- published: 18 Oct 2010
- views: 79667
Elijah ( /ɨˈlaɪdʒə/; also Elias /ɨˈlaɪ.əs/; Hebrew: אֱלִיָּהוּ, Eliyahu, meaning "Yahweh is my God";Arabic:إلياس, Ilyās), was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings.
According to the Books of Kings, Elijah defended the worship of Yahweh over that of the Phoenician god Baal; he raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and was taken up in a whirlwind (either accompanied by a chariot and horses of flame or riding in it). In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord," making him a harbinger of the Messiah and the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. Derivative references to Elijah appear in the Talmud, Mishnah, the New Testament, and the Qur'an.
In Judaism, Elijah's name is invoked at the weekly Havdalah ritual that marks the end of Shabbat, and Elijah is invoked in other Jewish customs, among them the Passover seder and the Brit milah (ritual circumcision). He appears in numerous stories and references in the Haggadah and rabbinic literature, including the Babylonian Talmud.
Elijah Craig (1738/1743 – May 18, 1808) was a Baptist preacher in Virginia, who became an educator and capitalist entrepreneur in the area of Virginia that later became the state of Kentucky. He has sometimes, although rather dubiously, been credited with the invention of bourbon whiskey.
Craig was born in Orange County, Virginia (formerly Spotsylvania County) in 1738 or 1743, the 5th child of Polly Hawkins and Taliaferro or Toliver Craig, Sr. He was converted by David Thomas and ordained as a Baptist preacher in 1771. His older brother Lewis and younger brother Joseph also became Baptist preachers. Like other independent Baptists, including his brother Lewis Craig, some say Elijah Craig was jailed at least once (in Fredericksburg before the American Revolution) for preaching without a license or episcopal ordination from the Anglican establishment.[citation needed] Craig was imprisoned briefly in South Carolina, apparently for disturbing the peace with his sermons.
In 1777, Craig became establishing pastor of the Blue Run Church, halfway between Barboursville and Liberty Mills, Virginia. Craig discussed with attorney and future president James Madison how to guarantee freedom of religion in the state constitution after the American Revolutionary War. Madison promised Craig and associated concerned Baptists that he would ensure religious freedom would be protected in the federal Constitution, a promise he fulfilled with his First Amendment.