Elijah

Adapted from biblical text for a graphic novel by Stephen Gilpin

Elijah is the retelling of the biblical account of the prophet Elijah from 1Kings 17- 2Kings 2.

We enter the story as Elijah approaches the city of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Under the guidance of Ahab, the son of Omri, and his wife Jezebel, the kingdom of Israel had taken on the religion of the surrounding nations and forsaken the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that brought them from Egypt and established them in their land.

Elijah presents himself to King Ahab and announces that it will no long rain but at his word. He then goes to hide and be fed by ravens beside a brook in the wilderness.

After some time, it becomes apparent that the word of Elijah was valid as the country all around is parched with drought. Elijah is sought after, and the prophets of the God of Israel are rounded up and executed as King Ahab and Jezebel work suppress and stamp out the memory of the old religion in favor of the traditions of Baal and Ashtoreth.

After Elijah’s brook dries up, Elijah is sent to be fed by a widow in Sidon. When he arrives, he finds her and her son on the edge of starvation. Nevertheless, in obedience to his instruction he remains with them, and not only do they not starve, but Elijah raises her son from the dead.

After years of drought, Elijah presents himself to Ahab and calls the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth to a showdown on the top of Mount Carmel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal each prepare a bull for a burnt offering, but light no fire to it. The god that answers by fire will be the god of Israel.

The prophets of Baal go first. They call out to Baal from the early morning and into the afternoon with no response. After mocking them, Elijah prepares his bull for the offering going to far as to even drench the whole thing with water (a precious commodity at that time, no doubt) filling a trench that was dug around the altar. YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob responds with fire that not only consumes the sacrifice, but also the water and even the stones of the altar that was there.

After that, Elijah rounds up the prophets of Baal that were present there at Mount Carmel and executes them.

After being informed of the death of the prophets of Baal, Jezebel increases the persecution of the followers of the God of Israel and sends a personal threat to Elijah. Elijah goes on the run as a result, and during his flight into the wilderness he encounters God at Mount Horeb. He is shown that he’s not alone, and that there are 7000 who have not taken part in the new religious system.

Jezebel also shows her true character in the manipulative, murderous acquisition of Naboth’s vineyard for her husband Ahab.

Despite the heightened persecution, the God of Israel’s prophetic community grows.

Encouraged by his encounter with God, Elijah returns to Ahab and Jezebel and prophesies their demise. Elijah’s words are imbued with so much power that Ahab repents.

The story of the fire on Mount Carmel continues to spread and the followers of YHVH continue to multiply. Elijah calls Elisha and begins to train him.

Despite a warning from God through the prophet Micaiah, Ahab meets his end in battle prompting a new wave of persecution from Jezebel, since her husband was out of the way. The climax of the story comes in this context of unprecedented persecution where the new king Ahazaiah, no doubt under the influence of his mother Jezebel, makes another attempt at apprehending Elijah.

A captain and his fifty men are sent to bring Elijah before the king. They are consumed with fire from heaven. Another captain and his fifty are sent only to meet the same fate. A third captain and his fifty are sent, but this captain pleads for the lives of himself and his men and humbly requests that Elijah come with them to see the king. Elijah goes to the king and prophesies his death. With Ahaziah’s death, the king replacing him is Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah. Jezebel has lost her control of the throne of Israel and the persecution of the people of God is ended.

The story ends as Elijah journeys with his disciple Elisha from town to town culminating in crossing the parted waters of the Jordan river, being separated from each other by a heavenly chariot of fire and with Elijah’s being taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.

Seeing all this, Elisha tears his clothes and takes up Elijah’s mantle which had fallen from him. He parts the waters of the Jordan river just as Elijah did and joins the company of the prophets.

The author’s first priority is to render the biblical account in comic book form as authentically as possible. All effort is made to portray the people in the story as “real people” with their own personality quirks. Any additions to the story would be allowable possibilities within the biblical account. Questions such as “did God order the execution of all of those prophets?” will be asked and left open for the reader to ponder, and we’ll see how the God of Heaven can turn an entire nation that had nearly forgotten Him back to Himself with one man.

Thematic analysis and outline:

Genre -- Thriller
Need-- Self/social-transcendance
Life Value-- Damnation/life
Emotion— excitement
Core Event— Hero at the mercy of the villain — Elijah is finally finished as the queen mother/king send soldiers out to apprehend Elijah. the power of God is shown in Elijah when he calls fire down from heaven consuming the soldiers sent to apprehend him.
Conventions and obligatory scenes (Elements of your story that will facilitate the moments and value change your genre will require)--
Selective Constraint conventions
Location: Israel — northern kingdom
Period: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/03/59/c9/0359c9b57c753dd68cf029940501a628.png
Duration: 3 years drought, Battles with ____ and ____, Naboth’s vineyard, Azaraiah’s reign.
Levels of conflict:
External: Israel falls into the Baal and Ashtoreth cult largely as a result of the marriage of Omri’s son Ahab to Jezebel, the daughter of the Sidonian (Phoenician) king.
Internal: the Sidonian religion is moving the people internally to non-being.
External: After the drought that Elijah prophesies is in full swing, he is sought after to be coerced into ending the drought or be killed.
Ahab is enduring difficulties across the board. Before the drought, he was dealing with a flood. After the drought, he’s dealing with:
Crop failure
Death of flocks and herds
Civil unrest
Internal: Ahab is wavering. He is devoted to the religion of his wife (to keep her and her father happy— Israel has been relying on Sidonian imports at great expense to keep Israel from totally falling apart), but he is seriously considering that he has been wrong, and that YHVH is God.
Internal: Elijah wrestles with his own fear of death as Jezebel hunts him down. Finally overcomes at turning point of book to deliver prophecy of the downfall of the whole house of Omri and Jezebel.
We see the major country-wide shift from Baal worship to devotion again to YHVH, but it’s more gradual with Jezebel at the head, controlling her husband and resisting the change. The drought is a sign that YHVH is God, but only to the ones who heard the prophecy, so it remains a rumor until the time of the showdown on Mt. Carmel. With that definitive sign, even Ahab is fully converted for a time, but Elijah’s execution of Jezebel’s prophets has made him an even greater enemy to Jezebel — I wonder what would have happened if he had let them live? Would they have converted as well? Israel experiences military victory, but Ahab is disobedient and his doom is prophesied which sours his devotion to YHVH.
Rise of prophetic community from obscurity to persecution during the drought, persecution after the slaughter of the 450, persecutions ease when Ahab repents after the prophecy from Elijah after Naboth’s vineyard is stolen, persecutions rise again when Ahab dies and Jezebel’s son Amaziah is in power, but when he dies, persecution of the people of YHVH is ended and the prophetic community comes fully in the open with Elijah and Elisha.
Enabling Constraint Conventions
Characters/agents/roles:
Luminary agent (hero): Elijah
Shadow agent: Jezebel
Mentor: God
sidekick: prophet’s servant, Elisha
shapeshifter: Ahab
threshold guardian: Obadiah
Comedian: Ravens, sparrows, YHVH
Catalysts
power divide: Sidon/Baal rules Israel through intimidation of Ahab by his wife Jezebel.
ticking clock: The drought — the longer it goes on the closer Israel gets to total ruin.
red herrings
secrets: order of prophets who must hide in caves to survive, then progressively move into the public.
rituals:
Ritual sacrifice to Baal, strengthening the hold of the current political/religious order, working to intimidate the people through fear and magic.
Showdown at Mt. Carmel where YHVH shows Himself to be God.
Obligatory Moments (one leads to the next)
Unexpected events:
After being sustained by ravens for a time, Elijah is taken care of by a starving widow.
revelations (progressive complications)
YHVHism is nearly totally faded away in the midst of two generations of prosperity under Baal.
Elijah appears and declares a drought.
YHVH shows Himself to be God.
Obadiah is discovered to be a follower of YHVH and the foremost supporter of the prophets in Act 3. The house of Omri is betrayed from within. Obadiah is condemned to die during the final wave of persecution.
Two companies of men die before apprehending Elijah. It is only by mercy that he acquiesces to the request to see the king.
Elisha is shown to have received the anointing of Elijah.
decisions (moments of change)
Ahab becomes a believer at Carmel along with the rest of Israel.
Mid-way, Elijah “embraces the cross” — his own humiliation and death as he decides to go deliver the final prophecy of doom to Ahab.
Ahab repents at Elijah’s prophecy and shuts down the persecution, distances himself from Jezebel.
POV-- Third person omniscient.
Objects of Desire: hearts of Israel.
What is the controlling idea/theme?-- Despite the nation having all but forgotten him, the God of Israel will turn the hearts of the people back to himself using one man.
story Triad
Beginning Hook: Prophecy, Drought and Persecution (p. 1-30)
Inciting Event: Elijah, representative of the “Faith of the Fathers”, shows up from out of nowhere and prophesies a drought.
"Turning point" progressive complication: After a year, the drought is severe, and word circulates that Elijah, the servant of the old faith had prophesied it. Faith in YHVH surges. Ahab is caught in the middle. Jezebel and the priests, prophets of Baal push for repression of the old religion, yet the evidence that Elijah’s prophecy was right on is plain.
Crisis: After three years, Elijah presents himself and calls for a showdown on Mt. Carmel. YHVH religion is nearly crushed. Will Ahab consent to the test that Elijah is going to propose and risk being shown to be guiding the people toward the wrong god? Or will Baal actually come forth to show his strength, finally stamping out the followers of YHVH?
Climax: Showdown on Mt. Carmel.
Resolution: Fire falls from heaven upon Elijah’s sacrifice, showing YHVH to be God in heaven. Baal’s defeat is definitive, and his prophets are executed. Maybe high priest of Baal or some such guy escapes? Maybe not. Rain falls and drought is ended. Jezebel enraged. Doubles up on persecution, but faith in YHVH grows even more.
Middle build a: Failures of the King (p.31-60)
Inciting Event: Persecution of the followers of YHVH is ramped up after the prophets of Baal are put to death (From previous scene climax/resolution). Elijah disappears into the wilderness after Jezebel threatens his life. Faith in YHVH grows as Jezebel attempts even more to stamp it out. After Carmel, Ahab begins to trust in YHVH and gains military victories.
"Turning point" progressive complication: After the second victory and failing to kill Ben-Hadad making a treaty with him instead, Ahab is condemned by a prophet of YHVH souring his faith(?). He begins to covet Naboth’s vineyard. Naboth won’t sell. Jezebel says she’ll get it for him.
Crisis: Will Ahab’s own failure to be obedient to YHVH and the fallout from that decision push him into allowing Jezebel to kill Naboth and steal his vineyard?
Climax: Ahab acquiesces to Jezebel who takes Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab no longer opposes persecution of YHVH followers as he feels YHVH has turned against him for his chivalry.
Resolution: GLOBAL TURNING POINT: Elijah totally resigns himself to his own death and overcomes his fears to find Ahab and prophesies Jezebel and Ahab’s demise. Ahab repents and humbles himself, and will not see the fall of his own house in his lifetime. Elijah has taken on the mantle of his identity and power that YHVH had given Man in the beginning as steward and protector of the Earth (?). Imperfect as he is.
Middle build b: Elijah’s despair (p. 61-90)
Inciting Event: Jezebel threatens Elijah’s life and he flees into the wilderness. Sustained by and angel, he makes it to Mt. Horeb (where Moses received the 10 commandments, etc.)
"Turning point" progressive complication: YHVH reveals to Elijah that he is not alone as he believes, and there are 7000 who have not bowed down to Baal in Israel.
Crisis: Will Elijah return to Israel and face his own death?
Climax: Elijah returns.
Resolution: Elijah finds Elisha and prophesies the demise of Ahab and Jezebel (See above 2:5).

Ending Payoff: Emergence of the remnant (91-120)
Inciting Event: Ahab dies in battle, and with him out of the way there is a new wave of persecution for the followers of YHVH. Jezebel and her son attempt to start a revival of Phoenician worship in Israel.
"Turning point" progressive complication: Elijah (FEARLESS NOW) intercepts messengers Amaziah sent to inquire of Beelzebub when he injured himself and prophesies his death.
Crisis: Will Amaziah (Jezebel) persist in his persecuting the followers and YHVH and seek revenge on Elijah in a last-ditch effort to defeat the followers of YHVH?
Climax: Obadiah is discovered and captured (hero at the mercy of the villain) and sentenced to be hanged. Soldiers sent to apprehend Elijah. GLOBAL CLIMAX OF STORY. Elijah without fear, all of creation responds to his word.
Resolution: Known to all that he has come only by his own will and that he could call down fire from heaven and kill everyone, Elijah prophesies the death of Ahaziah to his face. Ahaziah dies. The hearts of Israel are turned to YHVH. People go up to Jerusalem and the prophets come out of the caves into the open, etc. Elijah taken up.

StephenGilpin

Selected works

Stephen
Gilpin