much as of prayer. When Rawlinson says storm" [over " the dark slate-coloured ridge that "the fe.ithfulness and patience shown of Carmel," witnessed by Conder in 1872) [by the servant] in executing this order "burst suddenly, the rain descending with without a murmur, imply devotedness of violence, hissing on the ground, as if not no co=on kind," he surely forgets that e.ble to come down fast enough, and accom- the drought he.d le.sted for three yea.re and panied with gusts of wind, thunder, and a half, and that the servant bad that de.y lightning.'1 And Ahab rode, and went to seen the fires of God descend e.t Elije.h's JezreeL prayer. It is inconceivable, under such Ver. 46.-And the hand of the Lord was circumstances, that e.ny man could mur- on Elijah [Same expression 2 Kings iii. 15 , mur.] Ezek. i. 3; iii. 14; viii. 1 ; xxxiii. 22 ; cf. Ver. 44.-And it came to pass at the also Exod. ix. 3; Judg. ii. 15 ; Ruth i. 13 ; seventh time, that he said, Behold, there Acts xi. 21; xiii. 11. Some of the com- ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like mentators understand the words of Divine a man's hand. [I:)~ lit., palm, hollow of guidance, some of a supernatural strengthen- he.nd. Cf. Luke xii. 54, " When ye see the ing. There is no need to exclude either in- cloud (Gr. r,)v vE1•\11v) a.rise out of the terpretation. An impulse from on high west, stre.ightwe.y ye say, There cometh a impelled him to "gird up his loins" e.nd shower; e.nd so it is." " Still in autumn go with the king ; a. strength not his own the little cloud comes up like e. man's hand sustained him whilst "he ran," &c. The e.nd swells till huge thunder pillars a.re distance a.cross the plain to Jezreel is a.bout piled black e.nd high a.hove the mounts.ins 11 fourteen miles ; the royal chariot would (Conder). But it is not in Palestine alone drive furiously, and wliatever fleetness and the.t a little cloud on the horizon is fre- endurance the prophet bad acquired in the quently the harbinger of rain]. And he wilds of Gilead, it seems hardly likely that, ea.id, Go up [see note on var. 4,2), say unto after the fatigues and excitement of that Ahab, Prepare thy chariot [Heh. bind], day, he would have been e.ble, without the and get thee down [Keil, Stanley, e.ud hand of the Lord upon him, to keep ahead others assume the.t Ahab's chariot we.a of the chariot horses], and he girded up waiting at the foot of the mountain. But his loins [i.e., gathered round his waist the it is to be noticed that the command to abba, or "mantle "-the M-:1:!~ (cl. eh. ili. he.mess the horses precedes the,_t to " go 13, 19; 2 Kings ii. 13, 14) was so-co.lled down. 11 The writer rode down from E i from its o.mple size-which would otherwise JJiurahl.ah to the plain, e.nd it is quite have impeded his movements. Probably conceive.hie that the royal cha.riot me.y this, apart from the girdle, wo.s his sole gar- have conveyed Ahab to the plateau of ment. (See Diet. Bib. vol. ii. p. 232)], and sacrifice and have waited for him there], ran before Ahab [Thomson (vol. ii. p. 227) that the.rain stop thee not. [After heavy mentions e.n interesting illustro.tion of this re.in (Off~) the Kishon, which "collects the incident which he witnessed. The fore- whole drainage of this large basin" (Con- runners of Mohammed Ali Pasho. " kept der), the Great Plain, soon becomes an im- just ahead of the horses, no matter how passable swamp (Judg. v. 21), "I can tell furiously they were ridden, and in order to you from experience that in wet seasons run with the greatest ease they not only it (tho Wu.dy) is extremely muddy, e.nd then girded their loins very tightly, but also the Kishon causes great tribulntion to the tucked up their loose garments under the muleteers. Rarely indeed do they get girdle.'' But such a spectacle is of common over it without some of their 11nimnls occurrence in the East. Kitto remarks that sticking fo.st in its oozy bottom" (Thom- tho Shatirs of Persia keep pace with case son, L. and B. ii. p. 218).] with their masters' horses. They also a.re Ver. 46.-And it came to pass 1n the tightly girded. His object we.a apparently meanwhile [Heb. unto thus and unto thus, twofold. First, to honour the sovereign i.e., till now e.nd then (cf. Exod. vii. 16; whom he had that day humbled in the Josh. xvii. 14). Gesen., Bahr, al. support the presence of bis subjects. The gree.t pro- rendering of the A. V. Ewald, Keil, al. phet, by assuming the lowly offico of a uuderstaud "while tho hand is being moved foot-man, or forerunner (see note on oh. i. hither and thither," i.e., very speedily. 6), would give due reverence to the Lord's The pmctioal difference is not great], the.t anointed, like So.muel on a somewhat similar the heaven was ble.ck with clouds and occasion (1 Sam. xv. 30, 31). Secondly, he wind, and there was a great rain. [" The mo.y have hoped by his presence near the cry of the boy from his mounts.in we.tch king and court to strengthen any good he.d bo.rdly been uttered when the storm resolves which the former might have broke upon the pie.in" (Stanley). " The • me.de, and to further the work of rcforma- 4.80 THE FIIlST BOOK OF KINGS. [en. xvm. 1-46.
Uon which he could not but hope the pro- side the walls. It was impossible to eo.y ceedings of tl11it day would inaugurate. what Jezebel, in her transports of rage, That this tribute of respect would be grn.teful might do. After such o. day, too, any pro- to Ahab, who hitherto had only regarded phet would shrink from familiar contact Elijo.h as an adversary, it is impossible to with men and from the strife of tongues] doubt. And that Elijah believed he had of Jezreel [Aho.b had o. palace here (eh. strnck a death-blow to the foreign supcr- xxi. 1). But Samaria was still the ea.pita!, st,itiuns fost,ered by the court, and eBpecially and so remained till the ca.ptivity (eh. xxii. by the queen, is equally certain. It is not 37; 2 Rings xv. 13, 14; xvii. 5, 6). The clear, ns Biihr assumes, that his servant selection of J ezrecl as a royal residence is o.ccompanied him on the road. He may easily nccounted for. It stands on "a knoll have rejoined him lat~r on in the day or 600 feet high" (Conder), overlooking both night] to the entrance [Heb. until thou the plain of Esdraelon nnd the vnlley of comest to. The Arab aversion, which ELijah Jezreel. In fact, it is the finest situation is supposed to have shared, to entering in the "Great Plain." Hence perhaps its cities, has often been remarked. Dut there name "the sowing-place of God." See were other and deeper reasons why he should Stanley, S. nnd P. pp. 336 sqq.; Porter, p. not adventure himself \\itbin the city. 353; Diet. Bib. vol. i. p. 1080; Van de Velde, Probably the same guiding band which led vol. ii. p. 370.] him to Jezreel impelled him to lodge out-