Eliyahu

An Overview of the Prophet Elijah in Scripture and Tradition (20 April 2017, added to in December 2022).)

Where did Elijah Go?

Contents:
1. Division of the Kingdom
2. Eliyahu and King Ahab
3. Death of Ahab and Involvement of Eliyahu with Judah
4. Eliyahu and King Ahaziah of Israel
5. Eliyahu Ascends to Heaven in a Fiery Chariot
6. The Significance of Eliyahu and the Messiah son of Joseph.
7. Addenda. Letter from Steven Philips concerning Elijah going up to heaven or not.
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1. Division of the Kingdom

The son of King Solomon was Rehoboam. In his reign the northern Ten Tribes separated from Judah and set up their own Kingdom in the north.
They are referred to as "Israel" or as "Joseph" or as 'Ephraim or as "Samaria."
The first King of the northern Kingdom of Israel was Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Rehoboam of the House of David remained king in the south, in Jerusalem of Yehudah i.e. Judah.
The southern polity remained under the rulership of descendants of David until the Exile to Babylon in ca. 580 BCE.
Both entities periodically went astray and worshipped idols.
The rulers of northern Israel frequently changed usually after violent rebellions.
No-one dynasty seems to have lasted more than 3 or 4 generations.
A ruling period of one generation or less was the general rule.

Kings of Israel:
Jeroboam I - Nadab.
Baasha - Elah.
Zimri.
Omri - Ahab - Ahaziah - Joram/Jehoram.
Jehu - Jehoahaz - Joash/Jehoash - Jeroboam II - Zechariah.
Shallum.
Menahem - Pekahiah.
Pekah.
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2. Eliyahu and King Ahab

Eliyahu ha-Navi i.e. Elijah the Prophet was active in the Northern Kingdom. He first appeared during the reign of Ahab son of Omri.
Ahab was married to Jezebel daughter of the Canaanite-Phoenician king of Sidon.
His capital was Samaria which is the name of both a province and a city. The city of Samaria (called "Shomron" in Hebrew) had been built by Omri the father of Ahab.

Ahab worshipped Baal the idol of Sidon.

1-Kings 16:
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Following this we are told that Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, decreed that there would be no rain in Samaria for three years (1-Kings 17:1).
In popular tradition Elijah is more often identified as a Cohen (priest) from the Tribe of Levi who dwelt in Tishbi in the territory of that part of Gilead belonging to Gad.
Alternate contradictory identifications exist such as the following:

Eliyahu is Pineas [Pinhas] son of Eliezer, son of Aharon the Priest, brother of Moses (Midrash Yalkut Shimeoni 781).
Eliyahu was from the Tribe of Benjamin (Midrash Breishit Raba 71;9).
Eliyahu was from the Tribe of Gad (Midrash Shoher Tov 90;3).

After announcing that there would be no rain Eliyahu went to the Brook of Herith [Cherith] east of the Jordan where he was fed by ravens (1-Kings 17:4-7). The brook dried up so he went to Zarephath which belonged to Sidon (1-Kings 17:9). He lodged in the house of a widow.
He performed a miracle ensuring the widow and her son would not lack for sustenance.

1-Kings 17:
14...The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.

The son of the widow took sick and passed away but Eliyahu brought him back to life.

Meanwhile the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from drought. Jezebel the Phoenician wife of Ahab had been killing off the Prophets of God.
Obadiah a servant of Ahab was faithful to God and hid a 100 of the prophets in two caves supplying them with water and victuals.
Eliyahu was sent by God to meet Obadiah and arrange a rendezvous with Ahab. He did so.
Eliyahu challenged Ahab to conduct a contest between the Priests of Baal and of Asherah and himself.
Baal was the pagan idol of the Canaanites and of many Israelites.
See:
Baal. The Pagan Idol and Israelites
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/baal.html
Asherah was the female consort of Baal.
Asherah was also known as Eostre which goddess according to Bede was still being worshipped by the Angles and Saxons when they conquered England.
[ The term "asherah" is also applied to sacred groves of trees dedicated to idol worship and usually located on hilltops. The connection between the goddess "Asherah" and the sacred grove "asherah" (the same nmes) is not clear but obviously existed.]

Eliyahu instructed Ahab to assemble the prophets of Baal and Asherah at Mount Carmel near the present-day city of Haifa in north Israel.
400 prophets of Asherah and 450 prophets of Baal were brought together (1-Kings 18:19).
Two bulls were brought forward. One was slain and cut in pieces which were layed on rows of wood for sacrifice.
The pagan priests called to their idols and cut themselves from morning to later afternoon for fire to come down and set the wood alight but none came.

Eliyahu then called the people together.

He challenged them:

1-Kings 18:
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions?" If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.

## falter between two opinions#.
This may preferably be translated from the Hebrew as

#"straddle two hearthway entrances"#

After that Eliyahu built an altar:

1-Kings 18:
31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the Tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name,'
32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD.

Eliyahu dug a great trench around his altar and drenched the pieces of his bull with water as well as filling the trench with it.
Eliyahu then called upon God after which,

1-Kings 18:
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The LORD, he is God; the LORD, He is God.' 40 And Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.' And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

After that Eliyahu told Ahab that rain would come. He told Ahab to quickly drive away in his chariot which he did.

1-Kings 18:
46 Then the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Jezebel sent a message to Eliyahu threatening to kill him.
Eliyahu then fled to Beer Sheva (Beer Sheba) in the south of Judah.

From there he moved into the wilderness where he was fed by a miracle.
After that,

1-Kings 19:
7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, 'Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.' 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

"Horeb" is another name for Mount Sinai upon which the Children of Israel received the Torah after coming out of Egypt.
There is an opinion that Mount Sinai was not in the Sinai Peninsula as commonly assumed but rather in the northern region of the country now known as Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. One of the arguments (brought by Mair Arzi, "Yad le-Mair Arzi", p.24, [Hebrew] 1988) is the forty day and forty night journey of Elijah from Beer Sheba. If we take account of difficult topography we can still assume a rate of progress of at least 20 kilometer a day giving us a radius of 1000 kilometer which includes the region of North Yemen.
This opinion was first ascribed to Charles Tilstone Beke (Great Britain) published posthumously in 1878.

An identification of the original Sinai as being in the proximity of Yemen is of interest from another point of view. The nearby Hadramaut appears to have originally been a center of the Veddoid population. These people are related to the Australian aborigines and may well be the Canaanite Sinites (Sinim in Hebrew) by virtue of whom Australia was referred to as "Land of Sinim" (Isaiah 49).

For illustrations and more background information and commentary on these matters please see the Brit-Am Commentary to the relevant chapters.
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings17.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings18.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings19.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings20.html

At Mount Horeb Eliyahu entered a cave whence he had a vision,

1-Kings 20:
12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

The presence of God was perceived through the "still small voice."

From there Eliyahu was commanded to return northward and go to Aram (Syria) where he was to anoint Hazael as future ruler of Aram.
At that time Hazael was merely a servant of the ruling monarch.

He was also to,

"... anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place" (1-Kings 19:16).

Elisha become the follower of Eliyahu.

We are told how Ben Hadad the king of Aram (Syria and the north) besieged Samaria.
Ahab was told by a Prophet of God that he would defeat Ben Hadad and all the kings who had come to war as his allies against Samaria (1-Kings 20:13).
After this victory the forces of Aram were replenished and attacked again later in the year and were once again defeated (1-Kings 20:29).

The King of Aram was defeated and attempted to hide in the ruins round about fearful of falling captive.
His entourage advised him that the Kings of Israel were merciful kings, i.e. "Malcei Hesed" (1-Kings 20:31), and that he should give himself up, and trust that the King of Israel would have mercy on him.
And so it proved.

THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL ARE MERCIFUL KINGS. These kings of Israel were worshippers of idols, sometimes murderers. By Torah standards they were bad men. In the eyes of the heathen however and judged in comparison with the monarchs of other nations they were MERCIFUL KINGS.

MERCIFUL KINGS. In Hebrew "Malcei Chesed". This title was applied by the Ultra-Orthodox in what was once "Palestine" to the British Rulers who on the whole, most of the time, were more pro-Jewish than anything else.

The title has also been applied by Great Rabbis (.e. the Lubavitcher Rabbi) to Presidents of the USA.
HaNatziv (1817-1893), takes the term "Malcei Chesed" as reflecting a positive aspect of the Ten Tribes (represented by Joseph) in general:

## The main judgment against Judah is because they departed from their good path of keeping HIS commandments (Amos 2:4) meaning the qualities of the Torah. It is an honor for the Written Law that it be kept very strictly. When they departed from the good path it was as if they despised the Torah.
This did not apply to the [other] Tribes of Israel who had never been really strict about learning the Torah. On the contrary, their main characteristic was kindness [empathy] between a man and his fellow. The main judgment against the [northern ten ] Tribes is because they departed from this quality of social empathy and sold THE POOR FOR A PAIR OF SHOES (Amos 2:6). ##

The King of Israel (apparently Ahab) was condemned for unnecessarily granting mercy to the enemies of Israel who are also the enemies of God Almighty (1-Kings 20:42)!

1-Kings chapter 21 tells us how Jezebel and Ahab brought about the death of Naboath because they desired a vineyard in his possession.
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings21.html

Eliyahu prophesied against Ahab and Jezebel predicting that dogs would eat the body of the queen as indeed was to happen later (2-Kings 9:35-36).
Ahab upon hearing the curses repented. Consequently immediate fulfillment of all aspects of the predicted calamity was delayed until after the death of Ahab (1-Kings 21:29).
Eventually Ahab was killed in warfare against the forces of Aram as related in 1-Kings chapter 22.
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3. Death of Ahab and Involvement of Eliyahu with Judah

1-Kings 22
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings22.html
This chapter is a kind of interlude in the narrative concerning Eliyahu. It tells us how Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined the king of Israel (Ahab) against Aram in an attempt to recover Ramat Gilead which was land Aram had taken from Israel. Micaiah the son of Imlah prophesied against the enterprise. Ahab was killed in battle.

Ahaziah his son reigned in his place (1-Kings 22:40).

We now come to an involvement Eliyahu had with the Kings of Judah:

Kings of Judah (Southern Kingdom):
Rehoboam: First King.
Abijah (or Abijam or Abia): Son of Rehoboam.
Asa: Probably son of Abijah.
Jehoshaphat: Son of Asa.
Jehoram (or Joram): Son of Jehoshaphat; husband of Athaliah.
Ahaziah: Son of Jehoram and Athaliah.
Athaliah: Daughter of King Ahab of Israel and Jezebel; wife of Jehoram; only queen to occupy the throne of Judah.
Joash (or Jehoash): Son of Ahaziah.
Amaziah: Son of Joash.
Uzziah (or Azariah): Son of Amaziah.
Jotham: Regent, later King; son of Uzziah.
Ahaz: Son of Jotham.
Hezekiah: Son of Ahaz; husband of Hephzi-Bah.
Manasseh: Son of Hezekiah and Hephzi-Bah.
Amon: Son of Manasseh.
Josiah (or Josias): Son of Amon.
Jehoahaz (or Joahaz): Son of Josiah.
Jehoiakim: Son of Josiah, brother of Jehoahaz.
Jehoiachin: Son of Jehoiakim.
Zedekiah: Son of Josiah; brother of Jehoahaz and Jehoikim, uncle of Jehoiakin. Kingdom overthrown by Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.

At present we are concerned with the Kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram (Joram), and Ahaziah. Note the last two have identical names to Kings of Israel who lived around the same time.
Jehoshaphat is even referred to as "King of Israel" (2-Chronicles 2:3) meaning, according to the context in this case, of Judah.
It is worth remembering that Judah in Scripture is occasionally also named as Israel. This applies especially to the Book of Ezekiel but is also found elsewhere.

We are informed in 2-Chronicles chapter 21 that when Jehoshaphat of Judah died his son Jehoram came to power. He killed all his brothers along with some of the other princes of Israel (2-Chronicles 2:4), i.e. Judah.
He also led the people of Judah into idolatry. His wife, Athaliah, was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel.

Eliyahu sent a message to Jehoram King of Judah:

2-Chronicles 21:
12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also you have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than you, 14 behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, 15 and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.''

Judah was then attacked by foreigners from the south:

2-Chronicles 21:
16 And the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Cushim. 17 And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

"The Arabians who are near the Cushim" mentioned here may refer to the inhabitants of the southern Arabian Peninsula. The captives taken to these places may have contributed to what became the Jews of Yemen and Ethiopia.

Finally Jehoram got sick and died as predicted.
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4. Eliyahu and King Ahaziah of Israel

2-Kings chapter 1 continues the story of Eliyahu.
http://britam.org/Kings/2Kings1.html
Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah.
Ahaziah suffered from a fall through the lattice in his palace in Samaria.
He sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron a Philistine city to the south of Judah.
Eliyahu the Tishbite was commanded to intercept the messengers:

2-Kings 1:
3 BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID TO ELIJAH THE TISHBITE, ARISE, GO UP TO MEET THE MESSENGERS OF THE KING OF SAMARIA, AND SAY TO THEM, IS IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOD IN ISRAEL THAT YOU ARE GOING TO INQUIRE OF BAAL-ZEBUB, THE GOD OF EKRON?

By going to a foreign god you are not only betraying the ALMIGHTY. You are also committing treason against Israel. The Hebrew people will be subject to foreign influences, thought patterns, and domination whenever they turn to foreign gods.
Eliyahu prophesied that Ahazaiah would not recover and would die in his bed (2-Kings 1:4).

Ahazaiah was angry and sent an officer with 50 soldiers to arrest Eliyahu. The Prophet called out and fire came from heaven and consumed they who had come to get him.
Ahazaiah sent another group with the same number and the same thing happened (2-Kings 1:12).
A third group was sent. Their commander pleaded with Eliyahu not to destroy them like he had the others.
Eliyahu acquiesced, accompanied the officer to the Palace of Ahaziah, then repeated the prophecy to the king who then died.

Jehoram (the son of Ahab, brother of and successor to Ahaziah) became king over Israel in the second year of Jehoram of Judah (2-Kings 1:17). Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and the sister of Jehoram of Israel married Jehoram of Judah.
The King of Israel and the king of Judah thus had the same names and overlapping reigns. This can be confusing.

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5. Eliyahu Ascends to Heaven in a Fiery Chariot

2-Kings chapter 2 tells us how Eliyahu was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot.
http://britam.org/Kings/2Kings2.html

Eliyahu accompanied by Elisha went from Gilgal to Beth-el on the border between Israel and Judah.
The Sons [i.e. disciples] of the Prophets told Elisha that his master would be taken from him that day.
Elisha replied that he already knew that and to keep silent (2-Kings 2:3). This scenario was repeated another two times.
They came to the Jordan River by Jericho. Eliyahu took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The river divided into two and they crossed over on dry ground (2-Kings 2:8).
Elisha asked Eliyahu that he receive a double portion of prophecy.
Eliyahu replied that if Elisha sees him go up to heaven it shall be granted to him.

2-Kings 2:
11 THEN IT HAPPENED, AS THEY CONTINUED ON AND TALKED, THAT SUDDENLY A CHARIOT OF FIRE APPEARED WITH HORSES OF FIRE, AND SEPARATED THE TWO OF THEM; AND ELIJAH WENT UP BY A WHIRLWIND INTO HEAVEN.

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6. The Significance of Eliyahu and the Messiah son of Joseph.

In Rabbinical tradition the tasks and personalities of Eliyahu and the Messiah son of Joseph seem to overlap.

[Malachi 4:5] BEHOLD, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD:
[Malachi 4:6] AND HE SHALL TURN THE HEART OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, AND THE HEART OF THE CHILDREN TO THEIR FATHERS, LEST I COME AND SMITE THE EARTH WITH A CURSE.

Darrel Conder (of Commonwealth Publishing) once suggested that this refers to the Lost Ten Tribes returning and identifying their fathers from the Tribes of Israel.
We agree with this.
One of the meanings of the verse in Malachi 4: of "returning the hearts of the fathers to their sons, and the heart of the children to their fathers," is to make people aware of their Israelite Tribal Identity, to let people who are descended from the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel know who they are and who their tribal forefathers most likely were. This is what Brit-Am/Hebrew Awareness is doing.

Maimonides said that one of the tasks of the Messiah will be to inform each Israelite to which Tribe they pertain.

In the days of the Messianic King: When his kingdom shall be settled and all of Israel gather unto him, he shall then give the Tribal - genealogy of each one. He shall do this through Divine inspiration. As it says, HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER (Malachi 3:3). Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, The Laws of Kings, ch. 12, no.3.

The Lost Ten Tribes will return.

MALACHI 3:
1 BEHOLD, I WILL SEND MY MESSENGER;

Rav Saadia Gaon (b. ca. 890 CE) says:

We have a tradition from our forefathers that this is the Messiah son of Joseph. He will appear first [i.e. before the Messiah son of David] in the Land of Israel. He will ingather Israel from all over the world, as it says,
[Ezekiel 39:28:] and have left none of them there.

Also the Commentator Rabbi Avraham Iben Ezra says that the MESSENGER in Malachi 3:1 is the Messiah son of Joseph.
The Messiah son of Joseph according to the Malbim will lead the Lost Ten Tribes in the End Times. An examination of the characteristics of the Messiah son of Joseph leads to the understanding that he personifies the qualities of the Tribes of Joseph in general.
The book "Kol HaTor," i.e. "The Voice of the Turtledove" (a reference to Song of Songs 2:12) has been ascribed to Rabbi Hillel Rivlin of Shklov, a disciple of the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797). This work is a compilation of sayings concerning the Messiah son of Joseph.
'Kol HaTor' says [2.71] says:

'Behold I will send you my prophet Elijah, and he will return the hearts of the fathers to their sons' (Malachi 4). One of the tasks of Elijah is to arouse the spirit of the MESSIAH SON OF JOSEPH.

For a more detailed account of Elijah and his times see our commentaries to -1-Kings chs. 17, 18, 19, and 2-Kings chs. 1 & 2.
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings17.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings18.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings19.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings20.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings21.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/1Kings22.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/2Kings1.html
http://www.britam.org/Kings/2Kings2.html

Each chapter is accompanied by an .mp3 recording which was done some time ago.
These recordings still (according to the sample examination we did) still sound quite good and have
additional information and remarks of interest and value.

7. Addenda. Letter from Steven Philips concerning Elijah going up to heaven or not. Brit-Am Reply.

Shalom Yair
In 2 Kings 2:1 we are told that Elijah would be taken up into the shamaim (i.e. skies) by a WHIRLWIND. (Note, no mention of any fiery chariot. Your argument concerning Gilgal meaning wheels is ingenious but unconvincing.)
You have missed out:

2 Kings 2:16 where the 'sons of the prophets' are recorded as saying: "Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master; lest peradventure the spirit of the L-rd hath taken him up, and CAST HIM UPON SOME MOUNTAIN, or INTO SOME VALLEY". They clearly had not seen Elijah transported 'up to heaven'! You have made no comment on this.

2 Chron. 21:12 where we are told that, more than 8 years AFTER Elijah was taken up into the shamaim (i.e. skies) by a WHIRLWIND, the same Elijah wrote a letter of condemnation to Jehoram for putting his brethren to the sword. The letter shows that Elijah must have been somewhere around to have heard about or witnessed this atrocity to have been able to write that letter.

Josephus wrote:
"Now at this time it was that Elijah disappeared from among men, and NO ONE KNOWS OF HIS DEATH TO THIS VERY DAY; but he left behind him his disciple Elisha, as we have formerly declared. And indeed, as to Elijah, and as to Enoch, who was before the Deluge, it is written in the sacred books that they disappeared; BUT SO THAT NOBODY KNEW THAT THEY DIED". (Antiq. 9.2.2 Whiston or 9.27 Loeb)

He also mentions an epistle which Elijah later wrote to Jehoram, showing that he did not believe that Elijah had been taken to heaven (Antiq 9.5.2 Whiston or 9.99 Loeb) to which

Whiston wrote (in the footnote):

"This epistle, in some copies of Josephus, is said to come to Jotare from Elijah, with this addition, "for he was yet upon earth," which could not be true of Elijah, who, as all agree, was gone from the earth about four years before, and could only be true of Elisha; nor perhaps is there any more mystery here, than that the name of Elijah has very anciently crept into the text instead of Elisha, by the copiers, there being nothing in any copy of that epistle peculiar to Elijah."

The NT writers likewise did not believe that Elijah was taken up to heaven. (John 3:13)
Any comments?
Regards

Steve Phillips

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Brit-Am Reply:

Elijah was taken up into heaven in a Chariot of Fire. This is what Scripture says:

2-Kings 2:
11 THEN IT HAPPENED, AS THEY CONTINUED ON AND TALKED, THAT SUDDENLY A CHARIOT OF FIRE APPEARED WITH HORSES OF FIRE, AND SEPARATED THE TWO OF THEM; AND ELIJAH WENT UP BY A WHIRLWIND INTO HEAVEN.

It can be argued whether by "into heaven" means somewhere in the Spiritual Realm or simply into the sky i.e. elevated up and later put down like a helicopter? This is an issue that does not really concern the Lost Ten Tribes which is what we wish to keep our focus on.

The letter from Elijah to Jehoram King of Judah is found in 2-Chronicles 21:12.
It was discussed in our article above, re
#3. Death of Ahab and Involvement of Eliyahu with Judah

Yehudah Kiel in the Commentary "Daat Mikra" goes along the lines you mention.
He points our that Elisha the disciple and successor of Elijah had already succeeded and replaced Elijah and was active in the time of Jehoshaphat of Judah (father of Jehoram)
and was present with him when Judah and Israel went together to war against Moab (2-Kings 3:4).
Yehudah Kiel brings different answers to the conundrum you mentioned:
(a) The Radak says that Eliyahu after being taken up to heaven appeared to one of the prophets and dictated the letter to him.
(b) Abarbanel and others say it was by way of miracle.
(c) Eliyahu foresaw what would happen and dictated the letter BEFORE he was taken up to heaven only having it delivered when it was appropriate.

We would suggest another solution:
It may be that Elisha acted as successor to Elijah from the time that Elijah first called him.

Elijah going up to heaven therefore could have occurred much later and well after Elijah sent the letter to King Jehoram.