Editing Tishbite

{{Short description|Epithet of Elijah}}
{{for|the song by Cocteau Twins|Tishbite (song)}}
[[File:Dieric Bouts - Prophet Elijah in the Desert - WGA03015.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|’Elijah in the Desert’ by [[Dieric Bouts]]. There are several interpretations of the [[Bible]]'s reference to [[Elijah]] as "the Tishbite".]]

'''Tishbite''' is a [[demonym]] predicated of the [[Elijah|Prophet Elijah]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref> {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|17:1|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|21:17–28|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|2|Kings|1:3–8|HE}} and {{Bibleverse|2|Kings|9:36|HE}}</ref> Scholars dispute the precise denotation of the word.<ref>''McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia'', [http://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/T/tishbite.html "Tishbite"]; Biblical Training, [https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/tishbite "Tishbite"]</ref>

The words of [[1 Kings]] 17:1 are usually rendered as "Elijah the Tishbite of [[Tishbe]] in [[Gilead]]". As translated into English, ''Tishbite'' is the demonym for [[Tishbe]]: the demonym is predicated of the prophet to denote that his residence or possibly his [[birthplace]] was Tishbe.

Alternatively, the words of 1 Kings 17:1 could be rendered as "Elijah the dweller from among the inhabitants in Gilead", because in that verse "Tishbite" and the word denoting inhabitants are very similar. ''[[Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible]]'' states that the word denotes a dweller, especially as distinguished from a native resident, but not an outlandish dweller, or a temporary inmate or lodger;<ref>''Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'', Old Testament, Number 8453.</ref> essentially it denotes a resident alien. The Concordance indicates that the word is used to denote a sojourner nine times, a stranger three times, a foreigner once, and an inhabitant once. The most frequent use of the word is in [[Leviticus 25]], which states [[Sabbatical year (Bible)|sabbatical]] and [[Jubilee (biblical)|jubilee]] year requirements. The denotation of sojourner is found in Leviticus 25:23, 35, 40 and 47, and the denotation of stranger in Leviticus 25:6, 45 and 47—a total of seven instances. [[Abraham]] is mentioned as a sojourner in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 23:4 and [[King David]] and "our fathers" are described as "sojourners" in [[Psalm 39|Psalm 39:12]]. These other instances of the word in question support this alternative reading for "Tishbite", such that 1 Kings 17:1 would not assert that Tishbe was the residence or birthplace of Elijah.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{eastons|Tishbite}}

[[Category:Hebrew Bible places]]
[[Category:Elijah]]
[[Category:Gilead]]
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