Who is Elijah from Moby Dick and what is their importance?

Elijah lives up to his namesake from the Bible. He is a prophet-like man who is able to see through Captain Ahab’s obsession with the whale. Elijah puts doubt in Ishmael’s mind about Ahab’s spiritual and emotional well-being. He hints that their expedition is doomed. Melville chooses the name Elijah for this character, because it is the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament, who declares King Ahab is so evil he should be put to death.