1:9 The king 6 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 7 to retrieve Elijah. 8 The captain 9 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 10 He told him, “Prophet, 11 the king says, ‘Come down!’”
1 tc The MT has the plural form of the verb, but the final vav (ו) is virtually dittographic. The word that immediately follows in the Hebrew text begins with a yod (י). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.
2 tn Heb “came to.”
3 tn Heb “four hundred cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
8 tn Heb “to him.”
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
11 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).