1 Kings 18:42-43

18:42 So Ahab went on up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. 18:43 He told his servant, “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” ¹  Seven times Elijah sent him to look. ² 

Joshua 19:26

19:26 Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal. Their border touched Carmel to the west and Shihor Libnath.

Joshua 19:1

Simeon’s Tribal Lands

19:1 The second lot belonged to the tribe of Simeon by its clans. ³ 

Joshua 15:12

15:12 The western border was the Mediterranean Sea. ⁴  These were the borders of the tribe of Judah and its clans. ⁵ 

Joshua 15:2

15:2 Their southern border started at the southern tip of the Salt Sea, ⁶ 

Joshua 2:1

Joshua Sends Spies into the Land

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: ⁷  “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” ⁸  They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 46:18

46:18 I the King, whose name is the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁰  swear this:

I swear as surely as I live that ¹¹  a conqueror is coming.

He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains,

as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea. ¹² 

Amos 1:2

God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations

1:2 Amos ¹³  said:

“The Lord comes roaring ¹⁴  out of Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹⁵  he comes bellowing! ¹⁶ 

The shepherds’ pastures wilt; ¹⁷ 

the summit of Carmel ¹⁸  withers.” ¹⁹ 

Amos 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ²⁰  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ²¹  I would command the Sea Serpent ²²  to bite them.

[18:43]  ¹ sn So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah’s advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah’s commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the Lord’s prophet.

[18:43]  ² tn Heb “He said, ‘Return,’ seven times.”

[19:1]  ³ tn Heb “and the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon by their clans.”

[15:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[15:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “this was the border of the sons of Judah round about, by their clans.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

[46:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” For the significance of this title see the note at 2:19.

[46:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “As I live, oracle of the King, whose….” The indirect quote has been chosen to create a smoother English sentence and avoid embedding a quote within a quote.

[46:18]  ¹² tn Heb “Like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea he will come.” The addition of “conqueror” and “imposing” are implicit from the context and from the metaphor. They have been supplied in the translation to give the reader some idea of the meaning of the verse.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “he;” the referent (Amos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:2]  ¹⁴ sn The Lord, in his role of warrior-king, is compared to a lion. See 3:4, 8.

[1:2]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gives his voice.”

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn Lexicographers debate whether there are two roots אָבַל (’aval), one signifying “mourn” and the other “be dry,” or simply one (“mourn”). The parallel verb (“withers”) might favor the first option and have the meaning “wilt away.” It is interesting to note, however, that the root appears later in the book in the context of lament (5:16; 8:8, 10; 9:5). Either 1:2 is a possible wordplay to alert the reader to the death that will accompany the judgment (the option of two roots), or perhaps the translation “mourns” is appropriate here as well (cf. KJV, NASB, NKJV, NJPS; see also D. J. A. Clines, “Was There an ’BL II ‘Be Dry’ in Classical Hebrew?” VT 42 [1992]: 1-10).

[1:2]  ¹⁸ sn Carmel was a region known for its abundant plants and trees. See Isa 33:9; 35:2; Jer 50:19.

[1:2]  ¹⁹ sn Loss of a land’s fertility is frequently associated with judgment in the OT and ancient Near Eastern literature.

[9:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ²² sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.