So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, “Go up now, and look toward the sea.” He went up, and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” He said, “Go again” seven times.
On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’ ”
In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv43, 45 As God’s spirit moved him to pray, so was…
As God’s spirit moved him to pray, so was he strengthened by the same, that he did not faint, but continued still till he had obtained.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv42–45 1Ki 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and…
1Ki 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
Ver. 42. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel.] There, as in his ordinary oratory, to pray out the promise of rain, to put it in suit, and this he did lustily, {Jas 5:17} straining, as it were, every vein in his heart: for,
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He cast himself down upon the earth,] sc, Upon his knees.
And he put his face between his knees.] To show his great humility and fervency. His knees he bowed to God, his face he bowed down to his knees: by this humble posture both acknowledging his humble respects to that Majesty which he implored; and in addition so hiding his eyes from all distracting objects, that he might the more wholly attend the work which he went about. Some do here observe that the babe in the womb lieth in this sort, with his head between his knees; thereby tacitly setting forth his own misery, and imploring God’s mercy, to bring him into the light. Quo in statu sese composuit ter maximus Elias abiectissimae suae conditionis memor, ut caelum votis ira conceptis aperiret: quae certe conditio in utero mirabili, superbos ab arrogantia revocare deberet, saith Bodine. {a} The great prophet Elias prayed in this posture, as expressing and increasing thereby his devotion. Let proud men remember their mean beginnings, and pull their crests.
{a} Theatr. Naturae p. 428.
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 vv42, 43, 45 Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; where…
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; where he might secretly and ardently pour out his prayers unto God; and whence he might look towards the sea, and discern when the rain was coming.
Put his face between his knees; he either sat, or rather kneeled upon his knees, and then cast down his face to the ground between his knees; either in token of profound reverence and humility, or out of fervency of spirit, which oft disposeth men to uncouth gestures, which at other times, or in other men, would be ridiculous; but in them, and in that case, are usual and allowed: or, that turning away his eyes from all outward objects, he might be more intent and earnest upon his work, or pray to God without distraction.
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 vv42–44 And it came to pass at the seventh time…
And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand,.... Either about the size or in the form of it; rain water comes out of the sea, and, being strained through the clouds and air, becomes fresh:
and he said, go up: the meaning seems to be, that he should first go down from the mount, and then go up to that part of it where Ahab was:
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say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot; bind or fasten the horses to it, as the phrase seems to signify:
and get thee down; from the mountain where he was, to go to Jezreel, which lay low in a valley:
that the rain stop thee not; on the road, that might be made impassable by it, signifying that such abundance should fall as would make it so.
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 vv42–44 The top of Carmel - Where he might pour…
The top of Carmel - Where he might pour out his prayers unto God; and whence he might look towards the sea. He had a large prospect of the sea from hence. The sailors at this day call it cape Carmel. Between his knees - That is, bowed his head so low, that it touched his knees; thus abasing himself in the sense of his own meanness, now God had thus honoured him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv42–44 Verse 42. Put his face between his knees] He…
Verse 42. Put his face between his knees] He kneeled down, and then bowed his head to the earth, so that, while his face was between his knees, his forehead touched the ground.
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 vv42–44 1Ki 18:42. Elijah went up to the top of…
1Ki 18:42. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel — Where he might pour out his prayers unto God; and whence he might look toward the sea. He had a large prospect of the sea from hence: the sailors at this day call it Cape Carmel. Between his knees — That is, bowed his head so low, that it touched his knees; thus abasing himself in the sense of his own meanness, now God had thus honoured him.
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 vv42–44 Ahab could feast; Elijah could not, or would not.…
Ahab could feast; Elijah could not, or would not. Ascending Carmel not quite to the highest elevation 1Ki 18:43, but to a point, a little below the highest, from where the sea was not visible, he proceeded to pray earnestly for rain, as he had prayed formerly that it might not rain.
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 vv42, 44, 45 Knees, in fervent and humble prayer. God made his…
Knees, in fervent and humble prayer. God made his servant wait some time before he granted his request, that he might not give way to vanity. The people were not present, so that there was no danger of their being scandalized. (Menochius)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv42–45 ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (Kg1 18:41-46)
ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (Kg1 18:41-46)
Ahab went up to eat and to drink--Ahab, kept in painful excitement by the agonizing scene, had eaten nothing all the day. He was recommended to refresh himself without a moment's delay; and, while the king was thus occupied, the prophet, far from taking rest, was absorbed in prayer for the fulfilment of the promise (Kg1 18:1).
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put his face between his knees--a posture of earnest supplication still used.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv42–45 42. Cast himself down — Elijah’s attitude in prayer…
42. Cast himself down — Elijah’s attitude in prayer has been understood in two ways. Some maintain that he placed himself in a sitting posture, thus bringing his knees near his chin, and making it comparatively easy for him to put his face between his knees. Chardin and Shaw observed certain Orientals in this posture while engaged in devout meditation. This attitude, however, though suitable for meditation, would be less appropriate for prayer. Others therefore think that he first kneeled down, and then bowed his head forward, so that his face would have been brought near to the ground, and may have even touched it. This latter view is favoured by the word יגהר, here rendered cast himself down, which implies prostration, not sitting. The word occurs again only in 2Ki_4:34-35, where it is used of Elisha’s stretching himself upon the dead child of the Shunammite. This prostrate attitude of Elijah’s was in keeping with that earnestness in prayer of which St. James speaks. Jas_5:17. Both king and prophet returned to the top of Carmel, the one to feast, the other to pray. The prophet, “while he was praying, withdrew himself from the very highest point of the summit, leaving Ahab to take his meal at the place where the sacrifice had been consumed. Elijah needed to retire only a short distance to the west, and there, on the slope just below the summit, sequestered by bushes and trees, such as are still to be found there, poured out his petitions for rain.” — Mead.
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 vv42–45 42. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel]…
42. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel] To a different point from that to which Ahab had gone. This is clear from 1Ki_18:44, where the prophet despatches his servant with a message to the king.
and he cast [R.V. bowed] himself] The prophet’s attitude was that of prayer. Cf. Jas_5:18. The humble position is further indicated by the clause which follows, ‘he put his face between his knees.’
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 vv42, 43, 45 (42) Put his face between his knees.—The attitude is,…
(42) Put his face between his knees.—The attitude is, of course, one of prayer, but is a peculiar attitude—distinct from the ordinary postures of standing and kneeling—which has been noted as existing still among the modern dervishes. Possibly it is characteristic of the vehement excitement of the moment, and of the impulsive nature of Elijah.
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 vv42–45 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink.…
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top Heb. head of Carmel It is clear from Ver. 43 that this was not the actual summit, nor can it have been, as Bahr supposes, the outermost promontory towards the sea, unless he means the foot or slope of that ridge or promontory, for from this varo the sea was not visible. It also appears from the hle of ver. 44 that this point must have been at a lower elevation than the plateau where the altar had stood and where Ahab"s tent was; and he cast himself down upon the earth Same word 2Ki_4:34, 2Ki_4:35, of Elisha"s prostration upon the dead child. But if Elijah "stretched himself full length" upon the earth, as the Easterns constantly do in prayer (see Thomson, 1:26, 27) it was but for a moment, as we presently find him kneeling, and put his face between his knees. "The Oriental attitude of entire abstraction" (Stanley). The posture witnessed to the intensity of his supplication.
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 v43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look…
1Ki_18:43-44
And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.
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The Servant of Elijah
I. That to aim upwards in our thoughts and actions is the best way to obtain relief in times of danger or difficulty. Elijah went up to the topmost position of Mount Carmel, and he bade his servant go up still higher, to the very peak of the mountain, so as the better to observe the appearances of the sky far and wide. Are we in search of some good? Then let us raise our affections above the unsatisfying, the perishing, the earthly, to the beatific, the eternal, the heavenly; let us scale the heights of our celestial Carmel, and seek for the rain-cloud of promise, by the waters of which a well of water shall be made to spring up in our hearts unto eternal life.
II. That we should not procrastinate in spiritual matters. Go up now, Elijah says to his servant, Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. What thou doest, do quickly. Indolence cannot win heavenly riches any more than worldly. Procrastination is the thief of time. The sluggard loses all his to-days in thinking of his to-morrows. To-morrow, in fact, is the watchword of the lazy and the idle.
III. That the true spiritual life consists of two parts, the active and the contemplative. Elijah went up, after his strenuous exertion in his contests with the priests of Baal, to the top of the mountain, and there rested upon the ground with his face between his knees, that is, in prayer or Divine meditation. The servant, too, was to go up. That necessitated active exertion, and then to look over the face of the heaven. That showed the desirability of contemplation.
IV. That we must never despair. The servant of Elijah had to go up seven times ere he saw any sign of the coming of the wished-for rain. Let us not then be weary in well-doing, let us not give way to disappointment if we succeed not at once in our efforts after higher things. To few persons in this life does success come immediately or at one trial. The spider--that, by its frequent efforts to cast its web between two distant points, taught perseverance to the royal Bruce--might also speak to us the lesson to persevere unto the end, to continue in well-doing, to show forth in heavenly things patience and perseverance.
V. That in small things, as well as in great we should learn to trace Gods hand. This little cloud, even at last, was no bigger than a mans hand; yet it was a messenger sent to fulfil Gods decree. Many persons are willing enough to recognise Gods agency in great events, in national revolutions, popular outbreaks, natural disturbances; but are not inclined to see the power of God in lesser matters, in individual trials, in the every-day phenomena of life.
VI. That we should regard temporal matters in the light of eternity. This servant of Elijah was to look towards the sea. The sea has ever been taken as an emblem of eternity. It was a fitter emblem of eternity in the ancient world than it is in the modern, because the ancients knew little of its depth or its extent, whereas we have mapped out in a great degree both the one and the other. (R. Young, M. A.)
Expectant prayers
A beautiful little book, Expectation Corners, tells of a king who prepared a city for some of his poor subjects. Not far from them were large storehouses, where everything they could need was supplied if they but sent in their requests. But on one condition--they should be on the outlook for the answer, so that when the kings messengers came with the answer to their petitions, they should always be found waiting and ready to receive them. The sad story is told of one desponding one who never expected to get what he asked, because he was too unworthy. One day he was taken to the kings storehouses, and there, to his amazement, he saw, with his address on them, all the packages that had been made up for him, and sent. There was the garment of praise, and the oil of joy, and the eye-salve, and so much more; they had been to his door, but found it closed; he was not on the outlook. From that time on he learnt the lesson Micah would teach us: I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Andrew Murray.)
Answers to prayer expected
There is no sense in always telegraphing to heaven for God to send a cargo of blessing, unless we are at the wharf to unload the vessel when it comes. (J. Ellis.)
The weather watcher
The Electric Light Company of one of Londons districts has a weather watcher who sits all day on the roof in a small glass house. It is his business to keep his eyes open to every sign of change, especially the gathering of clouds causing darkness, as in that case a sudden demand is made for electric lighting all over the district, and this requires a greatly intensified power in the huge generators below. As soon as he sees a great dark cloud travelling Londonwards, he telephones to the engine-room below that additional power will soon be needed, and by the time required it has been generated. Would that Gods people everywhere were watchmen who, when they saw the clouds gathering over the church and the world, would turn that into a plea for power--power from God. (H. O. Mackey.)
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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 vv43, 45 seven times
seven times
The word "seven" can be rendered as the numeral "7." AT: "7 times" (See: Numbers)
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as small as a man's hand
From a long distance, the cloud could be covered from sight by a man's hand.
translationWords
servant
Elijah
the sea
chariot
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.