X A 1-. Command.
B -1. Promise of rain. Given.
A 2-40. Obedience.
B 41-46. Promise of rain fulfilled.822 to 800 B.C.
1 Kings 18)
1 And it came to pass [after] many days, that the word of the Lord (Yehovah) came to Elijah in the third year (i.e. the third or last full year towards the end of the 3 1/2 years), saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab;
and I will send rain upon the earth.
A C 2-6. Ahab and Obadiah.
D 7-8-. Elijah.
E -8-16-. Ahab. Elijah's message.
C -16,17. Ahab and Elijah.
D 18. Elijah.
E 19-40. Ahab. Elijah's proposal.
2 And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And [there was] a sore famine in Samaria (1 of 13 famines mentioned In Scripture. See Gen. 12:10. #13 = depravity and rebellion).
3 And Ahab called Obadiah (= servant of [Yah] the Lord), which [was] the governor over [his] house. {Now Obadiah revered (or loved) the Lord greatly:
4 For it was [so], when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord (the first record of using the civil power against the true religion [and by a woman]. See Judg. 4:21), that Obadiah took a hundred prophets (#100 = God's election of grace...children of promise), and hid them by fifty men (#50 = Holy Spirit), and fed them with bread and water.}
5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into (Sept. and Syr. read "Go and let us pass through") the land, to all fountains of water, and to all brooks: perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.”
6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, “[Are] you that my lord Elijah?” (= GOD [El] is Yah [or Yahaveh])
8 And he answered him, “I [am]:
E c -8. Command to Obadiah.
d 9-14. Expostulation of Obadiah.
d 15. Assurance of Elijah.
c 16-. Obedience to Obadiah.go, tell thy lord, ‘Behold, Elijah [is here].’ ”
d e 9. Danger of Obadiah.
f g 10. Ahab's search for Elijah (past).
h 11. Command. Of Elijah.
f g 12,13. Ahab's search for Elijah (future).
h 14-. Command. Of Elijah.
e -14. Danger of Obadiah.9 And he said, “What have I sinned, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
10 [As] the Lord your God (Elohim) lives, there is no nation or kingdom, to which place my lord has not sent to seek you: and when they said, ‘[He is] not [there];’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found you not.
11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah [is here].’ ’
12 And it shall come to pass, [as soon as] I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry you to which place I know not; and [so] when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he shall slay me: but I your servant love the Lord from my youth.
13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty men, and fed them with bread and water?
14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah [is here]:’ ’
and he shall slay me.”
15 And Elijah said, “[As] the Lord of hosts (Yahaveh Sabaioth) lives, before whom I stand (see 17:1), I will surely show myself to him today.”
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him:
and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “[Art] you he that troubles (cp. Josh. 7:25 with 6:18, and 1 Chron. 2:7) Israel?” (fig. put for Israelitish people)
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you all have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed Baalim.
E i 19,20. Baal's prohets. Assembled.
k 21-38. Conflict with prophets.
k 39. Confessions of the People.
i 40. Baal's prophets. Slain.
19 Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel (= fruitful place or park. 18 mile from Jezreel; 16 miles from the sea. The Kishon below, but now dry. At the foot a perennial spring, with a roofed reservoir, 8 feet deep. Carmel is still called "Mar-Elias"), and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred (= the ’Asherah. See Ex.34:1), which eat at Jezebel's table.
20 So Ahab sent to all the sons of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to mount Carmel.
k F 21-24. The People. Elijah's appeal.
G 25-29. Bullock of the prophets.
F 30-. The People. Elijah's call.
G -30-38. Bullock of Elijah.
21 And Elijah came to all the People, and said, “How long leap you all between two opinions? (cp. v.26) if the Lord [be] God, follow Him: but if Baal, [then] follow him.” And the People answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah to all the People, “I, [even] I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets [are] four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]:
24 And call you all on the name of your god (as in v.25. So R.V.), and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God (= the Creator) that answers by fire (this was Yahaveh's way of showing His acceptance of the offering. See Gen. 4:4), let him be God.” And all the People answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
G l 25. Elijah.
m 26. The prophets of Baal.
l 27. Elijah.
m 28,29. The prophets of Baal.25 And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress [it] first; for you all [are] many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire [under].”
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us.” But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped over the altar which had been made (see v.21).
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud: for he [is] a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, [or] perhaps he sleeps, and must be awaken.”
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances (Done by Dervishes to the present day), till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the [time] of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice (the usual meal offering. There was also a morning meal offering as well [Num.28:8]. Cp. 2 Kings 16:15), that [there was] neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said to all the People, “Come near to me.” And all the People came near to him.
G n¹ -30-32-. Altar. Its repairing.
o¹ -32. The trench.
n² 33-. Altar. Arrangement of wood.
o² -33-35. The water.
n³ 36,37. Altar. Time of offering. Prayer.
o³ 38. The fire.
And he repaired the altar of the Lord (Carmel had been a local altar for lay [individual] offerings, but had been broken down. Cp. 19:10. These lay altars had no horns) [that was] broken down (i.e. purposely).
31 And Elijah took twelve stones (= Governmental perfection, completeness), according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob (some codices read "Israel", in harmony with v.36.), to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name” (see Gen. 32:28):
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord:
and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed (about 2 pecks. Heb. se’ãh).
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid [him] on the wood,
and said, “Fill four barrels with water (see v.19), and pour [it] on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.” (the Sept. adds "and they did so")
34 And he said, “Do [it] the second time.” And they did [it] the second time. And he said, “Do [it] the third time.” And they did [it] the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel (not Jacob. See Gen.32:28), let it be known this day that You [are] God in Israel, and [that] I [am] Your servant, and [that] I have done all these things at Your word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this People may know that You [are] the Lord God , and [that] You have turned their heart back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell (Aram. and Sept. read "Then fire from Yehovah fell". See Gen. 4:4. "Fire of Yehovah" occs. only here and Num. 11:1,3), and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that [was] in the trench.
39 And when all the People saw [it], they fell on their faces: and they said, “The Lord , He [is] the God; The Lord, He [is] the God.”
40 And Elijah said to them, “Take (seize, lay hold of) the prophets of Baal; let not a man of them escape.” And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon (= winding. Cp. Judg. 4:13; 5:21), and slew them there (Hebrew idiom, caused them to be slain).
B H r 41-. Command. To Ahab.
s -41. Reason.
J K t 42-. Obedience of Ahab.
u -42. Elijah. Ascent of Carmel.
L 43,44-. Rain. Expectation of.
H r -44-. Command. To servant.
s -44. Reason.
J L 45-. Rain. Fall of.
K t -45. Obedience of Ahab.
u 46.Elijah. Run to Jezreel.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Get you up, eat and drink; for [there is] a sound of abundance of rain.”
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth (a rare word. Only here and 2 Kings 4:34,35 = Kneeling, and then placing forehead on the ground), and put his face between his knees,
43 And said to his young man, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up, and looked, and said, “[There is] nothing.” And he said, “Go again seven times.”
44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare [your chariot], and get you down, that the rain stop you not.”
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel (seed of God).
46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins (Girdles worn by all. Taken off when resting. Put on when preparing for work or sojourning. See Ex. 12:11. 2 Kings 4:29; 9:1. Luke 12:37; 17:8. Acts 12:8), and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel (for over 20 miles Elijah acted as the royal "runner" across the great plain of Esdraelon. Possibly none at hand in the king's hasty departure.).