the Fourth Week of Advent
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1 Kings 18:19
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Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
mount Carmel: Mount Carmel is situated north of Dora and south of Ptolemais or Acre, from which it is distant, according to Josephus, 120 stadia, or, according to Thevenot, 10 miles; one of its principal points advancing considerably into the Mediterranean, and forming an elevated promontory. It is described as a flattened cone, about 2,000 feet (some say 1,500) in height, very rocky, its sides steep and rugged, and the soil neither deep nor rich. Capt. Mangles says its is now quite barren, though at the north-eastern foot of it there are some pretty olive-grounds. 1 Kings 18:42, 1 Kings 18:43, Joshua 19:26, 1 Samuel 15:12, 2 Kings 2:25, Jeremiah 46:18, Amos 1:2, Amos 9:3
the prophets of Baal: 1 Kings 22:6, 2 Peter 2:1, Revelation 19:20
prophets of the groves: 1 Kings 15:13, 1 Kings 16:33, 2 Kings 13:6, Though ashairah certainly denotes in some place a grove, yet it is equally certain, that in others, as here, it must signify an idol; and it is thought by learned men to be the same as Ashtoreth, or Astarte the Syrian Venus.
eat at Jezebel's table: 1 Kings 19:1, 1 Kings 19:2, 2 Kings 9:22, Revelation 2:20
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 18:20 - in the name Judges 3:7 - the groves 1 Kings 16:31 - Jezebel 1 Kings 18:22 - Baal's prophets 2 Kings 3:13 - the prophets 2 Kings 4:25 - to mount 2 Kings 10:11 - his priests 2 Kings 10:18 - Ahab served Baal 2 Kings 10:20 - Proclaim 2 Kings 23:4 - Baal 2 Chronicles 18:5 - prophets Nehemiah 5:17 - at my table Isaiah 44:11 - let them all Hosea 9:8 - but Hosea 11:2 - they sacrificed Hosea 13:1 - offended
Cross-References
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth
and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and noticed three men stood across from him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
When he raised his eyes and looked up, behold, three men were standing [a little distance] from him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down [with his face] to the ground,
And whanne he hadde reisid his iyen, thre men apperiden to hym, and stoden nyy hym. And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he ran fro the dore of his tabernacle in to the meting of hem, and he worschipide on erthe,
and he lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, three men standing by him, and he seeth, and runneth to meet them from the opening of the tent, and boweth himself towards the earth,
And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel..... No doubt but more discourse passed between Ahab and Elijah, though not recorded, before he made this motion to him; it is very probable, that after some dispute between them, who was the true God, and about idolatry, as the cause of want of rain, Elijah proposed to the king what he afterwards did to the people, to which he could not object; and being desirous of gratifying his curiosity, and especially of having rain, which the prophet might promise him in the issue of this affair, he agreed unto it; and therefore Elijah desired that all Israel might be convened, that it might be openly and publicly done, and to the conviction and reformation of them, which was what was chiefly designed; and he chose Carmel, a mountain in the tribe of Issachar, well situated for the people that came from all parts; and the rather this than Samaria, that he might meet with no obstruction from Jezebel, and from whence: he might be able to see the rain when coming, as he did. Of this mountain, :-, to which may be added, the description of it by Mr. Sandys n.
"Mount Carmel stretcheth from east to west, and hath its uttermost basis washed with the sea; steepest towards the north, and of an indifferent altitude; rich in vines and olives when farmed, and abounding with several sorts of fruits and herbs, both medicinal and fragrant, though now much overgrown with woods and shrubs of sweet savour.''
From the following solemn transaction at it, it seems in later times, to have become sacred, and was very venerable with the Heathens; from this mountain, a deity with them had the name of Carmel, and was worshipped here, without an image or a temple, only had an altar erected for it, in imitation of the God of Israel, worshipped here in like manner; here Vespasian sacrificed to this deity, assisted by the priest of it, Basilides, as Tacitus o relates; Suetonius p also makes mention of this deity, and of Vespasian's consulting its oracle, which gave him hopes of obtaining the empire; and from hence, in Popish times, there were an order of friars called Carmelites, instituted in the year 1180, pretending to be the successors of the children of the prophets Elijah left there:
and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty; who are supposed to be dispersed in the various parts of the kingdom, to teach and practise the worship of Baal, and encourage and spread it in the nation:
and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table; for it seems there were now more groves than that one Ahab first made, 1 Kings 16:33, for which such numbers were appointed to attend, and which, perhaps, were near Samaria, since they ate at Jezebel's table, and were a sort of domestic chaplains of her's. "Asheroth", we render "groves", the learned Selden q takes to be Ashtoreth, or Ashtareth, or Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, for whom, and so for these prophets, Jezebel might have a peculiar respect, see 1 Kings 11:5.
n Travels, l. 3. p. 158. Ed. 5. o Hist. l. 2. c. 78. p Vit. Vespasian. c. 5. q De Dis Syris Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 232, &c.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Carmel (Joshua 12:22 note) was chosen by the prophet as the scene of the gathering to which he invited, or rather summoned, Ahab. Its thick jungles of copse and numerous dwarf-oaks and olives, would furnish abundant wood for his intended sacrifice. Here was a perennial fountain; and here again an ancient “altar of the Lord” 1 Kings 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship - perhaps an erection of one of the patriarchs. On the one hand, there would be a view of the Mediterranean, from where the first sign of rain was likely to come, and on the other of Jezreel, the residence of the court at the time, with its royal palace and its idol-temples, so that the intended trial would take place in the sight (so to speak) of the proud queen and her minions.
The prophets of Baal - The priests of Baal are so called not so much because they claimed a power of foretelling the future, as because they were “teachers” of the false religion, and more especially because they stand here in antagonism to the “prophet of the Lord,” with whom they are about to contend.
The prophets of the groves, four hundred - Rather, “of the grove” - the prophets, or priests, attached to the “grove” - אשׁרה 'ăshêrāh - which Ahab had made, probably at Jezreel (marginal reference). The number 400 seems to have been one especially affected by Ahab. We again find 400 prophets at the close of his reign 1 Kings 22:6. The number 40 entered largely into the religious system of the Jews 1 Kings 6:17; Exodus 26:19; Deuteronomy 25:3; Ezekiel 41:2.
Which eat at Jezebel’s table - Rather, “which eat from Jezebel’s table.” Oriental etiquette would not have allowed them to eat “at” the table of the queen, which was spread in the seraglio. They were fed from the superfluity of her daily provision, which was no doubt on a sumptuous scale. Compare 1 Kings 4:22-23.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Kings 18:19. Gather to me all Israel — The heads of tribes and families; the rulers of the people.
The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty - the prophets of the groves four hundred — The king and queen had different religious establishments; the king and his servants worshipped Baal, the supreme lord and master of the world, the sun. For this establishment four hundred and fifty priests were maintained. The queen and her women worshipped אשרה Asherah, Astarte, or Venus; and for this establishment four hundred priests were maintained. These latter were in high honour; they ate at Jezebel's table; they made a part of her household. It appears that those eight hundred and fifty priests were the domestic chaplains of the king and queen, and probably not all the priests that belonged to the rites of Baal and Asherah in the land; and yet from the following verse we learn that Ahab had sent to all the children of Israel to collect these prophets; but Jezebel had certainly four hundred of them in her own house who were not at the assembly mentioned here. Those of Baal might have a more extensive jurisdiction than those of Asherah, the latter being constantly resident in Samaria.
