Joh 1:21 | Abbott | STEP | I am not; that is, he was not Elias, or Elijah, in a literal and personal sense. The Jews understood the prophecy, , to mean that Elias himself was to rise from the dead, and reappear upon earth; whereas the meaning was, that a new prophet should arise, with the bold and energetic character of Elijah, as is expressed by the angel, .— That prophet. It is not certain to what expectation of the Jews this question refers. From , it seems that the reappearance of Jeremiah might have been looked for as a prelude to the coming of Christ. In , the coming of a prophet is mentioned; and this may have been the prediction referred to here.

John 1:21

I am not; that is, he was not Elias, or Elijah, in a literal and personal sense. The Jews understood the prophecy, Mal. 4:5, to mean that Elias himself was to rise from the dead, and reappear upon earth; whereas the meaning was, that a new prophet should arise, with the bold and energetic character of Elijah, as is expressed by the angel, Luke 1:17.—That prophet. It is not certain to what expectation of the Jews this question refers. From Matt. 16:14, it seems that the reappearance of Jeremiah might have been looked for as a prelude to the coming of Christ. In Deut. 18:15, the coming of a prophet is mentioned; and this may have been the prediction referred to here.