A long way around the barn to say tishbi, is the Hebrew word not for a place, but for a sort of half citizen, a green card holder in English.  A foreigner, or a stranger in the land.  It is typically the word for a gentile who has joined themselves to the nation of Israel, much like Ruth, Rahab, Caleb, and others. 

 Elijah was not born a Jew, but chose to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, just as you and I have.

As this is a "tidbits" article, I will try to keep this as short as possible, even though the full accounting is famously interesting, and would take some hours to fully develop.

Moses' pedigree is complete and full.  Not so with Elijah.  Moses is the very picture of the Torah, the law and commandments.  Everything Jewish, if I can say it that way. 

Elijah, on the other hand, is the consummate Prophet, but has no pedigree like Moses.  We know nothing of his father or mother, or the land of his birth.  We know nothing of his birth or death; remember he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind of fire.

Moses is the Truth, the Word, and the Law.  Elijah is the spirit drawn to the God of Israel.  Moses is a Hebrew from the tribe of Levi. Elijah is a Gentile, joined to the tribe of Joseph without lineage.  You see where I'm going here, truth and spirit, the Law and the Prophets, the Jew and the Gentile. 

Where Moses represents the natural olive tree, Elijah is the wild branch grafted in to the natural tree.

Malachi 4:5 tells us Elijah "will come before the great and powerful day of the Lord."  21 times in the Second Testament Elijah is quoted being concerned with the few people who actually live for the God of Israel, oh they honor Him with their lips of course, but their hearts are far from Him Mark 7:6.  They hear but do not understand, and see but do not perceive Matthew 13:14.  These ideas expressed in the Second Testament, like all ideas in the Second Testament, are from the TaNaKh.

But back to Passover, why is a plate left for Elijah at the Passover?  As Gentiles we think of Passover and the Feasts as Jewish things that do not concern us.  That is, of course, utter folly.  The Feasts are commanded by YHWH, celebrated by Jesus and the disciples, and are called the "Path of Righteousness," the path of life, the path of My commandments, the path of the just, a light unto my path, and hundreds of other terms indicating they should be embraced by all who follow YHWH, then and now.

Just as both Moses and Elijah come as witnesses, they represent the Jew and the Gentile, the spirit and the truth, the law and the prophets, the TaNaKh and the Second Testament, if you will.  Both were at the transfiguration and I suspect will be together as the two witnesses at the end. 

Considering these things, naturally we would expect the see Gentiles represented at the most significant event in Human History, the crucifixion and resurrection of Y'shua, our Savior.  And even here at the rehearsal, or anniversary in anticipation, if I can say it that way, we the Gentiles are there being represented by then empty chair of Elijah.

So is Passover just a Jewish thing?  It is about as Jewish as the two witnesses are the end of days, one Jewish one Gentile.  Passover is about as Jewish as the Passover lamb being sacrificed for our freedom and salvation; it is about as Jewish as the restoration of our souls to the God of all creation.  

The inclusion of a place for Elijah, the Gentile, means you and I, even as Gentiles are invited and welcomed to the Passover celebration, and I for one gratefully accept the invitation every year.

I report, you decide.

 
CB