Tishbite
Elijah the prophet was thus named (1 Kings 17:1; 21:17, 28,
etc.). In 1 Kings 17:1 the word rendered "inhabitants" is in the
original the same as that rendered "Tishbite," hence that verse
may be read as in the LXX., "Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbi in
Gilead." Some interpret this word as meaning "stranger," and
read the verse, "Elijah the stranger from among the strangers in
Gilead." This designation is probably given to the prophet as
denoting that his birthplace was Tishbi, a place in Upper
Galilee (mentioned in the apocryphal book of Tobit), from which
for some reason he migrated into Gilead. Josephus, the Jewish
historian (Ant. 8:13, 2), however, supposes that Tishbi was some
place in the land of Gilead. It has been identified by some with
el-Ishtib, a some place 22 miles due south of the Sea of
Galilee, among the mountains of Gilead.
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