to what was regarded as apostasy on the part of the king did not come from the official priesthood; the sanctuaries at Dan, at Bethel, at Shiloh, and at Gilgal were prosperous in spite of Jezebel, and this was enough for them.  But the influence of the prophets had increased marvellously since the rupture between the kingdoms, and at the very beginning of his reign Ahab was unwise enough to outrage their sense of justice by one of his violent acts:  in a transport of rage he had slain a certain Naboth, who had refused to let him have his vineyard in order that he might enlarge the grounds of the palace he was building for himself at Jezreel.* The prophets, as in former times, were divided into schools, the head of each being called its father, the members bearing the title of “the sons of the prophets;” they dwelt in a sort of monastery, each having his own cell, where they ate together, performed their devotional exercises or assembled to listen to the exhortations of their chief prophets:** nor did their sacred office prevent them from marrying.***

     * 1 Kings xxi., where the later tradition throws nearly all
     the blame on Jezebel; whereas in the shorter account, in 2
     Kings ix. 25, 26, it is laid entirely on Ahab.

** In 1 Sam. xix. 20, a passage which seems to some to be a later interpolation, mentions a “company of the prophets, prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them.”  Cf. 2 Kings vi. 1-7, where the narrative introduces a congregation of prophets grouped round Elisha.

     *** 2 Kings iv. 1-7, where an account is given of the
     miracle worked by Elisha on behalf of “a woman of the wives
     of the sons of the prophets.”

As a rule, they settled near one of the temples, and lived there on excellent terms with the members of the regular priesthood.  Accompanied by musical instruments, they chanted the songs in which the poets of other days extolled the mighty deeds of Jahveh, and obtained from this source the incidents of the semi-religious accounts which they narrated concerning the early history of the people; or, when the spirit moved them, they went about through the land prophesying, either singly, or accompanied by a disciple, or in bands.* The people thronged round them to listen to their hymns or their stories of the heroic age:  the great ones of the land, even kings themselves, received visits from them, and endured their reproaches or exhortations with mingled feelings of awe and terror.  A few of the prophets took the part of Ahab and Jezebel,** but the majority declared against them, and of these, the most conspicuous, by his forcibleness of speech and action, was Elijah.  We do not know of what race or family he came, nor even what he was:*** the incidents of his life which have come down to us seem to be wrapped in a vague legendary grandeur.  He appears before Ahab, and tells him that for years to come no rain or dew shall fall on the earth save by his command, and then takes flight into the desert in order to escape the king’s anger.