by
Damien F. Mackey
This is,
I now believe, an epithet given to Elijah by his servant Elisha,
when
Elijah went up in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:12): “Elisha saw this and cried out,
‘My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!’”
To Heaven in a
fiery chariot
This may well be where the name “Jonah” comes in for the
prophet Elijah.
Elijah’s fiery ride upwards (2 Kings 2:1-17) is by no
means the end of the prophet, as is thought. According to my theory, at least,
he would live into the age of (his yet other alter ego) Micah, as late
as the time of king Hezekiah of Judah (cf. Jeremiah 26:18).
He would need all of his 120-130 years of age (as
traditionally accorded to Jonah) to have been able to have accomplished this.
After the prophet (as Micaiah) had foretold the imminent
death in battle of king Ahab of Israel and (as Elijah) of queen Jezebel, he
next emerges, I think - and this is completely new - as Jonadab (Jehonadab) son
of Rechab near Beth-Eked of the shepherds (2 Kings 10:12, 15-17):
Jehu then set out
and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds ….
After he left there,
he came
upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him
and said, ‘Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?’
‘I am’,
Jehonadab answered. ‘If so’, said Jehu, ‘give me your hand’. So he did, and
Jehu helped him up into the chariot. Jehu said, ‘Come with me
and see my zeal for the Lord’.
Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
When Jehu
came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family; he
destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord
spoken to Elijah.
The meaning of Rekab
(Rechab)
A lot of effort has been expended by scholars in trying
to work out this one.
Who was Jonadab’s ancestor, Rekab?
This is, I now believe, an epithet given to Elijah by his
servant Elisha, when Elijah went up in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:12): “Elisha saw this
and cried out, ‘My father! My father! The
chariots and horsemen of Israel!’”
Elijah had become
“The Chariots of Israel”, or Rekeb
Yisrael:
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙
רֶ֤כֶב
To use a Hebraïsm, Elijah is now, therefore: a Son of Rekab.
In this case, Rekab is not his father.
According to Elijah as Micaiah, his father (or ancestor)
was Imla[h].
According to Elijah as Jonah, his father (or ancestor)
was Amittai.
The prophet was undoubtedly a Nazirite, foregoing all
strong drink.
His loyal descendants, known at the time of Jeremiah as
“Rechabites”, greatly revered their holy ancestor, or “father” (Jeremiah
35:6-11):
‘We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab,
our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons
forever. You
shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a
vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many
days in the land where you sojourn.’ We have obeyed the
voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to
drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
and not to build houses to dwell in.
We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have
obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we
said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans
and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem’.
The meaning of
Jonadab (Jonah)
“Jonadab, is a contracted form of יהונדב,
Jehonadab …”.
The Jeho- element pertains, of course, to “the Lord”.
Whereas: The graceful verb נדב (nadab) connotes "an uncompelled and free movement
of the will unto divine service or sacrifice …".
The name “Jonah” (יוֹנָה), on the other hand,
is taken to mean “dove”, as explained at:
“There's something
deeply peculiar about the name Jonah. Pretty much all sources derive it of the
root יון, and render
the name Dove. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, however, makes
a striking observation (or perhaps even an error). Jones suggests that the
Hebrew word for dove comes from the verb ינה(yana), meaning to
oppress, vex, do wrong …”.
In our new
context, though, with Jonah identified as Jehonadab (Jonadab), then this latter
name
יונדב
would be the
actual foundation for the name, Jonah.
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