ELIJAH and the BOOKS of KINGS in RABBINIC LITERATURE Karin

ELIJAH AND THE BOOKS OF KINGS IN RABBINIC LITERATURE Karin Hedner-Zetterholm Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University 1. Introduction Evidence of the role that the Books of Kings have played in Jewish tradition is found in the rabbinic interpretations both in the midrashim and in the ancient translations of the biblical text into Aramaic, the targumim. Although interpretations of specific verses from 1–2 Kings are found scattered in the midrashic literature there is only one late collection of midrash that covers the whole of 1–2 Kings, the Yalqut Shimoni, an anthology usually dated to the 12th or 13th century. Tar- gum Jonathan to 1–2 Kings generally gives a literal translation of the Hebrew text and accordingly provides little information about the rabbinic interpretations. Its redaction is usually dated to the seventh century although it contains traditions that are much earlier. The Books of Kings have also played a role, and still do, as haftarah- texts, passages from the Prophets recited publicly on Sabbaths and fes- tivals after the reading of the Torah in the synagogue. As such these passages have not only themselves been interpreted but have also helped shape the interpretations of the five books of Moses along with which they have been read. One of the major ways in which 1–2 Kings have left their mark on rabbinic literature, however, is through Elijah the prophet (1 Kgs 17:1– 2 Kgs 2:12) who is one of the most popular figures in Jewish tradition. In rabbinic literature he frequently intervenes in the lives of individual Jews, saving them in critical situations. Elsewhere, he appears to rab- bis, studying and discussing matters of halakhah and aggadah with them. He is still mentioned daily in the Grace after Meals, and his mystical presence at every circumcision and Passover Seder serves as evidence of his importance in Jewish tradition even today. In light of this fact, the present article will focus on the character of Elijah as depicted in rabbinic literature, beginning with a relatively brief section on 1–2 Kings as a haftarah-text. 586 karin hedner-zetterholm 2. The Books of Kings as Haftarah-Text The communal readings of the Torah and the Prophets were a basic feature of the ancient synagogue, providing opportunities to interpret the Scriptures. Most important was the reading from the Torah in a continuous sequence, from beginning to end during a fixed cycle, and next in importance was the recitation of passages from the Proph- ets selected to complement the Torah reading or highlight a specific theme. In this way the topics preserved in the prophetic literature together with the Torah readings played an important role in the public instruction in the synagogue.1 It is generally assumed that a continuous cycle of readings from the Torah was in practice in the land of Israel and the Diaspora as early as the first or second century CE. However, the division of the continuous recitation seems to have varied considerably. In Babylonia, a custom of completing the reading of the five books of Moses in one year (the annual cycle) was practiced, whereas in the land of Israel the Torah reading cycle was completed in approximately three and a half years (the triennial cycle). The Babylonian reading cycle eventually replaced the Palestinian and is the one still in use today. There seems to have been a high degree of flexibility in the reading cycle and for a long time the selection of the haftarah obviously varied greatly from community to community, but by the end of the Talmudic period the annual and the triennial reading cycles had each developed with slightly differing haftarah portions.2 1 M. Fishbane, The JPS Bible Commentary. Haftarot: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation. Commentary by Michael Fishbane (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002) xix, xxvii. 2 For a survey of the history and details regarding the readings from the Torah and the Prophets, see Fishbane, Haftarot, xix–xxx; C. Perrot, “The Reading of the Bible in the Ancient Synagogue,” in M. J. Mulder and H. Sysling (eds), Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988) 137–59; L. H. Schiffman, “The Early History of Public Reading of the Torah,” in S. Fine (ed.), Jews, Christians, and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue: Cultural Interaction During the Greco-Roman Period (London: Routledge, 1999) 44–56; A. Shinan, “The Bible in the Synagogue,” in A. Berlin, et al. (eds), The Jewish Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) 1929–37; B. Z. Wacholder, “Prolegomenon: A History of the Sabbatical Read- ings of Scripture for the ‘Triennal Cycle’,” in H. M. Orlinsky (ed.), The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue: A Study in the Cycles of the Readings from Torah and Prophets, as Well as from Psalms, and in the Structure of the Midrashic Homilies (New York: Ktav, 1971) xi–xliii..

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