When Peace and Mercy, banished from the plain, Sprung on the viewless winds to Heaven again; All, all forsook the friendless, guilty mind, But Hope, the charmer, lingered still behind. Thus, while Elijah's burning wheels prepare, From Carmel's height, to sweep the fields of air, The prophet's mantle, ere his flight began, Dropt on the world — a sacred gift to man.

Elijah (Hebrew: אֱלִיָּהוּ, Eliyahu, meaning "My God is Yahweh") or Elias (/ɨˈlaɪ.əs/; Greek: Ηλίας, Elías; Arabic:إلياس, Ilyās) was a prophet and a wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC). In the Books of Kings he is said to have promoted the worship of Yahweh against idolatries involving the Canaanite Baal, to have raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and to have been taken into the heavens in a whirlwind, either accompanied by a chariot and horses of flame or riding in it. Many later legends arose in which his activities continued, appearing often in the guise of a beggar and scholar; during their own careers, both John the Baptist and Jesus were compared with Elijah and were thought by some to be appearances of him. He is reported to have appeared with Moses during the Transfiguration of Jesus.