Tishbite

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For the song by Cocteau Twins, see Tishbite (song).

Tishbite is a word used in the Bible to refer to Elijah (1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 21:17-28, 2 Kings 1:3-8, 2 Kings 9:36). The phrasing can be reworded as "Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead." The word is sometimes interpreted as "stranger," so that the verse might read "Elijah the stranger from among the strangers in Gilead." This designation is probably given to the prophet as denoting that his birthplace was Tishbe, a place in Upper Galilee (mentioned in the deuterocanonical book of Book of Tobit, Tobit 1:2). Josephus, the Jewish historian (Ant. 8:13, 2), however, supposes that Tishbe was some place in the land of Gilead. It has been identified by some with el-Ishtib, a place 22 miles due south of the Sea of Galilee, among the mountains of Gilead.

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.