The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 416

Israel [according to ver. 24, "the God that Take the prophets of Baal ; let not one of \lnswereth by fire, &c.J, and that I a.m thy them escape. [Elije.h's promptitude is ex- servant, and that I have done all these tremely striking. The people had hardly thiilgs according to thy word. [LXX. o,d recovered from their te1Tor and awe before ci. Not only the earlier proceedings of the he proceods to judgment. The narrative day, bnt the three years' drought, &c. Keil lms the air of truth, and was doubtless wonld include the miracle about to be per- reduced to writing by an eye-witness.] And formed, bnt the people could hardly doubt they took them : and Elijah brought them that tlmt, when done, was done according down [Heb. caused them to go down, i.e., to the Di vine word. It is interesting to had them brought down. He could but compare with these words eh. x,ii. 2, 3, 8, lead the way, as they numbered 450] to the 16, 24, and eh. X\-iii. 1, all of which mention brook [Wady. "Like most of the so-called the " word of the Lord."] 'rivers of Palestine,' the perennial stream ,er. 37.-Hear me, 0 Lord [Jehovah], forms but a small part of the Kishon " hear me [or ans1cer me; sa.me word as in (Gro,e)J Kishon [" Tortuous," now called .ers. 24, 2G, and 29], that this people Nahi· el Mul.atta, the" river of slaughter." may know that thou art the Lord God See Thomson, L. and B. ii. pp. 140, 141 ; [Rather, " that thou, Jehovah, art the God." Porter,pp.383-4; Diet. Bib. ii.p.45. It flows Snme expression ns in ver. 24, "let him be directly under Carmel), and slew them there. the God "], and that thou hast turned [Obviously, he merely superintended the their l::Eart back again. [Cf. Mn.l. iv. 5, 6 : slaughter. That he slew them all with his " He (" Elijah the prophet") shall turn the own hand is altogether out of the question. heart of the fathers," &c. He sp!!aks as if Nor is it clear that" sword in hand he stood the miracle were already wrought (cf. John over them" (Stanley). Josephus rightly ex- xi. 41), and the people already repentant. plains: "they slew the prophets at Elijah'& His prayer is that they may understand instigation." It is almost certain, from that the prodigy about to be performed was their resorting to the Kishon for this pur- wrought for their conversion.] pose, that it was not quite dry at the time. Ver. 38.-Then the fire of the Lord Their blood would mingle with its waters, [Jel1ovah. Not lightning, but supernatural and the flood which the " grcnt rain" would light and heat emanating from God Him- presently produce (cf. Judg. v. 21) would self. Cf. Lent. i:.:. 24; 1 Chron. xxi. 26; carry their corpses down to the sea. It bas 2 Chron. ,ii 1 ; Heb. xii. 29] fell; and con- often been snpposed that the mound near sumed [Heb. ate up, devoured] the burnt the Kisbon, known as Tell el Cassis, " the sacrifice, aDd the wood, and the stones [in monnd of the priests," derives its name calccm rcdi.']it, Cler.], aDd the dust [Bahr from this slaughter of the prophets of translates die Erde, nnd understands this to Baal. But Conder (p. 90) remarks that be tLe earth with which the altar of twelve " Kassis is the word applied to a Christian stones had been packed. Similarly Rawlin- priest, and the word Kohen or Kamir would son. But it is very doubtful whether i~v more naturally be expected if there was any puli:is, could be used in this sense. It may real connexion with the idolatrous priests mean dry earth, bnt this altar had been of Baal."] deluged with water], and licked up [";JIJ7 is This action of the prophet Elijah in insti- clearly onomatopoetic, like our Uck; Germ. tuting this wholesale slougbter in the hour l~eken; GT. >--•ixw, &c. It expresses well of his triumph has been repeated1yo.1Taigned the action of tongues of flame) the water and denounced, but most unjustly. Accord- that was 1n the trench. Ver. 39.-And when all the people saw lt, ing to some, it was an act of gross fana- they fell on their faces [As in Levit. ix. 24; ticism and cruelty ; others have seen it in a 2 Chron. vii. 3; cf. Nwn. xxii. 31; Josh. v. wild and terrible vendetta for the murder 14; Rev. xi. 16. They recognized in the of the Lord's prophets. By some, indeed, fire, that is to say, the token of the it has been justified on the principles of the Divine Presence]; and they s:l.id, The Lord [Jehovah. The connexion of this verse lez talionis (Exod. xxi. 24, &c.); on the with the three verses preceding is ouecured ground, that is to say, that the men who by our translation], he 1s the God; the had instigated Jezebel in her attempted ex- Lord, he 1s the God. [The echo of ver. 24. termination of the prophetic schools had The Hebrew words are tLe same. Stanley merited extermination in their tum. But remarks that it is as if (by a slight inversion) it is a fatal objection to their view, first, they tnrne-i " the name of the prophet him- self inLo a war-cry, 'Eli-Jah.hu.' "J that we not only have no proof, but no Ver. 40.-And EllJa.h said unto them, reason for thinking, that it was at their on .',vm. 1-40.] TilE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 427