[jjotto]

Why would it be assumed that she is a gentile?

Jewish tradition identifies her as the mother of Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet sent to Ninevah.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Easton's Bible Dictionary: Zarephath was "a small Phoenician town, now Surafend, about a mile from the coast, almost midway on the road between Tyre and Sidon. Here Elijah sojourned with a poor widow during the "great famine," when the "heaven was shut up three years and six months" ( Luke 4:26 ; 1 Kings 17:10 ). It is called Sarepta in the New Testament."

Because the text is silent on her heritage, it leaves us to assume it from her location.

The beauty of Elijah first being fed by unclean ravens and then by a Gentile in her home is how it prefigures Peter's experience with the vision of telling him to eat the unclean animals and then visiting the Centurian's home. Forgiven_Sinner pointed this out on yesterday's thread.

But perhaps now we learn, thanks to you, the upshot of Elijah's adventure: just as the welcoming of the Gentiles resulted ultimately from Peter's epiphany, so Elijah raised Jonah from the dead to welcome the Ninevites!

[Forgiven_Sinner]

“Why would it be assumed that she is a gentile?

Jewish tradition identifies her as the mother of Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet sent to Ninevah.”

A valid question.

Generally, Israelites wouldn’t live in Gentile cities. That’s outside their support network. But no doubt a few did.

Occam’s Razor says the simplest explanation is the best, which is that she is a Sidonian.

Basic Bible interpretation is to take explanations at face value, unless indicated otherwise.

The key proof she was a Gentile is Jesus.

Luke 4:25-27 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. 26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

Jesus clearly implies the widow was a Sidonian and not an Israelite. That’s good enough for me!

The Jewish tradition is interesting.

Jonah lived:

“Jonah was written around 784-772 BC. It occurred during the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel (790-750 BC)”

And Elijah lived:

“Elijah (900 BCE–849 BCE) appears in the Judaic/Christian religious texts as well as in the Quran of Islam as a prophet and messenger of God.”

So, at least according to this source, they were 35-65 years apart. Nothing in scripture disproves this except that Jesus seems to imply the widow was not of Israel, and of course her child was not.