The Sidonian Widow and Elijah
Another benevolent widow in biblical narrative is the widow from Zarephath of Sidon who was assigned by God to feed the prophet Elijah.
Elijah Decrees a Drought
I Kings chapter 17 describes the exploits of Elijah the prophet. He appears suddenly upon the stage of theological history and dramatically declares to King Ahab:
“As the Lord lives, the God of Israel whom I serve, there will be no dew or rain except at my bidding” (IKings 17:1)
Notably, this proclamation was not preceded by an instruction from God, as is usually the Biblical norm. This initiative, seemingly, was Elijah’s, and in the days that ensued he experienced its consequences no less than the people.
A Drama in Three Acts
The Bible presents the events that followed as a drama in three acts. It was essentially Elijah’s indignation at the appalling worship of Baal that drove him, as the loyal vassal of God, to shut the skies from bringing life-giving rain. The course of nature would be restored only when Israel reaffirmed its devotion to God. For that to happen, however, the reconstitution of a series of essential relationships by the people, the prophet and the king was required.
In wake of his declaration, Elijah was first commanded to hide from the king at the Brook of Cherith. There, God Himself sustained Elijah through the agency of ravens who miraculously brought him bread and meat twice daily. The brook provided him with water – until it dried up.
Zarephath of Sidon
At that point Elijah was commanded to travel to the city of Zarephath. All interpretative considerations lead to the identification of this place as Zarafand, a Phoenician city outside the Land of Israel and deep in the heart of Baal country. There, Elijah is to bear witness to God’s word become so powerful that it extends beyond the borders of the Land of Israel. It is in the heartland of Phoenicia that the impotence of Baal in wake of the drought is placed in stark relief.
Moreover, Elijah is the archenemy of Queen Jezebel, the daughter of Etbaal the King of Sidon. While she pursues him with a vengeance, he, ironically, has taken refuge on her turf.
The theological message to the prophet Elijah is clear. He is personally responsible for this catastrophe and witnesses the disastrous effects of his harsh words upon innocents.
The Widow of Zaraphath
This reality is brought home by way of Elijah’s encounter with a destitute widow upon his arrival to Zarephath.
And the word of the Lord came to him: Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there; I have designated a widow there to feed you. So he went at once to Zarephath. When he came to the entrance of the town, a widow was there gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please bring me a little water in your pitcher, and let me drink. ” (1K 17:8-11)
Why a widow? Firstly, her vulnerability is extreme. Because she relies upon the agricultural yield and gifts to the poor, the widows and orphans, she is helpless. But it goes beyond that. Elijah’s providential meeting with the widow was also intended to move Elijah to compassion. Moreover, she is not just any widow. She is a God appointed one.
The Widow and Queen Jezebel a Study in Contrast
Jopie Siebert-Hommes makes the interesting observation that the widow in this story is sketched in striking contrast to the other Sidonian woman in the Elijah cycle, Queen Jezebel. One of the most famous queens of Israel and archetype of the wicked woman is Jezebel the daughter of the Phoenician king Ethbaal and wife of the Israelite King Ahab. The contrast between the Sidonian widow and Queen Jezebel, of course, lies in the fact that whereas the widow protects and sustains the prophet, Jezebel seeks to kill him. Jezebel will adamantly deny acknowledging the prophet as a man of God; the widow will openly declare her belief in his apostolic veracity. Whereas Elijah revives the son of the widow, he predicts that Jezebel’s son Ahaziah will die. The contrast between the two Sidonian women would seem to accentuate that our widow is indeed a gentile and a righteous one at that.
Jopie Siebert-Hommes points out the literary significance of Elijah’s journey to Phoenicia:
Jezebel and Elijah have exchanged venues to encounter different receptions. As the pawn in a political marriage, she was taken to his homeland. As the promoter of a religious conflict, he takes himself to hers. His turf rejects her with hostility; hers receives him with hospitality.
Who Was This Widow?
Who was this widow that Elijah encountered in Phoenicia? Was she Sidonian or Israelite?
One might argue that literarily it follows that the widow was herself Israelite. Uriel Simon views the entire story as a foreshadowing of the events described in chapter 18. Thus Elijah’s success with the widow is a microcosm of his future success with the people of Israel.
Although parallel lines of demarcation between the two episodes emerge, they cannot be used to establish the unequivocal Israelite identity of the widow. Quite the contrary, Elijah’s disdain for his own people was precisely what precipitated his distancing himself from them. It may be argued that the success he was able to achieve with a total stranger was that which enabled him to regain perspective and return to his own nation and homeland.
A Woman of Valor: A Supporting Actress in a Starring Role
The Rabbis say she was a woman of valor:
“Her hands are stretched out to the needy – refers to the widow of Zaraphand who sustained Elijah! (Midrash Mishle 31:19)
They were not content to leave the widow unidentified, nor to accept that she was gentile. The Rabbis identified her as the mother of the prophet Jonah the son of Amitai:
But the son of the Zaraphite widow was Jonah the son of Amittai. He was thoroughly righteous, refined by being consumed through fish and the ocean depths, he did not die, as it says: ‘and God said to the fish to vomit Jonah on to dry land”, and he entered alive and with full glory into Paradise (Midrash Tehillim 26:7).
The Rabbis identification is based on the third scene in the drama where Elijah the prophet revives the boy whose illness brings him to death’s doorstep. The similarities between the prophets Elijah and Jonah have the rabbis claim that Jonah’s spiritual prowess came from Elijah’s life breath.
Sustaining two Prophets
What might have lead to the rabbinic identification of the widow with the mother of Jonah? Perhaps the widow being given the important mission of feeding the prophet Elijah motivated them to make her a woman of status. Alternatively, her kindness in sharing her last morsels of food was midrashically rewarded by according her this great honor.
