Discovery Box1 Kings 18:1-37
Context18:1 Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, 1 “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.” 18:2 So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 2 18:3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord. 3 18:4 When Jezebel was killing 4 the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) 18:5 Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas 5 so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill 6 some of the animals.” 18:6 They divided up the land between them; Ahab went 7 one way and Obadiah went the other.
18:7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. 8 When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?” 18:8 He replied, “Yes, 9 go and say to your master, ‘Elijah is back.’” 10 18:9 Obadiah 11 said, “What sin have I committed that you are ready to hand your servant over to Ahab for execution? 12 18:10 As certainly as the Lord your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, ‘He’s not here,’ he makes them 13 swear an oath that they could not find you. 18:11 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back.”’ 14 18:12 But when I leave you, the Lord’s spirit will carry you away so I can’t find you. 15 If I go tell Ahab I’ve seen you, he won’t be able to find you and he will kill me. 16 That would not be fair, 17 because your servant has been a loyal follower of 18 the Lord from my youth. 18:13 Certainly my master is aware of what I did 19 when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid one hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water. 18:14 Now you say, ‘Go and say to your master, “Elijah is back,”’ 20 but he will kill me.” 18:15 But Elijah said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all 21 lives (whom I serve), 22 I will make an appearance before him today.”
18:16 When Obadiah went and informed Ahab, the king went to meet Elijah. 23 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he 24 said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster 25 on Israel?” 18:18 Elijah 26 replied, “I have not brought disaster 27 on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals. 18:19 Now send out messengers 28 and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports. 29
18:20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel. 18:21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? 30 If the Lord is the true God, 31 then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word. 18:22 Elijah said to them: 32 “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 18:23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. 18:24 Then you 33 will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.” 34 All the people responded, “This will be a fair test.” 35
18:25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” 36 18:26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, 37 and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped 38 around on the altar they had made. 39 18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” 40 18:28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, 41 mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. 42 18:29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, 43 but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. 44
18:30 Elijah then told all the people, “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 45 18:31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob, to whom the Lord had said, “Israel will be your new 46 name.” 47 18:32 With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord. 48 Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs 49 of seed. 18:33 He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. 18:34 Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, 50 he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 18:35 The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench. 18:36 When it was time for the evening offering, 51 Elijah the prophet approached the altar 52 and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove 53 today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 18:37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God 54 and that you are winning back their allegiance.” 55
[18:1] 1 tn Heb “the word of the
[18:2] 2 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:3] 3 tn Heb “now Obadiah greatly feared the
[18:4] 4 tn Heb “cutting off.”
[18:6] 7 tn The Hebrew text has “alone” here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.
[18:7] 8 tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”
[18:8] 10 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:9] 11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:9] 12 tn Heb “to kill me.”
[18:10] 13 tn Heb “he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath.”
[18:11] 14 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:12] 15 tn Heb “to [a place] which I do not know.”
[18:12] 16 tn Heb “and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me.”
[18:12] 17 tn The words “that would not be fair” are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah’s argument.
[18:12] 18 tn Heb “has feared the
[18:13] 19 tn Heb “Has it not been told to my master what I did…?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “Of course it has!”
[18:14] 20 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
[18:15] 21 tn Traditionally, “the
[18:15] 22 tn Heb “(before whom I stand).”
[18:16] 23 tn Heb “Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.”
[18:18] 26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:19] 28 tn The word “messengers” is supplied in the translation both here and in v. 20 for clarification.
[18:19] 29 tn Heb “who eat at the table of Jezebel.”
[18:21] 30 tn Heb “How long are you going to limp around on two crutches?” (see HALOT 762 s.v. סְעִפִּים). In context this idiomatic expression refers to indecision rather than physical disability.
[18:22] 32 tn Heb “to the people.”
[18:24] 33 tn Elijah now directly addresses the prophets.
[18:24] 35 tn Heb “The matter [i.e., proposal] is good [i.e., acceptable].”
[18:25] 36 tc The last sentence of v. 25 is absent in the Syriac Peshitta.
[18:26] 37 tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”
[18:26] 38 tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).
[18:26] 39 tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew
[18:27] 40 sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.
[18:28] 41 tn Or “as was their custom.”
[18:28] 42 tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”
[18:29] 43 tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”
[18:29] 44 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”
[18:30] 45 sn Torn down. The condition of the altar symbolizes the spiritual state of the people.
[18:31] 46 tn The word “new” is implied but not actually present in the Hebrew text.
[18:31] 47 sn Israel will be your new name. See Gen 32:28; 35:10.
[18:32] 48 tn Heb “and he built the stones into an altar in the name of the
[18:32] 49 tn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about seven quarts.
[18:34] 50 tn The words “when they had done so” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[18:36] 51 tn Heb “at the offering up of the offering.”
[18:36] 52 tn The words “the altar” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[18:36] 53 tn Heb “let it be known.”
[18:37] 55 tn Heb “that you are turning their heart[s] back.”
