Argonauta, M. (2022). Elijah the Tishbite: The Zealous He-Prophet's Gender Performance in 1 and 2 Kings. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
The prophet Elijah is known for his zealousness on behalf of the Israelite deity, Yhwh. This zeal particularly manifests itself as Elijah defends the exclusive worship of Yhwh in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab, after Ahab and his Phoenician wife Queen Jezebel promote the worship of the Canaanite deities Baal and Asherah alongside Yhwh. This thesis argues scholars of biblical masculinity have yet to closely study Elijah’s gender performance and have not recognized the complexity of Elijah’s masculinity because it has been presumed his zealous hyper-masculine gender performance is static and stable. This research suggests not only that Elijah’s masculinity is complicated, but that important failures of his masculine performance, including feminization by Queen Jezebel, reveal an unstable masculinity and lead to Elijah’s downfall and replacement as Yhwh’s chosen prophet.
