Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa 1 Mga Hari 19:9

However, the fact that Hashem twice asks Eliyahu HaNavi “Mah Lecha Poh,” “why are you here,” (Melachim I 19:9 and 19:13) seems to suggest that Hashem does not direct him to Har Choreiv. Moreover, Radak does not explain why Hashem wants Eliyahu HaNavi to travel specifically to Choreiv.

A Midrashic approach: the fact that the word קנאה appears twice in succession proves that the Torah refers to two separate jealousies. The first display of Pinchas being jealous occurred here, the second in the days of Achav when the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel gave a repeat performance and killed 400 priests of the idol Baal, and he fled to Mount Chorev after that occurrence to escape the wrath of Achav and Izzevel. When he arrived there and G’d asked him why he had come there (Kings I 19,9-10) he answered: “I have worked with zeal for the Lord, the G’d of Hosts for they have abandoned Your covenant with the Children of Israel.” Pinchas was also involved in another act of religious zeal on behalf of G’d during the period known as Pilegesh beGivah in Judges 20,28 and Chronicles I 9,20.

In other words, Eliyahu HaNavi’s flight from the north is not due to safety or spiritual retreat. Rather, he is, simply put, a fed-up man of faith! He is so upset, that he runs away— first to Be’eir Sheva, and then to the desert, where he expresses a wish to die. After being revived and nourished by the Malach, Eliyahu HaNavi proceeds to retreat even further to Har Choreiv. When Hashem twice asks him “Mah Lecha Po Eliyahu,” “why are you here Eliyahu?” (Melachim I 19:9, 19:13), Eliyahu launches into a severe criticism of Am Yisrael for having abandoned their commitment to Hashem. Eliyahu HaNavi very much acts and sounds like a fed-up man of faith!