Bible Encyclopedias

The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia

Amittai

Father of the prophet Jonah (2 Kings, 14:25; Jonah, 1:1). According to rabbinical sources (Yer. Suk. 5:55a; Gen. R.; Yalḳ., Jonah, § 550) Amittai came from the tribe of Zebulon and lived at Zarephath. There is a tradition that the widow who sustained the prophet Elijah there (1 Kings, 17:9-24) was Amittai's wife, and that the child whom Elijah revived was Jonah (Pirḳe R. El. ).