Chapter Eighteen

1–2. God’s command to the prophet Elijah to appear before Ahab. 3–6. A picture of the famine in the last days of drought. 7–16. The meeting of the prophet with Obadiah, Ahab’s officer. 17–19. The prophet’s meeting with Ahab, his rebuke, and the proposal to test the power of the Lord and Baal. 20–38. On Mount Carmel: the unsuccessful prayer and sacrifice of the priests of Baal and the descent of heavenly fire on the prophet’s sacrifice. 39–46. The slaying of the priests; the appearance of rain; the return of Ahab and the prophet.

1 Kings 18:1. After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. 1 Kings 18:2. And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. “In the third year”: this dating presents no contradiction with New Testament testimony – 3 years and 6 months (Luke 4:25; Jas 5:17), since the latter more precisely denotes the entire duration of the action of the prophetic word of Elijah, while this passage of 3 Kings indicates only the actual duration of the calamity of drought and famine (in the beginning the inhabitants could be nourished from the stores of the previous year).

1 Kings 18:3. And Ahab called Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Now Obadiah was a very godly man, 1 Kings 18:4. and when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water. 1 Kings 18:5. And Ahab said to Obadiah: Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive and not lose some of our livestock. 1 Kings 18:6. So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. The prophet Elijah’s forthcoming meeting with Ahab fell during the time of the most severe development of drought and famine, and here the circumstances are indicated that led to the prophet’s meeting with the king. The position of palace overseer, introduced by Solomon (1 Kgs 4:6), existed also under Ahab (v. 3), whose reign, in its external, political, and international aspect, appears to have been a reflection of the splendor of Solomon’s reign (cf. chapter XX). All the more sharply does the decline of religion stand out in this reign, which found expression, among other things, in Jezebel’s persecution and murder of the prophets (v. 4), that is, of the sons of the prophets, who carried out pious religious exercises under the guidance of some prophet (cf. 1 Sam 10:5-6): clearly, there were very many of them at this time in the Israelite kingdom (cf. 2 Kgs 2:3-7); the impiety that had risen high provoked a struggle against itself a great religious-moral force – the prophetic communities (unsuccessfully sometimes called “prophetic schools”). Obadiah, overseer of Ahab’s palace, by his piety and zeal for the religion of the Lord (v. 3, 7, 12; cf. the blessed Theodoret, question 55) hid and fed the persecuted prophets in one of the caves, perhaps on Mount Carmel.

1 Kings 18:7. When Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And he recognized him and fell on his face and said: Is it you, my lord Elijah? 1 Kings 18:8. And he said: It is I. Go, tell your master: “Elijah is here. 1 Kings 18:9. And he said: What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab, to be killed? 1 Kings 18:10. As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to seek you; and when they said, “He is not here,” he required an oath of the nation or kingdom that they could not find you; 1 Kings 18:11. and now you say, “Go, tell your master: Elijah is here. 1 Kings 18:12. When I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away I do not know where; and if I go and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me; but your servant has feared the Lord from my youth. 1 Kings 18:13. Is it not told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 1 Kings 18:14. And now you say: “Go, tell your master: Elijah is here”; and he will kill me. 1 Kings 18:15. And Elijah said: As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. 1 Kings 18:16. And Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. Obadiah could easily recognize (Slavonic: “hastened”, LXX: έσπεοσε) the prophet Elijah (v. 7) by his distinctive appearance: “that man was altogether in hair and was girded with a leather belt around his loins” (2 Kgs 1:8), – by these signs the prophet was recognized. In Obadiah’s conversation with the prophet, notable, besides his deep respect for the prophet (v. 7, 9, 13), is still the view that the Spirit of the Lord at any moment can carry the prophet away to an unknown place (v. 12; cf. v. 46); (Ezek 3:12), as happened when the prophet’s life ended (2 Kgs 2:11). From this conversation we also learn what intense efforts Ahab employed to find Elijah – “he who by his word shut up the clouds, to do one of two things, either to convince the prophet to open the clouds, or to destroy him, if he could not be convinced,” the blessed Theodoret, question 55). Only the prophet’s solemn assurance (v. 15) of his intention to appear before Ahab convinces Obadiah to inform Ahab of the prophet’s arrival (v. 16). The name of God “Lord of hosts” (Hebrew Yehovah – Tzevaot) or more fully “Lord, God of hosts” (Yehovah – Elohei – Tzevaot) is used almost exclusively among the prophets (especially in Isaiah, Amos, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, in the Psalms and in the books of Kings and Chronicles) and means God: 1) as the heavenly Leader of the hosts of Israel; 2) as the Lord of the celestial lights and especially 3) as the Lord of the angelic hosts (see in A. Glagolev, Old Testament Biblical Teaching on Angels. p. 238–256).

1 Kings 18:17. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him: Is it you, you troubler of Israel? 1 Kings 18:18. And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and have gone after the Baals; 1 Kings 18:19. now send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table. 1 Kings 18:20. And Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Ahab superstitiously sees in the prophet a man bringing misfortune on the people (Hebrew oher, v. 17, ahar; v. 18: to ruin, ruiner), cf. (Gen 34:30; Josh 6:17), but the prophet sees the source of Israel’s destruction (v. 18) in the worship of Baal (Baal, besides being a general name, also had different epithets and titles: Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub, and others, in which idolaters saw separate deities) and proposes a religious contest with 450 priests of Baal and 400 priests of Asherah-Astarte, in the presence of “all Israel” (that is, popular representatives) on Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel (Hebrew Karmel, literally a garden, (Josh 19:26); Onomast. 602), south of the gulf of Acco, forms the northern extension of the mountains of Ephraim, near the brook Kishon. In ancient times, Mount Carmel, according to Josephus (Antiquities V, 1, 22; Jewish War, III, 3, 1), formed the boundary between Galilee and the Tyrian region; it was known for its vegetation and also the abundance of grottos. The prophet chose it, probably as a central location in the Israelite kingdom, and also close to Ahab’s summer residence (cf. v. 46); finally, there was apparently an ancient honored altar of the Lord here (v. 30). Ahab immediately complies with the prophet’s proposal (v. 20), though just before he was raging with anger (v. 17): clearly, the prophet’s personality had a strong influence even on this king.

1 Kings 18:21. And Elijah came near to all the people and said: How long will you go limping between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:22. And Elijah said to the people: I alone am left as a prophet of the Lord, but the prophets of Baal are four hundred fifty men [and four hundred prophets of Asherah]; 1 Kings 18:23. now let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it; 1 Kings 18:24. and call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire is God. And all the people answered and said: It is good. [Let it be so.] 1 Kings 18:25. And Elijah said to the priests of Baal: Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it. In view of the forthcoming trial of the power of the Lord and Baal, the prophet Elijah reproaches the people for the religious syncretism they had permitted – the simultaneous worship of the Lord and Baal (cf. the blessed Theodoret, question 57): the expression “how long will you go limping between two opinions,” which has the character of a proverb, contains the thought that pure idolatry is in some respects better than indifferent wavering between the religion of the True God and the cult of Baal. Not receiving an answer to his rebuke from the people, the prophet indicates (v. 22) that he is here the sole prophet of the Lord (in other places of the Israelite kingdom there remained other prophets of the Lord, cf. v. 4, 13; 2 Kgs 2:3), while the prophets of Baal are 450. (The LXX add in v. 22: καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ ἄλσους τετρακόσιοι; Slavonic: “and the prophets of the grove four hundred”; an addition apparently borrowed from v. 19: the priests of Astarte-Asherah did not attend Carmel, as is evident from v. 25, 40). To them and the prophet addresses his proposal, v. 23–25, to bring sacrifices here: the priests – to Baal, and the prophet – to the Lord, – under equal conditions (putting no fire, v. 23, 25), and moreover the prophet grants the priests the opportunity to bring the sacrifice before him (v. 25), “so that the confounded servants of falsehood could not say that Baal was angered that the gift was not presented to him first,” the blessed Theodoret, question 58), and at the same time so that the impression of the power and greatness of the Lord, when He sends fire (v. 24; cf. 38), would be more firmly impressed in the people’s consciousness – after the impotence of Baal has first been demonstrated.

1 Kings 18:26. So they took the bull that was given to them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying: “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 1 Kings 18:27. At noon Elijah mocked them and said: Cry aloud, for he is a god; perhaps he is meditating, or he is relieved, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened! 1 Kings 18:28. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 1 Kings 18:29. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the afternoon oblation; but there was no voice, no answer, and no attention. [And Elijah the Tishbite said to the priests of Baal: Now step aside, so that I may perform my sacrifice. They stepped back and fell silent.] The portrayal of the prayer and worship activities of the priests of the cult of Baal is very characteristic, typical of the pagan cults of antiquity in general. Besides prayer cries from morning to evening (v. 26, 27, 29), the priests limped (Hebrew pasah – to hop like the lame; LXX: διειρεχον; Vulg.: transsiliebant, Slavonic: “leaped”, v. 26) around the altar; then this circular movement of the priests took on increasingly the character of religious orgy: armed with swords and spears, in their wild dancing the priests inflicted cuts and wounds on each other, from which they flowed with blood (v. 28) – a superstition very widespread among the peoples of antiquity: the Philistines, Moabites, Babylonians, Scythians, Romans, see W. Nowack. Hebraische Archaologie, I, p. 194, stemming from the belief that blood, and especially priestly blood, is powerful in appeasing the deity; the Hebrews were strictly forbidden to make such cuts on the body (Deut 14:1); finally, all of this: wild gestures during circular movement, clanging of weapons, streams of blood – drove the priests into the highest exalted state, denoted by the Hebrew verb hitnabbe (v. 29), one root as nabi – prophet; the LXX render this term (v. 29) ´επροφήτευον; Slavonic: “prophesied”; Vulg.: ilIis profetantilus: in this sense the named Hebrew term is frequently applied to prophets (1 Sam 10:5-6; Ezek 37:10 and others), but in relation to pagan frenzied “prophets,” as the priests of Baal appear in this narrative, another meaning of the named term can be applied: “raved” (Russian Synodal trans.), Greek: μαίνομαι, with which is related μάντις, “soothsayer”; in the sense of “to rave, to go mad,” the term is used, for example, of Saul’s illness (1 Sam 18:10; cf. Jer 29:26) In v. 27 the ironic speech of the prophet depicts the extremely anthropomorphic conception of the deity among the pagans. The prayers and religiously exalted actions of the priests continued until the time of the evening sacrifice – mincha (a bloodless, grain offering), (Num 28:8; Exod 29:39-41; cf. 2 Kgs 3:20; Dan 9:21), that is, from 3 to 5 in the afternoon (according to the biblical Hebrew reckoning: between 9 and 11 in the morning). Further the LXX text has in v. 29 an addition (placed in brackets in the Russian Synodal translation); compared with v. 30 this addition gives nothing special.

1 Kings 18:30. Then Elijah said to all the people: Come here to me. And all the people came to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 1 Kings 18:31. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be your name. 1 Kings 18:32. And he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed, Approaching the sacrifice, the prophet calls the people to attention, and first of all restores the destroyed ancient altar on Carmel; this also meant a restoration of the covenant with God that the people had broken (cf. 1 Kgs 19:10), by expressing the idea of this renewal of the ancient covenant. Elijah, like Moses (Exod 24:4), takes 12 stones according to the number of the 12 tribes of Israel and builds from them one altar in the name of the Lord: concrete testimony that the 12 tribes, though temporarily and accidentally divided, in idea form one whole, and that faith in the Lord and service to Him serves as the unifying principle for them; and the tribal unity of all 12 tribes is underscored by their descent from Jacob, while religious unity and purity of worship is impressed on them through a reminder of Jacob’s other name: Israel (Gen 32:28), and the zeal of Jacob-Israel to remove from his line other gods (Gen 35:1). On the arising question: how could the prophet build an altar on Carmel under the law of the unity of the place of worship (Deut 12:5), the blessed Theodoret gives the following answer (question 56): “to the righteous the law is not binding” (1 Tim 1:9). To the Israelites, by their frivolousness, God established that they perform worship in one place, so that, receiving permission to perform it everywhere, they would not begin to worship false gods as well. But the prophet wished to demonstrate both the impotence of the demons seducing the peoples and the omnipotence of God the Almighty. It was impossible to lead the Israelites to the Jerusalem temple because of the division of the kingdom; therefore he brought them to Carmel, where he had frequent residence.

1 Kings 18:32. And he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed, 1 Kings 18:33. and laid the wood [on the altar], and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, 1 Kings 18:34. and said: Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood. [And they did so.] Then he said: Do it a second time. And they did it a second time. And he said: Do it a third time. And they did it a third time, 1 Kings 18:35. and the water ran down around the altar, and the trench was filled with water. Awaiting the descent of a miraculous fire from heaven on the sacrifice, the prophet does everything to eliminate any suspicion of artificial fire-setting; the channel around the altar (about 1/2 quarter-size in depth – about two measures) completely filled with water after water was abundantly poured on both the sacrifice and the wood serves this purpose; moreover, the number of jars of water (4x3 = 12) may have the same symbolic significance as the number of stones of the altar (31 v.); the threefold number of libations may indicate the mystery of the Trinity (the blessed Theodoret, 58 question). In preparing the sacrifice the prophet acts as a priest, in the opinion of H. Grotius, “jure prophetico, minoribus legibus exsolutus, utmajores servaret.”

1 Kings 18:36. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near [and cried out to heaven] and said: O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! [Hear me, Lord, hear me now in fire!] Let it be known this day [among these people], that You alone are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and have done all these things according to Your word. 1 Kings 18:37. Hear me, O Lord, hear me! Let this people know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You will turn their heart back [to You]. 1 Kings 18:38. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. In his prayer to the Lord, the prophet names Him not merely as his own God, as in raising the widow’s son of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:20), but as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, raising his thoughts and those of others to the revelation of the God of the covenant to Moses (Exod 3:15). The purpose of the sacrifice and the prophet’s prayer is the complete turning of Israel to the Lord (the words “hear me, Lord, hear me now in fire!” – an insertion which, however, the Greek text has without variants). The answer to the prophet’s prayer was the miraculous descent from heaven of fire, showing God’s merciful acceptance of the sacrifice and prayer of the prophet (cf. Lev 9:24; Judg 6:20-21). “And this heavenly fire consumed not only the wood and sacrifice, but the dust and water and stones, so that God’s altar would not be defiled when the impious bring sacrifices to demons on it,” the blessed Theodoret, question 58).

1 Kings 18:39. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said: “The Lord is God! The Lord is God! 1 Kings 18:40. And Elijah said to them: Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and killed them there. The impression of the greatness and omnipotence of the Lord – in the descent of fire from heaven and the consumption of the sacrifice (abundantly drenched with water) and itself and in contrast with the revealed powerlessness of Baal – was inexpressibly powerful and overwhelming; filled with deep reverence toward the Lord, faith in Him, the people together felt an irresistible indignation at the priests of Baal. In such a mood of the people “Ahab, even if he wished, could not protect the false prophets and idolatrous priests.” At the mere word of the prophet, expressing agreement with the law (Deut 13:9-10), that idolaters and corruptors of the people should be killed, the people seized the priests and dragged them to the brook Kishon, where they were killed, their corpses and blood carried away by the rapid stream into the sea. Kishon, LXX: Κασῶν; Vulg.: Cison, Slavonic: Kison, “the brook of Kishon,” – a stream near Carmel and Tabor (Judg 4:7); Onomast, 618, flowing in a northwestern direction through the Esdraelonite or Jezreel plain, originates at Jenin and flows into the Mediterranean near Haifa; now “nakhr-el-Murata” (Robinson. Palestine, III, 474). Thus, “after performing the miracle, Elijah commanded the slaying of the workers of evil, and only then allowed the clouds to be released from the burden of suffering,” the blessed Theodoret, question 58).

1 Kings 18:41. And Elijah said to Ahab: Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the roar of rain. 1 Kings 18:42. So Ahab went up to eat and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel and bent down to the ground, and put his face between his knees, 1 Kings 18:43. and said to his servant: Go now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked, and said: There is nothing. And he said: Go again, do so seven times. 1 Kings 18:44. The seventh time he said: Behold, a little cloud is rising from the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said: Go, say to Ahab: “Harness your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. 1 Kings 18:45. Meanwhile the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode in his chariot [and wept] to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. And he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to Jezreel. After the calamity of drought ceased according to the prophet’s word (1 Kgs 17:1), Ahab, who had witnessed the slaying of the priests, is advised by the prophet to “go up, eat, and drink,” that is, to calm himself and fortify himself (cf. Exod 24:11; Luke 12:19), since the people were returned to God and normal life should begin, with which the people’s calamity should also cease. In anticipation of rain the prophet is immersed in a state of prayer: at the top of Carmel he “bent down to the ground, and put his face between his knees” (v. 42) – a position usual in the East (for example, in India, Persia) for a person immersed in prayer and contemplation. After a brief wait, a small cloud from the sea (often, according accounts of sea voyages, presaging the beginning of heavy rain) announced to the prophet the coming of heavy rain, which followed. Ahab, shaken and moved by all that had happened (in the LXX and in the Slavonic text in v. 45 there is an additional word about Ahab: καί ἔκχαιε; Slavonic: “and wept”), hastened to his residence in Jezreel (Hebrew Yizreel, LXX: ᾿Ιεζραέλ, ´Ιεζραέλ; cf. (1 Kgs 21:1; 2 Kgs 9:25); – later: the Esdraelonite plain, (Jdt 1:8), now Zerin, Onomast. 545), see remark to (1 Kgs 4:12); and the prophet, wishing to strengthen in Ahab’s soul this salutary disposition, runs, strengthened by God’s power (v. 46) cf. (2 Kgs 3:15), the entire considerable distance from Carmel to Jezreel (about 240 stadia or 46 versts) before Ahab’s chariot. From the following (19th) chapter it is evident how shallow was the transforming influence of the Carmel event on Ahab’s soul.