With the stones he built an altar in Yahweh’s name. He made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two seahs of seed. He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood.” He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time. The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
Then Yahweh’s fire fell, and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv32, 35, 37 Hebrew, seahs, which some think contain about three pottles…
Hebrew, seahs, which some think contain about three pottles and a third part a piece.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv32–38 1Ki 18:32 And with the stones he built an…
1Ki 18:32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
Ver. 32. In the name of the Lord,] i.e., By his special warrant, and for his honour and service.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 36, 37 With the assistance of the people, who readily yielded…
With the assistance of the people, who readily yielded their helping hand,
he built an altar; which, though generally forbidden, he might do, because he did it by the command and suggestion of God, who can dispense with his own laws, and upon apparent and urgent necessity, and for a work of great mercy, (to which even by God’s command the ceremonial laws must give place, Hos 6:6; Mar 2:27) even for the conversion of the Israelites, whom it was impossible to bring to the altar of Jerusalem at this time.
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In the name of the Lord; by the authority of God, and for his worship.
Two measures, i.e. two third parts of an ephah; which shows that the trench was of a competent largeness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv32–38 And he said, do it the second time, and…
And he said, do it the second time, and they did it the second time,.... That is, poured four barrels of water more upon the wood:
and he said, do it the third time, and they did it the third time; so that there were in all twelve barrels of water poured on the wood, agreeably to the number of the twelve stones the altar was built with, and may have respect to the same as they.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv33, 36, 37, 38 With water - This they could quickly fetch, either…
With water - This they could quickly fetch, either from the river Kishon; or, if that was dried up, from the sea; both were at the foot of the mountain. This he did to make the miracle more glorious, and more unquestionable.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 36, 38 Verse 32. He made a trench] This was to…
Verse 32. He made a trench] This was to detain the water that might fall down from the altar when the barrels should be poured upon it, 1Kg 18:35.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv32, 36, 38 1Ki 18:32-33. With the stones he built an altar…
1Ki 18:32-33. With the stones he built an altar — With the assistance of the people, who now readily yielded their helping hands. In the name of the Lord — By the authority of God and for his worship. He made a trench, as great as would contain two measures of seed — As capacious, say some, as a sack that would contain that quantity, namely, two third parts of an ephah. Others understand the words as meaning a trench of sufficient breadth and circuit to sow therein that quantity of seed, or about twenty pounds’ weight of barley: which must have been very large indeed. Fill four barrels with water — This they could quickly fetch, either from the river Kishon; or, if that was dried up, from the sea; both were at the foot of the mountain. This he did to make the miracle more glorious, and more unquestionable; to show that there was no fallacy in it, no fire concealed in or about the altar; but that the lightning which was to consume the sacrifice came from heaven; and came at Elijah’s invocation; and Josephus tells us, that Elijah invited the people to draw near, that they might search and spy everywhere, if they could find any fire secretly conveyed under the altar. Antiq. lib. 8. cap. 7.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 36, 37, 38 He built an altar in the name of the…
He built an altar in the name of the Lord - i. e., calling, as he built it, on the name of Yahweh, and so dedicating it to His service.
Two measures of seed - literally, “two seahs of seed.” The seah contained about three gallons.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv32, 34, 37, 38 Furrows. Hebrew, "of two (sathayim) measures of seed." These…
Furrows. Hebrew, "of two (sathayim) measures of seed." These furrows Elias filled with water, to impede the natural activity of fire, and to shew the miracle in a more striking light; (Haydock) as also to convince all that there was no deceit. An author quoted, under the name of St. Chrysostom, says that the pagans had sometimes subterraneous passages, by which they kindled the wood on the altar, as if by miracle, ita ut multi decepti ignem illum cœlestem esse existiment. (ap. Surium iv.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38 32. As great as would contain two measures of…
32. As great as would contain two measures of seed — This means, according to Thenius and Keil, that the space taken up by the whole trench was as large as that on which two measures of grain would ordinarily be sown. But this would have made the trench enclose a space incredibly large. The measures here mentioned are in the Hebrew seahs, containing at the lowest estimate about six quarts, and twelve quarts of grain would be more than enough to sow over the entire level space of the summit of el-Mohrakah, which is about twenty rods square. It is better, therefore, to understand that the trench itself would hold about twelve quarts of grain or water. It was dug to catch and hold the water which Elijah proposed to pour over the altar, and thus to show the people that there was no secret way of letting it off. It needed no large trench to answer this purpose, and no deep trench could easily be dug in that rocky surface; but the shallow soil now on the rock would be sufficient for a trench capable of holding three gallons, and the soil may have been deeper in Elijah’s time. “I myself observed,” writes Professor Mead, (Bibliotheca Sacra, 1873, p. 685,) “close to the Mohrakah, a rocky surface, artificially smoothed, about eight feet square, around the edge of which had been dug a groove an inch or two in depth. One might almost be tempted to find in that the foundation and trench of the very altar itself.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38 32. a trench] The LXX. has θάλασσαν = a…
32. a trench] The LXX. has θάλασσαν = a sea, which is interesting in connexion with the name given to the great cistern which Solomon caused to be made for the temple-services. Cf. 1Ki_7:23 above.
as great as would contain two measures of seed] The LXX. omits these words, which are not quite easy of explanation. The measure mentioned is a seah, which is the third part of an ephah. But whether the dimension applies to each side of the altar, so that on each of the four sides there would be a ditch of this capacity, or whether this was the capacity of the whole surrounding trench is not evident. It was clearly intended to catch the water that was poured over the sacrifice.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 36 (32) Measures.—The “measure,” the third part of the ephah,…
(32) Measures.—The “measure,” the third part of the ephah, hence also often called shalish (a “tierce,” or “third”), was something less than three gallons. A trench to contain only six gallons seems too insignificant for the context; hence it is supposed that the sense is “large enough for the sowing (as in a furrow) of two measures of seed.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv32–38 And with the stones the twelve he had chosen…
And with the stones the twelve he had chosen out of the ruins. (Exo_20:25) he built an altar in the name of the Lord not "by the command of Jehovah" (Bahr), but rather as the minister and for the service of Jehovah, or, as Keil. "by the authority and for the glory of Jehovah." Nor is it certain that "he called, as he Built it, on the name of Jehovah, and so dedicated it to His service" (Rawl.) (See: Gen_12:8 Gen_13:4 Gen_33:20 Gen_35:7) and he made a trench or channel, 2Ki_18:17; Isa_7:3 Isa_36:2; Eze_31:4. The word implies that it was for holding the water, not for keeping off the people about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed Heb. as the inside (lit., house) of two seahs of seed. These words have been variously interpreted. Keil, with Thenius and Wordsworth, understands that "the trench was so large that you could sow two seahs of seed upon the ground which it covered." But apart from the fact that tyiB" must refer to capacity rather than superficial extent, one does not measure a trench, as Bahr observes, by the ground which it covers, but by its depth. He would follow Gesenius in understanding that the trench was so deep as to hold two seahs of seed; i.e., as deep as the grain measure containing two seahs. The ha; s was the third of an ephah. Cf. Jos., Ant. 9:4. 5, and the sata tria of Mat_13:33
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v36 Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God…
1Ki_18:36
Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel.
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Elijahs creed
Let us consider the creed of this loftiest, sternest spirit of the true faith, as Dean Stanley called him. We may glean its articles from that prayer made under circumstances which would have tried the soul even of a sterner man than he. Three things may be read in this prayer:
1. A formula--Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel.
2. A personal relation between God and the prophet--Let it be known this day that I am Thy servant.
3. The fulfilment of a Divine purpose through the deeds of the man--And that I have done all these things at Thy word. Taking the prayer itself as a creed, we see embodied in it the formal, the personal, and the practical elements. Notice, first, that the prophet used a formula to express the foundation of his belief. He may have done it unconsciously, full of the idea for which it had stood now six hundred years. Had he not read it in the Law, heard it from the lips of priest and rabbi, and himself used it times without number? No one supposes that the prophet used the formula lightly or ignorantly. In this we might set him in contrast with ourselves. But no creed is complete which does not involve a personal relation between him who utters it and God. So, in this prayer, the relation between God as Lord and Elijah as prophet is clearly drawn. God was invoked to prove this very thing. As a servant, Elijah had taken his life in his hand long before. A man tells you he believes in God. Ask him what essential change of character would be produced by his parting with his belief. His servantship had already been proved by his implicit obedience to every command of God. Now he hid by the brook Cherith, and now tarried at Zarephath. A further element of faith involved in this formal supplication is that of co-operative work. In and through His servant God is fulfilling His purposes; Let it be known that I have done all these things at Thy word. We are not, of course, to make the Lord responsible for everything a good man does. A perfect trust does not shield the human agent from the just charge of misdemeanours. Every servant of God does the will of God. He starts or sustains a tendency, works destruction here, rescues life there, goes to the wilderness, returns to the town, is silent now, again thunders forth, as the Spirit wills, to bring to pass the true conception of God working in the world, without ceasing, to establish and maintain righteousness. So the war goes on, and will go on until the whole earth bows down before Him. Now, all this is made extremely simple in the prayer of the prophet: God is. God has a servant in me. God through me works His will. Let all men believe this, let their belief take hold of their life as it took hold of Elijahs, so that not to believe is death, and a new earth is in process, and the universal reign of Jehovah is visibly begun.
What have we more than had Elijah?
1. We have a new insight of the personality of God. Did not Elijah believe in God as a Person? We must insist that he did. But our vision is clearer. He felt the power of the Person in the still, small voice. That was his gospel. We know it in the conquering soul of the Christ. We behold the glory of the Divine Personality, and through Him know ourselves as individual members of the Divine household.
2. Again, we realise a new order of mercy. Once there was the relentless call for sacrifice. Elijah was an avenger. He could slay hundreds in one act. It would have been impossible for him to conceive of avenging justice turned into mercy. We, on the other hand, hear a voice pleading for infinitely worse offenders, Father, forgive them. The Divine expiation is sufficient to cover every sinner. It is ours to make the word of deliverance ring around the world, Come unto Me, and be free from condemnation.
3. Once more, the duty of every man is now more clear than it could have been in Elijahs day. Can any one, it may be asked, understand his duty more perfectly than did the prophet? Still, duty with us takes on the nature of universality and of privilege. (C. R. Seymour.)
Let it be known that I have done all these things at Thy word.
Elijahs plea
I. A firm ground for prayer.
1. You are a minister of God, or a worker in the cause of Christ, and you go forth and preach the Gospel with many tears and prayers, and you continue to use all means, such as Christ has ordained: do you say to yourself, May I expect to have fruit of all this? Of course you may. You are not sent on a frivolous errand you are not bidden to sow dead seed that will never spring up. But when that anxiety weighs heavily upon your heart, go you to the mercy-seat with this as one of your arguments, Lord, I have done according to Thy word.
2. Next, I would apply this teaching to a whole church. I am afraid many churches of Christ are not prospering. The congregations are thin, the church is diminishing, the prayer-meeting scantily attended, spiritual life low. If I can conceive of church in such a condition which, nevertheless, can say to God, We have done all these things at Thy word, I should expect to see that church soon revived in answer to prayer. The reason why some churches do not prosper is, because they have not done according to Gods word.
3. The same principle may be applied also to any individual believers who are in trouble through having done right.
4. I would like to apply this principle to the seeking sinner.
II. Self-examination as to whether or not you have done all these things at Gods word.
1. Let every worker here who has not been successful answer this question--Have you done all these things at Gods word?
2. Did you preach it rightly? That is to say, did you state it affectionately, earnestly, clearly, plainly?
3. And another question--Has there been an example to back your teaching? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Whom to please
On a very cold night a gate-keeper at a railway depot demanded that each passenger show his ticket. Several bitterly complained of the delay and inconvenience. You are a very unpopular man to-night, said a spectator. I only care to be popular with one man, he replied, and that is the superintendent. In the same way Christians should take care that their actions are pleasing to God, and if they have to displease man, they must remember that we ought to obey God rather than men.
Obeying implicitly
I have stood, said Mr. Scott, on the deck of a ship while she was toiling up-stream, with wind and water against her, and I have gone up to the man at the wheel, and said, Jack, why dont you ease her off a point or two? You see how it would relieve her. But the answer was, No, I cant luff; that is the point of the compass the captain gave me, and I must keep her to it. But, man, I remonstrated, if you keep her as she is, soon the bulwarks will be stove in, and there is every chance that under this fearful strain she may spring a leak. That is none of my business; it is the captains look out. All I have to do is to obey his orders, was the mans answer. The captain, however, understood his business, and we arrived safe in harbour. Sometimes, if we do exactly as Christ commands, it appears as if our business would be ruined, our reputation lost--as if, indeed, we should be totally wrecked. That, however, is the captains look out. All we have to do is to implicitly obey.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv33, 36, 38 He arranged the wood for a fire
He arranged the wood for a fire
"On the altar" where he placed the wood is assumed in this sentence. AT: "He put the wood for a fire on the altar" (See: Ellipsis)
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four jars
"4 jars" (See: Numbers)
jars
A jar is a container for water.
trench
See how you translated this in 1 Kings 18:30.
translationWords
fire
cow
burnt offering
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv33, 36, 37, 38 18:33-35 Elijah avoided any hint of deception by dousing…
18:33-35 Elijah avoided any hint of deception by dousing the offering and the wood with great quantities of water, perhaps taken from the nearby Mediterranean Sea or Kishon River.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.